How to Set Up a Today's Special on Blinko

It's Tuesday at 11am. You've got surplus baked goods that won't hold until tomorrow, three empty tables at lunch, and an Instagram post that got 12 likes. What you actually need is a direct line to the people who already love your business — a way to tell them: come in today. That's exactly what Today's Special does. It's a same-day flash promotion that lands in your customers' pockets in seconds and expires at end of day. Here's how to run one.

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What is a Today's Special?

Today's Special is a short-lived, same-day promotion sent directly to all your Blinko customers. You create it in the morning — or whenever the opportunity arises — it goes out as a push notification, and it expires at the end of the business day. Or at a time you choose.

Unlike campaigns that run continuously in the background, Today's Special is intentional and manually triggered. You decide when to run one, what the offer is, and how long it lasts. It's the most direct tool Blinko gives you for influencing what happens at your location today.

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When to use it

Today's Special is the right call when you have a specific, time-sensitive reason for customers to visit now rather than later:

• Surplus inventory or over-prepped items that need to move today
• Empty tables or booking slots during a slow period you want to fill fast
• Seasonal or one-day items only available today (first batch of a seasonal dish, delivery day of a new product)
• Weather events that give you a hook: "Cold out there today — warm up with a free hot chocolate with any order"
• An unexpected quiet spell mid-shift where you want to drive traffic in the next two hours

Today's Special is not the right tool for evergreen promotions — that's what Discount Coupons are for. The power of Today's Special comes from its genuine, same-day urgency.

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What you'll get

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How to set it up

Today's Special is the fastest campaign to create. Most business owners finish it in under 90 seconds.

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Option 1: Mobile App

Time to complete: ~90 seconds

Step 1 — Open the Campaigns tab and tap +

Tap Campaigns in the bottom nav, then tap the + icon. Select Today's Special.

Step 2 — Describe the special

Write a clear, specific description. This is the notification text your customers will see — it needs to communicate two things:

1. What the offer is
2. That it's only available today

Good examples:

• "Free cinnamon roll with any drink order today only — while supplies last"
• "Lunch special: $2 off any bowl, today until 3pm"
• "First 20 customers this afternoon get a free upgrade. Today only."

Step 3 — Set the expiry time (optional)

By default, Today's Special expires at the end of your business day. You can set an earlier cutoff — say, "Valid until 2pm" — if you want to drive lunchtime traffic specifically.

Step 4 — Publish

Tap Publish. The notification goes out to all your customers immediately.

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Option 2: Web Portal

Time to complete: ~2 minutes

Step 1 — Go to Campaigns → New Campaign → Today's Special

Log in at local.blinko.ai, click Campaigns, then New Campaign, then Today's Special.

Step 2 — Write the offer and set the expiry

• Special description: What the customer gets, in plain language. Include what makes today different.
• Valid until: End of day (default) or a specific time

Step 3 — Publish

Click Publish Campaign. Notifications go out immediately.

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Option 3: AI Copilot

The Copilot shines here when you know the situation but don't want to write the copy yourself:

"Send a same-day special — we have extra croissants to move. Offer: buy one, get one free until 2pm."

"Today's Special: free upgrade on any service booked this afternoon."

"Flash promo for today — $5 off any order over $25. Good until closing."

The Copilot writes the notification copy, sets the expiry, and has it ready to send. Review and tap Activate.

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What your staff need to do

Nothing. Today's Special is a push notification — it brings customers back to your store, but there's no offer to validate and no action for staff at the point of sale. Customers come in and order as normal.

The notification is informational: "Fresh batch of sourdough today", "Happy hour starts at 3pm", "Chef's special: truffle pasta, today only." It creates a reason to visit. The transaction that follows is business as usual.

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Tips for better results

Send between 9:30am and 11:30am for the best response

Notifications sent in the late morning catch people while they're forming their lunch or afternoon plans. A notification that arrives at 4pm — when most people have already decided where they're going — generates a fraction of the response. The sweet spot is mid-morning. Don't wait.

Be specific — vague specials underperform

"Special deal today" drives almost no action. "Free slice of pie with any lunch order — today until 2pm" drives action because the customer can picture exactly what they're getting and exactly when the window closes. Specificity creates urgency. That's the whole mechanism.

Run it on a consistent day to build a habit

Businesses that run a Today's Special every week on the same day — say, every Tuesday — start to see customers check the app in anticipation. After four or five weeks, your regular customers open Blinko on Tuesday mornings just to see what's on. That's a real shift in engagement, and it compounds.

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Frequently asked questions

How many customers need to receive the notification for it to be worth running? Even with 30–40 customers, a well-crafted Today's Special that drives 5–8 extra visits on a slow Tuesday is worth the 90 seconds it takes to create. As your customer base grows, the same effort produces proportionally larger returns.

Can I schedule a Today's Special in advance? Today's Special is designed for same-day, in-the-moment use. If you want to schedule a promotion for a future date (e.g., a holiday deal next weekend), use a Discount Coupon campaign with a specific start and end date instead.

Will customers get annoyed if I run Today's Special too often? Daily Today's Specials can lead to notification fatigue — especially if the offer isn't genuinely compelling each time. Once or twice a week is the recommended cadence. Run one every day and customers start filtering out your notifications along with everyone else's.

How do customers redeem it? The customer shows the notification in their Blinko app. Your staff taps Mark as Redeemed. No coupon codes, no printed vouchers.