Hard to believe that just a month ago the summer vibe was still in the air...

Here at the MassageBook offices in lovely Charleston, SC, it's been unusually quiet. The team has been insanely focused on ensuring that the upcoming holiday season is going to be great one for every one of our thousands of practices across the country. (Read on for details)

Every year we see a huge pop in purchasing activity around the holidays. People have discovered that Massage is a universally appreciated and almost foolproof gift to give.

Last year, we broke (crushed!) all previous records of gift certificate sales sold by practices as it was the first year the MassageBook Promotions feature was made available. The Promotions feature makes it possible to quickly create custom promotions (even with gift certificates) and promote them by email, website and social media. It works beautifully and resulted in a dramatic increase of gift certificate sales.

But

Our public audience wanted more. They wanted to be able to buy gift certificates for their loved ones and wanted to let THEM decide where they wanted to go. In many cases they didn't live in the same place, which made it tricky to choose which practice to buy a gift certificate at.

This year we have a solution to offer the gift giving public MassageBook Gift Cards. These e-gift cards will be purchased from MassageBook directly and will be redeemable at ANY practice (including yours!) that wants to accept new clients.

My family, for example, is scattered across the country - from Seattle, WA to Wilton, CT. Nieces and nephews in college to sisters and parents. A MassageBook Gift Card is going to simplify gift giving dramatically - and result in new clients for MassageBook practices from the East Coast to the West Coast. Another one those features we love because everybody wins!

To learn more about how MassageBook Gift Cards work and how they'll help send you more new clients, please read the announcement section below.

With gratitude for your ongoing support! Without it we couldn't continue making MassageBook a better and better tool for your success.

Mark and the MassageBook crew

What's New

Tablets and phones - mobile app's new Horizontal Mode
MassageBook Gift Card Program
Square's new mobile reader for iPhones and iPads
Limited time iKnead shopping special - 9 face rest covers for $10

Mobile app tweaks for friendlier viewing

Turns out, quite a few of you like to use a tablet that sits in a stand for your checkout solution. This update allows you to orient your tablet (or phone) in landscape (wide mode) and enjoy wider, more expanded views.

We think you'll find that a tablet makes for a great checkout experience in this wide view. If you're checking out with the new Square integration, it'll be a single, smooth process of checking a client out and collecting their signature (and tip!) on your tablet or phone.

MassageBook Gift Cards

One of MassageBook's core missions is to champion the benefits of high quality massage and bodywork to a broader public audience.

Being able to offer the public an easy way to purchase and redeem e-gift cards at independent massage and bodywork practitioners across the country is a big step towards this overarching goal, and we'd love it if you joined us in the effort.

Yesterday, we added a Booking Rule option in the Business Settings section that controls whether MassageBook Gift Cards can be redeemed at your business or not.

It costs nothing to be included and if you already meet the criteria to be approved for this program (completed business listing and accepting new client bookings online), you'll notice that this setting is turned on by default. (We figured you'd be ok with even more new clients coming through your doors.)

If you'd like to opt out of receiving clients who pay with MassageBook Gift Cards, just deselect the "Accept MassageBook Gift Certificates" checkbox in booking rules.

You're probably wondering how you're going to get paid when you accept a MassageBook Gift Cards...

To keep things simple, we essentially duplicated the fee structure used when we send you a new paying client from the MassageBook directory (a one-time 15% fee). With Gift Cards, since we've already paid the credit card processing fees up front for you, we're going to pass a portion of this cost on (2%). The final result is that you'll get paid 83% (100%-(15%+2%)) of any MassageBook Gift Card amount redeemed. (To be clear, this is only for gift cards sold by MassageBook - for gift certificates your practice sells, you keep 100%, as you do now)

People redeeming gift certificates have been shown to be very generous tippers, so we feel this program should work out very well for practices, be a great additional source of income, and a great source of potential repeat clients. The big win? We're going to turn lots of people onto the benefits of working with highly skilled independent bodywork practices - across the entire country, which benefits our entire profession.

Important note:
We've only released the business setting so far. We're going to wait until late October before we allow the public to purchase anything. This way practices who want to accept MassageBook Gift Cards have plenty of advance notice to tidy up their websites to get them looking top-notch, and to complete the necessary steps to be included - or to opt out if they don't want to participate.

If you have questions, please contact the amazing guys and gals who are here to support you!

Square's New Lightning Card Reader

Fits right in the charging port of your iPhone or iPad for a simple and seamless swiping solution if you don't have a headphone port on your device or don't like "fighting the swivel" when you swipe cards.

$10 - Check it out here.

9 face cradle covers for $10

No joke.

Limited time and only one deal per person - while supplies last!

Simply log in to your MassageBook account and select the iKnead Shop tab to select your choice of cotton flannel, poly-cotton, or Cotton Jersey face cradle covers in your choice of 8 colors.

And if you're thinking we're giving them away because they're cheaply made - you'd be wrong. Double stitching throughout with high thread counts and a thick, durable elastic that won't give out after a few hot washes.

Sized generously so your fleece face rest cover can fit comfortably underneath.

Remember: One deal per person, so everyone can get a chance at a set!

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