Guides / Studio Haven
Opening your tattoo books and running a waitlist
Closing your books is how you keep the next few months sane. The risk is the people who wanted in drift off while you're closed. A waitlist keeps them.
Closed doesn't mean gone
When your books are closed, people still find you. If all they see is "closed", they move on. If they can join a list and hear first when you open, some of them will wait. Those are usually the clients you want.
Opening in the right order
- Tell the waitlist first, a day or two ahead of the public
- Then people who opted in to hear from you
- Then post it: date, time, what you're taking, and the link
- Say what you aren't taking this round, so you don't get a hundred requests you'll turn down
Write the announcement so it filters for you
The post that opens your books is also a filter. Say which styles and sizes you're taking, roughly how far out you're booking, and that there's a deposit. People who don't fit will scroll past, and the requests you get will be ones you can actually say yes to.
Put the booking link in the post and in your story, and tell people when the window closes. "Open until Sunday" gets more requests in the first two days than "open now" does in a week.
How it works on Studio Haven
The Books Open / Closed switch is in Setup & Money. Once it's closed, new public bookings stop, existing appointments stay put, and visitors can join your waitlist. They can still look through your flash.
When you reopen, send the Books open email campaign to the Waitlist group, then to your opt-in list. You'll see how many people it's going to before it sends. Every campaign has an unsubscribe link.
See it from the client side
Open the demo studio and book it the way a client would, deposit and all. You don't need an account. When you're ready, set up your own page.
Related guides
Questions artists ask
How long should I keep my books closed?
As long as it takes to get through what you've already booked, plus a buffer. A lot of artists open for a month or a quarter at a time.
Do people really wait on a tattoo waitlist?
The ones who want your work specifically do. The waitlist tells you who they are.
Should flash stay bookable while books are closed?
That's up to you. Some artists close everything, others keep a small batch of flash open. You can also run a one-day drop with a [flash day](/guides/flash-days-tattoo-artists).
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