Why this matters for a CNC shop
The people who already bought from you know your work, know you deliver, and often buy gifts and awards on the same dates every year. But they forget about you between orders. A simple list and a short message now and then keeps you in their mind when the next birthday, closing, banquet or broken part comes up. You already have this list scattered across invoices, messages and your phone. This page is about putting it in one place and using it.
What you need
- A spreadsheet (Google Sheets or Excel) to start
- A way to ask for permission: a checkbox on your order form, a line on your invoice, a sign-up sheet at events
- An email tool that handles unsubscribes for you (most free and low-cost email marketing services do)
- If you plan to text: a texting service built for business messages that records consent and handles "STOP" replies
- A postcard printer, or print your own
Step-by-step setup
- Gather what you already have. Go through invoices, your payment app, Etsy or shop orders, and your email. Put every past customer in the spreadsheet with what they bought and when.
- Mark who has said yes to marketing. A past customer is not the same as a subscriber. Only people who agreed to hear from you go in the marketing list. Everyone else stays in the sheet as a customer record until they opt in.
- Add a permission line everywhere you take orders. Order form, quote form, invoice, checkout and event sign-up sheet. Use the wording below. Keep email and text as two separate checkboxes.
- Tag everyone. Add tags for what they bought and when (see below). Tags are how you send the right message to the right people.
- Load your email list into an email tool. Import only the people who opted in. The tool adds the unsubscribe link and your mailing address and removes people who unsubscribe.
- Set a calendar. Put your sends on the calendar for the year, tied to your seasons (see C8).
Permission wording
☐ Yes, email me about new products, seasonal order deadlines and reorder reminders from [Shop Name]. I can unsubscribe anytime.
☐ Yes, text me about new products, seasonal order deadlines and reorder reminders from [Shop Name] at the number above. Message frequency varies, up to [2] per month. Msg and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help. Consent is not required to buy.
The spreadsheet layout
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| First name | Dana |
| Last name | Lee |
| dana@example.com | |
| Phone | (555) 555-0100 |
| Town | Edmond |
| Email OK? | Yes / No, with the date and where they said yes (for example "6/2 order form") |
| Text OK? | Yes / No, with the date and where |
| Opted out | Date they unsubscribed or replied STOP. Never message them again for marketing. |
| What they bought | Tags: sign, tumbler, award, closing gift, wedding, ornament, part, prototype |
| Last order date | 5/2/2026 |
| Occasion | Mother's Day, graduation, banquet, closing, repair |
| Business or personal | B / P |
| File folder | Where their art and machine files are saved |
| Notes | Kids' names on the sign, logo colors, drawing revision |
Tagging by what they bought and when
- What: one tag per product type. Someone who bought a tumbler hears about new tumbler colors. Someone who bought a machined part hears about new capability.
- When: the month and occasion. Someone who ordered for Mother's Day last year gets a Mother's Day reminder this year.
- Who: business or personal. Businesses hear about bulk pricing and year-end gifts. Individuals hear about holidays and gifts.
- Where they came from: an event, Etsy, Google, a referral. Helps you see which places bring people back.
What to send and how often
| Message | Who gets it | How often |
|---|---|---|
| What's new: a new machine, material, color or product | Everyone on the email list | When it happens, about once a month at most |
| Seasonal reminder with a last-order date | People tagged with that season or product | Two to four weeks before the season's order deadline |
| Reorder nudge | One customer whose usual reorder time is coming up | Once, a few weeks before |
| Postcard | Best customers and local buyers you have a mailing address for | Two to four times a year |
| Text | Only people who agreed to texts | Rarely. Save it for deadlines and reorders |
Short and useful beats frequent. One good photo, one or two sentences, one link, a clear deadline. If a message doesn't have something new or a date that matters, don't send it.
Copy-ready templates
Email: something new
Subject: New at [Shop Name]: [we can now engrave on stainless / we cut aluminum / new walnut signs]
Hi [First name],
Quick update from the shop: [we just added a new machine / started carrying new material]. That means we can now make [what's new, in plain words].
[Photo of a finished piece]
Here's one we just finished for a customer in [Town]: [one-line description].
If you have something in mind, reply to this email or start a quote here: [link].
Thanks for being a customer,
[Your Name]
[Shop Name] · [Phone]
[Street address or PO box]
You're getting this because you signed up with [Shop Name]. Unsubscribe: [link]
Email: seasonal reminder
Subject: [Holiday] orders close [date]
Hi [First name],
Last year you ordered a [item] for [occasion]. We're taking [holiday] orders now through [date] so everything's ready on time.
This year's favorites: [item 1], [item 2], [item 3].
Order here: [link], or reply with what you want.
[Your Name], [Shop Name]
[Street address or PO box] · Unsubscribe: [link]
Text: reorder nudge (only to people who opted in to texts)
[Shop Name]: Hi [First name], it's about time for [your team's spring awards / another batch of closing gifts]. Your files are saved. Want the same as last time? Reply with the count. Reply STOP to opt out.
Text: seasonal deadline
[Shop Name]: [Holiday] custom orders close [date]. Order at [link] or reply here. Reply STOP to opt out.
Postcard
FRONT: [Big photo of a finished seasonal piece]
[Shop Name] · Made in [Town]
BACK:
Hi [First name],
Thanks for letting us make your [item] last year. [Holiday / season] orders are open now through [date].
New this year: [one thing].
Order at [short link] or scan the code. [QR code]
Call or text [phone].
[Shop Name] · [Return address]
The rules. Follow them every time.
- Get consent first. Only send marketing emails and texts to people who agreed to get them. Texting has stricter consent rules than email. A customer giving you their phone number for an order is not the same as agreeing to marketing texts.
- Include a way out. Every marketing email needs a working unsubscribe link and your physical mailing address, and must not have a misleading subject line or sender name (CAN-SPAM). Every marketing text needs "Reply STOP to opt out."
- Honor opt-outs quickly. Remove anyone who unsubscribes or replies STOP, mark the date in your sheet, and don't message them again for marketing. Don't make them do anything but click or reply to leave.
- Don't buy or borrow lists. Only use contacts who agreed to hear from you.
- Keep the list private. Don't share it, and send group emails through your email tool, not a To: line full of addresses.
- Mind quiet hours for texts. Send during normal daytime hours in the customer's time zone.
Keep it going: the routine
- After every order: add or update the row and tags, and note consent if they gave it.
- Weekly, 10 minutes: add event sign-ups, process any opt-outs, check for reorder nudges due.
- Monthly: send one email if you have something new or a season coming up.
- Seasonally: send the reminder and mail postcards to your best local customers.
Checklist
- Past customers gathered into one spreadsheet
- Consent columns filled in, with date and source
- Separate email and text checkboxes on every order form
- Everyone tagged by what they bought and when
- Email tool set up with unsubscribe link and mailing address
- Text messages go only to people who opted in, with STOP instructions
- Opt-outs removed and recorded
- Send calendar tied to your seasons
Common mistakes
- Adding everyone who ever bought something to the marketing list without asking.
- Sending texts from your personal phone with no opt-out.
- Sending the same message to everyone instead of using tags.
- Sending too often, or only "sale!" messages with nothing new.
- Keeping the list in five places so nobody knows who unsubscribed.
- Collecting names at events and never sending anything.
Notes by shop type
| Shop | What's different |
|---|---|
| Wood carving and signs | People rarely need a second house sign, but they buy gifts. Send seasonal gift ideas and wedding and housewarming items. |
| Laser engraving | Occasion tags matter most. Graduation, Mother's Day, banquet and corporate gift buyers come back on a pattern. |
| 3D printing | Tag by use: hobby, replacement parts, business prototypes. "New material" emails (tougher, heat-resistant, flexible) are the ones worth sending here. |
| Machining | Your list is mostly business contacts. Keep it personal: a short email from you about new capability, not a newsletter. Commercial emails to business addresses still need an unsubscribe option under CAN-SPAM. |
Want Annie's to do this for you? We can pull your past customers into one list, set up your email tool and permission forms, and write your seasonal messages.