How-To Guides4 min read·May 10, 2026

How to Set Up a Today's Special on Blinko

Learn how to run a Today's Special on Blinko — a same-day flash promotion that drives immediate foot traffic by sending a time-limited offer to all your followers in seconds.

Blinko Team

Blinko Local

It's Tuesday at 11am. You have 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 way to reach the people who already love your business and tell them: come in today. That's exactly what Today's Special does — a same-day flash promotion that lands in your followers' pockets in seconds and expires at the end of the day. Here's how to run one.

Campaign Setup Guides· 6 guides

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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 followers. 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 other campaign types 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.

When to use it

Today's Special is the right tool 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 quickly
Seasonal or one-day items that are 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.

What you'll get

Benefit	Detail
Immediate reach	Push notification delivered to all followers within seconds of publishing
Real urgency	Same-day expiry means customers act now or miss it — no "I'll come in next time"
Zero ad spend	You're reaching your existing follower base directly, no boosting required
Natural, repeatable rhythm	Running a Today's Special once a week conditions followers to check their Blinko app regularly, which increases engagement across all your campaigns

How to set it up

Today's Special is the fastest campaign to create — most business owners complete it in under 90 seconds.

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.

Creating a Today's Special in the Blinko mobile app

Step 2 — Describe the special

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

What the offer is
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 — for example, "Valid until 2pm" — if you want to drive lunchtime traffic specifically.

Step 4 — Publish

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

Option 2: Web Portal

Time to complete: ~2 minutes

Step 1 — Go to Campaigns → New Campaign → 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

Today's Special configuration in the Blinko web portal

Step 3 — Publish

Click Publish Campaign. Notifications go out immediately.

Option 3: AI Copilot

The Copilot is especially useful here when you know the situation but don't want to write the copy:

"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.

What your staff need to do

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

Tips for better results

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

Today's Special notifications sent in the late morning catch people when 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.

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 visualise exactly what they're getting and exactly when the window closes. Specificity creates urgency.

Run it on a consistent day to create 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 of the weekly special. After four or five weeks, your regular followers will open Blinko on Tuesday mornings to see what's on. That's a meaningful shift in engagement — and it compounds over time.

Frequently asked questions

How many followers need to receive the notification for it to be worth running? Even with 30–40 followers, 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 follower 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 followers 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. If you run one every day, followers 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.