Roughly a third of the people any of us would invite to a party in 2026 aren't reliably reachable through social media. Some left Facebook a decade ago. Some never used Instagram. Some have it but don't check DMs. Some are family members who use email but nothing else. Inviting them is harder than the technically-on-Instagram contingent, but it's not actually difficult if you know what to do. This guide is about how PopIn handles that case.
Mix channels. PopIn's invite link works identically by email, SMS, or pasted into a chat. The same guest list tracks responses regardless of which channel they came in through. For a step-by-step on the actual mechanics, see Inviting people without a PopIn account.
The core principle: meet them where they are
The single most common mistake hosts make is sending one invitation through one channel and assuming it'll reach everyone. It won't. The friend who left Facebook in 2018 didn't get the Facebook invite. Your mum doesn't check Instagram DMs. Your colleague's personal phone is in airplane mode whenever they're not at work.
The right move is to send the same invitation through multiple channels, choosing for each guest the channel that reaches them fastest. PopIn handles this for you: the invite link works identically whether someone gets it by email, SMS, or pasted into a chat. The same guest list page tracks responses regardless of which channel they came in through. You just need to know which channel to use for each person.
Email: the most universal
Email is the only channel almost everyone has and almost everyone checks. It's the default for guests over 35, work colleagues, family members who aren't on social media, and anyone where you have a real email address but no other contact info.
Inviting by email in PopIn: paste the email addresses (comma-separated or one per line) into the Email tab of the invite screen. PopIn sends each guest a personalised email with your invite message, the event details, and a one-click link to RSVP. The email is from "PopIn on behalf of [your name]" so it doesn't look like spam, but it's also clearly transactional rather than marketing.
A few tips for email invites:
- Send to personal addresses, not work addresses, if you have a choice. Work emails get heavier filtering and your invite is more likely to land in promotions or spam.
- Include a brief personal note in the invite message. A pre-formatted invite from PopIn alone reads as transactional; one sentence from you ("hope you can make it!") makes it land as friendlier.
- Send early. Email gets less urgent attention than SMS. People who reply to an SMS within an hour might take three days to reply to an email. Account for that.
SMS: for quick responses
SMS is the right channel for close friends, family members with mobile numbers, and anyone where you need a fast reply. SMS read rates are over 90% within an hour. The downside: it feels more personal, so it's not appropriate for work events or larger guest lists where SMS would feel intrusive.
Inviting by SMS in PopIn: paste phone numbers (or pick from your contacts on mobile) into the SMS tab. Each guest gets a text from PopIn with the invite. They tap the link, RSVP in the browser, done. No app install needed.
SMS works best for guest lists of 10-20 people. Beyond that it starts to feel like you're spamming, and you're also burning through Twilio costs (which we cover, but it's worth thinking about whether SMS is actually the right channel for big events).
The shareable link: for everyone else
For people whose contact info you don't have, or for groups where you just want to say "hey, here's the thing," every PopIn event has a unique shareable link. Copy it from the event page and paste it anywhere: a group chat, a Slack channel, an Instagram story, a fridge.
People who open the link see your event page exactly as RSVPd guests do. They can RSVP without an account by filling in their name and an email or phone (so PopIn can send them reminders). They show up on your guest list the moment they reply.
The shareable link does a lot of the heavy lifting for mixed-medium guest lists. You can drop it into the family WhatsApp group and the friend Discord channel simultaneously and trust that anyone who clicks will get a usable RSVP flow.
Specific scenarios
Inviting your parents: email + a follow-up phone call. Set their RSVP for them if needed; PopIn has a "RSVP on behalf of guest" option for hosts that lets you add people manually after talking to them.
Inviting your boss or colleagues for work events: email through their work address, keeping the message tone professional. Skip SMS unless they've explicitly said it's okay to text them about non-work things.
Inviting the friend who's notoriously bad at replying: send the SMS, then mention it in person the next time you see them. PopIn's auto-nudge handles the gentle follow-up.
Inviting people overseas: email is always safe. SMS may have delivery issues across some country borders depending on the recipient's carrier. The shareable link via WhatsApp or whatever chat app they use is most reliable for international guests.
The thing that doesn't change
Whatever channel you use, the same event page receives them, the same guest list tracks them, and the same reminder flow nudges them about the event. The choice of channel is purely about reaching each person fastest. PopIn handles everything else.