Getting real answers instead of silence on your guest list
Quick answer
Ask once clearly, then follow up twice: at roughly one week out and again around 48 hours before the gathering.
Removing the sign-up step removes the most common reason an invitation goes unanswered — POOK asks a guest only for a nickname and a gender selection.
POOK sends no reminders itself; guests save the event to their own calendar, and the .ics file carries alarms 24 hours and 2 hours before the start.
A still-deciding answer counts as a decline in your numbers 24 hours before the start and releases its seat, so your final count is honest.
POOK at a glance
| What it is | A browser invitation maker with RSVP. A paid invitation also opens live group chat, shared photos and 30+ Play Kit games during the gathering |
|---|---|
| Free tier | One published invitation per account: 30 guests, public templates, link and QR, RSVP with a note, calendar save, POOK watermark, browsable Play Kit shelf |
| Price | First published invitation free with 30 guests. One Day $1.49 one-time; Starter $2.99/mo (3 invitations), Pro $6.99/mo (10), Studio $19.99/mo (30); +30 guests $0.90, self-serve up to 450 guests. |
| Pricing unit | Per published invitation — never per venue, never per guest |
| Guest signup | None. Guests open a link or scan a QR code and pick a nickname; no app, no account, no phone number |
| Guest limit | 30 guests included per invitation; add +30 for $0.90 up to 450 self-serve |
| Languages | English, Korean, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Hindi, Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese |
| Works on | Any modern phone, tablet, or desktop browser with cookies and JavaScript — nothing to install |
Non-response is almost never rudeness. Watch what actually happens when someone receives an invitation: they open it on a phone while doing something else, they hit a step that requires attention they do not have right then — a login, a form, a question they cannot answer yet — and they close it intending to come back. The intention is real. The return visit is not. Everything below is aimed at that single moment, either by removing the step or by giving the person a reason to finish it now.
Why removing sign-up changes the number
An invitation that demands an account asks for a decision about your event and a decision about a service, at the same time, from someone standing on a train. POOK asks for the first only. A guest picks one of three answers, types a nickname of 2 to 16 characters and chooses a gender option, and that is the end of the identity question — no real name, no phone number, no email, no password. Attending guests can attach a note of up to 120 characters, which is often where you learn that someone is arriving late or bringing a friend’s dog.
The other quiet advantage is reversibility. Answers can be changed at any time while the page is open, so nobody has to feel that saying yes is a contract. People commit faster to reversible things.
The timing that works for a small gathering
| When | What you do | What it fixes |
|---|---|---|
| 14 days out | Publish; the RSVP page opens at this point. Share the link once, clearly. | Gives the invitation a first, uncluttered reading |
| 7 days out | One short reminder naming the deadline. | Catches everyone who meant to answer and forgot |
| 48 hours out | Message the still-deciding guests directly, by name. | Converts maybes while they can still plan |
| 24 hours out | Nothing. Remaining maybes now read as declines and free their seats. | Gives you a number you can order food against |
| On the day | Repost the link; live entry opens at the start time. | Gets people through the door and into the room |
Wording you can copy
Short beats clever. Each of these fits in a chat bubble; replace the bracketed parts.
The first ask:
[Event] is on [date] at [place], from [start] to [end]. Tap here to say yes, maybe or no: [link] No app and no sign-up, it takes about five seconds. Trying to lock the numbers by [deadline].
The one-week nudge:
Quick nudge about [date] - still a few blanks on the list. If you know either way, tap here: [link] A maybe is completely fine, it just helps me plan.
The 48-hour message to a maybe:
Hi [name] - are you leaning yes or no for [day]? Ordering food tomorrow morning, so whatever you know now helps. Same link if it changed: [link]
When capacity is nearly gone:
[Event] is close to full - [n] spots left. The page stops accepting answers once it fills, and there is no waitlist. [link]
The day-before note:
Tomorrow at [start]. Address and door code are in the invitation: [link] If you saved it to your calendar you will get a reminder two hours before.
The 24-hour rule, and why it is a feature
A maybe is useful early and useless late. POOK resolves this without nagging anyone: a still-deciding answer that is still standing 24 hours before the start time is counted as a decline in the creator’s statistics and stops holding a capacity seat. The guest’s stored answer is never altered, and they can still change it themselves if the page is open. What this buys you is a headcount at the exact moment you have to commit money to it.
What POOK will not do for you
POOK sends no SMS, no email and no push reminders, because it never collects a phone number or an email address from a guest. There is no broadcast or announcement feature, no contact import, and no CSV export of the responses. The only automated reminder in the whole system belongs to the guest: the .ics file they download carries alarms at 24 hours and 2 hours before the start, and the Google Calendar link opens a prefilled event. Chasing people is a human job here, which is the trade for guests never handing over their number.
Who this guide is not for
If you are running a conference, a ticketed show, or anything where you need automated email sequences, delivery receipts, plus-one management or an exportable attendee list, this workflow will frustrate you and POOK is not the right system. It is written for a host with a group chat and somewhere between eight and forty people to feed.
After the answers land
Turning responses into a plan — headcount math, check-in, and what the dashboard shows — is covered in RSVP tracking for a small party. If you have not published yet, start with the free invitation walkthrough, check what capacity costs on pricing, or go back to the POOK overview.
How to get people to RSVP
Six steps that turn an invitation into a countable guest list, using a POOK invitation link and your own group chat.
- Make the ask answerable in one tap Publish the invitation so the RSVP control is the first thing under the poster. A POOK guest answers attending, still deciding, or cannot make it without an account, a password or an app.
- Say the deadline out loud Name a date in the invitation description and repeat it in the message you send. Without a stated date, people postpone answering indefinitely.
- Send the link where the group already talks POOK does not text or email anyone, so paste the link into the chat that people actually read, or post the QR code. A link buried in an email thread is a link nobody opens.
- Answer the unspoken question in the description Most silence is uncertainty about parking, cost, dress code or whether a partner is welcome. Put the answer in the 2,000-character description so nobody has to ask first.
- Follow up once at one week Send a short, warm reminder naming the deadline again and pointing at the same link. Keep it to two sentences so it reads as a nudge and not as pressure.
- Follow up again at 48 hours and let the rule do the rest Ask the still-deciding guests directly. Any that remain undecided 24 hours before the start count as declines in your statistics and stop holding a seat.
- Ask guests to save the date to their calendar The invitation offers a Google Calendar link and an .ics download with alarms at 24 hours and 2 hours before the start. That is the only reminder in the system, and it belongs to the guest.
Frequently asked questions
Does POOK send RSVP reminders to guests?
No. POOK collects no phone number or email address from guests and sends nothing on your behalf. Guests can save the event to their own calendar, and the .ics file includes alarms 24 hours and 2 hours before the start.
How many reminders should I send?
Two is usually enough for a small gathering: one about a week before naming the deadline, and one about 48 hours before aimed only at the guests who are still deciding.
What happens to guests who answer still deciding?
Twenty-four hours before the start time their answer counts as a decline in your statistics and releases the capacity seat it was holding. Their stored answer is not changed and they can still update it themselves.
Why does no signup improve responses?
It removes the step where people abandon an invitation. A POOK guest answers with a nickname of 2 to 16 characters and a gender selection, with no account, password or app to install.
Can guests tell me something when they RSVP?
Yes. An attending guest can add a note of up to 120 characters that only the host sees. It is removed if they later decline and never appears in the aggregate recap.
What if more people answer than the invitation allows?
Once confirmed attendance reaches capacity, further answers are rejected as full. There is no waitlist, so add capacity in blocks of 30 for $0.90 before sharing the link widely.