Send automatic Web Course Reminder emails

Steps to send an automated Course Reminder email to my Delegates for their Webinar Courses

1 Create your Webinar Reminder Email Templates
2 Create your Course Reminder Workflow
3 Test and enable your Course Reminder Workflow

Related Helpguide Pages

Additional Workflow Help guide pages

Course Reminder Related Workflows

Course Confirmation Related Workflows

Booking Confirmation email to my customer when they complete their basket
Delegate -Classroom Course Confirmation and Joining Instructions email
Delegate - Webinar Course Confirmation and Joining Instructions email
Delegate - eLearning Course Confirmation and Joining Instructions email
Placeholder - Course Confirmation email to my customer when they make a booking for a Classroom Courses
Placeholder - Course Confirmation email to my customer when they make a booking for a Webinar Courses
Delegate Transfer - Confirmation email to Delegate when they have transferred to another Course

Consolidation

Learn how to send an automated Course Reminder emails to Delegates on Webinar Courses

Sending a reminder email to your Delegates a few days before their Course start date helps them stay informed and prepared.

This quick communication can be used to remind your customers, share important details with them, and encourage attendance! By keeping Delegates in the loop, you’re setting them up for a smooth and successful experience on the day of their Course!

Follow this page to learn the steps for sending an automated reminder to a Delegate on a Web Course.

Create your Webinar Reminder Email Templates

The first step is to create the Email Templates, using merge fields and HTML branding Email Templates allow you to create consistent communications to send via the Platform

You will either create one or two Email Templates for your webinar reminder

Standard Email Template
The standard email template will be used when your reminder email triggers for a Delegate, and the recipient is only due to receive one email
Consolidated Email Template (optional)
The consolidated email template would be used if you want to be able to combine multiple reminder emails into one, for example sending a Booking User or a Manager just one reminder email for all of the Delegates that they have booked onto one Course, rather than them receiving one email per Delegate.
Read more about Consolidated Emails

Top Tip!

accessplanit platforms come with many pre-built Email Templates to save you time! These pre-built templates include a ‘Delegate - Course Date Reminder’ Email Template which you can use or copy from.

Open the ‘Administration’ menu from the Profile options at the top-right of your platform
Open the ‘Email Templates’ menu option to access the page where you can create and manage your Email Templates
This will take you to the Email Templates DataGrid
If you plan to copy from an existing Email Template, search for that Email Template, right-click on it and select ‘Edit’, then copy the contents of the Body, return to the Email Templates DataGrid

If you plan to use the pre-built Email Template, please search for and edit the ‘Delegate - Course Date Reminder’ Email Template, and skip to step 12!

Click the ‘Add Email Template’ button
This will open the ‘Add Email Template’ Form
Give your Email Template a ‘Name’
We recommend labelling your Email Template with the name of the anticipated recipient followed by a description of the email, such as “Delegate - Webinar Course Date Reminder”
Select which Module your Email Template relates to, as this email will contain information about Delegates on Web Courses only, you should select ‘Web Delegate’
Leave the ‘Email Type’ selected as ‘Normal’ as this is a transactional email, not a marketing email
Leave the ‘Creation Mode’ as ‘Free Text’ as you will be defining the content of your email directly in the Email Template rather than first building Text Templates
Add in a ‘Subject’ for your email
We recommend including the name of the Course within the subject to catch the recipient’s attention in their inbox, you can do this by adding the merge field @@CourseName into the Subject text box
Add in the ‘Body’ of your email
If you copied the content from an existing Email Template, you can paste this content here!
If you need to apply branding to your email, please see our dedicated guide: Add company branding to Email Templates
Use the ‘Field' drop-down option in the text editor to include merge fields such as the ‘Start Date’ and ‘Candidate Webinar Details’ within your Email Template
Learn more about merge fields
Merge Fields may vary depending on which module is selected.
Example Merge Fields that may be useful in your Course Reminder Email Template:
@@CourseOrAliasName
@@CandidateWebinarDetails
@@DelegateFirstName
@@DelegateLastName
@@CourseDateStartDate{ddd dd MMM yyyy HH:mm}
To test your Email Template, click the ‘Preview & Test’ button at the bottom of the window
Select a Preview Object by clicking the ‘Select’ button
This will open a pop-up window where you can select which Delegate you would like to test your Email Template with, select the Delegate and press the ‘OK’ button
You will now see a preview of your Email Template, populated with the information of your selected Delegate
If an area is blank where a Merge Field is placed, this could mean that there is no information stored in this field for your selected Delegate, please test again using a different Delegate.
To check that the Email displays correctly when it is sent, send a sample of the Email to yourself by providing your email address and clicking the ‘Send Email’ button
Once you are happy with your Email Template content, press the 'Save & Close' button

Top Tip!

accessplanit platforms come with many pre-built Email Templates to save you time! Your platform may already contain a ‘Delegate - Webinar Course Date Reminder - Consolidated’ Email Template which you can use or copy from.

Navigate to Profile and then Administration in the top right corner of your Platform
From the Administration Menu, navigate to Email Templates (the menu is in alphabetical order)
This will take you to the Email Templates DataGrid

If you plan to use the pre-built Email Template, please search for and edit the 'Delegate - Webinar Course Date Reminder’ Email Template, and skip to step 12!

Click the ‘Add Email Template’ button
This will open the Email Template Form
Give your Email Template a ‘Name’
We recommend labelling your Email Template with the same name as your standard Email Template, but with ‘Consolidated’ added as a suffix at the end to distinguish it
Select which Module your Email Template relates to, as this email will contain information about your Delegates on Webinar Courses, you should select ‘Web Delegates’
Leave the ‘Email Type’ selected as ‘Normal’ as this is a transactional email, not a marketing email
Leave the ‘Creation Mode’ as ‘Free Text’ as you will be defining the content of your Email directly in the Email Template rather than first building Text Templates
Add in a ‘Subject’ for your email
We recommend including the name of the Course within the subject to catch the recipient’s attention in their inbox, you can do this by adding the merge field @@CourseName into the Subject text box
Add in the ‘Body’ of your email
If you copied the content from an existing Email Template, you can paste this content into here!
If you need to apply branding to your email, please see our dedicated guide: Add company branding to Email Templates
We recommend reading through our dedicated guide on creating Consolidated Email for Delegates: Consolidate Workflow Email Actions - Delegates
Use the ‘Field' drop-down option in the text editor to include merge fields such as the Course Label and Status within your Email Template

Merge Fields may vary depending on which module is selected.

Example Merge Fields that may be useful in your Course Reminder Email Template:
@@CourseName
@@CandidateWebinarDetails

To include a list of Delegates, use the following (please note that you can change what information is displayed for each Delegate by adding/removing merge fields between the square brackets, make sure you include a new line before you close the square brackets to make sure each Delegate is listed on a new line)
@@[@@CandidateForename @@CandidateSurname (@@Status)
]
To test your Email Template, click the ‘Preview & Test’ button at the bottom of the window
Select a Preview Object by clicking the ‘Select’ button
This will open a pop-up window where you can select multiple Delegates to test your Email Template with
Select your Preview objects and press the ‘OK’ button in the bottom right corner
You will now see a preview of your Email Template, populated with the information of your selected Delegates
If an area is blank where a Merge Field is placed, this could mean that there is no information stored for this Delegate/Placeholder under the Field the Merge Field is related to
To check that the Email displays correctly when it is sent, send a sample of the Email to yourself by providing your email address and clicking the ‘Send Email’ button
Once you are happy with your Email Template content, press the 'Save & Close' button

Create your Course Reminder Workflow

Workflows are used to automate communications, this is the step where you will define the circumstances needed for your email to be sent, when it will be sent, and who it will be sent to!

Create your Course Reminder Workflow

This step will teach you how to add a new Workflow to your platform and set up a Workflow Action to send your Delegate - Course Reminder Email Template out automatically!

Top Tip!

accessplanit platforms come with many pre-built Workflows to save you time! These pre-built templates include a 'Delegate - Webinar Course Date Reminders’ Workflow which you can update or clone.

Open the ‘Administration’ menu from the Profile options at the top-right of your platform
Click on the ‘Workflows’ menu option to open the Workflows DataGrid
This will open the Workflows DataGrid
Click the ‘Add Workflow’ button
This will open the Workflow Details page
From the new Workflow form, enter a ‘Title’ for your Workflow
We recommend labelling your Workflow with the name of the anticipated recipient followed by a description of the email, such as “Delegate - Webinar Course Date Reminder”
Select the same Module that you used for your Email Template (for this Workflow you need the ‘Web Delegate’ module)
Leave the Trigger Event set as ‘Saved'
This Workflow should be generated when a Delegate is updated/saved, not when it is ‘deleted’
Provide a useful Description so that your team know what this Workflow is for
Leave your Workflow inactive for now
It will be set to active once you have finished setting everything up!
Click the ‘Save’ button in the top right
After you have saved your Workflow with those details, you will be able to access the management menu on the left to add further information
From the Workflow Management menu, click to open the ‘Settings’ page for this Workflow
This will open the Workflow Settings page

Optional - The ‘Required Role’ option is where you can set that only Training Administrators or only Super Administrators are able to view and edit this Workflow, if this option is left blank, it means both Super Admins and Training Admins can both view and edit this Workflow
Add Rules to your Workflow to decide which Courses will have this Reminder email triggered
Here are some common rules used for automated reminder Emails, you can include any combination of these, as required:
1. Only send for Delegates that have the status of ‘Booked’: Status - Is In - Booked
  This rule will mean the Workflow will not trigger for Delegates in any status other than Booked (e.g. Cancelled, Completed, Transferred).
2. Only send for Courses that start in the future: Course Start Date - Period - Future
  This rule will mean the Workflow will only trigger for Delegates on Web Courses that haven’t started yet.
3. Only send for Web-based Courses: Course Template Type - Is In - Web
  This rule will mean the Workflow will only trigger for Delegates on Web Courses, it will not trigger for Delegates on Class, eLearning or Document Courses.
4. Only send to Delegates on a head course or a non-sessional course: Is Session Candidate - Equal To - No
  This rule stops the Workflow from triggering for Delegates registered onto individual Sessions that are part of a Sessional booking.
  It will still trigger for Delegates on:
  - The parent (main) Course in a Sessional setup
  - Standalone Courses that are not part of a Sessional structure
    For example someone booked to attend a 3-day First Aid Course would receive the email for the ‘First Aid Course’ but they would not receive it for the Sessions ‘Day 1’, ‘Day 2', and 'Day 3’
  If you think that you may require Advanced Rules for your Workflow, please see our dedicated section within our Workflows Overview page
Leave the ‘Matching Rules’ checkbox checked
It is very unlikely that you will need to make any changes to any of the other settings available on the Settings page, to read more about these options please see our guide Workflow Overview
Once you have added all of your rules, click the 'Save' button at the top right of the page
From the Workflow Management menu, select the ‘Actions’ option
This will open the Workflow Actions DataGrid where you define what will happen when your Workflow Rules are met (e.g. an email will send)
Select the ‘Add Workflow Action’ button
This will open the ‘Details’ section for your Workflow Action
Enter an ‘Action Label’ for your Email Action
We recommend labelling your Workflow Email Actions with the details of the email and when it will be sent, such as 'Delegate - Webinar Course Date Reminder - 14 days before the Course”
Select the Action Name ‘Send Email’
Press the ‘Save’ button in the top right to access the additional settings
Once you have saved, the parameter options for your automated email will become available
The first setting is ‘Action Date’ this is where you define when the email will send
For this Workflow action, it is recommended to set this action date between 14 and 7 days before the Course Start Date
Please see our dedicated section within our Workflow with Email Actions page for more information on Action dates
Check the ‘Send on Action Date Only’ if you do not want an email to be sent for Delegates who are added to your Courses after the email has been sent
For example, if your email is set to be sent 7 days before the start date and a Delegate is booked 5 days before the Course, they have missed the Workflow Action Date
If ‘Send on Action Date Only’ is checked, the email for this Delegate would not send
If ‘Send on Action Date Only’ is not checked, the email for this Delegate would send soon after the Delegate is created providing they meet the Workflow rules
Use the ‘From Address’ options to enter the sender email address for this email
This reduces the risk of your emails being mistaken for spam or phishing attempts, plus, it simplifies you communication – as the recipient of your email will know who to reach out to and where their replies to your emails should go.

Please make sure that you use a real email address as your ‘From Address’, otherwise the emails will likely end up being caught by spam filters.

Use the ‘To Address’ options to select who you would like to receive this email
1. Booking User Email Address: This is the email address of the User who made the booking for this Delegate through your basket, if an Admin processed the booking then instead it is the User they selected as the ‘Booking User’.
2. Company Email Address: This is the email address of the Account assigned to the Delegate, this is typically their employer, you can check this by adding the ‘Account Name’ column into your Delegates DataGrid.
3. Delegate Email Address: This is the email address of User who is registered onto the Course.
4. Direct Manager’s Email Address: This is the email address of the User assigned as the Delegate’s Direct Manager, you can find this option by editing the User and viewing the 'Direct Manager' option within the Employment section.
5. Employers Email Address: This is the email address for all the Accounts that the Delegate has an active employment record with.
6. Managers Email Address: This is the email address for all Users that manage this Delegate, this is set up in the ‘Management’ tab when editing a User.
Select the Email Template that you created earlier from the 'Email Template’ drop-down box
As standard, a individual email will be sent for each Delegate that meets the rules of your Workflow, if you would like to send Course Confirmation emails that contain the details of multiple Delegates (for example if you are emailing a Booker or a Manager instead of the Delegates), you can create a Consolidated Email Template and include that within your Workflow Email Action
If you would like to include any attachments to this email, click the ‘Add File’ button on the Attachment options, and select your file
1. Files: A static document that has been uploaded to the Files area of your platform, commonly used for files such as 'terms & conditions'
2. Document Template: A dynamic document that has been uploaded to the Document Templates area of your platform, commonly used for files such as joining instructions letters, certificates, and sign-in sheets
Click the 'Save' button to save your Workflow Email Action
Once you have added your Workflow Action, your Workflow is ready to be tested!

Test and enable your Course Reminder Workflow

Once you have created your Email Template and Workflow it is time to test, testing is a good way to ensure the email sends when you expect and the content of the email displays correctly in your email inbox.

Test your Course Reminder Workflow Content - Single Email Test

This testing approach is best used for Workflows where you want to view/test the content of the email only, if you would like to test that your rules are set up correctly (and that your Workflow will send when expected), please jump ahead to the “Test your Course Reminder Workflow - Become the Recipient” below.

Open the ‘Administration’ menu option at the top right of your platform
Click on the 'Workflows' menu option to open the Workflows DataGrid
Search for your Workflows by applying filters and/or searching the Workflows DataGrid
Right-click on the Workflow and select ‘Actions’ from the context menu
This will open the Workflow Actions DataGrid
From the Workflow Actions DataGrid, right-click on your Workflow Email Action and select the ‘Edit’ option
Click on the ‘Preview & Test’ button at the top right of the Workflow Email Action edit page
Select a Course from the ‘Preview Object’
This will show you a preview of the email and how it will display in the ‘Content’ section
Enter your Email Address into the 'Send sample to' option
Click the ‘Send Email’ to send a copy of this Email Template for this Course to your Email Address
If you notice any changes are needed to your Email Template, open the ‘Email Templates’ DataGrid from the ‘Administration’ menu option, edit your Email Template and save. You can then run through these testing steps again.
Once you are happy with the content of your Email Template and Workflow you can set your Workflow to Active!

Top Tip

If you would prefer to test your Workflow Rules before enabling your Workflow, do not set your Workflow to Active and please move directly to 'Test your Workflow Rules - Become the Recipient'.

Open the ‘Administration’ menu option at the top right of your platform
Click on the ‘Workflows’ menu option to open the Workflows DataGrid
Search for your Workflows, right-click on it to view the context menu options and select the 'Edit' option
Scroll down to the ‘Active’ checkbox and check this box
Click the ‘Save’ button at the top of the page to save your Workflow as active!

Test your Course Reminder Workflow Rules - Become the Recipient

This testing approach is best used for Workflows where you are not 100% confident with the rules of your Workflow, and you would like to ensure that you will not send out your emails at the wrong time, about the wrong Courses. With this approach, you will start using your Workflow, but all of the Emails will be sent to your email address temporarily.

Open the ‘Administration’ menu option at the top right of your platform
Click on the ‘Workflows' menu option to open the Workflows DataGrid
Search for your Workflows by applying filters and/or searching the Workflows DataGrid
Right-click the Workflow and select 'Actions from the context menu
From the Workflow Actions DataGrid, right-click on your Workflow Email Action and select the ‘Edit’ option
Scroll to the ‘To Address’ option and change the setting from ‘Field’ to ‘Constant’