Automated emails are set up in advance and then automatically sent to your clients, based on certain triggers. You can use these as appointment reminders; you might also know them as drip emails, an email sequence or series, email marketing automation, or trigger-based emails.
Automated emails are set at the package level. To find them, click on or create a new package and look for the “Emails” tab.
The emails only apply to the package you’re working on. This allows you to customize your messaging for different types of client engagements.
Let’s break down all the different triggers and how to use them:
Appointment
This email will go out before or after every appointment in a package. This is perfect to use for reminders of the appointment, or for any prep work that needs to be done beforehand. You can use the “after” emails for reflection or follow-up questions.
The “after” emails can also be a great place to remind people if you have other resources or ways to work together. (For example, you can remind them to access the files included with their package in Paperbell.)
Group Session
You would use these emails in the same way that you use the appointment ones. We’ve pulled out 1:1 appointments versus group sessions, in case you mix both in one package and need to differentiate your messaging.
Because group sessions are different from appointments or 1-1 sessions, the final appointment trigger doesn’t apply to group sessions.
Purchase
You’ll notice this one only has “after” triggers. That’s because the purchase is your client’s entryway to the package, so we don’t have access to them before the purchase. (Whereas appointments are made in the future, so you’re able to send an email before a future appointment.)
Unlike appointments which may happen the day of the purchase or a year later, the purchase is a great way to mark the start of a package. So the purchase emails are useful for emails that make sense in a certain time cadence after the work together has begun.
For example, you may want to send an email two or three days after the purchase with some frequently asked questions. One month after the purchase, you could schedule a check-in email to make sure the client is still happy and on-track.
Reminder To Book
This email does not have trigger choices. It’s sent to clients who have unbooked appointments on the docket and have not booked in the last 30 days. Note that this email will only go out if you set it up and save it — it won’t just go out to everyone automatically.
So, who would get this email if I set it up? And how often?
A client who purchased a package with X number of appointments, and hasn’t booked an appointment (and doesn’t have one coming up) in 30 days, will get that reminder email.
If another 30 days goes by after the first reminder to book email, and they still haven’t booked an appointment in that time, they’ll get another reminder to book email.
e.g. If a client purchases a package and doesn’t ever schedule an appointment, they will receive a reminder 30 days later, then 30 days after that, etc. until they hit the expiration of the purchase (if you have one).
Final Appointment (the testimonial ask!)
Want an automated way to ask for a testimonial once your engagement is complete? That’s exactly what the final appointment email achieves! We even wrote a template you can steal (or use as a starting point) if you aren’t quite sure what to say. This email goes out the day of your final appointment in a package.
Click here for more detailed email advice and copy and paste email templates
Smart Fields
Smart fields allow you to insert automatically generated data into your automated emails. The options vary for type of automated email (based on the trigger your choose). Look for the hint below the text box when you write your automated email:
In the example above, the trigger is “Purchase,” so the smart field options are {client_first_name}, {client_login}, and {package_name}.
For an automated email triggered by an appointment, you’ll have different options: {client_first_name}, {client_login}, {package_name}, {appointment_datetime}, and {meeting_link}.
Smart fields do not work in subject lines.
{client_first_name}
This field displays your client’s first name only, exactly as they input it into Paperbell. That means if they entered it lowercase, it will show in lowercase. This is useful for a more personalized greeting to start the email.
{client_login}
This links to your client’s Paperbell portal — if you want to direct them to schedule their next appointment, fill out a survey, or access content this is the link. FYI this link is https://PaperbellClient.com/
{package_name}
This field displays the name of the package your client has purchased.
{appointment_datetime}
This field shows the time and date of the appointment referenced by the trigger (either appointment or group session).
Here’s the date & time format: 12:00–12:50 AM EST, Mar 23 2024
The appointment_datetime smart field can ONLY be used with the appointment or group session triggers.
It will not work with other triggers, because packages can have multiple appointments, so without an appointment-specific trigger Paperbell doesn’t know which appointment you want to display.
{meeting_link}
This will insert the URL of the meeting link associated with this appointment. The meeting, like any smart field, can only be used with the appointment or group session triggers (as other triggers do not have a specific appointment associated).
Here’s an example of an email using smart fields set to trigger 1 day before the appointment:
| Hi {client_first_name}, Just wanted to remind you that our next appointment for {package_name} is coming up tomorrow! Your appointment is at {appointment_datetime} We’ll meet on Zoom at {meeting_link} (you can also find this link on your Google Calendar invite). Please come prepared with a topic that you’d like to dive into during our time together. Looking forward to it! Shelly ________________________________ Shelly Williams Mindset Coach for Trans Women MagicWithShelly.com |
Click here for more detailed email advice and copy and paste email templates
Automated Email FAQ
What emails will always send automatically?
If you don’t set up and save any automated emails, Paperbell will send your client a purchase receipt and your calendar provider will send appointment notifications. If you’d like Paperbell to also send your clients a confirmation email when they book a session, check the box in your Scheduling Settings.
No other reminders or notifications will be sent automatically, so make sure to set them up in Paperbell if you’d like appointment reminders.
What happens if there’s a “before” email but not enough time to send it?
Let’s say you have an appointment reminder email that goes out one week before the appointment, but your client schedules an appointment two days from now. What happens?
Emails do not “accumulate” or “back up” in any way. So your clients only gets the emails that work with the real timing. That means not every appointment will receive every “before” email.
What happens if I change the timing of my automated emails?
Say you originally set up your campaign to send two days after purchase, but you realize that you actually want it to send one day after. You can change this but it won’t affect those already in the sequence, ie. those who have already purchased. Once you make the change, any new clients will be subject to the new timing you set up.
What happens if I modify the content of an automated email?
Let’s say that you create a three-day email sequence but on day one you realize the content in day three is completely wrong. So long as the email hasn’t already been sent (because your clients are only in day one of the sequence) you can change everything inside the day three email and they will receive the new copy. Note: you can only change the content, not the timing (see above).
What happens to people already in the package when I add an email?
All automated emails will apply to those already in process in a package. So if you add an email that goes out two hours before every appointment, clients mid-way through a package will start receiving it for their upcoming appointments.
Again, emails will never accumulate or backlog, so you don’t need to worry about a bunch of nonsensical emails piling up at once for existing or new clients.
What email address will these emails send from?
The emails will come from hello@paperbell.com, but when your client uses the “reply” button, the response will go to the email that you have registered with Paperbell. The sender name will show as your name.
What exactly does the email look like?
Here’s an email from the Paperbell system:
Why didn’t my smart fields work?
This could be for a few reasons:
- Did you try to use smart field in the subject line? That won’t work — smart fields are only for the body of the email.
- Check to make sure you only used smart fields available for that particular email’s trigger (for example, {appointment_datetime} only works in automated emails triggered by appointments or group sessions.
If there’s still something funky going on, please take a screenshot of your automated email and send us a note to hello@paperbell.com. We’ll be happy to help!
Any more advice about how to use this feature?
Yes! Read this article: How To Use Paperbell To Build Your Know, Like, And Trust Factor With Coaching Clients. And then check out our templates for automated emails.
keywords: reminder, appointment reminder, appointment notification