Setting up simple confirmation & reminder messages

Automated messaging makes it easy to keep your clients informed and organised, saving you time and creating a more professional experience. With Light Blue, you can set up simple workflows to send a confirmation message when a shoot or meeting is booked and a friendly reminder the day before.

This article offers an approachable introduction to automation with step-by-step guidance and ready-to-use templates. While workflows can achieve so much more, this guide is the perfect starting point to explore their potential!

Looking for a more comprehensive set of workflows? Check out our portrait workflow course, which also includes ready-to-use templates.

Installing ready-to-use templates

1. Download the setup file, here.
2. Unzip the file, if you haven’t done so already.
3. Open Light Blue.
4. Click on the “Records” menu at the top of the screen.
5. Click Import > Light Blue Templates.
6. Select the .XML setup file that you’d downloaded and click Done.
7. The templates will install in Light Blue.
8. Find the templates by opening Light Blue’s preferences window, and going to the Workflows preferences & Email Templates preferences.

Now that the templates are installed in Light Blue, you can choose which types of shoots & appointments will use them by default.

Using the templates for shoots

1. Open the Preferences window.
2. Go to the Workflow preferences.
3. Find the workflow that’s called “Simple Portrait Shoot Date Workflow”
4. You’ll see that the workflow contains one email that’s sent the day before the shoot – remember, we’ll cover how to tailor & customise this message & workflow later.
5. Click on the Set Defaults button.
6. Choose all the shoot types that you want to use this workflow for.
7. Wind the workflow that’s called “Simple Portrait Shoot Confirmation Workflow”.
8. You’ll see that the workflow contains one email that’s sent as soon as the shoot gets marked as Confirmed.
9. Click on the Set Defaults button.
10. Choose all the shoot types that you want to use this workflow for.

Now, when a shoot gets marked as confirmed, Light Blue will add both the Confirmation workflow and Shoot Date workflow. This will send the confirmation email right away, and schedule a reminder email 1 day before the shoot.

Using the templates for viewing sessions

1. Open the Preferences window.
2. Go to the Workflow preferences.
3. Find the workflow that’s called “Simple Viewing Date Workflow”
4. You’ll see that the workflow contains one email that’s sent the day before the viewing appointment – remember, we’ll cover how to tailor & customise this message & workflow later.
5. Click on the Set Defaults button.
6. Choose all the appointment types that you want to use this workflow for.
7. Wind the workflow that’s called “Simple Viewing Confirmation Workflow”.
8. You’ll see that the workflow contains one email that’s sent as soon as the viewing appointment gets marked as Confirmed.
9. Click on the Set Defaults button.
10. Choose all the appointment types that you want to use this workflow for.

Now, when a viewing appointment gets marked as confirmed, Light Blue will add both the Viewing Confirmation workflow and Viewing Date workflow. This will send the confirmation email right away, and schedule a reminder email 1 day before the viewing appointment.

Customising the templates

Change the wording within the messages by taking these steps:

1. Open the Preferences window.
2. Go to the Workflow preferences.
3. Find the workflow that you want to tailor the messaging for.
4. Right click, or double click on the email within the workflow, choose “Open Template”.
5. The email template that’s used within the workflow will open within the Email Templates preferences.
6. Make adjustments to the email as required – we’d recommend keeping the mail-merge tags that have been included within the templates.

Learn how to make your emails stand out using this guide.

Learn more about what else you could include within the workflows.

Adding the email templates to an existing workflow

If you already use workflows for certain shoots or appointments but haven’t added automated reminder emails, it’s easy to include our ready-to-use templates.

The setup file includes four templates:

• Simple Portrait Confirmation Email: Add to a shoot confirmation workflow.
• Simple Portrait Shoot Reminder Email: Add to a shoot date workflow.
• Simple Viewing Confirmation Email: Add to an appointment confirmation workflow.
• Simple Viewing Reminder Email: Add to an appointment date workflow.

Learn more about workflow types here.

To add an email template to an existing workflow:

1. Open the Preferences window.
2. Go to the Workflow preferences.
3. Find the workflow that you want to add a message to.
4. Click on the green plus to add a step to the workflow.
5. Choose “Email”.
6. Choose the email template that you wish to use.
7. Set the offset for the automated email (this is when the email will be sent).
   • For confirmation emails in shoot confirmation & appointment confirmation workflows, set the offset to 0 days after the shoot/appointment is confirmed, leave the time blank. The email will get sent as soon as the shoot/appointment’s been confirmed.
   • For reminder emails within shoot date & appoinment date workflows, set the offset to 1 day before the shoot/appointment date. The email will get sent the day before the shoot/appointment.