# Email marketing

> Send a newsletter or announcement to customers who opted in, with your upcoming sessions added for you, a theme and each recipient's first name.

Who can do this: admins only.

Write a one-off newsletter or announcement and send it to your subscribers. See [Who your broadcasts go to](/docs/email-marketing-audience) for recipients and growing your list, and [Email marketing plans and stats](/docs/email-marketing-plans) for pricing and open rates.

<Screenshot alt="The email marketing composer with the settings, content and confirm steps" mat="peach" caption="Compose a broadcast in three steps: settings, content, then confirm." />

Marketing emails go only to customers who gave marketing consent, and each carries an unsubscribe link. Confirmations, reminders and other [automated emails](/docs/emails-automated) are separate and always go to whoever booked.

## Turn on email marketing

Open [Email → Marketing](/go/admin/email/marketing) and choose **Enable email marketing**. Automated booking emails work without it.

## Compose and send a broadcast

On [Email → Marketing](/go/admin/email/marketing), start a new broadcast. You can move freely between the three steps.

<Steps>
  <Step>**Settings** - choose [who it goes to](/docs/email-marketing-audience#choose-who-your-marketing-email-is-sent-to) under **Recipients**, give it an internal name, and pick a theme and a font.</Step>
  <Step>**Content** - add headings, text, links, images, callout boxes and a [sessions block](#add-your-sessions-without-retyping-them). **Your images** offers photos from your sessions and past emails, or **Upload** a new one; click an image to set its size, alignment and link. Click the header band to show or hide your logo.</Step>
  <Step>**Confirm** - check the recipient count, then send. Once your free first email is used, you'll need a plan to send; your draft stays saved.</Step>
</Steps>

Drafts **autosave**. Use **Send test** to read a copy on your phone first, because a sent broadcast can't be recalled.

## Themes

- **Default** - matches your booking pages: a bordered card on a cream background.
- **Light** - flat white, no card or borders.
- **Dark** - a dark background with light text.

Buttons use your brand colour unless it would disappear into the background.

## Add your sessions without retyping them

The **Sessions** block builds a card for each session you pick: image, name, description, dates and a **Book a space** button.

<Steps>
  <Step>In the **Content** step, click the **+** in the margin, then **Sessions**, and tick the sessions in the order you want them.</Step>
  <Step>Under **Dates to list**, choose **Next** and one to six dates (suits a monthly workshop), or **Every date in the next** 1, 3, 7, 14 or 31 days, counted from the day you send (suits a "this week" email).</Step>
  <Step>Click **Insert sessions**. To change it later, click the block and choose **Choose sessions**.</Step>
</Steps>

Each time links to that slot on your booking page. Photos keep the part you chose when you [positioned the session image](/docs/branding#position-a-session-image), and descriptions are cut to about 60 words.

The block fills itself in when you press Send, so a draft sent next week carries next week's dates.

- **It only shows dates that can still be booked**, within your booking window and cut-off. If no chosen session has any, the block is left out.
- **It can't be scheduled for later.** Send it now, or remove the block to schedule.

## Personalise with the recipient's first name

New emails start with `Hi` and a **First name** tag. To add one elsewhere, including the subject, type `/` and choose **First name**, or type `{{first_name}}`. It becomes each recipient's first name, or "there" when you don't have one. Any other placeholder, like `{{last_name}}`, blocks the send.

## Sending limits

- **Your monthly allowance.** A broadcast over your plan's emails per month is refused - see [plans](/docs/email-marketing-plans).
- **2,000 recipients** per broadcast, and **two sends per day**. Anything over is refused, not trimmed.
- **Automatic pause.** Over a rolling 30 days, sending pauses if 3% of emails hard-bounce or 0.3% are marked as spam (below 100 emails: 10 hard bounces or 3 complaints). It stops a send in progress and emails your admins. Contact us to lift it.

## Common questions

1. **Why don't I see Email → Marketing?** Choose Enable email marketing on the Marketing page, or check that you have an Admin role.

2. **Can customers unsubscribe?** Yes, from any broadcast or their [account page](/docs/customer-profile). It only stops marketing emails.

3. **A session I picked isn't in the sessions block - why?** It has no bookable date in the range you chose, or it isn't shown on your public booking page.

4. **Can I change the picture or wording just for the email?** Not in the block - it always matches the session. Edit the session, or add your own text above the block.