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How to Set Up Email Automation

Aug 5 2026 | By: PhotoBiz Knowledge Base

How to Create and Customize Email Automation Series in PhotoBiz

Overview

PhotoBiz Email Automations help you send reminders and follow-up messages based on activity in Client Galleries, Invoicing, and Scheduler. These three tools are included with the PhotoBiz Website Package and are currently the only areas of a PhotoBiz account that support Email Automations.

The fastest and easiest way to get started is to assign one of the pre-built Email Automation Series already included with your account. You do not need to create, copy, or customize a series unless you want different messages, triggers, timing, or recipient settings.

This guide explains how to use a pre-built series, customize an existing series, copy a series, or create a Custom Series from scratch.

Prerequisites

Before setting up Email Automations:

  • Confirm that your PhotoBiz account time zone is correct. Your time zone affects when scheduled emails are processed.
  • Your PhotoBiz account must be verified before you can connect an Email Series to a Client Galleries event, invoice, or Scheduler service.

Contact the PhotoBiz Support Team if you need help verifying your account.

Fastest Way to Start Using Email Automations

You can use Email Automations without creating or editing a series.

Choose one of the pre-built series included with your account, then assign it to the appropriate Scheduler service, invoice, or Client Galleries event using the Email Automation Series dropdown menu.

PhotoBiz automatically uses the customer and product details associated with the assignment. Depending on the email type, this may include the appointment date and time, invoice amount and due date, Client Galleries event name, or event expiration date.

Follow the appropriate guide when you want to assign a pre-built series without customizing it:

The numbered instructions below explain how to create, copy, or customize a series. You can skip these steps when you want to use a pre-built series without making changes.

How Email Automation Series Work

An Email Automation Series is a reusable collection of automated emails created for one supported PhotoBiz tool:

  • Client Galleries
  • Scheduler
  • Invoicing

You do not need to build a separate series for every customer. Create or customize the workflow once, then assign it to the applicable Scheduler service, invoice, or Client Galleries event.

A series assigned to a Scheduler service can apply to customers who book that service. A series assigned to an invoice applies to the customer associated with that invoice. A series assigned to a Client Galleries event applies to eligible visitors in that event.

Each email uses a trigger and trigger date to determine when it becomes eligible to send. Triggers may be based on an appointment, invoice due date, payment, event expiration date, gallery visitor action, or another product-specific activity.

Email Automation Series are product-specific. A Scheduler series cannot be assigned to an invoice or Client Galleries event.

Pre-Built Email Automation Series Included with Your Account

All PhotoBiz Website Package accounts include pre-built series with default email content, triggers, and delivery timing. You can use these series as provided or customize them for your workflow.

Client Galleries Event Series

This series includes four emails for welcoming gallery visitors, requesting favorites, and communicating about the event expiration date.

  • Event Visitor Message: Enjoy your photo gallery — 2 Days After A New Account Is Created
  • Favorites Reminder: It’s time to select your favorites — 1 Week After The Event’s Creation Date
  • Event Expiring Reminder: Your photo gallery expires soon — 1 Week Before The Event’s Expiration Date
  • Expired Event Notice: Your event has expired — 1 Day After The Event’s Expiration Date

Client Galleries Event & Cart Reminder Series

This series includes gallery event messages and an additional reminder for visitors who leave items in their carts.

  • Event Visitor Message: Enjoy your photo gallery — 3 Days After A New Account Is Created
  • Favorites Reminder: Time is running out to select your favorites — 3 Weeks Before The Event’s Expiration Date
  • Abandoned Cart Notice: It looks like you left something behind… — 1 Day After The Cart Was Saved
  • Event Expiring Reminder: Your photo gallery expires soon — 1 Week Before The Event’s Expiration Date
  • Expired Event Notice: Your event has expired — 1 Day After The Event’s Expiration Date

Appointment Reminder Series

This Scheduler series includes three reminders leading up to an appointment.

  • Appointment Reminder: Reminder: Your upcoming appointment — 2 Weeks Before Appointment
  • Appointment Reminder: Reminder: Your upcoming appointment — 1 Week Before Appointment
  • Appointment Reminder: Reminder: Your upcoming appointment — 1 Day Before Appointment

Appointment Reminder & Testimonial Series

This Scheduler series includes three appointment reminders and a follow-up testimonial request.

  • Appointment Reminder: Reminder: Your upcoming appointment — 2 Weeks Before Appointment
  • Appointment Reminder: Reminder: Your upcoming appointment — 1 Week Before Appointment
  • Appointment Reminder: Reminder: Your upcoming appointment — 1 Day Before Appointment
  • Testimonial Request: How was everything? — 2 Days After Appointment

Invoice Series

This Invoicing series includes payment reminders before and after the invoice due date, plus a message after the invoice is paid.

  • Invoice Payment Reminder: Your invoice is due — 1 Week Before Invoice Due Date
  • Invoice Payment Reminder: Your invoice is due — 1 Day Before Invoice Due Date
  • Invoice Payment Reminder: Reminder: Your invoice is past due — 2 Days After Invoice Due Date
  • Invoice Message: Message About Your Invoice — 1 Day After Invoice Is Paid

Ways to Customize a Series

You can open a pre-built series and change its messages, triggers, trigger dates, recipients, or active settings. You can also add emails or delete messages you do not need.

Copying a series creates a separate version that you can edit without changing the original. This is helpful when you want to keep the pre-built workflow unchanged or need different versions for separate services and workflows.

A Custom Series begins without any emails. Choose this option when the pre-built series do not provide the sequence, content, or timing you need.

STEP ONE

Log in to your PhotoBiz account and click MARKETING in the left-side menu.

STEP TWO

From the Marketing Dashboard, click EMAIL AUTOMATION. Your Email Series are organized according to the PhotoBiz tool they support.

STEP THREE

Click CLIENT GALLERIES, SCHEDULER, or INVOICING, depending on where you plan to use the series.

You will see the pre-built series included with your account, any Custom Series you created, and copies of existing series.

STEP FOUR

Choose how you want to work with the Email Automation Series.

Click NEW EMAIL SERIES to add a pre-built series or create a Custom Series. Click the name of an existing series to open and edit it. Click COPY next to a series when you want to duplicate it without changing the original.

Before editing an existing series, check whether it is already assigned to any services, invoices, or Client Galleries events. Your changes can affect future automated emails everywhere the series is assigned.

STEP FIVE

Continue based on the option you selected.

If you clicked NEW EMAIL SERIES, a panel will open on the right side of the page. Select one of the available pre-built series or select CUSTOM SERIES to begin with an empty series. Review or enter the series name, then click CREATE SERIES.

If you clicked COPY, PhotoBiz will add a duplicate to your Email Automation Series list. Click the name of the copied series to open it, then give the copy a clear name so you can distinguish it from the original.

If you clicked the name of an existing series, PhotoBiz will open the series and display the automated emails it currently contains.

New Email Series Example

Select the email series and click create series

STEP SIX

Review the emails in the open series.

Click an existing email to preview it and access its settings. Click NEW EMAIL when you want to add another automated message. If you created a Custom Series, click NEW EMAIL to add its first message.

You can use the included emails as provided, customize them, delete messages you do not need, or add more emails.

Existing Email Series Example

Add a new email or edit an existing email in the series.

STEP SEVEN

When adding a new email, select the email type from the dropdown menu in the right-side panel.

Available email types vary depending on whether you are working with Client Galleries, Scheduler, or Invoicing. The email type determines the available triggers, trigger dates, recipient settings, and system-generated information.

PhotoBiz provides suggested subject, message, and preheader content based on the email type and trigger you select.

STEP EIGHT

Review the email preview, then click EDIT in the upper-right corner.

A panel will open on the right side of the page with the DETAILS, CONTENT, and RECIPIENTS tabs. The available settings may vary based on the PhotoBiz tool and email type.

STEP NINE

Use the DETAILS tab to configure when the email should be sent.

Select the trigger and trigger date. For example, you may schedule an email before an appointment, before an invoice due date, after an invoice is paid, or before a Client Galleries event expires.

Some Client Galleries triggers support immediate delivery after a visitor completes a qualifying action, such as creating an account, sending favorites, or adding an item to a cart.

The DETAILS tab also includes the active status. New emails are inactive by default so they are not sent while you are reviewing or editing them.

Click SAVE CHANGES to apply your updates.

STEP TEN

Click the CONTENT tab to customize the email.

Edit the subject, message, and preheader text. The available content fields may vary by email type.

The subject is the line that appears as the email title in your customer’s inbox. The preheader text is a short summary that may appear after the subject line in the inbox preview. For best results, keep the preheader between 35 and 100 characters.

Use the MESSAGE email type when you need a more flexible message. Depending on the available settings, you can include a link to an external page, such as a review page or a page on your website.

Some email types include system-generated information that cannot be removed or edited. This may include appointment details, invoice information, or Client Galleries event details.

Click SAVE CHANGES to apply your updates.

STEP ELEVEN

Click the RECIPIENTS tab to review who can receive the email.

Recipient settings vary by tool and email type. Scheduler and Invoicing emails are sent to the customer associated with the appointment or invoice.

Client Galleries emails may allow you to include or exclude visitors based on their activity, such as whether they downloaded images, sent favorites, added items to a cart, or previously purchased from the event.

The email will only be sent when the customer meets its trigger, trigger date, and recipient requirements.

Click SAVE CHANGES to apply your updates.

FINAL STEP

Review the complete series and confirm that each email you want to use has its active status set to YES. You can preview each email in the center of the Email Automation screen before activating it.

Emails that remain inactive will not be sent, even after the series is assigned.

Assign the series to the appropriate Scheduler service, invoice, or Client Galleries event using the Email Automation Series dropdown menu in that tool. PhotoBiz will apply the workflow to eligible customers and automatically use the details associated with the assigned service, invoice, or event.

Follow the appropriate guide to assign your series:

Once assigned, eligible customers will receive each active email when its trigger, trigger date, and recipient requirements are met.

Important Sending Rules

  • Most automated emails are processed once per day at 9:00 AM based on your PhotoBiz account time zone.
  • Supported immediate Client Galleries triggers may send as soon as the qualifying action occurs.
  • A contact can receive each email once per associated appointment, invoice, or Client Galleries event.
  • An email only sends when its active status, trigger, trigger date, and recipient requirements are met.
  • After a Client Galleries event expires, emails will only continue when the selected trigger occurs after the event expiration date.
  • Editing an active series may affect future automated emails and related tracking information.
  • Unsubscribed contacts and bounced email addresses will not receive automated emails.

Monthly Marketing Email Allowance

Your PhotoBiz membership includes 10,000 Marketing emails each month. Marketing Campaigns and Email Automations share this monthly allowance.

The allowance resets on the first day of each month, regardless of your billing date. PhotoBiz sends an email notification when your account reaches 80% of its monthly allowance.

After you reach the limit, additional Marketing Campaigns and triggered automated emails cannot be sent until the allowance resets or you upgrade your email package.

Marketing Campaigns and Email Automations also share the same unsubscribed and bounced email lists. When a contact unsubscribes from one type of Marketing email, the contact is also unsubscribed from the other.

Troubleshooting and FAQs

Do I have to create an Email Automation Series?

No. All PhotoBiz Website Package accounts include pre-built Email Automation Series for Client Galleries, Scheduler, and Invoicing.

The fastest option is to assign a pre-built series without editing it. Creating, copying, or customizing a series is optional.

Do I need a separate series for every customer?

No. Create or customize the workflow once, then assign it to the appropriate Scheduler service, invoice, or Client Galleries event.

PhotoBiz automatically uses the customer and workflow details associated with that assignment.

Can I add emails to a pre-built series?

Yes. Open the series and click NEW EMAIL to add another message. You can also edit or delete the emails already included.

When should I copy a series instead of editing it?

Copy a series when you want to create a different version without changing the original. This is especially important when the original series is already assigned to other services, invoices, or Client Galleries events.

Why is my automated email not sending?

Confirm that the email’s active status is set to YES, the series is assigned to the correct service, invoice, or event, and your account is verified.

The customer must also meet the selected trigger, trigger date, and recipient requirements. Emails will not be delivered to unsubscribed contacts or bounced email addresses.

Why did only some customers receive the email?

Not every customer will qualify for every message. PhotoBiz evaluates the email’s active status, trigger, trigger date, recipient rules, unsubscribe status, and bounce status before sending it.

Why did the email not send at the exact trigger time?

Most automated emails are processed once per day at 9:00 AM based on your account time zone. An email that becomes eligible later in the day may be processed during the next daily sending cycle.

Some Client Galleries triggers support immediate delivery.

Can I use the same series with multiple services, invoices, or events?

Yes. You can select an existing series when configuring applicable Scheduler services, invoices, or Client Galleries events.

Create a copy only when you need different content, timing, triggers, or recipient rules.

Can I use a Scheduler series with Invoicing or Client Galleries?

No. Email Automation Series are product-specific. Select a series from the CLIENT GALLERIES, SCHEDULER, or INVOICING section that matches where it will be assigned.

Why are the recipient options different?

Client Galleries can send messages to groups of visitors based on their event activity. Scheduler and Invoicing emails are sent to the individual customer associated with the appointment or invoice.
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