Note: this a feature that is exclusively for our Pro and Advanced plan subscribers!
We are happy to provide you the ability to send out various emails to your clients through your Zenfolio account. Here are a couple of ways you may utilize this feature...
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You may send email invitations to let your clients know that their Gallery is ready, with a direct link to view the Gallery on your website
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You may send general marketing emails to your clients with promotions and sales throughout the year
When crafting these emails, it’ll help as a timesaver to use templates so that you can quickly populate the email's subject and body. You can actually create up to 100 of your own email templates and save them for use in the future, in addition to using the ones that we’ve created for you. When creating your email, a drop down menu will be displayed from which you can select from your email Templates. Quick and easy!
You may also choose to edit or further customize templated messages that we created for System Emails that are sent (for your reference, system emails include Group, Gallery, Collection Invites and scheduled reminders for expiring Groups, Galleries and Collection). In addition, default templates may be created and edited with a default salutation (Dear, Hi, Hello, etc.) for Order Confirmation emails.
Finally, if you want to add a personal touch and keep your emails far from generic for your clients, take advantage of using template Variables which automatically enter personalized information into the email on your behalf. Example Variables include the name of the Gallery, and a Link or URL of the Gallery.
One last note - with an Advanced plan, you can also edit the default invite email template used to invite school photography clients to select their Yearbook Pose photo.
Accessing Email Templates
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In the Main Menu within your account, hover the mouse pointer over Communications then click on Email Communications.
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Click on the Templates tab.
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The System Emails will be displayed in the System Emails section.
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Click Customize to the right of the System Email to edit the default message used when sending that system email.
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Click New Template to create a new Email Template.
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The custom email templates are displayed in the Custom Emails section.
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Click Set as Default to set as the default email template.
- Click on the Papers icon to create a Duplicate to a custom email template. Click the trash icon to Delete to delete an email template. This cannot be undone.
You can create email templates in the Custom Emails section that can be used anytime an email is sent from the account; this can even be applied to System emails.
There is a default email template that automatically applies upon any email creation, but note that the choice template for that is adjustable based on your preferences by selecting a new default in Custom Emails.
When customizing the default email template for System Emails, the template only applies to that specific System Email. So for example if you customize the System email template for Gallery Invites, then that email template will be automatically applied only when creating a new Gallery invite email.
Creating New Templates or Editing Existing Email Templates
After clicking the New Email Template button, the Edit Email Template panel will be displayed. Alternatively, you can click on Customize next to a System Email Template to edit that specific email template.
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Enter the desired name for the Email Template. This is displayed in the list of email templates and helps you to identify the email template. This is not displayed in the email message.
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Enter the desired Subject in the field provided.
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Enter the desired default email message in the Body field provided. See this guide for details on the available formatting tools.
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Click View List of Available Variables to see the full list of variables that can be entered into the email subject or body for the system to automatically fill out.
- Click Save to save your changes. You can edit the default email again at anytime. You will also be able to edit the actual email after choosing an email template.
Email Templates for Order Notifications
Your clients will receive an email whenever they place a new order on your website, as well as an email when an order is marked as Shipped. You can create a template that automatically adds defined text to those emails. The text will appear in the greeting just above the order detail information in the email.
Click Customize to edit that specific email template.
You can also create a defined salutation that is used in the beginning of those emails to greet your clients.
The default salutation is 'Dear', but you can change it to any other salutation that you like such as 'Hello', 'Hi', 'Mahalo', etc.
Click Customize to edit that specific email template.
Email Variables
When creating or editing an email template, variables can be used to allow the system to automatically add corresponding data and details into the subject or body of the email. Why use variables? Instead of “Hi, your Gallery is ready to view”, your client could read: “Hello, Craig! The Smith Family session is ready to view at www.realphotog.com/smithfamilysession”, with minimal effort and no extra time spent on your part. A nice personal touch, don’t you think?
When creating the email, you can click here to see the full list of variables.
To use a variable, enter the text for the variable into the subject or body of the email in the exact area where you would like the data to be displayed. Make sure to include the curly brackets around the variable, and any underscores in the variable text. Variables are case sensitive so they must be entered without any capital letters.
Here is an example of how the variables are entered:
Though they can be very helpful, you don’t have to use variables in your email templates; feel free to manually enter the desired information instead of using a variable, or to do it in tandem with variable usage (creating variables for everything except your customer’s name, for example, which you could manually enter before pressing ‘Send’).
List of available Email Variables
For your reference and quick access, here is the full list of all available email variables that can be entered into the email templates.
When entering the variable, make sure to include the curly brackets around the variable and any underscores in the variable text. Variables are case sensitive so they must be entered without any capital letters.
| Variable name | Displayed |
| {display_name} | The photographer’s display name |
| {gallery_name} |
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| {gallery_link} |
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| {gallery_url} |
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| {group_name} |
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| {group_link} |
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| {group_url} |
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| {collection_name} |
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| {collection_link} |
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| {collection_url} |
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| {event_name} |
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| {event_link} |
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| {event_url} |
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| {media_type} |
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| {folder_type} | "Gallery", "Group", "Collection" |
| {site_link} | Website URL |
| {expire_date} | Expiration date
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| {referral_link} | Link to the Zenfolio sign up page with the email sender's Referral code automatically applied to a new subscription |
| {customer_name} | Fills in the customer's name in order confirmation email templates |
| {password} |
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| {pre_order_number} |
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| {pre_order_link} |
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Email Template Variable Errors
When entering the variable, make sure to include the curly brackets around the variable and any underscores in the variable text. Variables are case sensitive so they must be entered without any capital letters.
If you do run into any errors, this table may help you troubleshoot:
| Error Displayed | Information |
| You have reached the limit of 100 email templates. To create a new email template, delete an existing template. | This error is displayed when trying to create a new email template or duplicate an existing email template and there are already the maximum of 100 email templates in the account. |
| Unable to save template: invalid variable(s) |
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| Email template contains an invalid variable. |
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Choosing an Email Template when Creating a New Email
When creating a new email, the default email message will automatically be displayed in the email (you may change this default at any time if you’d like). A drop down menu will be displayed that contains a list of the email templates. Simply choose from that list to apply the subject and body from that email template to the new email.
Keep in mind that this drop down menu is only displayed for Pro and Advanced plan subscribers.
HERE is a guide for more details on creating Gallery Invite emails.
As well as THIS guide which covers how to create and send general marketing emails from your account.