Automated Emails: How To Ensure You Don’t Send Any Until You’re Ready

One of the most powerfully embarrassing things a human can experience is texting the wrong person. That sudden drop in your stomach as you realise the message didn't go to whom you intended? It's universally awful. Just look at this example I found online; the embarrassment is palpable. 

 

 

Hell of a negotiation strategy from the seller there. 

The last thing any of us wants is to send a message accidentally, and that absolutely holds true for emails to your members. One common concern we hear from new customers, right before they're ready to go live, is a worry that the system will start firing off automated emails to their members prematurely. Admittedly, it won't be as embarrassing as telling a stranger named Mario that you can't wait to have him in your arms, but it's still not a great or particularly professional look for your organisation. 

So today, let's talk about what causes automated emails to be sent and how you can ensure they only go out exactly when you want them to. 

What Is The Automated Email System At Member Jungle?

First things first, let’s briefly cover Member Jungle's automated email system. Once you understand it and are ready to launch it to your members, it becomes a massively useful, time-saving tool you'll be very glad to have. It’s a bit like owning a car: as long as you've been taught how to use it, it's an incredibly powerful asset. That's why we don't just hand keys to every untrained child out there.
 

 

Essentially, Member Jungle's automated email system allows your organisation to set up and schedule various types of emails to be sent out automatically based on specific triggers or times. This includes:
 

• Welcome emails for new members
• Renewal reminders as memberships approach expiry
• Event confirmations and pre-event reminders
• Notifications for payments, invoices, or profile updates
   

You set the content, the timing, and the recipients, and the system handles the delivery. This frees up your valuable time, ensures consistent communication, and means members receive the right information exactly when they need it, without manual effort from your team.

What Triggers Automated Emails in Member Jungle?

Now that we've covered the basics of what automated emails are, let's look at the specific actions within the Member Jungle system that trigger these emails to be sent:
 

• Adding Members Manually: When you manually add a new member using the +Add member button, this automatically sends out the welcome email. If you have automatic approval disabled, it might also trigger a manual approval email.
   
• Renewing Members: Using the Renew Member option in the Membership Administration area will trigger a renewal success email, confirming their renewed status.
   
• Transferring Membership Levels: If you transfer a member between different membership levels, they'll receive a welcome email from their new membership level.
   
• Changing Membership Products: Using the Change Product option in the Membership Administration area for a member will send the renewal success email.
   
• Adding to an Additional Level: If you use the Add To Level option in the Membership Administration area to add a member to an additional membership level, a welcome email for that new membership level will be triggered.
   
• Adding Secondary Members: Manually adding a secondary member will trigger a dedicated secondary member welcome email.
   
• Online Store Orders: Creating an order in the Online Store Module for a member will automatically send the order confirmation email.
   
• Event Registrations: Adding a member to an event registration using the +Add Registration button will send the registration confirmation email.
   

So, whenever you perform any of these actions, an automated email will be sent to the relevant member. Of course, you can completely customise most of what these automated emails say, which is something you should absolutely do. This system is designed to make your life easier and save you a lot of time in running your organisation, not to strip away its personal touches.

How To Avoid Sending Automated Emails Prematurely 

Now that we've covered what causes automated emails to be sent, let’s look at how you can ensure no emails are sent until the perfect moment:
 

• Import Members Instead of Manually Adding Them: When setting up, import your members using the bulk import tool rather than manually adding them one by one. Manual additions trigger welcome emails.
   
• Remove Renewal Reminder Days: Ensure there are no renewal reminder days set in your Membership General Settings. This prevents automated renewal notifications from going out before you're ready. You can add these in once you’re live. 
   
• Update Data Via Import: Carry out any bulk updates to your membership data using the import function instead of making manual changes. However, feel free to manually add content or edit a member's form data without triggering emails.

 

If you do need to manually add, transfer or renew a member, then to avoid triggering the membership level-specific automated emails, you can temporarily remove the content from the relevant email within the membership level. If an email template is empty, it simply won't send. Just remember to save the content somewhere safe so you can easily add it back when you're ready to launch.

If you follow those steps, you won't need to worry about accidentally sending an automated email before you're ready. If in doubt, you can always send an email to the Member Jungle team to double-check, but if you follow the steps above, you'll be fine.

Where Next On Your Onboarding Journey? 

Now that we’ve clarified the automated email system and how to prevent emails from being sent until you’re completely ready, you can move to the next part of the onboarding process.  

If you want some tips on how to launch your new system to your members when you are ready, check out How Do I Tell My Members About Member Jungle?

For all other onboarding tips, have a look at Everything You Need To Know About Onboarding At Member Jungle.