Email-only programs deliver your content straight to your clients' inboxes on a schedule you set, with no Client Portal login required. Use one to send a welcome sequence, an educational series, or a lead magnet that runs on its own once your clients are enrolled.
In this article:
- Before You Begin
- Creating an Email-Only Program
- Adding Email-Only Modules
- Scheduling Email-Only Modules
- Enrolling Clients in an Email-Only Program
- Testing and Tracking Email-Only Modules
- Managing Email-Only Modules
- Troubleshooting Clients Not Receiving Module Emails
Before You Begin
Program Types and Plans for Email-Only Modules
You can create email-only programs for these program types:
- Fixed-Date programs: available on the Professional plan and higher.
- Evergreen programs: available on the Plus plan and higher.
Setting up an Email-only program (without any content modules) isn't compatible with Self-Paced programs. Self-Paced modules unlock when clients complete earlier modules, and email-only modules can't be marked as complete.
You can combine email-only modules and content modules in the same program. For example, an Evergreen program can deliver content modules in the Client Portal and finish with an email-only module.
Client Status Requirements for Email-Only Programs
Clients must be active clients in your client list to receive module emails. Prospective clients don't receive any automated emails from your practice, including program emails.
💡 Tip: Email-only programs work best when you enroll clients yourself, like an automated email sequence for clients you're already working with. Clients you register manually are already in your client list, so their emails send on schedule.
Client Portal Access for Email-Only Programs
Clients don't need Client Portal access to receive email-only modules. You can add them to your client list with Create client profile only, and they'll still receive every email in the sequence.
If a client does have an active Client Portal, they'll see the program's name in their Resources, but email-only modules won't be listed there. The module content lives in their email inbox.
Email Sender and Branding Settings
Module emails use the sender name, reply-to address, logo, and email signature from your notification settings. By default, client replies to automated emails go to Practice Better's support queue, so set up a reply-to address if you want replies to come to your own inbox.
Learn more about Email Branding & Customization →
Choosing Between Email-Only Modules and Broadcast Messages
Both features send emails to your clients, but they work differently:
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Email-only modules send on your program schedule. In a Fixed-Date program, every client receives each email on the same calendar date. In an Evergreen program, each client receives emails based on their own enrollment date. Email-only modules don't support attachments.
- Broadcast messages send once, to all selected clients at the same time, and support attachments.
Choose email-only modules for a sequence that runs automatically over time, and broadcast messages for a one-time announcement.
Learn more about Sending Broadcast Messages to Clients →
Creating an Email-Only Program
An email-only program starts as a Fixed-Date or Evergreen program. The email-only modules you add to it are what make it email-only.
- Go to My Practice > My Programs.
- Click the Fast Action Button in the bottom-right corner.
- Select either Fixed-date program or Evergreen program.
- Enter your program details, such as the program name, description, fee, and duration.
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Optionally, enable Send a welcome email when client is registered. This sends an initial welcome email when the client is first enrolled in the program. If you use it, treat it as an email in your sequence and space your other modules to match.
💡 If you enable the program welcome email, check the box to “Hide the “View Program” button” within the welcome email template.
- Click Next to save your program and open the Program Overview page.
Learn more about Working With Programs in Practice Better →
Adding Email-Only Modules
Each email-only module is one email in your sequence. Add a module for every email you want your clients to receive.
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From the Program Overview page, click the Fast Action Button > Add Module > Create new.
💡 To reuse an email-only module you saved as a template, select it from your list of module templates instead.
- Select Email-Only Module as the module type.
- Enter the module name and an optional description.
- Choose when the email sends. For a fixed-date program, select a specific calendar date and optional time. For an evergreen program, specify the duration of time after a client’s enrollment.
- Enter the email subject, title, and content (write the content in the dashed border box). A preview of the email appears as you write.
- Click Save to save the module as a draft, or publish it to make it live.
- Repeat these steps for each email in your sequence.
📍 Note: Clients don't receive draft modules. Publish each email-only module so it sends on schedule.
Scheduling Email-Only Modules
How your emails are timed depends on your program type. Choose a schedule that fits how and when you plan to enroll clients.
Scheduling Modules in Fixed-Date Programs
In a Fixed-Date program, each email-only module sends on the calendar date and time you choose. Every enrolled client receives the email on the same date.
Clients who enroll after a module's send date has passed still receive that email. They receive any earlier emails in the sequence when they're enrolled, then receive the remaining emails on their scheduled dates.
💡 Tip: If you plan to enroll clients on a rolling basis, use an Evergreen program instead. Each client then starts at the first email and moves through the sequence on their own timeline.
Scheduling Modules in Evergreen Programs
In an Evergreen program, each email-only module sends a set amount of time after a client enrolls. You can set the delay in minutes, hours, days, weeks, or months, and optionally choose the time of day the email sends.
Because the schedule is based on each client's enrollment date, every client receives the full sequence in order, no matter when they join.
Editing Email-Only Modules After Publishing
You can edit every field of a published email-only module, including the subject, content, and send date or delay.
- Your edits apply to clients who receive the module after you save your changes. Clients who already received the email keep the version that was sent to them.
- The delivery mode can't be changed after a module is published. To use a different delivery mode, create a new email-only module.
Enrolling Clients in an Email-Only Program
Clients receive module emails once they're enrolled in your program and listed as active clients in your client list.
Registering Clients Manually
Registering clients yourself is the most direct way to run an email-only program. Clients must already be in your client list before you can register them.
Learn more about Adding New and Prospective Clients →
To enroll clients in your email-only program:
- Go to My Practice > My Programs.
- Click Manage next to your email-only program.
- Click the Fast Action Button and select Register clients.
- Select the clients you want to enroll.
- Click Register in the top-right corner.
✅ You're all set: Your clients will receive each email based on your module schedule.
Customizing the Program Welcome Email
If your program's welcome email is turned on, email-only clients receive it when they're registered. The welcome email is separate from your email-only modules, and its default content points clients to the Client Portal. Customize it for an email-only experience, or turn it off.
- Go to My Practice > My Programs.
- Click Manage next to your email-only program.
- Click Edit program.
- Find “Send a welcome email when client is registered.” Uncheck it to turn off the welcome email, or edit the template to customize it.
- If you keep the welcome email enabled, check the box to “Hide the “View Program” button” within the welcome email template.
- Click Done, then click Save Changes.
⚠️ Important: If the welcome email includes the View program button, email-only clients without a Client Portal login won't be able to open the program from it.
Testing and Tracking Email-Only Modules
Previewing the Client Experience
You'll see a preview of each email as you create an email-only module. To see the full sequence the way your clients will, create a test client using a secondary email address and register them in your program.
📍 Note: Test clients count toward your plan's client limit. Delete the test client record after testing to free up that spot.
Learn more about Setting Up a Test Client →
Tracking Delivered Module Emails
Check which email-only modules each client has received from the program's Enrollments page.
- Go to My Practice > My Programs.
- Click Manage next to your email-only program.
- Click Enrollments in the left-hand menu.
- Click View Progress next to the client's name.
You can also see the modules released to a client in their Recent Activity stream.
Learn more about Client Recent Activity Stream →
Resending a Module Email
If a client can't find an email, resend it from their progress page.
- Go to My Practice > My Programs.
- Click Manage next to your email-only program.
- Click Enrollments in the left-hand menu.
- Click View Progress next to the client's name.
- Next to the module, click the More Options menu (3 dots) and select Resend notification.
Managing Email-Only Modules
Reusing Email-Only Modules as Templates
You can save an email-only module as a module template and reuse it in other programs. Templates save the module's content but not its schedule, so you'll set the send date or delay each time you add the template to a program.
From the program overview page, click the More Options menu (3 dots) next to a module and select Save as template.
Learn more about Building and Using Program Module Templates →
Sharing Files in Email-Only Modules
Email-only modules don't support attachments. To share a guide, worksheet, or other file, add a link in the email content to where the file is hosted, such as a shared document or a page on your website.
To send a file as an attachment, use a broadcast message instead.
Converting Content Modules to Email-Only Modules
An existing content module can't be changed into an email-only module. To deliver the same content by email, create a new email-only module and copy the content into it.
Ending an Email-Only Program
Your clients stop receiving emails once the last module in the sequence sends. You don't need to archive or unregister clients when the sequence ends.
- Email-only modules can't be marked as complete, so automations that archive or unregister clients after they complete a program won't trigger for email-only programs.
- To stop a client's emails before the sequence ends, archive or unregister them from the program's Enrollments page. Archived and unregistered clients don't receive any remaining emails.
Learn more about Managing Program Enrollments and Client Access →
Troubleshooting Clients Not Receiving Module Emails
If a client tells you they didn't receive a module email, check these common causes:
- The client is a Prospective client. Go to My Clients and click Review & Add. Once you add them, they receive any emails they missed.
- The module is still a draft. Publish the module so it sends on schedule.
- The send date or delay hasn't arrived yet. In an Evergreen program, each email sends based on that client's own enrollment date. Check the module's schedule against the client's enrollment date.
- The client was archived or unregistered. Archived and unregistered clients don't receive the remaining emails in a sequence.
- The client turned off email notifications or unsubscribed. Email-only modules follow your client's email notification preferences.
- The email address on the client's record is incorrect. Update the client's email address, then resend the module email from their progress page.
- The email went to the client's spam or junk folder. Ask the client to add Practice Better as a safe sender. Practice Better Email Delivery, Security, and Spam Prevention →
Still stuck? Our support team is happy to take a closer look with you. How to Contact Practice Better Support →