ClubRight sends a number of transactional emails on your behalf when key events happen: a member books a class, their plan is frozen, they earn a new award, and so on. You can customise these emails to reflect your club's branding, tone of voice, and content, so every automated communication feels like it is coming directly from you. This article is an overview of the email templates available and how to edit them.
Note: email template customisation is available on certain ClubRight packages. If you are not sure whether yours includes it, click the chat button to contact our Customer Success team.
Layout versus individual emails
There are two distinct kinds of edit you can make. Understanding which one to use is the most important part of getting email templates right.
The Layout Template is the wrapper used by every other automated email. It controls the overall look and feel: header, footer, logo, colours, fonts, and contact details. Anything that should appear consistently across every email belongs in the Layout Template, because changes there apply everywhere automatically.
Individual email templates control the body content of a specific email type: the subject line, the wording, the tone, and anything specific to that scenario (such as directions to the club in your Membership Confirmation Email, or class prep tips in your Booking Email).
Editing one of the individual templates and adding your logo there is a common mistake. That logo would only appear in that one email type, while other emails would still show the default. The Layout Template is the right place for anything visual or branded.
Important: leave any system commands or merge tags in place when editing templates. These are short codes (such as personalisation placeholders for member names, dates, or membership numbers) that get replaced with real data when the email is sent. Removing them will break the email's content.
To add the member's first name, type [FirstName] where you want it, or click [FirstName] under Dynamic fields. For the full list of codes, see Merge Fields for your Emails and SMS messages.
How to edit an email template
From the burger menu, click Settings
Select Email Templates
Choose the template you want to edit from the list
Make your changes (branding goes in the Layout Template; wording and content for a specific email type goes in that template)
Save your changes
Templates you haven't changed use the ClubRight default content.
Opening a ClubRight default template saves a copy for your club straight away, even if you don't change anything. To go back to the ClubRight default, open the template and click Delete. This removes your club's copy, so the default is used again.
How do I add a photo to my welcome email?
You can add a photo, picture or image to your welcome email, or any other email template, with the Picture button in the template editor. It uploads the photo from your computer or phone and places it in the body of the email, so members see it in the message itself rather than as an attachment.
A "welcome email" usually means the Membership Confirmation Email, which is sent when a new membership starts. The Welcome Email in the list is a different email: it's the "Confirm your account" email. The steps are the same for both.
From the burger menu, click Settings
Select Email Templates
Choose the template you want, for example Membership Confirmation Email
Click Full Screen (the four-arrows icon) in the editor toolbar. This stops your photo being shrunk to fit the small editing box.
Click in the text where you want the photo to go
Click the Picture button (the picture icon) in the toolbar
In Insert Image, under Select from files, click Choose files and pick your photo. It uploads and appears in the email straight away. If your photo is already online, paste its web address into Image URL and click Insert Image instead.
Click Full Screen again to go back to the normal view, then click Save Changes
To move or remove a photo, click it in the editor and use the options that appear, such as Float Left, Float Right or Remove Image.
⚠️ Note: always add photos with the Picture button. Don't paste or copy a picture in from another email, document or web page. Depending on where it comes from, a pasted picture can be built into the email itself instead of being uploaded. That makes every copy of the email very large and slow to send, and Gmail doesn't show it at all.
What size and file type work best?
Use a JPG for photos and a PNG for logos, graphics or images with text on them.
Make the photo no more than 600 pixels wide. Your emails are 600 pixels wide, so anything wider is scaled down anyway.
Keep the file small, ideally under 500 KB, so the email opens quickly, especially on mobile data. Most phones and photo apps can resize or compress a photo before you upload it.
Will members see the photo?
The photo is stored by ClubRight and loads when the member opens the email. Most email apps show it straight away, but some, including some versions of Outlook and some work email accounts, hide pictures until the reader chooses to show them. Make sure the email still makes sense without the photo, and don't put important details like dates or prices only in the picture.
Before members receive it, send yourself a test to check how it looks in a real inbox.
How is this different from adding my logo?
A photo added this way only appears in the email template you added it to. Your club logo belongs in the Layout Template (** LAYOUT TEMPLATE in the list), which wraps around every automated email, so it shows on all of them at once. See Customising your email layout template.
Can I add a photo to group messages and Smart Workflow emails?
Yes. The Picture button works the same way in the email body of a group message (Communication > Group Messages > New Group Message, with Email chosen as the delivery channel) and in a Smart Workflow Send Message step with the Email channel selected. The same advice applies: use the Picture button, don't paste, and keep the photo small. This matters even more for a group message, because a copy goes to every recipient.
⚠️ Note: you can put a photo inside an email, but you can't attach files such as PDFs. To share a document, see Sharing files with members (workout plans, eBooks).
How do I send myself a test of an email template?
There's no send-test or preview button on Email Templates. To see what a template looks like, make ClubRight send that email to a member record with your own email address on it. This is how to send yourself a test email of a template you've just created or edited, and see what it looks like in a real inbox before members receive it.
Go to Contacts > Members and add a test contact with your own email address. Using a test contact rather than a real member keeps test bookings, freezes and sales off real members' accounts.
Save your changes in Settings > Email Templates.
Do the action that sends that email, against your test contact (see below).
Check your inbox. The email arrives inside your Layout Template, so you see the finished version.
Undo anything the test left behind, for example cancel the booking, remove them from the waiting list or reinstate the membership.
Which action sends each email?
Booking Email: on your test contact's profile, click Book > A class and book them into a class.
Waiting List Email: in the Diary, open a class, click Add to Waiting List and choose your test contact. This works even if the class isn't full.
Waiting List Space Available Email: add your test contact to a full class's waiting list, then remove one of the bookings. The email goes out when the space comes free.
Membership Confirmation Email: on your test contact's membership, click Manage & view details > Send welcome email. Starting a new membership with Send welcome email straight away switched on at the Welcome & PARQ step sends it too.
Membership Freeze Email: on the membership, click Manage & view details > Freeze, then Freeze now. Leave Email the member about this freeze ticked.
Membership UnFreeze Email: click Reinstate (end freeze) and tick Email the member to say their membership has been reinstated. It isn't ticked by default, so no email is sent unless you tick it.
Till Receipt Email: complete a till sale and click Email receipt. You can change the address in the box, so you can send the receipt to your own email address.
Welcome Email: this is never sent to an account that's already confirmed, so you can't test it on your own login.
Layout Template: any of the above, because every email uses it.
💡 Tip: testing a Smart Workflow message? Open its Send Message step and click Send test to me. It sends the message to your own account straight away, including any changes you haven't saved yet, and ignores consent settings. Only Managers and Owners see this button.
How do I resend a member's welcome email?
You can resend the Membership Confirmation Email from the member's membership: open the membership, click Manage & view details, then Send welcome email. There isn't a resend option in the ⋮ menu on the member's profile.
There's no staff button to resend the Welcome Email (the "Confirm your account" email). It's sent when someone registers online or in the app, and when you ask Milo to send it. It's never sent to an account that's already confirmed.
Where to start
Most clubs find the most value in customising these four templates first:
The Layout Template, to apply your branding (logo, colours, header, footer, contact details) across every email at once
The Membership Confirmation Email, the first email a new member receives when you start their membership
The Welcome Email, the email new members get to confirm their online account
The Booking Email, the most frequently sent transactional email for most clubs
Once these four are tailored, the rest can be left as system defaults or updated when you need them.
Emails you can customise
The following automated emails can be customised in ClubRight:
Layout
- Layout Template: the wrapper used by every other automated email. Controls overall branding, header, footer, and styling. Listed as ** LAYOUT TEMPLATE in the templates list.
Bookings
Booking Email: sent to a member after they book an activity, and when their booking is cancelled or moved
Booking Instructor Email: sent to the instructor (or activity staff) when a member books one of their activities
Booking Resource Changed Email: sent when the resource (such as room or equipment) for a booking is changed
Waiting List Email: sent when a member is added to a class waiting list
Waiting List Space Available Email: sent to members on the waiting list when a space comes free in the class, with a link to book it
Membership lifecycle
Welcome Email: the account confirmation email (“Confirm your account”), with the link a new member clicks to confirm their online account. Keep [ConfirmationLink] in this template, because the confirmation link can't work without it. It's sent when someone registers online or in the app, when you add a staff member with an email address, and when you ask Milo to send it. It's never sent to an account that's already confirmed.
Membership Confirmation Email: sent when a new membership starts. When you add a membership in club, it's sent if Send welcome email straight away is switched on. You can resend it from Manage & view details > Send welcome email on the membership. It's also sent for DFC plans and for memberships bought online, even if Send welcome email straight away is switched off. On a DFC plan with the switch on, the member may receive it twice.
Confirmation of Membership Freeze Request: sent when a member requests a freeze, before staff approval
Membership Freeze Email: sent when a member's plan is frozen, if Email the member about this freeze is ticked
Membership UnFreeze Email: sent when a frozen plan is reinstated, if you tick Email the member to say their membership has been reinstated
Confirmation of Membership Cancellation Request: sent when a member requests cancellation, before staff approval
Referrals
Referred Member Email: sent to the new member who has been referred to your club
Referring Member Email: sent to the existing member who made the referral
Awards
- New Award: sent when a member earns a new award or achievement
Till
- Till Receipt Email: sent when you click Email receipt after completing a till sale
⚠️ Note: Turn off automatic messages doesn't stop the Welcome Email or till receipts. These are still sent.
Have more questions about email templates?
If you have a question that is not covered here, click the chat button to contact our Customer Success team.