Session Reminders is a feature that enables automated sending of reminder emails on a schedule relative to the session start time. Session Reminders includes new Session Reminder email templates that contain all session-specific Dynamic Data Fields (DDFs) in addition to a subset of other Profile, Registration and Event DDFs. For Digital events, you can include the attendee-specific Join URL at the top of their inbox and at their fingertips the moment the session starts. After a session reminder email template is set up, the reminder can be scheduled between 15 minutes and 1 month prior to the session. Depending on which sessions you’d like to send reminders for, you can either send them to all session instances, a subset of instances using filters, or individual instances. A testing workflow and reporting tools are provided to verify templates before sending and to see which attendees were sent reminders, who opened them, and to instantly send a reminder to all registrants of a session. The framework supports sending reminders on-time and at scale and is extensible for future actions such as sending SMS messages to registrants.
Sample Use Cases
- Digital Events/Webinars – Where receipt of a reminder that includes a personalized join URL moments prior to the event is critical to ensure maximum attendance and tracking of event engagement. Schedule a 15-minute reminder.
- Recurring Classes – For users, leveraging sessions as classes scheduled weekly, monthly or daily. Schedule a 24-hour reminder email.
- 1 on 1 Appointments – For users, leveraging sessions as 1 on 1 appointments either in-person or virtually with a buyer or prospect. Send a 24-hour, 1-hour and/or 15-minute reminder.
How to enable Session Reminders
Session reminders are available within accounts and events enabled with Conference Sessions, a sub-module of the Speaker and Session Management module. You must also have Session Catalog enabled, which requires engaging with your CSM or Certain Support who will submit a ticket on your behalf. Session Reminders are not available to clients on app.certain.com. However, if you are interested in upgrading to our Enterprise edition and your own branded domain, contact your CSM.
Where to set up reminder email templates
Session reminder email templates are configured within an event under Promote>Communication>Email Templates>Session Reminders. You’ll notice that with the addition of the new session reminder email templates, we have added a new Email Templates landing page describing the five possible types of templates that are available based on the modules you have enabled for your event.
- Registration
- Speaker
- Reviewer
- Digital Events
- Session Reminder
If you do not see any of the above template options, the Conference Sessions module is not enabled for your event under Plan>Options>Functional Areas Needed by This Event. Events enabled for Conference Sessions include default email reminder templates for 15 minutes and 1 hour. You may edit the default templates or create your own from scratch.
How Session Reminder templates differ from the other email templates
Each type of email template differs based on the Dynamic Data Fields (DDFs) available to be appended to the email and the audience of the communication (ex. Event registrations, Speakers, Reviewers, Session Attendees, etc.). Session Reminder Templates include the following DDFs:
- Standard Profile Fields: First Name, Middle Name, Last Name, Email, Organization, Username
- Standard Registration Fields: Reg Code, Registration UUID, Attendee Type Name, Date Completed
- Standard Event Fields: Event Name, Event Code, Event Start-Date-time, Event End-Date-time, Event Time Zone
- Session Webinar Fields (For Digital Events – Zoom/On24 Connected): Webinar Title, Webinar Start Date-Time, Webinar End Date-Time, Webinar Description, Webinar Time Zone, Webinar Integration Type
- Session Fields: Title, Description, Code, Speaker(s), Start Date, Start Time, End Date, End Time, Type Name, Track Name, Track Color, Location, Fee, Level Name, Abstract, Capacity, CEU Credits, Industries, Job Functions, Tags, Waitlisted Count
- Reg Session Fields: Registration Session Status, Reg Session Webinar Fields, Session Reg Join URL
DDFs that are excluded from Session Reminder Templates:
- Content Blocks
- Display Rules
- Custom Event Data Fields
- Custom Event Display Fields
- Event Location Fields
- Registration Contact Fields
- Group Fields
- Reg Webinar Fields
Other options that are also excluded:
- Include event’s display shell
- Use as the template for Forgot Password
- Attachments
- Schedule Settings (see below for how to schedule session reminders)
How to schedule a session reminder
Reminders are configured under Manage>Speakers & Sessions>Setup>Reminders. Add a new reminder. Give the reminder a descriptive name (e.g., 15 Mins – All Instances). Select a session reminder email template. Choose a reminder schedule. Select the session instances that will receive the reminder email.
- All Session Instances: All registrants in a Registered session status that are Complete will be sent the reminder email.
- Session Instances by Filter: All registrants in a Registered session status for session instances that meet the criteria defined in the filters that are Complete will be sent the reminder email.
- Selected Session Instances: All registrants in a Registered session status for the selected session instances that are Complete will be sent the reminder email.
Save the reminder.
How can I test sending a reminder email template?
From the list of Session Reminders, select the Test Session Reminder action from the Send Actions column. Select a session instance to populate the dynamic fields within the email template. The Test Recipient Email will be populated with the email address associated with the logged in user. The list of Registrations displayed in the table below includes registrants from the selected session instance. If the event is in a Live status, live (non-test) registrations will be displayed. If the event is in a ‘Testing’ status, test registrations will be displayed. Press ‘Send’ to send the test message. Once the reminder(s) has been sent, you’ll see a summary log of the status of the test send that can be refreshed by selecting the ‘Refresh’ icon to the right of ‘Summary’.
How can I send a One-Time Reminder to all the registrants of a session?
From the list of Session Reminders, select the Send one-time reminder action from the Send Actions column. Select a session instance and select ‘Send’. Note that in the future we will expand this feature to allow for one-time sends to one or more registrants.
Can I send a One-Time Reminder to all the registrants of multiple sessions at the same time?
Yes. We have added a new mass actions to the sessions list.
How can I confirm if a Session Reminder was sent at the scheduled time?
From the list of Session Reminders, select the Summary action from the Send Actions column. Select the Reminder and the Session Instance to view the summary. When viewing the Session Reminders list, ADHOC refers to messages sent as Test and One-Time Reminders.
I see a new Bell icon in the list of Session Instances
What’s up with that? When in doubt, click it and find out. Upon click of the icon, a modal window will appear with all scheduled reminders for that session instance. From the action(s) column you can preview the body of the email template to be sent and enable/disable individual reminders from being sent. The same option is also available when editing a session instance.
Are Session Reminder emails logged in the registration history?
Yes. They are logged in the registration history just like confirmation emails and emails sent via mass action.
Are Session Reminders copied as part of event copy and event creation from templates?
Yes. Both Session Reminder Email Templates and Reminder schedules are copied during Event Copy. The only Reminders not copied are those set to be sent for Selected Session Instances.
Are Session Reminder emails tracked in Email Analytics?
Yes. They are tracked just like confirmation emails and emails sent via mass action.
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