# Automations > Turn on automatic marketing emails like Welcome, Birthday, Last Minute Openings and Reminder to Book, choose who gets them, edit them, and set the cooldown. **Applies to:** Everyone except service providers Source: https://heylilo.co/help/marketing/automations Automations send marketing emails for you when something happens, like a client's birthday or their first visit. Each one stays off until you turn it on. Automations are on the web only. They don't have a menu link. To open them, go to [app.heylilo.co/dashboard/marketing/automations](https://app.heylilo.co/dashboard/marketing/automations) while you're signed in to Lilo. ## The automations - **Welcome** emails a client after their first completed appointment. Each client gets it once. - **Birthday** emails clients on their birthday, around 8 AM local time. It only reaches clients with a birthday on their profile. - **Last Minute Openings** emails your regulars when an appointment that starts soon is cancelled or moved, so someone else can take the spot. - **Reminder to Book** emails clients who've had one completed visit and haven't booked again after a set number of days. Each card shows how many messages it has sent and delivered. **Event-driven** automations send when something happens. **Scheduled** ones run once a day, around 8 AM local time. ## Turn an automation on or off **Applies to:** Owners, admins and location managers 1. Open **Automations**. 2. Turn on the switch on the automation's card. You'll see a message like **Welcome automation activated**. To stop it, turn the switch off. You can also use the switch at the top of an automation's own page, next to **Active** or **Inactive**. Event-driven automations start with the next appointment they apply to. Scheduled ones start at their next daily run. Reminder to Book's first runs can include clients who visited once, long ago. ## Choose who gets it **Applies to:** Owners, admins and location managers 1. Open **Automations** and select the automation's card. 2. Under **Channel**, choose **Email only**. 3. Under **Locations**, choose the locations whose clients should get it, or leave it on **All locations**. 4. Change the automation's own settings, if it has any (see below). 5. Select **Save Settings**. You'll see **Settings saved**. The settings each automation has: - **Welcome**: **Hours after first visit** is how long Lilo waits after the appointment is completed, from 0 to 72. Choose 0 to send it right away. - **Last Minute Openings**: **Last minute window (hours)** means Lilo only sends when the appointment was due to start within that many hours. The default is 48. **Default send cap** is how many clients Lilo emails about one opening while it learns how many book from these emails. After that, it emails enough clients to fill the spot, plus the **Buffer percentage**. - **Reminder to Book**: **Days since last visit** is how long after a client's visit Lilo reminds them, from 7 to 365 days. The default is 30. **Max sends per run** is the most clients Lilo reminds in one day. When more are due, Lilo picks the ones it ranks highest and reminds the rest on later days. - **Birthday** has no settings of its own. ## Change the message **Applies to:** Owners, admins and location managers 1. Open **Automations** and select the automation's card. 2. Under **Message Preview**, select **Email**, then select **Edit**. 3. Change the **Subject Line**, the **Preview Text** and the email itself. Lilo saves as you go, and you'll see **Saved** at the top. 4. Select **Preview** to check the email, then select the back arrow. The email editor needs a computer or tablet screen. Your changes apply to the next email the automation sends, even while it's on. The ready-made emails greet the client by first name and link to your booking page. ## Set the marketing cooldown **Applies to:** Owners, admins and location managers The marketing cooldown keeps Last Minute Openings and Reminder to Book from emailing a client too soon after their last marketing email. 1. Open **Automations**. 2. Next to **Marketing Cooldown**, select **Edit**. 3. Enter the **Days between messages**, from 0 to 90. 0 turns the cooldown off. 4. Select **Save**. You'll see **Cooldown settings updated**. ## How it works ### Who gets automation emails - Clients only get automation emails if **Email marketing** is on in their profile. It starts off when you add a client. Clients can turn it on when they book online, or you can turn it on in **Edit Details**. See [The client profile](https://heylilo.co/help/clients/client-profile). - Clients need an email address. Lilo skips addresses that bounced, and clients who reported your emails as spam. - Lilo never sends automations to archived or blocked clients. - Last Minute Openings and Reminder to Book skip clients who already have an upcoming appointment. - Reminder to Book emails a client at most once per visit. - If you chose **Locations**, only clients who've booked at one of them get it. - Each email uses one email credit (see [Message and AI credits](https://heylilo.co/help/messages/credits)). ### How Last Minute Openings picks clients Lilo checks every cancelled or moved appointment. If it was due to start within the **Last minute window (hours)**, Lilo emails clients who: - have at least 3 completed visits, and at least one in the last 90 days - have had one of the appointment's services before - have booked at that location before, or at one of the automation's **Locations** if you chose any - have no upcoming appointment Lilo ranks them by how recently and how often they visit, and emails the ones at the top. The email can't say when the spot is. It links to your booking page, where anyone can book the open time. ### The cooldown - Last Minute Openings and Reminder to Book skip a client who got a campaign, or either of those automations, within the cooldown. The default is 7 days. - [Campaigns](https://heylilo.co/help/marketing/campaigns) don't check the cooldown, but sending one restarts it for each client who gets it. - **Welcome** and **Birthday** ignore the cooldown and don't restart it. That's what **Always sends** on their cards means. Clients still need **Email marketing** on. ## Common questions ### Why didn't a client get the Birthday email? Usually one of these: - **Birthday** was off that day. - Their profile doesn't have a birthday, or **Email marketing** is off. - They don't have an email address, or it bounced. - They're archived or blocked. - You chose **Locations**, and they haven't booked at any of them. ### Why didn't a new client get the Welcome email? Usually one of these: - **Welcome** was off when their first appointment was completed. Turning it on later doesn't send it to clients who've already been in. - The appointment isn't completed yet, or the wait in **Hours after first visit** hasn't passed. - It wasn't their first completed appointment with you. - **Email marketing** is off in their profile, or they don't have an email address. ### Why did a client stop getting automation emails? Check **Email marketing** in their profile. Clients answer **Send me special offers and updates via email** each time they book online. When the booking matches their email and phone number, Lilo saves that answer to their profile. If they book with the switch off, Lilo turns **Email marketing** off. ### Can I send a test or pick who gets it? No. Automations pick clients for you, and there's no test send. **Message Preview** on the automation's page shows how the email looks. ### Can I create my own automation? No. You can only turn on the automations Lilo comes with. ### Can I see which clients got an automation? Not on the Automations page. Each card only shows how many messages it has sent and delivered. ### Who can change automations? By default, owners, admins and location managers. Front desk staff can open **Automations**. They see **You don't have permission to perform this action** if they try to change anything.