--- title: Email and templates description: Keep client conversations connected and reuse the messages you send most often. section: Core workflows order: 9 --- # Email and templates Email keeps the client journey moving. LYGHTBOX connects one-to-one client conversations to the project or booking they belong to and provides reusable templates for messages you send often. Project email is not a connected Gmail, Outlook, or general inbox. Messages are sent from a LYGHTBOX-managed reply address for that conversation. Replies to those messages return to the same conversation; email sent directly to your personal studio address is not imported into the project thread. ## Create message templates Go to **Settings -> Templates** and select **New Template**. For each template, add: - An internal template name. - A General or service-based category so it is easy to find while composing. - The email from name used by supported automated sends. - An optional subject. - The message body. - Supported contact merge tags for details such as first name, full name, email, or phone. Templates are always email templates on this page. You can edit or delete them later. Deleting a template removes it from future selection; review any automation that depended on it before deletion. When you select a template in the project composer, its subject and message replace the current subject and body so you can edit them for that client. The manual project email still uses the sender identity shown for the current account user and studio. ## Project email threads Open a project to use its email module. The linked client's email is filled in as the first recipient, and you can adjust the recipient list before sending. To send a message: 1. Confirm the recipients and subject. 2. Write the message or select **Templates** and choose a category and template. 3. Insert supported contact or project merge tags where useful. 4. Optionally select **Attach** to choose or upload files from the account file library. 5. Select **Send**, or select the clock button to choose a future date and time. An email needs at least one valid recipient, a subject, and a message body. A message can include up to 10 attachments totaling no more than 25 MB. The composer saves a work-in-progress draft to that conversation after you pause editing. After sending, the message appears in the thread and the next reply keeps the conversation's current subject. If a project does not have a conversation, the page shows **No email thread yet** instead of the composer. A composer becomes available after the project or booking has an email conversation. Keeping messages attached to the project makes it easier to see the full picture before replying: contract status, payment status, notes, tasks, and project activity are all right there. ## Read message history The project thread shows the sender, subject, message, attachments, and delivery information. Select **Load older messages** to continue back through a long conversation. Useful states include: - **Scheduled** - queued for the future time shown on the message. - **Failed** - delivery did not complete. - **Canceled** - a scheduled send was cancelled before delivery. A scheduled email can be cancelled only while it is still queued and its delivery time has not arrived. Cancelling restores that message to the composer as a draft. If another draft is already present, LYGHTBOX asks before replacing it. Clients who can open the related work in the client portal can read the project or booking conversation under **Messages** and send a text reply there. That reply appears in the same LYGHTBOX conversation and notifies the studio. Internal system messages are not shown in the client-facing thread. ## Good template uses Reusable templates work well for: - Inquiry responses. - Booking confirmations. - Contract reminders. - Invoice reminders. - Questionnaire requests. - Session reminders. - Delivery notes. Use the project composer for a personal message that needs review before it goes out. Use an automation when the same message should be sent after a supported project, booking, contract, payment, questionnaire, audience, or session event. ## Automated email Go to **Settings -> Automations**, choose a trigger and **Send email**, select the message template, and set an optional delay. Automated sends use the template's from name, subject, message, and available merge-tag context. The contact must have an email address. Invoice billing reminders are configured separately in **Settings -> Payments**, where each before-due or after-due rule uses a message template. Contract and invoice send dialogs also let you review their recipient, subject, and message before sending the document link. ## One-to-one email vs campaign email Keep these two uses separate: - Use project or booking email, document sends, and automations for service-related communication with a specific client. These messages stay connected to the client's work and can accept replies. - Use **Campaigns** for newsletters, launches, availability announcements, and other marketing sent to subscribed contacts or audience segments. Campaigns have their own sender setup, consent and suppression checks, preference links, scheduling, and delivery reporting. A message template does not turn a project email into a campaign, and a campaign is not added to a project's one-to-one conversation. ## Related guides - Create follow-up rules with [automations](/docs/automations). - Send announcements with [campaigns and audiences](/docs/campaigns). - Review client context in [projects](/docs/projects).