Manage

Starter automations

Every ready-made automation on the Automations page, grouped by stage, with its trigger, waits and the exact templates it sends.

Updated September 14, 2026

Start from a ready-made one on the Automations page holds eleven starters. Each one uses templates from the starter library, so it works the moment you add it. Every one arrives switched off; open it, read the emails, change what you like, then press Go live.

Five recommended starters are on screen, roughly one per stage of a job. Show all 11 starters opens the rest, grouped by when they fire.

Tip

Each preset uses the template with the name shown below. To change the wording, duplicate that template under Templates > Email templates and edit your copy. The automation picks up your copy because it shares the name.

Booking the job

Instant inquiry reply (Start here)

"Reply the minute a lead lands; nudge if they go quiet."

  1. Trigger: Lead created
  2. Send Inquiry auto-reply
  3. Wait 2 days
  4. Send Discovery call invite

Proposal follow-ups (Start here)

"Two nudges after the proposal goes out. Stops when they book."

  1. Trigger: Status changed to Proposal sent
  2. Send Proposal follow-up #1
  3. Wait 4 days
  4. Send Proposal follow-up #2 (final nudge)

Just-booked welcome

"The welcome packet, the moment they book."

  1. Trigger: Status changed to Booked
  2. Send Welcome packet

Planning the wedding

Pre-wedding questionnaires (Start here)

"Timeline, music, and special people" collected on schedule.

  1. Trigger: Days before event: 90
  2. Send Timeline questionnaire
  3. Wait 30 days
  4. Send Music + song preferences
  5. Wait 30 days
  6. Send Special people + moments

The three emails still land 90, 60 and 30 days before the wedding. They are one run rather than three, because an automation has one start. The waits are what carry you from each questionnaire to the next.

Final payment reminder

"A friendly heads-up before the final balance is due."

  1. Trigger: Days before event: 30
  2. Send Final payment reminder

Week-of note

"Arrival time and what to expect, five days out."

  1. Trigger: Days before event: 5
  2. Send Week-of / day-before note

Wedding day & production

Next-day wow (Start here)

"Thank-you the day after, teaser while the excitement is hot."

  1. Trigger: Days after event: 1
  2. Send Next-day thank you
  3. Wait 4 days
  4. Send Sneak peek / teaser drop

In-production updates

"They always know where the edit stands."

  1. Trigger: Status changed to In production
  2. Send Editing has started
  3. Wait 21 days
  4. Send Mid-edit update

Delivery & growth

Delivery → review → referral (Start here)

"Deliver the film, then ask for the review" and then the referral.

  1. Trigger: Status changed to Delivered
  2. Send Highlight film delivery
  3. Wait 3 days
  4. Send Review request
  5. Wait 7 days
  6. Send Referral request

Keepsake drive offer

"Their film on an engraved drive, while it's still fresh."

  1. Trigger: Days after event: 90
  2. Send Keepsake drive offer

Staying in touch

1-year anniversary

"A warm note one year out" with a nudge toward an anniversary film.

  1. Trigger: Days after event: 365
  2. Send 1-year anniversary

Adding one

  1. Open Templates > Automations > Browse.
  2. Click + Add it on the starter's card (Show all 11 starters first, if it is not one of the five on screen).
  3. Hailo builds it, switched off, and opens it. You see "Added" with the name, and "Read it through, then press Go live."
  4. Read each Send email step. To change wording, edit the template it names.
  5. Press Go live at the top right.

A starter you already have reads Added · open it → and opens the copy you have rather than adding a second. See Automations overview.

If it didn't work

  • A starter was added but nothing sends. It is still switched off. Open it and press Go live.
  • It went Live but the email never arrived. Check the top of the Automations page for the "no email account is connected" banner and connect a mailbox. Then check that the wedding date (for day-based starters) or the stage change (for status starters) actually happened after the automation went Live.
  • A step says "Choose an email". The starter names an email your library does not have under that name. Open the step, pick the one you want, and it sticks.
  • Automations overviewWhat an automation is, how the Automations page is laid out, what Paused and Live mean, and how Hailo keeps you from adding the same automation twice.
  • Build an automationUse the visual editor to wire a trigger to actions, waits and branches, configure every block, and set the automation Live.
  • Email templatesBrowse the starter library, make your own copies, and use the builder to write a template with a lifecycle phase, mood, recipient, merge tags and a live preview.
  • Conditions and stop on replyEvery If / Else condition and its negative, what record each one needs, the Has tag? block, the stages a Status changed trigger can fire on, and how Stop if they reply works.
Still stuck? Send a note from the contact page and a real person at Hailo answers. Include the studio name you signed up with and, if it is about a specific screen, what you clicked.
Contact support