If you teach with an online-course plugin, Hive Mail can email students at the right moment: a welcome when they enrol, a note after a lesson, congratulations after a course, and a neutral message when access ends. Hive Mail works with Tutor LMS and LifterLMS. LearnDash is in beta.
This is part of Hive Mail Pro (Requirements and installation). A course plugin appears in Hive Mail as soon as it is active; one that is not installed shows nothing.
What starts a flow #
In a flow, open What starts the flow and choose a trigger of your course plugin:
| Event | Tutor LMS | LifterLMS | LearnDash (beta) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A student enrols | a student enrols in a course | a student enrols in a course | a student is enrolled in a course |
| A lesson is finished | a student finishes a lesson | a student finishes a lesson | a student finishes a lesson |
| A course is finished | a student finishes a course | a student finishes a course | a student finishes a course |
| Access ends | a student is removed from a course | a student loses access to a course | a student loses access to a course |
Each trigger name starts with the plugin's name, for example Tutor LMS: a student finishes a course. Every trigger has two settings:
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Course (any when empty) | Pick one course, or leave it empty for every course. The picker lists that plugin's courses. | Any |
| Add students who are not contacts yet | Makes a transactional contact from the student's account. Transactional emails of this flow reach them; marketing emails never do. | On |
A student is a WordPress user, so the flow starts for the contact linked to that account. The flow starts once per student and course (once per lesson for a lesson event). A student who loses access again later starts a removal flow again. A flow reacts only to events that happen while it is On (Triggers).
Merge tags for the email #
Type these in the subject or the body of the flow's emails (Merge tags and fallbacks):
| Tag | Shows |
|---|---|
{{course_name}}, {{course_url}} |
The name of the course and the link to it |
{{lesson_name}}, {{lesson_url}} |
The name of the lesson and the link to it (empty when the event is not about a lesson) |
The "Is enrolled in a course" rule #
For Tutor LMS and LifterLMS, segments, If steps and Goal steps have a rule for the course plugin (Tutor LMS course or LifterLMS course) with the choices is enrolled in and is not enrolled in, and a course picker. Use it to stop a nudge flow once the student has finished or left. A contact is matched to the student by the WordPress account linked to it; is not enrolled in also matches contacts that have no account. See Segments and Waits, conditions, goals and splits.
There is no such rule for LearnDash.
Ready-made automations and emails #
Under Automation > Automation recipes each installed course plugin has four recipes, 12 in all. Each makes a Draft flow, so nothing is sent until you switch it on (Automation recipes).
| Recipe (one per plugin) | Starts when | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Course welcome | A student enrols | A short service email: which course, and one button to start |
| Lesson finished: well done | A lesson is finished | A short note with a button back to the course |
| Course finished: congratulations and what next | A course is finished | Congratulations at once, then three days later a pointer to what to learn next. The second email is marketing, so it reaches only people who gave permission |
| Course access ended | Access ends | A neutral service email: what happened and how to get help. No offer |
The recipe name ends with the plugin's name in brackets, for example Course welcome (Tutor LMS). The emails come from six course starters in the template picker: Course: welcome, Course: lesson finished, Course: congratulations, Course: what to learn next, Course: ask for a review and Course: access ended (Starter designs and seasonal recipes). They show only where a course plugin is active. Replace the sample text and pictures before you switch a recipe on.
See what was found #
Go to Automation > Integrations. A section called Online courses ("Students who enrol, finish a lesson or a course, or lose access can start automations.") has one card for each course plugin on your site, with an Active badge, how many of your flows are on, the triggers it adds and a ready-made automations button. See Automation integrations.
LearnDash (beta) #
LearnDash support is in beta. The triggers, merge tags, recipes and emails are there for enrolment, lesson, course and lost access, but the enrolled rule is not. Test a flow with a test student before you rely on it.
Tip: Keep welcome and access-ended emails Transactional and anything that promotes another course Marketing. See Steps.
Next: Triggers, Automation recipes.
