🧠 What you'll learn:
Send personalised welcome emails to new patients when they make their first booking. You can also change the welcome email content based on the booked treatment, practitioner, business location and more.
Introduction to sending welcome emails
When a patient books their first appointment, most clinics send a confirmation email. The problem? Patients expect confirmations. They glance at the date and time, then move on. Any important information buried in that email: intake forms, what to bring, parking info, or an authentic hello from the business - often gets missed.
That's why we recommend sending two emails when someone books their very first appointment:
A confirmation email — short, standard, confirms the booking. Every patient gets this, not just new ones.
A welcome email — a separate email with a unique subject line that catches their eye. This is where you put everything important about their first visit.
Because the welcome email can have a different subject line (e.g. "Welcome to [business]! Please read first"), patients actually open it and read it. Your intake form completion rates will thank you.
⚡️ We provide beautifully designed templates for both — a confirmation template and a welcome template — that are designed to work together as a pair.
💡 Tip: You can set up and start sending a welcome email right away - even if you're still using Cliniko confirmations! Check out the quick start setup steps.
How to send a welcome email
Read the following 3 steps to plan your welcome email(s)
Follow the quick start tutorial to start sending
Step 1: Decide when to send the welcome email
You have two main options for when to send your welcome email:
Option A: As soon as they book their first appointment
Best for: Clinics that need patients to complete intake forms or prepare for their visit
This means the welcome email arrives shortly after they book — giving them time to read it, complete your intake form, and know what to expect before they walk through the door.
How to set it up:
When you create your trigger, select: "After an appointment is created"
Option B: A day or two before their first appointment
Best for: Clinics that prefer to welcome patients after they've actually attended
This approach means you know they showed up before sending the welcome. Useful if your welcome email focuses on ongoing care rather than first-visit preparation.
How to set it up:
When you create your trigger, select: "Before the appointment"
💡 Tip: Most clinics choose Option A because getting intake forms completed before the appointment is a priority. You can always remind them about the intake form again in your appointment reminder too.
Step 2: Target your "new" patients
When you create your trigger, you need to tell Peptalkr who counts as a "new" patient. There are two ways to do this, and the right choice depends on how you've configured Cliniko.
Method 1: Appointment count filter
Filter: Appointment count → Exactly → 0 (if sending before first appointment) or 1 (if sending after first appointment)
Use this when: You want to welcome anyone who is brand new to your clinic, regardless of what they've booked in for.
This is the simplest approach and works for most clinics. It's what our quick start tutorial uses.
Method 2: Appointment type filter
Filter: Appointment type → Select your "initial" or "new patient" appointment types
Use this when: You have specific appointment types in Cliniko for new patients (e.g. "Initial Consultation", "New Patient Assessment") and want the welcome email to only trigger for those.
This is more targeted and works well for clinics that have a structured intake process with dedicated appointment types for first visits.
💡 Tip: Not sure which method suits your setup? Look at your Cliniko appointment types. If you have clearly named "initial" or "new patient" types, Method 2 gives you more control. If your appointment types are based on treatment rather than patient status, Method 1 is the way to go.
Step 3: Decide what to include in your welcome email
Your welcome email template is already designed with best practices in mind. Here's what we recommend including, and why:
The essentials:
A warm welcome message — first impressions matter. Keep it friendly and on-brand.
Intake form link — if you use Peptalkr intake forms, add a button linking to your form. Peptalkr forms use auto-identification so the patient doesn't have to enter their details — make sure you have this set up correctly.
What to expect at their first visit — duration, what to wear, what to bring.
Nice to have:
Location and parking info — a Google Maps link or directions.
Cancellation/late policy — set expectations early.
Practitioner introduction — a friendly photo and short bio can ease first-visit nerves.
Links to relevant resources — your website, FAQs, or pre-visit preparation guides.
💡 Tip: Don't try to include everything. The welcome email should be scannable and focused. If patients need to do one thing — like complete the intake form — make that the clear call to action with a prominent button.
Going further: Different welcome emails for different patients
Once your general welcome email is running, you might want to get more specific. For example:
Different welcome emails per appointment type — a physio patient might get different preparation instructions than a massage patient.
Different welcome emails per practitioner — each practitioner could introduce themselves personally.
Different welcome emails per location — if you have multiple clinics, include the right address and parking info.
To do this, you'd create multiple transactional emails and triggers, each with different filters targeting the right patients.
💡 Tip: Start with one general welcome email first. Get it running and working well. Then add more specific versions over time if you need them — don't try to build everything at once. And yes, you can duplicate triggers and re-use email designs to save time!
FAQs
How do I include my intake form in the welcome email?
How do I include my intake form in the welcome email?
If you use Peptalkr intake forms, add a button in the email builder and link it to your form URL. You can find your form link on the Forms tab of your account.
You can also use the intake form variable to insert the link dynamically — this is useful if you have multiple forms for different appointment types.
Make sure you have auto-identification set up correctly so patients don't have to re-enter their details when they open the form.
How do I send different welcome emails per business/location?
How do I send different welcome emails per business/location?
If you have multiple locations in Cliniko, you can create a separate welcome email and trigger for each one. When setting up the trigger, use the Business filter to target patients who booked at a specific location. This way each clinic gets its own welcome email with the right address, parking info and team details.
📚 Need help with filters? Learn about all trigger filter options
How do I target patients of a specific practitioner?
How do I target patients of a specific practitioner?
Use the Practitioner filter on your trigger. This lets you create personalised welcome emails per practitioner — for example, including their photo, bio and a personal message. Create a separate email and trigger for each practitioner you want to personalise for.
📚 Need help with filters? Learn about all trigger filter options
How do I target patients who booked a specific treatment type?
How do I target patients who booked a specific treatment type?
Use the Appointment type filter on your trigger. This is useful if different treatments require different preparation — for example, a remedial massage patient might need different instructions than a physiotherapy patient. Create a separate email and trigger for each treatment type that needs its own welcome content.
📚 Need help with filters? Learn about all trigger filter options
Can I send a welcome SMS instead of (or as well as) an email?
Can I send a welcome SMS instead of (or as well as) an email?
Yes! Head to the Send SMS tab and follow the SMS tutorial. You can use the same trigger logic (appointment count, appointment type filters) to target new patients via SMS. Some clinics send both — an SMS as an immediate nudge and the email with all the detail.
Should I send the welcome email to existing patients who book a new type of treatment?
Should I send the welcome email to existing patients who book a new type of treatment?
That depends on your clinic. If a long-time physiotherapy patient books their first Pilates class, you might want them to receive a welcome email specific to Pilates. To do this, use the Appointment type filter (targeting Pilates) combined with the Appointment type count filter (set to exactly 0 or 1) so it only sends to patients who are new to that treatment — not new to your clinic.
📚 Need help with filters? Learn about all trigger filter options
What to set up next?
✅ Working great? Nice! Here's some ideas:
Confirmation email → Set up a confirmation email
Appointment reminder → Set up a reminder (remind them about the intake form here too!)
Post-appointment feedback → Request feedback after their visit
Reactivation if they don't rebook → Follow up if they go quiet