
Handling the expansion of a LearnDash-based eLearning platform means that you have to perform a long list of communication tasks, including sending out welcome emails, progress updates, completion certificates, and reminders. If you were to do these tasks manually, they would take up a lot of your time and you would feel overwhelmed, especially if the number of your students is increasing rapidly.
At this point, you really need to have some serious LearnDash email automation, which can help you handle this at scale. By creating automated workflows, you have the possibility of giving out personalized emails at a suitable time, thus keeping the learners involved and allowing a smooth course progress, all without a continuous and tedious manual effort. It not only saves time but also increases student satisfaction, and on top of all that, it enables you to scale your courses efficiently.
The Importance of Email Automation for LearnDash Courses
If you are utilizing LearnDash for your online courses, it is essential to keep the students interested other than producing quality content. Nevertheless, when you have a massive number of learners, it is practically impossible to send emails manually for each enrollment, reminder, certificate, etc. These kinds of tasks can be made straightforward with the LearnDash API and the proper setup.
For example, the user can make a few email tasks more straightforward, such as composing a welcome email, reporting the progress, or issuing a completion certificate, without any obstacles. This feature is where LearnDash email integration comes in handy
- Increases Student Participation – Provide personalized reminders to the learners as well as updates that match their needs and thus, keep them informed with timely LearnDash email notifications.
- Elevates Course Completion – On time notifications make students drive their lessons, quizzes, or courses to completion on time as well. Email automation setting for LearnDash is the tool that makes this possible.
- Strengthens Retention and Upselling – You can promote the courses that are similar to the ones the students are studying or the premium bundles for them.
- Keep Consistent Communication –Helps students enrolled in more than one course stay on track with timely updates and essential announcements.
Once LearnDash email automation is configured, instructors can dedicate more energy to courses and students rather than routine admin tasks.
Best Tools for LearnDash Email Automation
The right tools are a necessity if you want to comprehensively create a logical e-mail automation strategy for Learndash. These are some of the most efficient tools that are in perfect harmony with Learndash, thus permitting you to effortlessly automate, customize, and operate without any hassle.
1. LearnDash Notifications Plugin
With the LearnDash email Notifications add-on, you can start automatically, event-triggered email communications right from LearnDash. The range of applications can cover sending welcome emails, progress updates, inactivity reminders, as well as completion certificates.
Main Features:
- Pre-Built Notification Triggers: This plugin offers pre-configured event triggers for courses, lessons, quizzes, and groups, giving you the ability to automate emails based on user activities.
- Personalized Email Templates: Dynamic shortcodes allow you to develop customized emails, thus every notification becomes the most appropriate and personalized for each learner.
- Custom Scheduling and Delayed Notifications: With the help of custom scheduling, the plugin gives you the option of sending the email right away or postponing it for a specific period that fits your communication plan.
- Seamless LearnDash email Integration: Without additional instruments, one can easily establish, operate, and track all the email notifications in the LearnDash control panel with the help of this email notification system.
Pros:
- Officially supported by LearnDash
- Easy to set up and manage
- Covers most student communication needs
Cons:
- Limited reporting and analytics
- No built-in advanced segmentation
2. Mailchimp
Mailchimp is an extensively utilized email marketing tool that can be connected with LearnDash via Zapier or other external plugins. It’s perfect for sending bulk campaigns, segmenting learners, and tracking engagement. The LearnDash API makes these external integrations more flexible and reliable.
Looking to extend the capability of your LearnDash email automation to more advanced levels? By utilizing our LearnDash development services, you can tailor your LMS not only to complete detailed automations and integrations but also to provide unique learning experiences for your users.
Key Features:
- Advanced Audience Segmentation: Categorize the users depending upon their engagement, registration status, or outcomes, and accordingly create a personalized email alert in LearnDash that will be the greatest utility of the recipient group.
- Prebuilt Email Templates: Take advantage of eye-catching and responsive templates to effortlessly create emails that captivate the audience and fit the LearnDash email integration.
- A/B Testing Capabilities: By means of email automation, the user is allowed to do the setting up and then test the subject lines, the content, or the schedule so as to find out which gets the most engagement.
- Detailed Analytics and Reporting: Track the number of opens, clicks, and engagement tokens, and employ the LearnDash API for amalgamating data with different modules.
Pros:
- Interface suitable for beginners
- Robust automation capabilities
- There is a free plan
Cons:
- Requires integration setup with LearnDash
- Limited automation on free plans
3. Groundhogg
Groundhogg is a self-hosted CRM and marketing automation plugin for WordPress. It allows a direct integration with LearnDash, thus being a powerful option for any LearnDash email automation within your site.
Main Features:
- Trigger LearnDash Email Notifications: Email notifications are sent automatically when a learner performs certain activities. The emails can follow the events of enrollment, course completion, quiz results, or even inactivity.
- Flexible LearnDash Email Integration: You can create funnels, drip sequences, and nurture campaigns with this tool alone without needing any other software.
- Tagging and Segmentation: Email automation for LearnDash can be improved with personalized communication for learners resulting in more engagement.
- LearnDash API Support: Introduces efficient data sharing between your tools and automate workflows with the help of the LearnDash API.
Pros:
- Native LearnDash automation.
- Unlimited email (no cost per subscriber).
- Advanced funnel builder.
- None of the user data is sent to third-party services (GDPR-friendly).
Cons:
- It may be overwhelming for beginners.
- Your hosting/server resources are used when sending large volumes of emails.
4. ConvertKit
ConvertKit is a cloud-based email marketing tool popular among creators, bloggers, and course instructors. It’s known for its simplicity and automation builder, making it a good option for email automation for LearnDash.
Main Features:
- LearnDash Email Integration through Connectors: Most integrations utilize third-party services such as Zapier, WP Fusion, or Uncanny Automator to achieve LearnDash email integration. The LearnDash API, on the other hand, enables a more efficient LearnDash email integration.
- Automated LearnDash Email Notifications: By employing personalized LearnDash email notifications, you can send out the following messages: a welcome message, a progress reminder, or even a promotional newsletter.
- Graphical Automation Designer: With the support of your LearnDash automation, you can easily map out the learner pathways and manage the processes.
- Tagging and Segmentation: Segment learners (e.g., by course enrolled) to enhance engagement and support email automation for LearnDash.
Pros:
- Very user-friendly and intuitive.
- Excellent for creators selling courses and memberships.
- Strong email deliverability.
- Great landing pages & forms for lead capture.
Cons:
- Not a native LearnDash plugin (requires integration).
- Pricing grows with subscriber count.
- Fewer advanced CRM features compared to Groundhogg.
Looking to scale your LMS with automation and custom features?
Hire LearnDash developer today!Essential LearnDash Email Tools at a Glance!
Here’s a quick side-by-side comparison of the top LearnDash email automation tools, with their key use cases, and pricing to help you choose the right solution.
| Tool | Ideal Choice for | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| LearnDash Notifications | Course Creators who want a simple, native solution for LearnDash email notifications without extra setup. | This tool comes free as an add-on included with your LearnDash license. |
| Mailchimp | Users who need a popular external email marketing service with strong automation and analytics, and don’t mind setting up LearnDash email integration. | Mailchimp offers a free plan up to 500 contacts, with paid plans starting at around $13 per month. |
| Groundhogg | Instructors who want a self-hosted WordPress solution with full control and no per-subscriber fees. | Groundhogg is a premium plugin, with plans starting at $20 per month, billed annually, depending on extensions. |
| ConvertKit | Creators who prefer a cloud-based tool with a simple interface, excellent deliverability, and support for email automation for LearnDash. | ConvertKit offers a free plan up to 1,000 subscribers, with paid plans starting at $15 per month. |
Setting Up Email Automation in LearnDash
Through the Notifications add-on for LearnDash, you can automatically schedule the student emails that correspond to particular occurrences in the student journey without having to put in any manual work. Correspondingly, you have the potential to raise interaction, commitment, and loyalty.
The procedure is as follows —
Step 1: Install the LearnDash Notifications Add-On and Activate It
- Through your WordPress Dashboard,
- Go to LearnDash LMS → Add-ons.
- The list is where you will find LearnDash Notifications.
- Next, click on Install Now → then on Activate.
Once the installation has been carried out successfully and the add-on activated, a new LearnDash Notifications menu will be available right below the LearnDash LMS section.
Step 2: Go to Notification Settings
- Go to LearnDash LMS → Notifications.
- To create your first automated email notification, you should click on Add New.
Step 3: Choose the Notification Trigger
The basic principle that LearnDash uses to operate the Notifications system is to associate event-driven triggers to recipients. Among others, you can create an email for the following learner activities:
- User Enrolled in a Course → A welcome email must be sent.
- Course Completed → Enable the student and issue the certificates.
- Lesson or Topic Completed → Praise the progress and offer the next steps.
- Quiz Completed → Provide the results and encourage the learners.
- Group Enrollment → Email the students when they are added to a group.
- Inactivity Triggers → Give reminders if a student has not logged in for X days.
It would be best to choose the trigger that suits your objective.
Step 4: Write Your Email Content
Once the trigger is set:
- Add a Notification Title (for admin reference).
- Enter the Email Subject and Body Content.
- Use LearnDash shortcodes to personalize emails:
- {user_firstname} → Displays student’s name
- {course_title} → Shows the relevant course name
- {quiz_score} → Inserts quiz results
- {certificate_link} → Adds a certificate download link
Step 5: Set Notification Recipients
You can send emails to:
- Individual Students
- Group Members
- Admins/Instructors
- Custom Email Addresses
Giving this freedom ensures targeting the best audience for every message.
Step 6: Schedule or Send Instantly
Decide on the time for sending the email:
- Right after the trigger
- Delayed (e.g., 2 days after registration)
- Recurring Reminders for continuous participation
Step 7: Test Your Notifications
- The Send Test Email feature is used to preview the formatting and personalization.
- Before getting live, check the links, certificates for attachment, and the use of merge tags.
Step 8: Monitor Email Deliverability
Even though the tool lacks extensive statistics, you can improve email follow-up and delivery by associating it with SMTP plugins (like SureMail or WP Mail SMTP).
Want professional assistance with creating email workflows and advanced automations? Our LearnDash developers will provide you with the most suitable course-based solutions.
Best Email Automation Strategies for LearnDash
A smart use of the LearnDash Notifications plugin can lead to easy accomplishment of event-based automated emails that can substantially boost the user’s engagement and make the communication process smooth. Different core types of email notifications could be easily configured by this add-on.
1. Welcome Email Automation
- As soon as a learner registers for a course or group, send tailor-made welcome emails.
- Incorporate login details, course navigation tips, and contact information.
2. Progress-Based Notifications
- Emails should be triggered when a student finishes a lesson, topic, or quiz.
- Cheer them on to proceed and hyperlink to the next stage in their learning path.
3. Course Completion & Certification Emails
- Automatically congratulate students on finishing their courses.
- Use the {certificate_link} shortcode to link the course completion certificate.
4. Inactivity Reminders
- Rethink students who, for whatever reason, have neither logged in nor made any progress regularly for a predetermined number of days, although this is done automatically.
- Let them visit the platform again and continue their learning journey.
5. Quiz Result Notifications
- Automated emails deliver quiz results, including scores and feedback.
- The best time to inform students of how well they have done is immediately after they have taken their tests.
6. Group Enrollment Notifications
- Inform learners of their enrollment when they have been added to a group
- Perfect for membership programs and cohort-based learning.
7. Assignment Notifications
- Notify students if their assignments have been approved, rejected, or graded.
- Help to keep open and timely communication.
Final Verdict
LearnDash email automation is not only a necessity of the time, it’s a terrific way to boost learner engagement, through your courses, and simplify your daily routines. You are able to automate welcome emails, progress reminders, inactivity alerts, and completion certificates thus saving time and ensuring each learner is accompanied for their whole journey.
Among the various tools, the LearnDash Notification plugin is unique for its user-friendliness, adaptability, and ability to personalize communication at scale.
If you are keen on developing your online courses to a large extent, then the most rational next move would be to put money into email automation.


