Use Send Invites to email people about a course and direct them to its course page. This guide is for a System Admin or a Course Owner working with a course they can manage.
Before you begin
An invitation is an email, not a booking. It does not create an Order or Registration, reserve a place, or give the recipient access to an unpublished course.
Use the Admin dashboard on a desktop-sized screen. The course-header Send Invites action is not shown on mobile. A Facilitator does not have this action.
Check that the course is published and that the course page offers the intended booking or enquiry route. Check any dates and availability before inviting people.
Check the intended recipients and their email addresses. Selecting a contact does not establish that they have agreed to promotional emails; do not assume this tool selects only opted-in contacts.
Importing is separate from sending. Enter / Paste Emails and Upload File import contact data before you finish composing the invitation. Imports can create contacts or change existing information, including consent information. Closing the invitation afterwards does not undo the import. If the people already exist in Contacts, use Search & Select Contacts instead of importing them again.
Open Send Invites
Open the Admin dashboard and choose Courses.
Open the course you want to invite people to. Check its name.
Select Share in the course header. In the Share window, under Course Link, select Copy to copy the course-page address for your invitation, then close the window. If the course uses a keyword other than course, the heading shows that word, for example Workshop Link.
Select Send Invites. The window opens at Select Recipients.
Choose your recipients
The window lists four methods in this order. Choose one for this invitation.
1. Enter / Paste Emails
Use this when you need to import an email list. Read the import warning above before continuing.
Select Enter / Paste Emails.
In Enter Emails, enter one person per line. Use just the email address, or email address, first name and last name separated by commas. Do not add a heading row.
Select Continue. This uploads the entered data for an import.
Follow Map and import contact data below before composing the email.
For example, these are fictional addresses and names:
alex@example.com, Alex, Green sam@example.com, Sam, Lee
2. Search & Select Contacts
Use this when the people are already in your Contacts list. It does not import them again. Select no more than 500 contacts with this method; your account’s invitation limit can be lower.
Select Search & Select Contacts.
Open Select contacts... and type a name or email address. Select each intended contact.
Check the selected names. Remove any unwanted selection using its remove control.
Click outside the dropdown to close the list, then select Continue. The Compose Email screen opens.
3. Use Filter
A saved contact filter is a set of rules used to find matching contacts. Before opening Send Invites, a System Admin must check the saved filter and its matching people on the Contacts page. If you are a Course Owner, ask a System Admin to confirm the filter and intended recipients before using it; you do not have access to that Contacts page. To create or check a saved filter on the Contacts page, see Filter, Sort and Use Saved Filters. Its contacts example filters by marketing consent.
Select Use Filter.
Open Select filter... and choose the saved filter you have checked.
Select Continue to open Compose Email.
A filtered preview is not a complete recipient list. The number on its Send button can reflect only the contacts loaded for preview. Sending uses the full matching filter, checked again when the job runs. Do not use the preview count as the final audience total. If you need an exact fixed selection, use Search & Select Contacts.
4. Upload File
Use this when the email list is in a CSV or Excel file. Include an email column and clear column headings. The spreadsheet below is an example, not a file you must copy.
Select Upload File.
Under Upload a file to import, select Select file and choose your CSV or Excel file. Choosing the file starts its upload.
Follow Map and import contact data below. Do not upload the same file again simply because processing takes time.
Map and import contact data
These steps apply only to Enter / Paste Emails and Upload File. Mapping tells Cademy which imported value belongs in each Contact field.
Check consent before starting an import. Send Invites runs the same contact import as Contacts Import in Settings, and that import saves marketing consent for every contact it creates or updates. If you map a marketing consent column, a cell that holds no or false is saved as consent given, the same as yes or true. An empty cell, or marketing consent left as Do not import, is saved as consent not given. With Update existing Contact on, this replaces the consent saved for a matching contact, so an import with no consent column removes saved consent from every existing contact it updates. For the full rule, see “Marketing Consent in an import” in Import Contacts. If the contacts already exist, use Search & Select Contacts instead. Turning updates off is not a no-change mode: imported tags and import-list membership can still be added to existing contacts.
On Configure your import, find the Email row. Set its Value Source to CSV column, then choose the column containing email addresses under File Column.
Map any names or other values you intend to import. For the pasted example above, use Column 1 for Email, Column 2 for First Name and Column 3 for Last Name. Check Sample Data against each field.
Review all mappings, not just the automatically selected ones. Select Continue.
Review Update existing Contact, which starts switched on. Leave it on only when you intend to update matching contacts with the imported information. Turning it off does not cancel the import or prevent new contacts being created.
Select Import Contacts only when the import and its effects are intended. Processing starts before you compose the invitation.
The Value Source choices are Do not import, CSV column and Fixed value. A fixed value supplies the same value for every row. Do not use a shared fixed email address for a list of different people.
If an import error appears, stop and review the import before sending. Reaching Compose Email is not proof that every row imported successfully. Do not rely on an import to preserve or establish marketing permission. Have a System Admin check the resulting contact details and consent before using them for promotional email.
A System Admin can open Settings > Imports and find the attempt in Your Imports. Check its status and the Imported and Failed counts. Select a count to inspect its records. A successfully imported contact and a successfully delivered invitation are different results.
After processing completes, Cademy prepares an import-summary email for the active team account that started the import, if that account has an email address. The import-summary email is not a course invitation or proof that invitations were delivered. Use Your Imports to check the result rather than relying only on that notification.
Compose the invitation
On Compose Email, enter a clear Subject and write the message body. If you already have a saved custom invitation template, choose it from Select a template... first, then review its subject, body and attachments.
Include the course name and what you want the reader to do. Add the course-page link: place the cursor in the body, open More Rich, then choose Insert Link. Paste the copied course address into URL, enter useful link text in Text, and select Insert.
If the invitation needs an attachment, open Add Attachments, select Select file and choose the file. Check the attachment list and remove anything unintended. Adding a file uploads it; it is not a preview-only action. If the editor reports that attachments are too large, remove files or reduce their size.
Read the subject and body again. Select Continue to open the recipient preview.
For example, use a subject such as Book a place on Introduction to Photography, then explain the course and include its course-page link. Use ordinary subject text when you need to check the exact wording: this invitation preview displays the body, not the rendered subject.
The Mail Merge menu inserts supported personal or course details into the message. Check the result for the selected recipients. An invitation has course and contact information, not a booked Order, Registration or selected course date. Do not use payment, invoice, certificate or booking-specific tags as though the recipient already has a booking. A booking-confirmation template is not an invitation template.
Preview and send
Check the message under Preview for. Use Previous and Next to inspect up to the first five recipients. This limit applies to every selection method, even when you are sending to more people.
Check personal details, the course name and the course-page link. The preview does not show the full rendered subject, delivery address or attachment contents. Check these separately before sending. For imports, wait for processing and check its results first.
If the preview is blank, still loading, incorrect or shows an error, do not send. Use Back to correct the message or close the window and resolve the recipient/import issue.
When you are ready to send to the intended audience, select Send Email or Send [number] Emails. This submits the invitation for processing; it does not prove delivery. If you are only checking, close the window instead.
The example below illustrates the preview controls, not a complete invitation to copy. Include your own course-page link before sending.
If Cademy says emailing is disabled, email records can be prepared but nothing is delivered. Contact Cademy Support before attempting delivery. Do not resend simply because an email has not arrived or the window closed after an error.
To inspect recorded results, a System Admin opens Contacts, finds the recipient and opens their record. On the record, select the Emails tab, then open the message to check its subject, recipient and status. On a narrow screen, select Activity first to show the tabs. A queued or prepared message is not proof that it reached the inbox. If a failure is unclear, give Support the course, recipient, subject, approximate sending time and exact error before retrying.
Frequently asked questions
What is mapping?
Mapping connects each Cademy Contact field to an imported column or fixed value. For example, connect Email to the column containing email addresses. The main guide above explains the current field-first mapping screen.
How many people can I invite at once?
Search & Select Contacts accepts no more than 500 contacts, and your account’s invitation limit can be lower. Other methods also depend on your account and sending limits. Follow any limit message shown in the window; there is no universal 5,000-recipient allowance. A later sending check can also reject a list. For filters, the preview count is not necessarily the total audience.
What if some contacts fail to import?
Have a System Admin open Settings > Imports and select the Failed count for that attempt. Check the specific row errors and correct only the affected information. Check which contacts imported and which invitations were submitted before retrying, so you do not update or email people twice.
Does an invitation reserve a place?
No. The recipient still needs to use the course’s booking or enquiry process. An invitation does not create a booking or change access to an unpublished course.
Does closing Send Invites cancel the import?
No. An import already started with Import Contacts continues independently of the invitation window. Check its results in Settings > Imports.
Why is Send Invites missing?
Use a desktop-sized screen and check your role and access to the course. This action is available to System Admins and the course’s Course Owners, not Facilitators. Ask a System Admin to check your role if you need it.
Can I confirm delivery from the preview?
No. Preview checks the displayed message body only. It does not send the message, verify the full audience, test attachments or prove that the course link is accessible to the recipient.