A ‘Ceramic Mug’ needs care instructions. A made to order desk needs a production update. A digital course needs getting started guidance. Sending every customer the same message can leave out the details that matter for the product they bought.
There are three practical approaches to WooCommerce custom emails per product: add a built in purchase note, insert a product specific message into an existing order email, or send a separate email using a product rule.
This guide explains when to use each approach and walks through a rule for sending mug care instructions after an order reaches Completed.
Release status: Extonify Custom Emails Per Product for WooCommerce has been submitted to WordPress.org and is awaiting review. The Extonify steps below describe the submitted version. Check the product page for availability and release information.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT KIND OF PRODUCT EMAIL
Before changing settings, decide whether the customer needs an extra message or just more information inside the order email they already receive.
| Approach | Best for | Important limit |
|---|---|---|
| WooCommerce Purchase note | A short, fixed note for a product | Does not create a separately scheduled email |
| Insert a message into an order email | Product instructions included with the order confirmation | Uses the existing email’s timing, subject and recipients |
| Send a separate product email | A message with its own subject, recipient settings or delay | Adds another email when its rule qualifies |
An email designer changes appearance. A product email rule decides which content applies to a purchase and, for separate messages, when and to whom it is sent. You may need either or both.
OPTION 1: ADD A WOOCOMMERCE PURCHASE NOTE
For a short, fixed product message, start with WooCommerce’s built in Purchase note:
- Open Products > All Products and edit the product.
- In Product data, open Advanced.
- Enter your Purchase note and update the product.
- Place a test order and check where the note appears in your store’s order display and email templates.
For example: “Please read the care guide supplied with your mug before its first use.”
WooCommerce documents this field for Simple and Variable products. It displays a note below the product in the order confirmation and applicable order related emails. Its appearance depends on the templates and context used by your store. See the official product editor documentation.
Use a rule based approach when you need a separate subject, delayed sending, recipient controls or more flexible product targeting.
OPTION 2: SEND A SEPARATE EMAIL FOR A SELECTED PRODUCT
The following example uses Extonify Custom Emails Per Product for WooCommerce. Its submitted build requires WordPress, PHP, and WooCommerce.
Use a staging store and an inbox you control while setting up the example. Install the plugin only from the release source shown on its product page when available.
1. Create a rule
With WooCommerce and the plugin active, open WooCommerce > Product Emails and create a rule named Mug care instructions.
Select Send as a separate email as the delivery mode. Make the rule active when you are ready to run the controlled test.
For separate messages, also check WooCommerce > Settings > Emails > Custom emails per product and make sure the email is enabled
2. Choose the order event
Select Order reaches a status and choose Completed.
This rule becomes eligible when the order reaches that status. It is not simply triggered by opening the order or previewing the message. Choose a status that fits your store’s actual workflow: different product and payment configurations may follow different status paths.
The plugin also offers rules for an order moving between two specific statuses and for refunds. Those are separate use cases; keep this first rule focused on one event.
3. Target the product
Add Ceramic Mug to the included products. Leave Every product in the order unchecked and leave exclusions empty for this example.
Rules can also target variations, categories, tags and product types. In this version, an item can match any selected include condition, while an exclusion takes precedence. Selecting a category and a tag does not mean that an item must have both.
Start with one product, then expand the rule once you have checked the result.
4. Set recipients, grouping and timing
Use these values:
| Setting | Example value |
|---|---|
| To | customer |
| Cc | Leave empty |
| Bcc | Leave empty |
| Grouping | One email for the whole order |
| Delay | 0 minutes |
Here, customer resolves to the order’s billing email address. admin refers to the site administrator; an explicit email address can also be used. Separate rules support their own To, Cc and Bcc lists. A rule without a To recipient sends nothing.
One email for the whole order means one message for this rule’s matched products in that order. It does not combine every rule in your store into one email. If two different rules qualify, both may send.
5. Write the subject, heading and message
| Subject | Care instructions for order {order_number} |
|---|---|
| Heading | Looking after your mug |
| Message | Hi {customer_first_name}, Thank you for your order. This message relates to: {product_names}. Please follow the care instructions supplied with your mug. If you need help finding the correct care guide, reply to this email and include your order number, {order_number}. Thank you for shopping with us. |
Adapt the care advice to your actual product. The placeholders use the order’s details and the matched products. For this order level example, {product_names} lists the matched products rather than every unrelated item in the order.
Keep product instructions specific. Do not use a generic email to make unsupported safety, warranty or delivery promises.
6. Preview and send a controlled test
Preview the rule against a suitable order and inspect both HTML and plain text. A preview renders the message without sending it.
For a separate rule, use Send a test email with an address you control. This sends to the chosen test address, not the rule’s normal To, Cc or Bcc recipients.
Finally, test a fresh order through the actual trigger. Preview and test email tools do not prove that a live order event will match the rule.
OPTION 3: PUT THE MESSAGE INSIDE AN EXISTING ORDER EMAIL
Choose Insert into a WooCommerce email when the instructions belong inside the email the customer already receives.
For the mug example, choose the customer Completed order email from the available list and select After the order table as the insertion position. Keep the same product targeting and write the care message in the content editor.
An inserted rule uses the native email’s subject, heading, recipients and sending time. It has no independent trigger or delay and does not send an additional message of its own.
The plugin also offers positions before the order table, with the order details, with the customer details, or beside each matched product. Available placement depends on the email template exposing the relevant WooCommerce hooks.
Test by sending the actual native email for a suitable order. The separate rule test button does not test inserted content. If another extension changes the email template, inspect the resulting email rather than assuming every insertion point is present.
TEST MATCHING AND NON MATCHING ORDERS
Use fresh test orders and your controlled recipient address. For the separate Completed status example, the expected results are:
| Test order | Expected custom rule outcome |
|---|---|
| Ceramic Mug only | One separate mug message when the order reaches Completed |
| Notebook only | No message from the mug rule |
| Ceramic Mug and Notebook | One separate mug message; matched product text refers to the mug |
| Multiple units of the same mug | The order level rule still produces one message |
WooCommerce may also send its normal Completed order email if enabled. That extra native email is expected when you choose Separate mode.
Check the actual inbox, resolved placeholders and recipients. Then inspect the plugin’s delivery History and the order’s custom product email panel. A recorded successful send is not proof that an email reached the inbox; WordPress’s mail documentation makes the same distinction.
DELAYS AND COMMON SENDING PROBLEMS
Separate rules can wait in seconds, minutes, hours or days using WooCommerce’s Action Scheduler queue. Queue processing affects when a due action actually runs. Use the History and scheduled actions when investigating delayed messages.
Before changing the message content, check these points:
- No separate email: confirm that the rule and the Custom emails per product email are enabled, the To field is populated, the product qualifies and the correct event occurred.
- Unexpected extra emails: check whether Separate mode was chosen and whether another rule also qualifies. Grouping applies within each rule.
- Inserted text missing: verify the chosen native email and whether the active template includes the relevant insertion hook.
- Preview works but nothing arrives: run a fresh real order test, inspect delivery records, and check the store’s mail transport and the recipient’s spam folder.
A product that never matches a rule does not necessarily produce a delivery record. Missing history alone cannot identify the cause.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I send a different email for each WooCommerce product?
Yes.
Create separate product targeted rules with their own content. You can also use one rule for several products and choose one message for the order or one per matched product. Separate rules can still each produce a message.
Will the customer receive two emails?
An inserted message goes inside the native email. A separate rule adds its own email, so a customer may receive both the normal WooCommerce email and the product specific message.
Can I add a delay or copy another recipient?
Separate rules support delays and To, Cc and Bcc controls. Inserted content follows the native email’s sending time and recipients.
Will changing an order’s status repeatedly resend the same message?
The plugin records automatic delivery identity using the order, rule and event to prevent repeats for the same automatic delivery. Different rules or events can still qualify, and manual sending or resending is a deliberate additional action.
Is this a drag and drop email designer?
Its purpose is product specific content and delivery rules. Messages use WooCommerce’s email system. Test any combination with a template customizer against real emails.
GIVE EACH PRODUCT THE INSTRUCTIONS IT NEEDS
Start with a Purchase note if a short fixed message is enough. Use Insert mode to place targeted information inside an existing order email, or Separate mode when the message needs its own subject, recipients or timing.
Choose one product and one event first. Test a matching order, a non matching order and a mixed order before expanding your rules.
View Extonify Custom Emails Per Product details and release status.