Let Michelle handle the blank page problem
You know exactly what you want to say to your clients. Getting it into a polished, professional email is another story. Whether you're announcing a new program, nudging a cohort that's gone quiet, or broadcasting a mid-week motivation to your entire list, writing client emails eats time you'd rather spend coaching. That's exactly where Michelle, Coachful's built-in AI assistant, earns her keep.
Michelle lives inside your coach dashboard and can draft emails, broadcast messages, and client communications in seconds — using context she already has about your programs, your clients, and your coaching style. No copy-pasting into ChatGPT, no switching tabs, no starting from scratch.
TL;DR
- Open Michelle from any screen in your Coachful dashboard using the AI assistant icon (bottom-right corner).
- Tell her what you want: the audience, the purpose, and the tone. She'll draft it immediately.
- Review, edit, copy, and send — or ask Michelle to revise until it's right.
- Works for 1:1 client emails, squad broadcast messages, and general announcements.
What kinds of emails and broadcasts can Michelle write?
Michelle is a generalist, but she's especially good at the recurring writing tasks that pile up for coaches. Here's a breakdown of the most common use cases:
Client check-in emails
A mid-week nudge, a week-two accountability message, or a simple "how are you feeling after session one?" note. Give Michelle a few details — the client's name, where they are in the program, and the outcome you want — and she'll produce a warm, personalized email in your voice.
Program broadcast messages
Broadcasting to a cohort squad or a community squad means one message goes to everyone enrolled. Michelle can write these with the right level of energy — firm but encouraging for a group that needs a push, celebratory for a group that just hit a milestone. She understands the difference between a 12-week transformation program audience and a monthly membership community.
Onboarding and welcome emails
First impressions matter. Michelle can draft a welcome sequence for new clients — a day-one orientation, a "here's what to expect this week" message for week one, and a "you've got this" note heading into week two. Tell her the program name, the duration, and the transformation you promise, and she'll build the skeleton.
Re-engagement and win-back messages
Got clients who haven't logged in for two weeks? Michelle can write a gentle re-engagement message that doesn't sound passive-aggressive. Describe the situation and ask her to keep the tone warm and curious rather than accusatory — she'll nail it.
Celebration and milestone announcements
Cohort just finished week six of eight? Someone crushed their habit streak? Michelle can write broadcast messages that feel genuinely celebratory, not corporate. These are the touchpoints that drive retention and referrals.
Promotional and offer emails
Launching a new offer, running a limited-time coupon, or upselling an existing client to a higher-tier program? Michelle can draft the pitch. Give her the offer name, the price, the key benefit, and the deadline, and she'll write an email that converts without feeling pushy.
Coachful tip: Coaches on the Coachful platform can use Michelle to draft emails and then send them directly inside squad chats or copy them into their email client — all without leaving the dashboard. Sign in and try it on your next broadcast.
How to ask Michelle to write a client email — step by step
Michelle is conversational, not form-based. You don't fill out fields — you just talk to her. That said, the more context you give upfront, the better your first draft will be.
- Open the Michelle panel. Click the AI assistant icon in the bottom-right corner of any page in your Coachful coach dashboard. The panel slides open on the right side of your screen.
- State the type of content you need. Start with something like: "Write a client email", "Draft a broadcast for my squad", or "I need a re-engagement message for a client who's gone quiet." Michelle reads intent — she'll ask follow-up questions if she needs more context.
- Provide the key details in your prompt. The more specific you are, the less back-and-forth you'll need. A strong prompt includes:
- Audience: One client by name, all members of a specific squad, or your full client list.
- Purpose: Check-in, welcome, celebration, re-engagement, promotion, etc.
- Tone: Warm and supportive, energetic and motivating, professional and direct — your call.
- Key details: Program name, week number, milestone, offer price, deadline — whatever is relevant.
- Review the draft. Michelle will output the email in the chat. Read it carefully. Look for anything that needs your personal touch — a specific story, a client's name, a detail only you would know.
- Iterate in plain English. Not quite right? Just say so: "Make it shorter", "Add a P.S. reminding them about the live call on Thursday", "The tone is too formal — make it feel like a text from a friend". Michelle will revise on the spot.
- Copy and send. Once you're happy with the draft, copy the text and paste it into your email client, or use it as your squad broadcast message directly inside your Coachful squad chat.
Writing better prompts: getting great first drafts
The quality of Michelle's output is directly proportional to the quality of your prompt. Here are the inputs that make the biggest difference:
Give her a persona anchor
If you have a distinct coaching voice — direct and no-nonsense, warm and nurturing, high-energy and motivational — tell Michelle upfront. Something like: "Write this in my voice — I'm a no-BS executive coach who keeps things short and direct." You'll be surprised how much this one line changes the output.
Tell her what you don't want
Constraints are as useful as instructions. "Don't use the word 'journey'. Keep it under 150 words. No bullet points." Michelle respects guardrails. Use them liberally.
Give her the client's context
For 1:1 emails, a sentence about the client goes a long way: "She's a 40-year-old nurse, three weeks into my stress management program, and she just told me in our session that she's struggling with boundaries at work." Michelle will weave that context into the message so it feels personal, not generic.
Mention the desired action
Every good email has a call to action. Tell Michelle what it is: "End with a question asking how they're feeling", "Close with a link reminder to book their next session", or "Encourage them to post a win in the squad chat this week."
Pro tip: Save your best Michelle prompts somewhere. Over time, you'll develop a personal prompt library for your most common email types — welcome messages, check-ins, end-of-program celebrations. Reusing a refined prompt gets you to a great first draft in under 30 seconds.
Using Michelle for squad broadcast messages
Squads in Coachful are your group communication hubs. Cohort squads are automatically created when clients enroll in a program, keeping everyone in that cohort connected. Community squads are always-on group spaces for your broader membership. Both support broadcast-style messages from the coach.
Michelle is particularly useful for squad broadcasts because group communication has its own tone — it needs to feel addressed to the collective while still feeling personal. When prompting Michelle for a broadcast, mention that it's going to a group and describe the group dynamic: "This is going to my 8-person cohort squad — we're in week four of a 10-week business coaching program. The group energy has been great but engagement in the chat has dropped this week."
She'll write something that speaks to the group identity, not just individuals — which is exactly what drives re-engagement in cohort settings.
Common mistakes and troubleshooting
The draft sounds too generic
This almost always means the prompt lacked specifics. Go back and add the client's name, the program week, a concrete detail from your last session, or the exact milestone being celebrated. Generic input produces generic output — feed Michelle real details.
The email is too long (or too short)
Just tell her: "Cut this to under 100 words" or "Expand the middle section — I want more about why this week matters." Michelle doesn't take length personally. She'll resize it without losing the core message.
The tone isn't matching my brand
If the first draft feels off-brand, give Michelle a voice sample. Paste in a sentence or two from an email you've already sent that you love, and say: "Match this tone." She'll calibrate to your existing style immediately.
Michelle is asking too many follow-up questions
This happens when the initial prompt is very open-ended. Front-load your prompt with all the context she needs — audience, purpose, tone, key details, and desired action — and she'll produce a first draft without needing to ask anything.
I need a subject line too
Michelle doesn't always include a subject line unless you ask. Just add: "Also write me three subject line options." She'll give you a range — usually one curiosity-driven, one direct, and one benefit-led — so you can pick the one that fits your list.
I want to use this email as a template for future clients
Once you have a draft you love, ask Michelle to "remove the client-specific details and make this a reusable template with [placeholder] wherever I'd fill in a name or detail." You'll end up with a clean template you can fill in manually or use as a starting prompt for future Michelle sessions. You can also explore program templates in Coachful for building these into your structured curricula.
Best practices for client email communication as a coach
Michelle makes writing fast, but fast isn't always enough. Here are a few principles that make coach-to-client emails land well, regardless of who (or what) wrote the first draft:
- Send at a consistent cadence. Clients who hear from you weekly feel supported. Those who hear from you sporadically feel forgotten. Use Michelle to reduce the friction of regular communication so you actually send it.
- Always add one human touch. Even the best AI draft benefits from one sentence only you could write — a reference to something the client said, a detail from your last call, a genuine observation. It takes 10 seconds and transforms the message.
- Match the channel to the message. Celebratory milestones and group energy belong in squad broadcasts. Sensitive check-ins and personal feedback belong in 1:1 emails or direct messages. Michelle can write both — just make sure you're sending them to the right place.
- Read it out loud before you send. If it sounds like something a press release would say, it needs another pass. Michelle is good, but your ear for your own voice is the final quality check.
For more on managing client communication inside Coachful, see sending broadcast messages to your squad and Michelle AI assistant overview.
Ready to send your best client email yet?
The hardest part of client communication isn't knowing what to say — it's finding the time and energy to say it well, consistently, at scale. Michelle removes that friction entirely. In the time it used to take you to open a blank document and stare at it, you can have a polished, on-brand client email ready to send.
Open your Coachful dashboard, pull up Michelle, and try it on your next broadcast. If you're not yet on Coachful, start your free trial and see how much lighter your communication workflow becomes when you have an AI co-pilot who actually understands your coaching business.