Set a release date on an asset and Fileflare automatically delivers it to every customer who pre-ordered the product, the moment the date arrives. Useful for selling pre-orders of digital products that aren’t ready yet (a book launching next month, an album dropping on Friday) — you don’t have to manually fulfill anything when launch day comes.
Available on the Premium plan. Release dates run on your local computer time when set — be conscious of timezones if your buyers are in different regions. Released emails go out in a steady queue, not all at once, to avoid sender-reputation issues.
When you’d use this
- You’re selling a pre-order for an upcoming book, album, course, or software release.
- You’re delivering monthly content to subscribers and want to automate the next-month delivery.
- You’re bulk-releasing a product update to past customers (use the asset’s release date as a “mass send” trigger).
Things to know first
- One email per asset — if you release two assets at the same time, customers get two emails. To avoid this, use the customer-account method (Method 2) and disable Fileflare emails.
- Local timezone — date/time is set in your computer’s timezone. If your store is across timezones, double-check.
- Targeting — the email goes to anyone who ordered a product the asset is attached to, at the time of release. Customers who pre-ordered before you attached the asset are still included.
- Steady delivery — emails are queued and sent over time, not all instantaneously. Helps avoid spam-folder triggers.
Method 1: release-date email delivery
Standard pre-order flow. Customers buy now, get the file via email when the release date arrives.
Setup
- In Fileflare, go to Assets » Add assets and upload the pre-order file.
- Click the pencil icon on the asset’s release-date field and set the date and time.
- Select the asset and use Shopify’s product picker to attach it to the relevant products, up to 50 per action.
- Done. Customers who already pre-ordered the product will receive the file when the date hits; customers who order between now and release also get it on release day.
Method 2: customer-account release with email broadcast
Better when you’re releasing multiple assets simultaneously, or when you want a single, branded marketing email instead of multiple Fileflare emails.
Setup
- (Optional) Disable Fileflare’s automated emails: Settings → Emails → toggle on Disable all order download emails. See disable download emails.
- Set release dates on the assets in Fileflare (same as Method 1).
- Attach the assets to the relevant Shopify product(s).
- When the release time hits, the assets become visible in customers’ account download pages — see customer account downloads.
- Use your email tool (Klaviyo, Shopify Email, Omnisend) to send a single announcement email pointing customers to log in to access the new files.
Editing the release email template
The pre-order release email uses its own template, separate from the standard fulfillment email:
- Fileflare → Settings → Edit email templates.
- Click Pre-order template.
- Edit. Save.
Customization requires Growth plan or above. See customize email templates.
Common issues
- Customer didn’t receive the release email — confirm the asset was attached to the product they ordered, the order is Paid, and they’re on the customer email list (not phone-only).
- Multiple emails sent for one product — by design when you have multiple assets with release dates on the same product. Use Method 2 if this is undesirable.
- Wrong timezone — release date is set in your local time, not the store’s locale. Check carefully if you’re in a different timezone than your typical customer.
- I attached the asset after the orders happened — does the release still go to them? Yes. Pre-order release goes to anyone who ordered the product, regardless of when the asset was attached.
- I want to test the release email — see test email for update asset and release date.