The trigger and steps
What starts an automation, and what each kind of step does once it’s running, from Send email and Time delay to Condition, Action, and Percentage split.
- The triggerThe trigger is the top card in every automation, and it picks who gets in. It offers two starts: Someone subscribes to a form, or Subscriber is added to a segment.
- Choose what starts your automationSelect the trigger card at the top of your automation. Under Begin when, pick Someone subscribes to a form or Subscriber is added to a segment, then choose the form or segment.
- How steps connectSteps run from the trigger down, one after another. A Condition or a Percentage split opens branches that never join back; a subscriber is done at the end of the path they take.
- The Send email stepA Send email step sends one email to each subscriber who reaches it. Its panel is where you create or duplicate the email, then set the sender name, subject, and preview text.
- The Time delay stepA Time delay holds each subscriber before the next step. It can wait for a set amount of time, or until chosen days of the week, a time of day, or a specific date.
- Add a wait between two emailsSelect the + between the two Send email steps, choose Time delay, then set the number and unit under For. The card reads Wait 3 days.
- The Condition stepA Condition sends each subscriber down Yes or No. It asks if they opened the email above it, clicked a link in it, or match filters on arrival.
- Branch on whether someone opened or clickedAdd a Condition below a Send email step and pick Open the email or Click a link in the email. Set the Timeframe, then build the Yes and No branches.
- The Action stepAn Action adds the subscriber to a segment or removes them from one, then moves them on at once. Pick Add to segment or Remove from segment under Type, then the segment.
- The Percentage split stepA Percentage split sends each subscriber down one of its branches at random, in the shares you set. Two branches start at 50% each, you can add up to eight, and the shares must add up to 100%.
- Why didn’t someone go down the Yes branch?Most often the time isn’t up yet: Open the email decides only when the timeframe ends. Also, a Condition with no Send email step above it sends everyone down No.
- Why did my delay end at the wrong time?Wait until a time of day, a day of the week, or a date is read in UTC, not your local time. Wait for a set amount of time isn’t affected.