How to create an Automation
This article will take you through the steps for how to create an Automation. If you'd like to read more about what Automations are and what to use them for then you can check out our Automation Overview article first.
How to setup your first Automation
So let's setup our first automation. In the following example we will setup a very common type of Automation. We are going to create an automation that simply sends an email whenever subscribers are added to one of our groups.
- To create an Automation, go to Automations > click the button to Create Automation.
- Now you have the option to either create an Automation from scratch or to use one of our Automation templates. For the sake of this example we’re going to create one from scratch.
- Next you need to configure your Automation Trigger. This is the step that dictates how contacts enter the Automation. Common choices are when a contact joins a Group or a Segment. Click on the Trigger to see exactly what options you have.
- Once the Trigger is configured, you can start adding steps to the Automation. Click the + button to add your first step. At this point you get to see a whole range of options.
A simple step would be to Send Email’ which will let you setup an email template, similar to a template for an email Campaign, but which only goes out to the individual contacts going through the Automation. You can also include a Notification which notifies you as the Transpond user of what has happened.
- Using the Actions step you can perform Actions such as adding a tag or a custom field to the contact or changing its status.
- If your Transpond account is integrated with another service such as Capsule for example, you’ll see dedicated Automation steps for things that can be done with that service.
- You can also setup Condition steps which will split out the Automation into separate branches, one for if the condition is met and one if not.
- If you want the Automation to delay a bit before going to the next step, use the Delay option. This is especially useful if you’re using a campaign activity as a trigger. If someone clicks a link in an email campaign, you might not want to send them a new email right away. Instead delay for a day or two and then move on to the next step in the Automation
- When you want the Automation to end, it’s helpful to add a Goal step. This define the end of the Automation and lets you indicate if you want to let contacts rejoin the automation should they meet the conditions of your trigger again. If you’re sending emails with limited time offers then you might not want people to be able to get them again, but if you’re using the Automation to notify you of certain things happening in your account then it is helpful to let contacts rejoin.
- If you you want to remove one of the steps in your Automation, hover your mouse over the step and click the little red trash can button to remove it.
- When you’re done with the Automation and you’re ready to turn it on, click the Start Automation button at the top of the screen and you’re done.
When an Automation is running you can’t edit it. Instead in each step you’ll see the contacts that flow through it, visible on each step.
These stats update in real time so you can sit back and watch as subscribers travel around your automation.
You can also click on any step to get in depth statistics about who's waiting, who's been processed and more.
Multiple Automation Triggers
Automations just got even more powered up!
You can now add multiple triggers to an automation making it even more powerful to enter contacts into your automations.
To get started, add an automation and then simply click the new "Plus Icon" located towards the right of the first trigger to add more conditions.
For more details on how to use the different parts of an automation, check our our dedicated article on How to use Automations.