Creating an automation

 

Automations are perfect to nurture your customers or subscribers. You can go as wild or as mild as you need - from a no-frills email series all the way up to a complete sales pipeline! In this example, we'll create a simple autoresponder doling out a welcome message to your new contacts:

1) Go to the Engage menu, then head over to Automations and hit Create.

2) Choose the contact list the automation will be triggered on. Select our Welcome series template and click Next.

3) You'll be taken to the automation editor. It's already set to trigger on subscription (which is why you'll see the welcome email connected to the Subscription trigger). This means everyone who subscribes (say, using a sign-up form) will receive your welcome email! If you'd like to customise it, just click the email's three dots, choose Edit and click the Edit button to modify it to your heart's content it using our Email Builder.

4) Need to add extra email messages to build a follow-up sequence (eg. sending a second email a day later)? Easy-peasy! Go the automation editor's left-hand panel. Under Conditions and sequences, drag the Wait action into your workflow and drop it over the welcome email to connect them. Set it to wait for 1 day and save it.

5) Now drag the Send campaign action (under Messages) from the same left-hand panel and drop it over the Wait action you've just added. They'll connect to each other! Choose the type of message you want to send as a follow-up (email, SMS, voice call, etc.). You can create it from scratch or choose an already-existing one. Save your changes when you're done.

 

Great! Your first automation is just about ready! To enable it, click the button on the upper left corner to switch it on or off. From then on, it'll be triggered every time someone subscribes to your contact list.

 

What other triggers and actions can I use?

Lots! Check out the full list!

 

 

How to improve my automation results?

A successful, bulletproof automation pipeline usually doles out a set of engaging messages enticing people to do something over time (say, buying an item, completing a course, using a tool, etc.). It's all about:
 

  • Planning: Put the time to map out your strategy, send frequency and what happens at every stage of your workflow. Be sure each message or landing page is hyper-targeted to what people need. Design your flow so it covers all bases (whether people open your message, click through or reply to it, etc.), keeping in mind that different audiences should be nurtured differently. Check out our  full guide.
     
  • Personalisation: The more your content meets people's expectations, the more they'll be eager to journey along your flow (eg. if someone uses a form to tell you they love runnnig, your next email should be all about running shoes and trainers). E-goi's merge codes work wonders to make it seamless! Take a look at our tips
     
  • Battle-testing: An automation flow is never really done - there's always something you can do to  have it perform better. Look for drop-off points and split-test multiple paths. For example, will leads convert better over a 4-email series or just a single email&SMS combo? How to A/B test your automation
     
  • Business fit: Don't just swipe and paste funnel templates off the web. Each business is different - a perfume shop won't use the same sales flow as a car dealer or a dentist. Even something as vanilla as a welcome sequence needs your personal touch. See our sales funnel tips.
     
  • End-to-end customer lifecycle: If your online store includes a shopping cart system, E-goi's Track & Engage just became your automation's best friend! This powerful combo will automatically prevent abandoned carts and do re-engagement campaigns. Learn all about Track & Engage.
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  • Timely: Getting the right message at the right time is half the battle. Birthdays, for example, are ripe for turning leads into lifelong fans. Pro tips.