How to Trigger an Automation for Imported Contacts

Importing contacts into your Sendlane is a quick and efficient way to add your existing contacts to your new Sendlane account. However, importing contacts will not trigger an automation. 

Here's everything you need to know about how your imported contacts can begin an automation.

Before Getting Started

If you have not yet imported your contacts, please review our import guide here. You will also want to be familiar with how to create an automation as well as how to create a campaign. 

Imported Contacts Beginning an Automation

1. Create a campaign that will be sent out to your newly imported contacts. Do not send the campaign, schedule the campaign to send at a later date so you can complete the automation.
2. Head to Automation → New Automation and select the start from scratch option. 
3. Name the automation by clicking on the pencil on the top left of your new automation 
4. Next, you will want to add the trigger, Email Campaign Opened.
5. From here, you will be able to build out your automation as intended.
6. Once the Automation is complete, be sure to activate it.
7. If you would like your scheduled campaign to be sent out sooner, you can now return to the campaign you created for your imported contacts and update the sending time. You can select either now or reschedule.
8. Once the campaign has sent, any imported contact that opens the campaign, will begin the automation! 

Troubleshooting

• If you cannot select the campaign you created, is the campaign in Draft? It will need to be scheduled in order to select that campaign as a trigger. 

• Check to make sure the automation is Active once it is complete.

• Select the correct list to send the initial campaign to.