Automation Logic and Timing
Using Goal and Conditional Split logic and inserting wait times in your Automation is a great way to send your customers down a highly-targeted and personalized path based on their actions and preferences!
- Timing: Start a countdown from the time Contacts last received a message from you before they receive another to prevent saturating their inboxes
- Goals: Move contacts ahead to a different point in the Automation once the goal is reached.
- Conditional Splits: Specify the path contacts will take within your Automation based on conditions or rules.
🚨 Important Note
If you delete a Goal or Conditional Split from your Automation, any nodes below will also be deleted. This action is not reversible so please use caution when deleting Goals or Conditional Splits!
Timing
After every message sent in an Automation, add a Wait node to prevent your Contacts from receiving too many messages in a short time.
To add a wait node, click the + button > Wait > Set your desired wait period and timing options > Done
Goals
When you add a goal to your Automation, your contact will jump to that step once they meet a specified condition (or conditions). Unless otherwise specified, Goals check to see if contacts meet the criteria once an hour, every hour, for one week.
Once a goal is reached, Contacts will skip any action not yet executed and proceed immediately to the following action or action you assign below the goal.
Add a Goal
To add a goal to your Automation, click the + button > Goal
Goal Options
- Goal Name Enter a descriptive name for your Goal
- Conditions Select conditions to trigger your Goal
- Go to this action if goal is reached Select a step in your Automation to send Contacts to when they meet your Goal's conditions
- If goal is not met Select an option for Contacts who have not met your Goal
- Continue means the Contact will proceed to the next node in the Automation
- Wait means the Contact will wait at this step indefinitely until the goal is reached
- End means the Goal will keep checking for met conditions until the max time has passed
- Max time to check for conditions Select a length of time to check for conditions
Conditional Splits
Conditional Splits provide divergent paths for Contacts to be funneled through based on a condition. Conditional Splits check to see if contacts meet the criteria once: at the time the Conditional Split action is reached.
🚨 Important Note
If a Conditional Split is the first action in an Automation, a wait time of 10 minutes will apply to that action.
Conditional Splits add a minimum wait time after the following actions to allow time for Contacts to meet the specified conditions:
- Send Email 24 hour wait
- Add Tag 1 hour wait
- Subscribes to a List 1-hour wait
- Wait 24 hour wait, if:
- the Wait node is set to less than 24 hours, and
- is immediately after a Send Email action
Add a Conditional Split
To add a Conditional Split to your Automation, click the +button > Conditional Split
Conditional Split Options
The conditions you select will funnel Contacts who meet them down the Yes branch. Contacts who do not meet the conditions specified will be sent down the No branch. Continue adding nodes under the Yes and No branches.
🚨 Important Note
- Deleting a Conditional Split node will delete all subsequent nodes! Proceed with caution and recreate your nodes above the Conditional Split before deleting to avoid losing your work.
- You cannot move a contact from the "No" side of a conditional split to the "Yes" side (or vice versa) using a Goal.
Additional Resources
How to Use Goals and Conditional Splits to Create Highly Targeted Automations