Automated workflows are emails sent to subscribers automatically when triggered by certain events. For example, a series of welcome emails triggered when a new subscriber joins your list or a reminder for membership renewal triggered by a date.
In this article, we'll explain the different ways workflows can be triggered to send, give you some ideas on how to use them, and cover the basics of setting one up.
10 ways to use workflows
Here are some ways you can use workflows to offer more value to subscribers:
- Deliver a training course over a few months [new subscriber workflow].
- Send a sales email when a free trial period has run out [date-specific workflow].
- Remind customers when a yearly membership is due to expire [anniversary workflow].
- Use an RSS feed on your website to provide automated updates to customers [site update workflow].
- Guide potential customers through a free "test drive" of your website or product [new subscriber workflow].
- Promote a new product, service, event, or e-book that will be available to buy soon [date-specific workflow].
- Deliver a multi-part welcome package to customers who achieve VIP status [segment-triggered workflow].
- Send subscribers a birthday message [anniversary workflow].
- Deliver the appropriate educational course when a subscriber progresses to the next level [segment-triggered workflow].
- Reach out to customers who have been inactive for a certain period of time, to entice them back with a special offer [date-specific workflow].
Guide potential customers through a free "test drive" of your website or product
Workflow triggers
The "trigger" is an event that signals a workflow to send or to start sending if it's a series of emails. There are six trigger options to choose from:
Here's how they work:
- When someone joins a list— This type of workflow is triggered to send when someone signs up through a subscribe form.
- A date— This is triggered by a specific date for each subscriber with the year taken into account. It could be a purchase date or the next appointment due date, where the workflow is set to send on, before, or after the date.
- The anniversary of a date— This is triggered by a date associated with the subscriber that marks the day of an annual, recurring event. Date of birth is a common example. So if a subscriber's date of birth is 29 May 1974, we ignore the year and send a birthday email on (or near) May 29 each year.
- Site or blog updates— You can use this trigger to import an RSS feed into your email, and set it to send on a regular basis. This is a great way to automate newsletters for your website.
- When someone enters a segment— This workflow is triggered by a subscriber becoming part of a segment for the first time. This can be used to send timely, personalized workflows based on contact behavior or data.
- When someone exits a segment— This workflow is triggered by a subscriber leaving a segment for the first time. You could use this trigger, for example, to re-engage with customers who haven't used your product for some time.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Teesnap Support by emailing us at support@teesnap.com or calling 844-458-1032.