📝 Overview
Automations in Marketing Suite are workflows that run on their own when specific events happen. Use them to save time, keep your follow-ups consistent, and respond to customers faster without any manual effort.
This guide explains how automations are structured, how to create one, and how to manage automations once they're running.
🧩 How Automations Work
Every automation is made up of the same three building blocks, which run in order whenever the triggering event happens.
Trigger | The event that starts your workflow. For example, "When a contact is created" or "When a form is submitted". |
Conditions | Optional filters that must be met for the automation to run. For example, the contact has a specific tag. |
Steps | What happens next. For example, send an email, apply a tag, update a field, or create a task. |
🧠 Example: A lead fills in your enquiry form (trigger). The automation checks they have the "New Lead" tag (condition), then sends them a welcome email (step).
🛠️ Creating an Automation
There are two ways to build an automation: start from a pre-built template, or build your own from scratch. Templates are the fastest way to get started because the triggers and steps come pre-configured, leaving you to tailor them to your business.
Click the arrow to learn how to create an automation
Click the arrow to learn how to create an automation
Go to Automations in the sidebar.
Click Create Automation.
Choose a template from the gallery, or select Blank to start with an empty workflow canvas.
Add or adjust the Trigger, and add Conditions if you want to filter when it runs.
Add your Steps, such as sending an email or creating a task.
Select Edit details to give your automation a title, description, and tags so it's easy to find later.
Save, then toggle the automation On.
💡 Before automating a process, run it manually a couple of times to make sure it works the way you expect. You'll catch fewer surprises and end up with a more reliable workflow.
Turning your automation on
When you toggle an automation on, you'll be asked to confirm three settings before it goes live:
Entry settings, which control how often the automation can run for the same contact.
Error handling settings, which choose whether to skip a failed step and continue, or stop the run entirely.
Error notifications, which let you subscribe to alerts if the automation hits an error.
🔧 Managing Your Automations
Once an automation is live, you can switch it off at any time, and you'll be asked how to handle any runs currently in progress.
Stop automation runs in progress immediately aborts all active runs. Stopped runs will not resume if the automation is turned back on.
Drain automation runs allows runs in progress to complete, then switches the automation off once everything has finished.
⚠️ You must turn an automation off before you can edit its triggers, conditions, or steps.
🗂️ Running an Automation From the CRM
You can also run an automation on demand for a specific set of contacts, without waiting for a trigger. In CRM ➜ Contacts, select one or more records, click Actions, and choose Start automation. The same option is available from a list via CRM ➜ Lists, which is handy for one-off sends to an existing segment.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Find answers to common questions or additional details that may not be covered in the main instructions.
Click the arrow to view frequently asked questions
Click the arrow to view frequently asked questions
Do I have to build automations from scratch?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
No. The template gallery includes pre-built workflows with triggers and steps already configured. Pick the one closest to your goal and tailor it to your business.
What's the difference between event-based automations and list automations?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
Event-based automations run when something happens, such as a contact being created. List automations are started manually for an entire list of records, which makes them ideal for bulk actions on an existing segment.
Can an automation trigger when someone joins or leaves a list?
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Yes. There are triggers for when a contact is added to or removed from a list, so you can send follow-ups or notify your team automatically when membership changes.
Where can I see what an automation has done?
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Click the arrow to see the answer
Each automation has an activity view where you can review what ran and when, which is the first place to look when troubleshooting a workflow.