Automations send messages to your contacts automatically when they take an action — so prospects, students, and alumni get the right message at the right moment without manual effort. Start from a ready-made template or build your own, customize the content and timing, and turn it on. Automations can send over SMS and email.
Who: School Admin or School Owner · Where: Engagement › Automations
Marketing vs Transactional
The Automations page has two tabs. Marketing automations are promotional/nurture sequences to opted-in contacts; Transactional automations are operational messages tied to account activity. Email automations send from your institution's verified sending domain — (configure and verify your domain under Settings › Email).
Starting from a template
Under Available Templates, browse ready-made automations, each showing its channel/tag and how many steps it includes. Click View to preview a template, then use it and customize the messages and timing. Examples include:
New Lead Outreach — send a welcome message to new leads
Lead Welcome Sequence — multi-day welcome sequence for recent leads who haven't started enrollment
Abandoned Application Nudge — re-engage contacts with incomplete enrollment applications
Re-Engagement Campaign — win back cold leads who've gone inactive
VIP / High-Priority Outreach — personalized outreach for contacts flagged as high value
Candidate Outreach — targeted messaging for contacts who may qualify for financial assistance
Building your own
Click Create Automation (top-right) to build one from scratch — choose the trigger, add your steps/messages, and set delays between them.
Personalization
Insert merge fields like {{firstName}}, {{lastName}}, {{fullName}}, and {{institutionName}} — they auto-fill per contact. SMS messages send from your institution's assigned number and create a conversation in the Inbox (marked closed to keep things tidy).
Managing automations
Active automations appear at the top of the page with their status; the empty state prompts you to create one or choose a template. Activate, deactivate, or edit any automation, and use Submit feedback to request an automation you don't see.
Compliance
Opt-in status is checked before every send, so opted-out contacts never receive automated messages, and delayed steps re-check their conditions before firing. The usual rules apply — TCPA consent, 10DLC (handled during onboarding), and CTIA best practices — and your school is responsible for compliance. You'll see reminder text while editing message content.
Pricing
1:1 Inbox messaging stays unlimited; automated SMS draws from your monthly segment allotment (1 segment = up to 160 characters), pooled with Bulk Messaging.
FAQ
Can automations send email as well as SMS? Yes — set up your sending domain under Settings › Email for branded email.
Can I build one from scratch? Yes, with Create Automation — or start from a template.
Do automations respect opt-outs? Yes — opt-in status is checked before every send.
Need a printable version with screenshots? Download the PDF Guide