Make sure you read our introduction to Automated Journeys first - then use this article for more specific detail about each journey trigger type.
To set up a automated journey in Peptalkr, you'll start by choosing a "journey trigger" not to be confused with Transactional triggers, which are only use with Transactional emails) which determines how and when the emails in the journey will be sent.
Triggers can be based on subscriber activities, such as making an online purchase, or special dates like a birthday. Once the specified activity occurs or the date arrives, the journey is triggered to send emails.
Steps to Create a Journey:
Click on the Send Email tab then click Automation in the top navigation.
Select Create an automation, then choose Custom journey.
Name your journey, choose a list to send to, and select a trigger type.
Trigger Types explained
1. Subscriber Joins the List
Choose this trigger to automatically send emails to new subscribers or customers. This journey is triggered when someone subscribes to your list through a signup form or is added manually.
Top uses:
Sending a welcome email/series
Delivering a training course over time
Guiding potential customers through a a lead-warming series
Sending out e-book chapters
When adding subscribers manually or importing from a file, you can opt to trigger the journey for new subscribers. It will not trigger for existing subscribers on your list. You must select the checkbox below to trigger the journey for manually added subscribers:
2. Segment-based Triggers
There are two types of segment-based triggers:
Subscriber enters a segment: Triggered when subscriber details match the segment rules.
Subscriber exits a segment: Triggered when subscriber details no longer match the segment rules.
Top uses:
Sending a welcome series when a subscriber becomes a patient (e.g. their total visits becomes greater than 0)
Sending an educational series when a subscriber attends their first appointment within a specific category (e.g. their total Pilates visits becomes greater than 0)
Sending a loyal patient thank you (e.g. their total visits reaches 10)
Sending a course when a subscriber has a medical alert added to their patient file (e.g. their 'healthy eating course' medical alert is in their patient file'
Trigger Frequency:
Allow the journey to trigger only the first time subscribers enter/exit the segment.
Allow the journey to trigger every time subscribers enter/exit the segment.
Handy to know:
If someone is already in the selected segment when the journey is turned on, they will not start the journey.
Subscribers will continue receiving emails in a segment-triggered journey until it is complete, even if their segment membership changes midway (e.g a medical alert is removed)
Segment-triggered journeys can be triggered by importing subscribers if the segment membership changes.
There is a 10-minute delay before emails are sent after a segment change.
3. Date-based Triggers
To use a date-based trigger, set up a date custom field for the list you're sending to. There are two types of date triggers:
A specific date: Based on a particular date, like a renewal date.
An anniversary of a date: Runs every year on the specified day and month recorded in a subscriber’s date custom field, such as birthdays or service reminders.
Top uses:
Saying Happy Birthday on the anniversary of their DOB
Reminding them to renew a class pass before the date their current pass expires
Reminding them to use their healthcare benefits before they expire
Handy to know
Date-based journey emails are sent at midnight in your account's time zone.
To delay sending, add a delay step in the journey designer (e.g., delay of 9 hours to send emails at 9 AM).
4. Online Store-based Triggers
Available when you connect a Shopify e-commerce integration, including:
Order Paid: Triggered when a customer makes a purchase. Useful for sending payment receipts.
Abandoned Cart: Triggered when a prospect abandons their cart. Used to remind customers of their left items.
Handy to Know:
There is a 60-minute delay before a customer’s cart is marked as abandoned and the journey triggers.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How many times can a journey be triggered?
A subscriber can only trigger a "Subscriber joins the list" journey once by default. This can be overridden via API.
Segment-based journeys re-trigger based on the selected trigger frequency.
Anniversary and date-based journeys re-trigger each time the date field is reached.
"Order Paid" journeys can trigger multiple times for the same customer.
"Abandoned Cart" journeys can trigger multiple times but require completion before re-triggering.
"Subscriber activity" journeys can re-trigger multiple times based on the selected trigger frequency.
Can I change a trigger?
You can change the trigger type before turning the journey on for the first time. After starting, the trigger type is locked. You'll need to create a new trigger (or 'copy' your existing journey and select a new trigger)
How do I stop a journey when someone exits a segment?
Ensure emails in the journey are set to send to the same segment as the trigger. Subscribers exiting the segment won't receive the emails.
What happens if I change a subscriber's date custom field when they're partway through a date-based journey?
Changing the date can affect their position in the journey, potentially causing them to receive the same emails again or skip emails.
Conditions and date changes:
Conditions in a date-based journey prevent subscribers from skipping steps needed to complete conditions.