How to set up your predefined workflows

We’ve just made it easier for you to use the automation feature.

Email automation is useful because it increases your efficiency. Automated emails can be triggered by specific actions, saving time and effort compared to manual email sending. To learn more about how to use automations, you can read our comprehensive article on how to set up automations.

We’ve added some predefined workflows to give you a start on set ting up your automation. In this guide, we’ll show you how to use our predefined email workflow templates.

How to set up a predefined workflow on Mail Blaze

Once you’ve signed in to your Mail Blaze account and you’re presented with the dashboard, you will need to navigate to the automations option in the main navigation bar and click on AUTOMATIONS.

Now you’ll be in your automation list view where you’ll see all your automated workflows. If you haven’t created any workflows, this list will be empty and you can now start creating a new workflow by clicking on CREATE NEW. or you can choose to create a new workflow.

Now that you’ve created your workflow you need to choose a name for it then either start a new custom workflow or choose from one of our predefined options. In this article we want to specifically look at our predefined options so instead of choosing CUSTOM, we’ll click on PREDEFINED.

A predefined workflow is essentially a template you can use to create an automation workflow. This takes out some of the work required, like selecting your trigger or starting to add steps from scratch. It’s a great way to get a feel for what is possible and also just to set up some standard automations like your email welcome series. We’ve added the following predefined workflows to help you get started named:

• Birthday Automation
• Welcome New Subscribers
• Advanced Sign Up Journey
• Update Profile Form Automation
• Non-Openers Campaign

Let’s take a closer look at each one of these below.

BIRTHDAY AUTOMATION

If you’d like to wish your customers a happy birthday automatically with a customised email, this is the automation template that will help you do that.

PLEASE NOTE: To use this predefined automation, the list you select needs to have a custom BIRTHDAY field already. The system will automatically create the workflow for you when you choose the predefined birthday template; all you have to do is adapt the template to your needs. Your date needs to be in this format yyyy-mm-dd.

REMEMBER: You can add steps to this template if you need.

This is how you can customise this template:

HOW TO SET UP THIS AUTOMATION:

1. Select your subscriber list that contains a BIRTHDAY FIELD/DATE FIELD
2. Set the Delay. You can add a specific time of day if required.
3. Create a custom birthday email by customising the campaign.
4. Check that you are happy with all your settings. SAVE AND ENABLE your automation.

WELCOME NEW SUBSCRIBERS

First impressions count, and in email marketing, this is no different. When you’ve got subscribers signing up to your list, you’ll want to make sure you’re welcoming them. With this template, you can easily set up an inviting welcome email stream. This specific template covers setting up a single welcome email to new sign-ups.

After selecting this template, you’ll be able to customise it to suit your needs, as the system will generate the workflow for you.

REMEMBER: You can add additional steps to this template if you need.

Here's how you customise it:

HOW TO SET UP THIS AUTOMATION:

1. Select the list you wish this automated welcome email to be sent to once a subscriber joins.
2. Set the DELAY STEP according to your needs.
3. Customise your Welcome Email campaign.
4. Check that you are happy with all your settings. SAVE AND ENABLE your automation.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have already set up your welcome email for a particular list, don’t set it up again as it will tell the system to send the emails twice. This automation will only send once it's all set up and enabled and will not send retroactively. It will only start sending once enabled and as subscribers join the list.

ADVANCED SIGN UP JOURNEY

In some businesses, you might need a more advanced sign up journey or welcome email stream. Our advanced sign up journey template allows you to send a series of emails to your subscribers after they have signed up to your list over a defined period as set by you. With this template, you have a starting point for sending a series of emails that suit your business needs. You can use this template to set up your conversion stream that leads your new subscriber to check out your products/ services and make a purchase. It’s all up to you.

REMEMBER: You can add steps to this template if you need or remove some of the steps.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

Select a list to automate for the Sign-up journey.

HOW TO SET UP THIS AUTOMATION:

1. Select the list you wish this automated welcome email to be sent to once a subscriber joins.
2. Set the DELAY STEP according to your needs.
3. Customise the first campaign email.
4. Set the DELAY STEP according to your needs.
5. Customise the second campaign email.
6. Set the DELAY STEP according to your needs.
7. Customise the third campaign email.
8. Set the DELAY STEP according to your needs.
9. Customise the fourth campaign email.
10. Check that you are happy with all your settings. SAVE AND ENABLE your automation.

UPDATE PROFILE FORM AUTOMATION

Things change and you need to be ready to act when they do. With the predefined Update Profile Workflow, you can thank your subscriber for updating their profile or even create an automatic email giving them an overview of the changes they have made. Once you’ve set up this workflow, the platform will trigger your campaigns or changes as needed automatically.

REMEMBER: You can add steps to this template if you need.

This is how you can customise this template to create campaigns that engage those who have updated their profiles on your list:

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

List with a customised Profile Page set up.

HOW TO SET UP THIS AUTOMATION:

1. Change the Subject and customize the automated email.
2. Check that you are happy with all your settings. SAVE AND ENABLE your automation.

NON-OPENERS CAMPAIGN

With this automation template, you can send an email to subscribers who did not open your email. This automation is extremely useful when you are sending out newsletters, events, surveys or even vouchers. The possibilities are endless.

With the help of this template, you can automate the process of persuading subscribers who haven't opened your campaign to do so. This gives you a chance to convey your message to them again or make an appeal to them via an alternative subject line.

REMEMBER: You can add steps to this template if you need.

This is how you can customise this template to encourage those non-openers to open your campaign.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

Choose the draft campaign you are going to use as a starting point for this automation.

HOW TO SET UP THIS AUTOMATION:

1. Draft a campaign to engage customer interaction before you set up this automation.
2. Select the draft campaign you created.
3. Change the Delay step, as necessary.
4. Now you will want to change the subject line and customize the automated email that will be sent to non-openers based on your settings.
5. Check that you are happy with all your settings. SAVE AND ENABLE your automation.
6. You can now send out your campaign.

That’s how you can set up your automation workflows using our predefined templates in a few simple steps.