Overview of automation triggers and actions

In beehiiv, triggers define when an automation starts, and actions define what happens next. Together, triggers, actions, nodes, and branches make up an automation workflow (also known as an automated journey).

By combining different triggers and actions, you can build customized experiences that respond to subscriber behavior at the right moment. This article provides an overview of the automation triggers and actions available in beehiiv and how they’re commonly used.

Every automation begins with at least one trigger. Triggers determine which subscribers enter the workflow of an automation. 

You can:

• Start each automation with a trigger, they cannot be added later in the workflow. 
• Add multiple triggers to a single automation (3 max). 
• Apply optional conditions to each trigger.
• Use actions to build out the rest of the workflow.

Triggers are grouped into the following categories. Click on a category to view its triggers.

Signed up
When a new user signs up, the subscriber is added to the automation, and the workflow begins.
When to use this trigger: Good for welcome flows that should only run for brand-new subscribers at the moment they join.
Tech Note: Subscribers added via an import are not captured by the Signed up trigger by default. To enroll imported subscribers, the automation must include a manual import option, or subscribers must be added during the import process.
Email submitted

Triggered when a user submits their email through any — or a specific — subscribe form. Unlike Signed up, this trigger can enroll existing subscribers as well as new ones when coupled with the Unlimited or conditional re-entry setting.

When to use this trigger: Use this when you want to trigger an automation anytime a form is submitted, even if the subscriber already exists.

Survey submitted

Triggered when a subscriber submits any survey or a specific beehiiv survey.

When to use this trigger: When you want to follow up based on survey responses, such as segmentation, onboarding, or personalized recommendations.

Poll submitted

Triggered when a subscriber submits a poll response. 

When to use this trigger: Use this to react to quick engagement signals, like sending tailored content based on poll choices.

Referral action

Triggered when a subscriber reaches a referral count or hits a referral milestone.

When to use this trigger: Use this to reward advocates, unlock perks, or send milestone-based messaging.

Segment action

Triggered when a subscriber enters or exits a segment. Optional conditions can be added to further refine enrollment.

When to use this trigger: Use this when you want automations driven by dynamic audience behavior or attributes, like engagement level or subscription status.

Upgraded

Triggered when a subscriber purchases a paid subscription.

When to use this trigger: Use this for paid onboarding, welcome messages, or access-related follow-ups.

Downgraded

Triggered when a subscriber cancels a paid subscription but remains subscribed to the free tier.

When to use this trigger: Use this for retention flows, win-back messaging, or downgrade feedback requests.

Added by API

Triggered when subscribers are added via the API.

When to use this trigger: Use this when subscriber enrollment happens using the API outside of beehiiv, such as from external tools or integrations.

Manual

Used to manually enroll subscribers from a selected segment into an automation.

When to use this trigger: Use this for one-time campaigns or controlled rollouts where you decide exactly who enters the automation.

Unengaged

Triggered when a subscriber hasn’t opened or clicked an email for a specified period of time.

Note: The Unengaged trigger runs once daily at 6:00 AM UTC and does not begin enrolling subscribers immediately upon being published.

When to use this trigger: Use this for re-engagement campaigns or list hygiene workflows to protect deliverability.

Actions are the steps that make up your workflow after a trigger fires. To add an action, click the + icon on the canvas to open the action list.

When you add an action, the Properties panel opens on the right, where you configure its settings. After the automation is published, you can switch to the Activity panel to see which subscribers are waiting at or have completed each step.

Actions are grouped into the following categories. Click each category to view its available options.

Send email
Sends an email to subscribers when they reach this step.
• Click Create email to select your template, and draft the message using the Post Editor.
• Click Add conditions to further refine who receives the email.
• Once the automation is live, performance stats for the email appear directly on the action card and in the activity panel.

Update subscription
Updates a subscriber’s subscription details based on your configuration.
Choose from:
• Keep or transition subscription status to: Select Active or Inactive.
Note: Selecting Inactive unsubscribes the subscriber and prevents any future emails from being sent to them.
• Keep or update custom fields to: Click Add custom field to select from the custom fields in your account.
• Apply the following subscriber tags: Select from the subscriber tags in your account.
• Remove the following subscriber tags: Select from the subscriber tags in your account.
• Add conditions: Click Add conditions to further refine who goes through the step.

Send webhook
Sends a request to an external URL when a subscriber reaches this step.
You can configure:
• Action: Select Active or Inactive. 
• Destination URL: Enter the URL you wish to send the request to.  
• Request method: Choose from GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, or DELETE.
• Content type: Choose from JSON, XML, or Form.
• Headers: Include a Key and Value for each header. 
• Webhook payload: Preview the payload based on method and content type.
• Test webhook: Specify the destination URL, request method, and content type to test the webhook.
• Add conditions: Click Add conditions to further refine who goes through the step.

Wait until
Pauses the workflow until a specific day and time.
Options include:
• Day of the week: Select from Any day of the week, or Specific day(s). 
• Time to wait until: Specify the exact time in AM or PM.
• Timezone: Select from the default timezone in your account, the timezone of the subscriber, or a specific timezone. 
Time delay
The Time delay action will pause the workflow for a set duration before moving to the next step. Specify a time delay to the trigger as Minutes, Hours, or Days. 

True/false branch
This action splits the workflow based on conditions you set. Subscribers who meet the conditions follow the True path, all others follow the False path.
Options include:
• Add conditions: Click Add conditions in the Properties panel for the step to further refine who goes through it.
• Build the True path: Click + to choose an action for the subscribers who meet the conditions. 
• Build the False path: Click + to choose an action for the subscribers who do not meet the conditions. 

Enroll in automation
This action moves subscribers into another automation, bypassing that automation’s triggers and conditions. 
Options include:
• Select Automations: Choose one or more active automations to enroll them into.
• Conditions: Click + Add conditions to further refine who goes through the step.