How to create automation workflows for your subscribers

Automation workflows — also called automated journeys — let you create sequences that are triggered by specific subscriber actions. Each workflow begins with a trigger, then continues with actions, nodes, and branches as needed, giving you flexible ways to tailor experiences for your subscribers.

Your account includes a library of Quick start templates for common automation use cases. You can use these templates as-is, customize them, or build workflows entirely from scratch. To get started, you can watch the video tutorial for a walkthrough of the automation builder, or follow the written steps below.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to:

• How to create a new automation
• How to use and customize Quick start templates
• How to build workflows from scratch
• How triggers, actions, and conditions work together
• How to publish and manage automations
• Answers to common automation FAQs

From your account dashboard, go to Audience > Automations.

What you see next depends on whether you’ve created automations before:

Click Create your first automation.

Click Create automation to open your Automations Library, then choose New automation to start from scratch.

Scroll down to the Quick start templates. Click the three dots icon on any template and select Use template.

beehiiv offers pre-built automation templates for popular use cases. Each template includes a short description and the number of nodes (steps). 
Examples include:

• Complete survey reminder: Sends a reminder email to users who subscribed but didn’t complete the welcome survey.
• Discord free subscription invite email: Sends an email inviting new subscribers to the Discord server connected to your publication.
• Discord paid subscription upgrade invite email: Sends an email inviting new paid subscribers to the Discord server connected to your publication.
• Lead magnet automation: Used when a subscriber signs up via a specific landing page/form.
• Paid subscription downgrade retention flow: A win-back flow for users who downgrade from any paid subscription tier.
• Paid subscription reminder: Encourages free subscribers to upgrade to a paid tier.
• Paid subscription upgrade welcome email: Sends a welcome email to new paid subscribers.
• Partner moneymaker: A plug-and-play email automation that helps you earn beehiiv partner commissions on autopilot. 
• Re-engagement automation flow (90-day inactivity): Targets subscribers who’ve been inactive for 90+ days. Sends 3 emails over 3 days, then removes unengaged users to maintain deliverability and engagement metrics.
• Welcome email (with re-entry): Sends a welcome email to new subscribers, with re-entry allowed after one day.

After selecting a template, your automation will open on the Workflow tab with the trigger inactive. You’ll need to activate and customize it before publishing.

When using a template for your automation, the trigger will be inactive by default. Click the trigger to open the Properties panel on the right.

From the Properties panel, you can:

• Activate the trigger (required before publishing).
• Add optional trigger conditions (optional) using + Add condition.
  
  
  
  
  When adding conditions to a trigger, you can:
• Click + Add condition to begin.
• Add as many conditions to your trigger as you like. 
• Duplicate or Delete individual conditions (option located to the right of the condition).
• Click Delete all conditions to remove them all. 

After adding conditions, click Save, then close the panel or click off the trigger to return to the canvas. If you’d like to add another trigger to your workflow, click the + icon to the right of the first trigger on the canvas. 

When you choose New automation, the canvas opens on the Workflow tab with all available triggers listed. Every automation requires at least one trigger and one action before it can be published. (See our companion guide for a complete overview of triggers and actions.)

1. Select a trigger from the list of options to begin your workflow.
   
   
   
2. Each trigger has its own settings in the Properties panel for you to configure the trigger and add optional conditions. If required, activate the trigger. 
   
   When done, click the X on the Properties panel or click off the trigger to return to the canvas. 

3. Click the + icon under the trigger to open the list of actions.
   
   
   
4. You’ll see the list of actions, select one. Each action has its own settings in the Properties panel. Some actions (like Send email) must be saved before the step is considered complete.
   
   Continue adding steps as desired until your workflow is fully built.
   
    

5. Click the pencil icon at the top of the canvas. Update the automation name (required) and description (optional). 

6. Click the down arrow for the Allow re-entry? (required) field and make a selection, then click Save in the corner of the popup. 
   
   
   

• No re-entry: Subscribers can only enter the automation once.  
• Unlimited re-entry: Subscribers can enter the automation multiple times when they meet the acceptance criteria.
• Conditional re-entry: Subscribers can enter the automation multiple times, provided that they meet the acceptance criteria and additional conditions.
  • If using Conditional re-entry, you must also set the Maximum re-entries per subscriber and the Cooldown period, which is how long they should wait between each entry. 
    
    
    

7. Click Publish to make your automation live. Subscribers will begin entering the workflow as they meet your trigger and conditions. 

If you’re not ready to activate it, exit the draft using the arrow in the top left corner, your progress will be saved. 

8. Once published, a green Live label appears at the top of the page. Your automation is now running! 🎉 

Can I end an automation when a subscriber replies?
Not currently. At this time, automations cannot be triggered to end based on subscriber replies. This functionality is being explored, though we don’t have a timeline to share just yet.
Why aren’t existing subscribers moving into a newly-added step in my automation?
Subscribers who already completed the automation — meaning they’ve received the final email available at the time — will not receive new steps added later. Only subscribers still in progress or newly entering will enter additional steps.
Can I save an automation as a template to reuse later?
Yes. You can save your current automation as a template to reuse anytime. Click the 3 dots menu next to Publish in the top right corner and select Save as template. You can also duplicate or delete the automation from there.
Will beehiiv be adding more automation templates?
Yes. We’re continuing to expand our template library with new workflows designed for common use cases. New options will be added to the Quick start templates over time.
Why don’t I have to activate the trigger and every step anymore?

We’ve updated the Automations UI so only inactive triggers need to be activated before publishing. Individual steps no longer require activation.

Instead, steps display a status of Incomplete if required settings haven’t been configured yet. This helps you quickly identify what still needs attention without manually activating each step.

Why do I have to publish my automation changes?

With the updated Automations experience, changes made to a Live automation are now surfaced explicitly so you can choose to Publish or Discard them.

When you publish changes, you’ll be asked whether those updates should:

• Apply to subscribers already in the automation, or
• Only affect new subscribers entering the workflow.

This gives you more control and visibility over how updates impact your audience. If you’re not ready, simply discard the changes instead of publishing them.

Why do I see different numbers on my workflow steps?

If you add or update steps after an automation is already live, you may encounter a tooltip that says something like: 
X subscribers completed this step and Y subscribers completed a previous version 

This happens because some subscribers passed through an earlier version of the step before it was updated.




To see when the current version of a step was published click on the step and to open the Properties panel where you can see the last published date and status. This will also tell you if a step was made inactive.





---