Methods for enrolling subscribers in automations

Automations help you guide readers through personalized journeys by triggering specific sequences based on subscriber behavior. If you’re new to automations, we recommend starting with our main guide on creating automations for your subscribers.

This article outlines a few different ways to enroll subscribers into your automation workflows; two using segments, and one that allows you to move subscribers from one workflow to another.

The Segment Action trigger lets you enroll subscribers into an automation when they enter or exit a specific segment. This is especially useful when targeting highly engaged readers or re-engaging those who have dropped off.

1. From your account dashboard, go to Audience > Automations, then create a new automation.
    
2. On the workflow canvas, choose Segment action from the list of triggers.
   
   
   
3. Configure your trigger settings using the Properties panel on the right. Choose whether the automation should trigger when subscribers Enters or Exits a segment.
   
   Select one of your existing segments from the dropdown options. The selected segment must be an active, dynamic segment for subscribers to be enrolled in the automation.
   
   
   
4. (Optional) You can further customize the trigger. Click + Add condition, then refine the trigger logic using custom fields, subscriber tags, or subscription, acquisition, and engagement data.
   
   
   
5. (Optional) Subscribers can enter the automation through more than one trigger. Click the + to the right of your Segment action trigger to add another trigger, if needed.
   
   
   
6. Add at least one action. Click + below the trigger(s) to add actions to your automation. See our companion guide for a complete overview of triggers and actions.
   
   
   

7. When you’re ready to activate your automation, click the Publish button in the top right corner of the canvas.
   
   
   
8. A popup will ask you to confirm, click the Publish button to enable the automation.
   
   
   
9. Once published, the automation will change from Draft to Live mode.

• The trigger enrolls only subscribers who newly enter or exit the segment after the automation is active. 
• Subscribers who are already in the segment when the automation is created are not automatically enrolled.
• Segment entry and exit are not calculated in real time. Updates occur during segment recalculations, which vary by segment type.
• The first time you use a Segment action trigger, you must manually enroll existing segment subscribers using the next steps in this article.

You can easily enroll an entire segment of subscribers into any automation or by using the Manual trigger, which allows you to bypass other triggers and add subscribers directly. This method is useful when you want to bulk-enroll subscribers into an automation.

1. Go to Audience > Segments, and either create and run a new segment or choose an existing one to use. Make sure the segment is complete and accurately reflects the group you want to enroll.
    
2. Move over to Audience > Automations, and create a new automation using the Manual trigger. You can leave the trigger conditions blank or match them to the segment criteria. Add your automation actions (see the above steps). Once configured, publish the automation.
    
3. Return to Segments and open the dashboard for the segment you want to use. Click the arrow next to Quick export, and select Add to automations from the dropdown.
   
   
   
4. Choose the appropriate automation from the list. All subscribers in the segment will be added to the selected workflow — bypassing any triggers or conditions.

The Enroll in Automation action lets you seamlessly send subscribers from one workflow into another. This is especially helpful for multi-stage journeys — for example, moving subscribers from a welcome series into an educational sequence, upsell flow, or retention automation.

1. From your account dashboard, go to Audience > Automations, then either create a new automation, use a template, or open an existing workflow.
    
2. On the workflow canvas, after selecting your trigger, click the + beneath it to open the action list. Under Flow control, select Enroll in Automation.
    
3. From the Properties panel on the right, click the Select Automations dropdown and choose the automation you want subscribers to move into.
   
   
   

4. (Optional) You can further customize the trigger. Click + Add conditions, then refine the trigger logic using custom fields, subscriber tags, or subscription, acquisition, and engagement data.
   
   
   
5. Continue adding and customizing actions in your automation. When ready, click Publish in the top-right corner, then confirm in the popup. Once published, the workflow moves from Draft to Live, and subscribers will begin flowing into the next automation according to your setup.

In the example below, the trigger connected to the Enroll in automation action is receiving subscribers from another workflow. Once activated, you’ll see Enrolled via automation as the trigger type — this confirms subscribers are successfully entering from a separate automation.

• Subscribers will move directly into the selected automation, bypassing that workflow’s trigger conditions.
• If you have re-entry conditions specified in a particular workflow, they will still apply.
• You can click the Enrolled via automation block at any time and use the Properties panel to open the linked automation.