Automations

Automations send a message for you when something happens, so follow-up does not depend on someone remembering. A common one: email every first-time visitor the day they check in.

The first-timer follow-up

Every church starts with a First-timer follow-up automation, marked System. It emails a welcome when someone is tagged First Timer, which happens when they check in for the first time or are added as a first-time visitor. It starts off, so you can check the wording first.

1. Go to Communications > Automations and select the First-timer follow-up.
2. Edit the subject and message.
3. Turn it On and save.

The trigger of a system automation is fixed, but you can change its message and switch it on or off.

Create your own

1. Select New Automation.
2. Give it a Name and, optionally, a description.
3. Under When this happens, choose a Trigger:
   • New member added: when a contact is created.
   • Tag assigned: when a particular tag is added to someone. Choose the tag.
   • Tag removed: when a particular tag is taken off.
   • Birthday: on the morning of a contact’s birthday. Only contacts with a date of birth are included.
   • Wedding anniversary: on the morning of a contact’s wedding anniversary. Only contacts with a wedding date are included.
4. Under Do this, choose Email or SMS and write the message.
5. Select Create automation.

Personalise the message

Use Insert to add merge fields. Each is replaced with the person’s details when the message sends:

Field	Becomes
{{first_name}}	Their first name
{{last_name}}	Their last name
{{full_name}}	Their full name
{{church_name}}	Your church’s name

Things to know

• Automations do not run for people added by a spreadsheet import, so importing your whole membership does not send hundreds of welcome emails.
• Turn an automation Off to pause it without losing it.