The recurring trigger is only available within the Marketer+ prepaid plan |
You can work with different triggers within the automations. In this article, we'll walk you through setting up the Recurring trigger, which allows you to run the automation repeatedly at a preset frequency. This way you can regularly check the values in the contact fields, react to the fulfilment of a set condition or, for example, always send relevant content on the same day of the week.
In this article you will learn:
How does the recurring trigger work
In automated campaigns, you always need to select a trigger, that will start the automation when a certain condition is met. The recurring trigger is then primarily used to repeatedly check the condition you set within the trigger.
This condition is checked repeatedly on the day you set the trigger. If the condition is met for a contact, that contact enters automation. If the contact does not meet the condition, the automation does not start for that contact.
For example, you can easily clean your database of contacts that have been inactive for a long time by using the recurring trigger. Such contacts can negatively affect the reputation of your mailing. Therefore, we recommend that you unsubscribe them regularly.
Basic trigger settings
When creating automation with a recurring trigger, you have settings that affect how your automation runs.
After setting up an automation, you first need to select the frequency. This frequency determines how many times to trigger the automation for a given contact.
There are three frequencies to choose from:
Only once for each email - a specific contact enters the automation only once and the automation will not run multiple times for that contact;
Therefore, the automation runs for each contact only once
Multiple times - a specific contact can enter the automation multiple times, but not if they are currently in it
The automation is triggered multiple times even for contacts that have passed through it, but only if the automation has already been completed for them
Multiple and parallel - a contact can enter the automation even when it is already in the automation (for example, in the waiting step) and the automation is already running on it.
After setting the frequency in your automation, drag the Recurring trigger into the canvas. Let's take a look at its possible settings:
Frequency - here you set how often the automation should check the set condition.
Time - here you select the hour from which the condition will be checked first.
Condition - In this field you set the condition similar to the segments. You can select one of the already prepared segments (and their conditions) or create your own, new condition. You can also run the automation for the entire list at once (in the "Select default segment or contact list" selection in the last position).
Frequency
Setting the repetition is essential to correctly set the frequency of the condition check and therefore the subsequent start of the automation. The repetition can be set at the following frequencies:
Every day
If repeated every day, the check will take place every day. For this frequency, you only set the time from which the condition is checked.
The application always displays the nearest date on which the 1st automation run will take place.
Specific day
For a repeat on a selected day, the check will always take place on the specific day or days of the week selected. You can check the individual days on which the check should take place in the respective fields. In the time field, you can again select the earliest time from which the condition check should take place.
Custom repetition frequency
In the custom repetition frequency you have the option to:
set the start date of the automation, i.e. the date of its initial start
from the selected start date of the repetition, the frequency set by you is counted down [you can select day, week or month in the field]
If you wish to run the automation in a few weeks, for example, you can adjust the Start of Repetition to be set to a date in the future. The first run will thus be for the earliest date that will be calculated from the values you have filled in.
Examples of using automation with the recurring trigger
Let's take a look at setting up a trigger for automations using a few model examples.
1. Check every day - Send a thank you for a visit
Imagine you work in a salon, and you wish to send your clients a thank you note for their 1st visit along with other tips after their visit.
After visiting the clients in Ecomail who visited you today, you would add the information to a custom field via a manual/automatic update - for example using the value "yes".
Thanks to the trigger to run repeatedly with a repeat every day setting, the next day the set condition will be checked - in this case, this condition will be linked to the defined custom field and its content (is there a "yes" value in the custom field?).
If the value is found for the contact, the automation will be triggered and then a thank you will be sent to those contacts who made the visit yesterday. For contacts that do not have a "yes" value in their own field, the automation will not be triggered.
The automation itself can then look like this:
The Run Repeatedly trigger will have the following settings:
2. Check on a selected day of the week - Sending news summaries
You can also use the trigger to send reminder emails at a regular frequency. For example, you can remind your contacts every Friday not to forget about the events that are happening the following week. You can also, for example, send a summary of the news from the previous week.
Automation can then look like this:
The frequency for this automation will be Several times. In the trigger, you set the specific day or days when the automation should run. To trigger for your entire database, just select [Entire List] Name of your list.
💡 Hint: In this case, the template must be updated every week (in the template settings) - for dynamic values you can use data feeds in the template, which will automatically write the current content into the template. You can learn how to work with data feeds here.
3. Custom frequency check - specific day of the month
For example, you can always send information about the balance of credits on your loyalty card at the end of the month, or send information about the upcoming month's events.
Again, we recommend that you first create a template whose content will be sent out by automation at a regular frequency. For example, if you decide to send the status of points, you can use a merge tag in the template for a custom field that will always automatically write the required value, i.e. the current status of the points you are sending to your contacts via the integration. You can also use data feeds.
The automation can look like this:
Setting the frequency for the custom recurrence to the first of the month will look like this:
If you wish to run the automation in a few months, for example, you can adjust the Repeat Start to be set to a date in the future. The first run will then be for the earliest date that will be calculated from the values filled in.
💡 Use merge tags to automatically fill in the accurate values of your contacts.