Active Campaign How-To

To begin building an automation in ActiveCampaign, begin with a “trigger.” There are a variety of methods you can set off an automation, including: When a tag is added When a contact signs up for a list When a contact sends a form E-commerce and on-site options (readily available in the “Pro” plan) When the contact reaches a particular point in another automation.

From there, you can begin building the actions in your automation. Some actions that are available in ActiveCampaign’s automations are: Send an email Alert a group member Wait conditions If/then conditionals Split traffic for testing Skip to other parts of the automation Track objectives (The contact can skip to the goal’s location in the automation.) Start or end another automation, or end the present automation Post a webhook Subscribe or unsubscribe the contact to/from lists Update contact information Include and get rid of tags Add a note Lead scoring, SMS and site messages, and Facebook Custom Audience management are all “Pro” features – Active Campaign How-To.

Contrast with ConvertKit‘s Automations, which are more minimal. On ConvertKit, you can set off an automation when: The contact submits a form The contact makes a purchase A tag is included to the contact A customized field is updated with a specific worth From there, you can develop Conditions, to check whether the contact has a certain tag or custom field worth.

Active Campaign How-To

You can also create Events, which are a bit like ActiveCampaign’s Objectives, but without the reporting. You can track an Occasion when: A tag is included or eliminated The contact purchases A date takes place A customized field is upgraded with a specific value You don’t create emails in ConvertKit’s Automations.

For more on how ActiveCampaign compares to ConvertKit, read my ConvertKit vs ActiveCampaign comparison. The main way I construct my list is through an email course. ActiveCampaign makes it simple for me to develop my email course precisely how I want to develop it. Many marketers build really simple email sequences for their “email courses.” A contact register, and after that that contact instantly starts getting lessons.

It was easy to build with ActiveCampaign, but impossible when I was with MailChimp. I don’t do that approach. My email course is by hand synced with this countdown timer on my website. You need to register by Friday night, and a brand-new course begins each Monday early morning. When I first attempted this methodology, I was on MailChimp.

Active Campaign How-To

Here’s the automation I utilize to welcome brand-new trainees to my Style Pitfalls course. There’s a couple of things going on here: The automation sends all contacts a “welcome email (Active Campaign How-To).” The automation validates that it’s not Friday. If it’s not Friday, the automation waits up until it is Friday. At 11am, it sends out a “pump up” email to get the trainees prepared for next week’s course, and encourage them to share it with good friends.

The contact will begin getting lessons the following Monday morning. If it is Friday and after 7pm, the contact missed out on registration for next week’s class. They’ll get the pump up e-mail the following Friday morning, and lessons the Monday after that. It was difficult for me to automate this with MailChimp.

When I run a webinar, I do not want to send the exact same e-mail to every individual on my list. I desire to send them the appropriate email for their level of engagement – Active Campaign How-To. Active Campaign How-To. Here’s the automation I utilize to promote an evergreen webinar: First it confirms that they haven’t already purchased the item I pitch in the webinar.

Active Campaign How-To

Then it sends out a series of emails to get them thinking about the webinar, and to motivate them to register. If they register, they right away struck the “Objective” towards completion of the webinar, and the automation ends. If they do not register, they get added to an automation promoting a rebroadcast of the webinar. Active Campaign How-To.

This enables me to personalize my messaging, in other automations, based upon the contact’s engagement with the webinar. Here’s the WebinarJam combination panel: I can include tags based upon whether the contact registered, participated in, missed out on, or based upon for how long they remained in the webinar. These tags can then activate automations within ActiveCampaign.

It costs me cash, and it makes it more likely that my emails go to spam or Gmail’s promotions tab. People who do not open my emails make it harder for other e-mails to get to individuals who actually want them! The “Pro” plan of ActiveCampaign has lead scoring integrated in.

Active Campaign How-To

Here’s an automation I got from ActiveCampaign’s library of automations, which I utilize to inform which contacts aren’t engaging with my e-mails. When a contact subscribes, this automation includes a “0 days” tag. As time passes, it includes new tags for 7 days, thirty days, 60 days, etc Each time they open an e-mail, a different automation removes them from this automation, eliminates all of those tags, and starts this automation over once again.

This automation can be overwhelming in the beginning, and this is one of those cases where I want ActiveCampaign had a more out-of-the-box option. However, because you can do anything with ActiveCampaign, in some cases you need to construct things from scratch. ActiveCampaign has a choice to erase non-active customers, which I do not recommend.

Some subscribers do not have actually tracking turned on, so their opens aren’t tape-recorded. Others still desire to be subscribed but have actually been hectic. Here’s my reactivation series: I send one email asking if they still desire to be subscribed, and briefly describing why I keep my e-mail list tidy. In one week, I send them another e-mail (if they currently clicked the verification link in the previous email, they have actually currently been eliminated from the automation utilizing a separate automation) – Active Campaign How-To.

Active Campaign How-To

The automation then unsubscribes them. My emails likewise have a link to a kind where they can enter their email address to let me know that they do not have tracking made it possible for. This type includes a tag that I use to filter those contacts out. Active Campaign How-To. I utilized to add this tag when they clicked on a link, however when individuals do not have tracking on, it makes those links not work so reliably! I only send an easy “do you still desire my e-mails?” confirmation.

Active Campaign How-To

To begin constructing an automation in ActiveCampaign, start with a “trigger.” There are a number of methods you can activate an automation, consisting of: When a tag is included When a contact signs up for a list When a contact sends a kind E-commerce and on-site alternatives (readily available in the “Pro” plan) When the contact reaches a certain point in another automation.

From there, you can begin constructing the actions in your automation. Some actions that are available in ActiveCampaign’s automations are: Send out an email Notify a staff member Wait conditions If/then conditionals Split traffic for screening Skip to other parts of the automation Track objectives (The contact can skip to the objective’s location in the automation.) Start or end another automation, or end the current automation Post a webhook Subscribe or unsubscribe the contact to/from lists Update contact details Add and get rid of tags Add a note Lead scoring, SMS and site messages, and Facebook Custom Audience management are all “Pro” features – Active Campaign How-To.

Contrast with ConvertKit‘s Automations, which are more restricted. On ConvertKit, you can set off an automation when: The contact submits a kind The contact makes a purchase A tag is contributed to the contact A custom field is updated with a certain worth From there, you can produce Conditions, to inspect whether the contact has a certain tag or custom field value.

Active Campaign How-To

You can likewise create Events, which are a bit like ActiveCampaign’s Objectives, but without the reporting. You can track an Event when: A tag is included or removed The contact purchases A date happens A customized field is updated with a particular value You don’t develop e-mails in ConvertKit’s Automations.

For more on how ActiveCampaign compares to ConvertKit, read my ConvertKit vs ActiveCampaign contrast. The primary way I construct my list is through an email course. ActiveCampaign makes it simple for me to construct my e-mail course exactly how I wish to construct it. Lots of marketers develop really simple email series for their “e-mail courses.” A contact register, and after that that contact right away begins getting lessons.

It was simple to construct with ActiveCampaign, however difficult when I was with MailChimp. I do not do that approach. My e-mail course is manually synced with this countdown timer on my site. You have to sign up by Friday night, and a new course begins each Monday morning. When I first tried this methodology, I was on MailChimp.

Active Campaign How-To

Here’s the automation I use to welcome brand-new students to my Design Pitfalls course. There’s a couple of things going on here: The automation sends all contacts a “welcome e-mail (Active Campaign How-To).” The automation verifies that it’s not Friday. If it’s not Friday, the automation waits up until it is Friday. At 11am, it sends out a “pump up” email to get the students ready for next week’s course, and encourage them to share it with good friends.

The contact will start getting lessons the following Monday early morning. If it is Friday and after 7pm, the contact missed out on registration for next week’s class. They’ll get the pump up email the following Friday morning, and lessons the Monday after that. It was impossible for me to automate this with MailChimp.

When I run a webinar, I do not desire to send out the same email to every person on my list. I desire to send them the appropriate e-mail for their level of engagement – Active Campaign How-To. Active Campaign How-To. Here’s the automation I utilize to promote an evergreen webinar: First it verifies that they haven’t already acquired the product I pitch in the webinar.

Active Campaign How-To

Then it sends out a series of e-mails to get them interested in the webinar, and to motivate them to sign up. If they register, they immediately struck the “Objective” toward the end of the webinar, and the automation ends. If they don’t sign up, they get included to an automation promoting a rebroadcast of the webinar. Active Campaign How-To.

This enables me to tailor my messaging, in other automations, based upon the contact’s engagement with the webinar. Here’s the WebinarJam combination panel: I can include tags based upon whether the contact registered, went to, missed out on, or based upon the length of time they stayed in the webinar. These tags can then activate automations within ActiveCampaign.

It costs me cash, and it makes it more likely that my emails go to spam or Gmail’s promos tab. People who don’t open my e-mails make it harder for other e-mails to get to individuals who truly want them! The “Pro” strategy of ActiveCampaign has lead scoring integrated in.

Active Campaign How-To

Here’s an automation I received from ActiveCampaign’s library of automations, which I utilize to inform which contacts aren’t engaging with my emails. When a contact subscribes, this automation includes a “0 days” tag. As time passes, it includes brand-new tags for 7 days, 30 days, 60 days, etc Each time they open an e-mail, a separate automation eliminates them from this automation, gets rid of all of those tags, and begins this automation over once again.

This automation can be overwhelming initially, and this is among those cases where I want ActiveCampaign had a more out-of-the-box option. However, because you can do anything with ActiveCampaign, often you have to construct things from scratch. ActiveCampaign has an alternative to delete inactive subscribers, which I do not suggest.

Some subscribers do not have tracking switched on, so their opens aren’t taped. Others still want to be subscribed however have actually been hectic. Here’s my reactivation series: I send one e-mail asking if they still wish to be subscribed, and briefly discussing why I keep my e-mail list clean. In one week, I send them another email (if they already clicked on the confirmation link in the previous email, they have actually already been gotten rid of from the automation utilizing a separate automation) – Active Campaign How-To.

Active Campaign How-To

The automation then unsubscribes them. My e-mails also have a link to a type where they can enter their email address to let me know that they don’t have tracking enabled. This type adds a tag that I utilize to filter those contacts out. Active Campaign How-To. I utilized to include this tag when they clicked a link, but when people don’t have tracking on, it makes those links not work so reliably! I just send an easy “do you still desire my e-mails?” confirmation.

Active Campaign How-To

You can also see whether the conclusion rate has actually increased or decreased, for how long it takes for contacts to reach that goal, and you can search all contacts to see who did and didn’t reach the goal. ActiveCampaign’s Message Variables is my preferred feature. It saves me a lots of effort and time, and neither MailChimp nor ConvertKit (update: 9/2020 ConvertKit now has ” bits”) has a similar function.

Let’s say you have the first name of only a few of your contacts, which holds true with my list. I generally do not require a first name to register to my list, however often I get a given name, such as when someone buys a product. Wouldn’t it be great to greet your contacts by name, in the events when you have it? You can do this, however it’s cumbersome.

I’m likewise filtering for generic terms added by other systems, such as a dash, or “Visitor.” If they have a very first name, I say “Hey,” and then their given name. If they don’t, I just say “Hey there,” (Active Campaign How-To). By building a Message Variable in ActiveCampaign, I can easily change my welcoming according to whether I have the contact’s given name.

Active Campaign How-To

I developed a variable that’s simply %greeting-hey%. If I have the contact’s name, it appears in the e-mail. If I don’t have the contact’s name, it defaults to “Hey,”. Where Message Variables actually conserve me a great deal of time is by allowing me utilize the exact same automation over and over once again for my webinars, and I can quickly change out all of the information.

Here vary for a webinar I run called “Bust Through Creative Blocks.” You can see I have a bunch of different variables here, such as the date and time of the webinar, the price of the product, offer terms, discount coupon code, and more. Each time I run a brand-new webinar, I can change each of these variables to match any schedule modifications or deal changes.

And here it remains in an e-mail. This message variable allows me to easily change out a countdown timer. I did point out earlier that one of the cons of ActiveCampaign is their email editing experience. I changed from MailChimp, and MailChimp happens to have the very best email modifying experience. I really like to send out easy emails.

Active Campaign How-To

I’ve discovered that very tough to do with ActiveCampaign. For awhile, I was editing e-mails in ActiveCampaign’s hybrid editor, which is quite cumbersome. For a long period of time, I used ActiveCampaign’s hybrid HTML and WYSIWYG editor, which was set off by a standard design template I developed. The interface for the HTML editor appears like it was pulled from some free open-source job. Active Campaign How-To.

However, including images is a bit of a task. You need to choose them from a file browser. There’s no drag and drop choice. ActiveCampaign’s HTML e-mail editor needs that you make up entirely in HTML. The alternative to this, if you wish to have control over the HTML, is to modify pure HTML, with a preview on the side.

Adding images to ActiveCampaign’s rich text editor is a cumbersome experience. You require different text boxes for above and below the image. Recently I have actually started utilizing ActiveCampaign’s rich full-screen editor. They have some great templates, however I still wish to send out the simplest email possible. They do have some plain-looking emails, but they have some degree of very little format, which you can’t remove – Active Campaign How-To.

Active Campaign How-To

However, with some changes, I can make my e-mail quite standard. I can make it automatically take up the entire window, and I can modify the typography to be a little bigger, and have a little bit more leading. The most frustrating part of ActiveCampaign’s rich full-screen editor is including images. Envision you’ve simply typed out a terrific email. Active Campaign How-To.

You can’t just include an image to a block of text. Rather, you need to create 2 blocks of text: one for prior to the image, and one for after the image. If you’ve made any format changes, you’ll need to keep an eye on those to remain consistent. That’s one thing to deal with when you want to include one image, but when you wish to include a number of, it ends up being a huge task.

They even have a basic mage editor where you can crop the image – Active Campaign How-To. MailChimp’s editor is the very best I have actually seen in all of the email marketing platforms I have actually attempted. You have access to the underlying code, so you can produce a truly plain email, provided you make a basic design template first.

Active Campaign How-To

MailChimp’s integrated image editor is incredibly powerful. You can resize, crop, and include custom-made text to your images. I miss MailChimp’s email-editing experience (Active Campaign How-To). It would conserve me a little time to have that exact same experience on ActiveCampaign. However the highly-customizable automations I can construct on ActiveCampaign more than offset that possible time cost savings.

ConvertKit’s e-mail modifying experience is very plain, however easy to navigate. Their templates are restricted, which is great with me, but their email editing experience is a little simpler because you can create inline images, and you can develop an absolutely plain e-mail, and even modify the underlying HTML. If you want to make some fast edits to some emails in an automation, with ActiveCampaign, it’s troublesome.

I’ll click on an email, and it takes me to the editor for that e-mail. Keep in mind that I can’t even Command + Click to open it in another tab. Whether they suggested to or not, ActiveCampaign has disabled Command + Click from the automation editor. If I wished to switch backward and forward in between various e-mails, I would intuitively be inclined open the exact same automation in different tabs, then open the respective e-mails from each of those tabs.

Active Campaign How-To

In the Automations area, there’s a “Handle Messages” area. From here, you can see all of the messages in each of your automations. You can edit each one, or you can Command + Click to open each in a new tab to more quickly edit your whole series. Active Campaign How-To. Contrast that with ConvertKit’s Series.

Once again, it would save me a great deal of time to have ConvertKit’s automation email editing experience on ActiveCampaign – Active Campaign How-To. But selecting an email marketing platform resembles choosing a partner. ActiveCampaign offsets it with their Message Variables, more robust automations, and advanced segmentation. Speaking of segmentation, another reason I changed from MailChimp to ActiveCampaign was that MailChimp has restricted segmentation choices.

You can integrate qualities with an AND/OR operator, and you can mix and match those groups of traits with another AND/OR operator. With MailChimp, you can just sector by AND/OR, nevertheless MailChimp’s Pro plan enables more advanced segmenting, for an extra $199 a month. In my look for the perfect email marketing platform, I saw many others, a few of which I have actually currently mentioned.

Active Campaign How-To

ConvertKit. If I weren’t on ActiveCampaign, I would most likely be using ConvertKit. Their automations are a lot easier to construct, though they aren’t as versatile as ActiveCampaign’s, and their divisions options aren’t as sophisticated either. They likewise don’t have goal tracking, or Message Variables. MailChimp. You already understand that I changed from MailChimp to ActiveCampaign.

Active Campaign How-To

You can also see whether the completion rate has actually increased or decreased, how long it considers contacts to reach that goal, and you can browse all contacts to see who did and didn’t reach the goal. ActiveCampaign’s Message Variables is my favorite feature. It saves me a ton of effort and time, and neither MailChimp nor ConvertKit (upgrade: 9/2020 ConvertKit now has ” bits”) has an equivalent feature.

Let’s say you have the given name of only a few of your contacts, which holds true with my list. I typically don’t require a given name to sign up to my list, however sometimes I get a given name, such as when somebody buys a product. Would not it be good to greet your contacts by name, in the cases when you have it? You can do this, but it’s cumbersome.

I’m likewise filtering for generic terms added by other systems, such as a dash, or “Guest.” If they have a very first name, I state “Hey,” and after that their given name. If they don’t, I simply say “Hey there,” (Active Campaign How-To). By constructing a Message Variable in ActiveCampaign, I can easily change my welcoming according to whether or not I have the contact’s given name.

Active Campaign How-To

I produced a variable that’s merely %greeting-hey%. If I have the contact’s name, it reveals up in the e-mail. If I don’t have the contact’s name, it defaults to “Hey,”. Where Message Variables really save me a lot of time is by allowing me utilize the exact same automation over and over again for my webinars, and I can rapidly change out all of the details.

Here are variables for a webinar I run called “Bust Through Creative Blocks.” You can see I have a lot of different variables here, such as the date and time of the webinar, the rate of the product, deal terms, voucher code, and more. Each time I run a new webinar, I can change each of these variables to match any schedule changes or deal modifications.

And here it remains in an email. This message variable allows me to quickly change out a countdown timer. I did point out earlier that one of the cons of ActiveCampaign is their email modifying experience. I switched from MailChimp, and MailChimp takes place to have the very best email modifying experience. I actually like to send simple emails.

Active Campaign How-To

I have actually found that really tough to do with ActiveCampaign. For some time, I was editing e-mails in ActiveCampaign’s hybrid editor, which is quite clunky. For a long time, I utilized ActiveCampaign’s hybrid HTML and WYSIWYG editor, which was set off by a fundamental design template I produced. The interface for the HTML editor looks like it was pulled from some free open-source job. Active Campaign How-To.

Nevertheless, adding images is a little a chore. You have to choose them from a file internet browser. There’s no drag and drop alternative. ActiveCampaign’s HTML e-mail editor needs that you compose entirely in HTML. The option to this, if you desire to have control over the HTML, is to edit pure HTML, with a sneak peek on the side.

Including images to ActiveCampaign’s abundant text editor is a clunky experience. You require separate text boxes for above and listed below the image. Lately I have begun using ActiveCampaign’s rich text editor. They have some good templates, but I still want to send out the plainest e-mail possible. They do have some plain-looking emails, but they have some degree of minimal formatting, which you can’t get rid of – Active Campaign How-To.

Active Campaign How-To

However, with some modifications, I can make my email pretty fundamental. I can make it automatically use up the entire window, and I can fine-tune the typography to be slightly larger, and have a little more prominent. The most discouraging part of ActiveCampaign’s abundant full-screen editor is including images. Picture you have actually just typed out a great email. Active Campaign How-To.

You can’t just add an image to a block of text. Instead, you need to develop 2 blocks of text: one for prior to the image, and one for after the image. If you’ve made any format modifications, you’ll have to keep an eye on those to remain consistent. That’s something to deal with when you desire to add one image, but when you desire to add several, it ends up being a big chore.

They even have a fundamental mage editor where you can crop the image – Active Campaign How-To. MailChimp’s editor is the best I have actually seen in all of the email marketing platforms I’ve attempted. You have access to the underlying code, so you can create a truly plain email, supplied you make a basic design template first.

Active Campaign How-To

MailChimp’s integrated image editor is very powerful. You can resize, crop, and add customized text to your images. I miss MailChimp’s email-editing experience (Active Campaign How-To). It would save me a little time to have that exact same experience on ActiveCampaign. However the highly-customizable automations I can develop on ActiveCampaign more than make up for that potential time cost savings.

ConvertKit’s email editing experience is really plain, but simple to browse. Their templates are limited, which is fine with me, but their e-mail modifying experience is slightly much easier because you can create inline images, and you can produce a totally plain e-mail, and even modify the underlying HTML. If you wish to make some quick edits to some e-mails in an automation, with ActiveCampaign, it’s cumbersome.

I’ll click an e-mail, and it takes me to the editor for that email. Keep in mind that I can’t even Command + Click to open it in another tab. Whether they meant to or not, ActiveCampaign has disabled Command + Click from the automation editor. If I desired to change backward and forward between various e-mails, I would intuitively be inclined open the exact same automation in various tabs, then open the particular emails from each of those tabs.

Active Campaign How-To

In the Automations section, there’s a “Handle Messages” area. From here, you can see all of the messages in each of your automations. You can modify each one, or you can Command + Click to open each in a new tab to more easily modify your entire series. Active Campaign How-To. Contrast that with ConvertKit’s Series.

Again, it would conserve me a great deal of time to have ConvertKit’s automation e-mail modifying experience on ActiveCampaign – Active Campaign How-To. However choosing an email marketing platform resembles picking a partner. ActiveCampaign makes up for it with their Message Variables, more robust automations, and advanced division. Mentioning division, another factor I switched from MailChimp to ActiveCampaign was that MailChimp has actually restricted segmentation alternatives.

You can combine qualities with an AND/OR operator, and you can mix and match those groups of characteristics with another AND/OR operator. With MailChimp, you can only section by AND/OR, nevertheless MailChimp’s Pro plan allows more advanced segmenting, for an extra $199 a month. In my search for the perfect e-mail marketing platform, I saw many others, some of which I’ve currently discussed.

Active Campaign How-To

ConvertKit. If I weren’t on ActiveCampaign, I would most likely be utilizing ConvertKit. Their automations are much simpler to construct, though they aren’t as flexible as ActiveCampaign’s, and their segmentations alternatives aren’t as advanced either. They also do not have objective tracking, or Message Variables. MailChimp. You already know that I switched from MailChimp to ActiveCampaign.