There are a number of issues that we regularly see when using automations.
These are the most common:
- A contact is not added to your automation or added too often
- An email is not sent to your contact
- A contact followed the wrong path in an 'if/else' step
We have noted possible solutions for each problem. We recommend checking these issues.
Modifying an automation while it is active
Attention: In general, we strongly advise against making changes to an active automation. This can lead to unexpected errors. Therefore, always set the automation to 'Inactive' before you start working on it!
If it is a situation where it is necessary for the automation to be 'Active' (e.g. contacts starting at a specific point), it is better to leave it aside.
A contact is not added to your automation or added too often
- Check if your triggers are set correctly.
- Determine exactly when you created the automation. Was it before or after a certain contact met the trigger conditions? Timing is crucial here, as a contact that has already met a condition will not respond to a trigger placed afterwards.
- Triggers do not work retroactively. This means that if the automation is 'active' and the contact has met the conditions, they will not be added to the automation. You will need to add the contact manually.
- Ensure that the automation is 'active'. Contacts can only be added once this is the case. To ensure your automation is active, select 'active' in the top right of the automation.
- When using the start trigger 'visited webpage', make sure the URL in the trigger matches both the page and the domain.
- If you are not using a MailBlue form, use the trigger 'subscribes to list'.
An email is not sent to your contact
- A contact may have unsubscribed from your emails. Contacts who unsubscribe will skip the 'send email' action in the automation. More information about contact status can be found in the following article: Explaining Contact Status
- The email may not have landed in your contact's inbox, but in the spam folder
- A contact went through the automation before you added the 'send email' action
- Review the automation path of a specific contact to see how they started, why they did not receive an email, etc.
A contact followed the wrong path in an 'if/else' step
Check the conditions of the 'if/else' step to see if your contact meets them. For the 'or' options, only one of the conditions needs to apply. For the 'and' option, all conditions must apply to the contact.
Testing your automation
To ensure that the automation is working correctly, we recommend adding a test contact to the automation first. This way, you can identify and resolve any issues before adding real contacts.
- You can create a test contact and add it to the automation as follows:
- Click on 'Contacts'
- Click on the 'Add Contact' button
- Fill in the contact form with the contact details
- Click on the 'Add' button to add the contact
- Add the test contact to the automation and follow the steps in the automation. You can skip waiting steps if needed