Automation Settings

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About Automation Settings

Introduction

The Automation Settings in ActiveCampaign allow users to create essential workflow-level configurations for their automations. Understanding how to effectively utilize the Automation Settings is crucial, as it ensures that your marketing campaigns operate smoothly. This feature plays a significant role in controlling how contacts enter and exit automations, as well as how unsubscribe actions are managed. Properly configuring these settings can enhance user experience and improve campaign performance.

How to Access Automation Settings

To access the Automation Settings for a specific automation, follow these simple steps:

1. Click on Automations in the left menu of the interface.
2. Edit an existing automation or create a new one.
3. Click the arrow located at the top right of the automation canvas.

The Automation Settings tab will expand, displaying various automation-level options.

Step-by-step Instructions

Once you have accessed the Automation Settings tab, you can configure several important aspects of your automation. Here’s a detailed guide on what you can do:

1. **Add a Description:**

  - Use the designated space to provide context about your automation. You can add descriptions, summaries, notes, and links to external resources for other users in your account.

2. **Track Progress:**

  - You can link your automation to a pre-existing Business Goal or Conversion. This helps measure the effectiveness of your automation.
  - You can only have one business goal or one conversion linked to an automation from the Automation Settings; however, an automation can be associated with multiple business goals.

3. **Configure Contact Entry:**

  - Set how many times a contact can enter this automation:
    - **Any number of times:** Default setting allowing repeated entries as long as trigger conditions are met.
    - **Only once:** This restricts contacts to entering the automation one time across all triggers.
    - **Only after they have exited:** This allows re-entry only after a contact has completed the workflow.

4. **Set Exit Criteria:**

  - Define how a contact will exit the automation:
    - Unsubscribe from an automated campaign.
    - Any tracked conversion occurs (if tracking is implemented).

5. **Manage Unsubscribes:**

  - Choose which lists a contact will unsubscribe from when they click the unsubscribe link in your automated campaign.
  - Refer to the relevant resources for managing unsubscribe actions and list associations.

6. **Define Automation Permissions:**

  - Users with Account Admin permissions can determine which user groups can view and edit the individual automation. 

Configuration Options and Settings

The following options are available within the Automation Settings:

• **Description:** A space for providing additional context.
• **Add to Business Goal:** To link to a business goal and track conversions.
• **Add to Conversion:** To link to a specific conversion for monitoring purposes.
• **Concurrency Options:**

 * Any number of times
 * Only once
 * Only after they have exited

• **Exit Criteria:**

 * Unsubscription
 * Achieving a tracked conversion

• **Unsubscribe Lists:** Define which lists will be affected upon unsubscribing.
• **Automation Permissions:** Control access for different user groups.

By utilizing these options effectively, users can create a robust and optimized automation setup.

Best Practices and Tips

• **Utilize Descriptions:** Always provide clear descriptions for automations to improve collaboration among team members.
• **Monitor Performance:** Regularly check linked business goals and conversions to gauge automation effectiveness.
• **Set Clear Exit Criteria:** Carefully evaluate your exit criteria to prevent unwanted exits and improve retention.
• **Customize Entry Options:** Analyze how often contacts should re-enter automations based on your marketing strategy.
• **Test Preferences:** Conduct tests regarding user permissions to ensure appropriate access levels for editing automations.

Common Use Cases with Examples

1. **Sales Follow-Up Automation:**

  - Create an automation that sends follow-up emails to leads that have interacted with a particular marketing campaign. Set the entry option to allow multiple entries based on user engagement.

2. **Onboarding Series:**

  - Use the automation to manage a customer onboarding series, linking to a business goal that tracks user engagement and completion of the onboarding process.

3. **Re-engagement Campaigns:**

  - Configure an automation to target inactive users and establish criteria for re-entry after they engage with a specific campaign to re-activate their interest.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues with the Automation Settings, consider the following:

• Ensure you have the proper permissions to edit automation settings.
• Verify that any business goals or conversions are correctly linked.
• Check if the exit criteria are clearly defined and functioning as expected.
• Make sure that the descriptions you provide are clear and accurate for effective communication among users.

Related Features

For further reading, you may find the following features useful:

• Automation
• Business Goals
• Conversions
• Managing Unsubscribes

FAQ

Q1: Can I have multiple business goals linked to one automation? A1: No, you can only link one business goal or one conversion to an automation in the Automation Settings.

Q2: What happens if a contact unsubscribes? A2: If a contact unsubscribes from an automated campaign, they will exit the automation according to the exit criteria you've set.

Q3: Can contacts enter the same automation multiple times? A3: Yes, you can configure the automation to allow contacts to enter multiple times, only once, or only after exiting.

Q4: How do I track the performance of my automation? A4: You can track performance by linking it to existing business goals or conversions and reviewing the contact counts and conversion rates.

Q5: Are descriptions visible to all users? A5: Yes, descriptions added in the Automation Settings tab are accessible to other users in your account.

Q6: Can I restrict access to certain automations? A6: Yes, users with Account Admin permissions can set who can view and edit specific automations.

Q7: How can I manage unsubscribe actions? A7: You can manage unsubscribe actions by selecting which lists contacts will unsubscribe from when they click the unsubscribe link in your automated campaign.

By understanding the Automation Settings, users can effectively design and manage their automations for improved customer engagement and satisfaction. ```