Workflow examples

These eight examples cover common automation scenarios in Flexmail. Each uses a different combination of triggers, send blocks, wait blocks, and conditions. Use them as starting points and adapt the specifics to your situation.

1. Welcome message

Send a welcome email the moment a contact subscribes through your opt-in form. A welcome email arrives at the highest point of interest, when the contact has just decided to hear from you. Use it to introduce your brand, set expectations about what they'll receive, and share your best content.

How to build it

Start block: Contacts who subscribed via [your opt-in form]. Tick "Include existing contacts" if you want to send it retroactively to contacts already in your list.
Send block: Your welcome message. Timing: immediately.

Support tip Consider including a discount or free resource in the welcome email. A concrete incentive at the moment of highest interest significantly increases click-through rates and starts the relationship on a positive note.

2. Welcome series

Send a series of emails over several days when a contact subscribes, a mini-guide that drip-feeds valuable content and builds a habit of opening your emails. A welcome series works better than a single welcome email when you have multiple things to introduce across different product categories, key features, or an educational sequence.

How to build it

Start block: Contacts who subscribed via [your opt-in form].
Send block 1: Welcome email with your free resource or introduction. Timing: immediately.
Wait block: 2 days.
Send block 2: A "best of" or deeper introduction to your offer. Timing: immediately after wait.
Wait block: 3 days.
Send block 3: A strong call to action, your best offer, a product recommendation, or an invitation. Timing: immediately after wait.

3. Sales follow-up

Follow up with contacts who click a specific link in a campaign, and notify your sales team when a high-intent lead is ready. Not every contact who opens your newsletter is ready to buy, but some signal it by clicking specific links. This workflow identifies those contacts and bridges marketing to sales.

How to build it (wine vendor example)

Start block: Contacts who clicked link [red wines article link] in campaign [newsletter name].
Internal notification block: Alert the sales team with the contact's name and email. Timing: immediately.
Wait block: 1 day.
If/else block: Has the contact already placed an order? (Check via a custom field or interest.)
Yes path: End block. No follow-up needed.
No path: Send block with a targeted offer or recommendation email.

4. Event follow-up

Automatically send a confirmation, a reminder, and a post-event survey to contacts who register for your event via a form.

How to build it

Start block: Contacts who completed form [event registration form].
Send block 1: Confirmation email with event details. Timing: immediately.
Wait block: Until [X days before event date], use a date-based trigger relative to the event date field.
Send block 2: Reminder email with practical information. Timing: immediately after wait.
Wait block: Until [2 days after event date].
Send block 3: Post-event follow-up or survey link. Timing: immediately after wait.

Support tip This workflow pairs well with the Event reminder workflow (example 5). One handles registered contacts; the other handles contacts who received the invitation but haven't registered yet.

5. Event reminder

Automatically send reminders to contacts who received your event invitation but haven't registered yet.

How to build it

Start block: Contacts has NOT filled out form [event registration form] on [date of validation] at [time]. AND received the campaign [event invitation].
Send block 1: First reminder. Timing: immediately.
Wait block: 4 days.
If/else block: Has the contact now completed the registration form?
Yes path: End block. They registered.
No path: Send block 2, final reminder with urgency. Timing: immediately.

6. Recurring occasion (birthday email)

Send a campaign on a recurring annual basis triggered by a date field, a birthday, renewal anniversary, or any other annually recurring date. The workflow re-enters contacts automatically every year.

How to build it

Start block: Contact field trigger, set to the "Date of birth" field, check yearly, trigger "on the same day" (or a few days before if you want to arrive before the birthday). Set belongs to "All my contacts" (or a created segment "Contacts who share their birthday").
Send block: Birthday or anniversary email with your message or offer.

Support tip Sending a birthday email a few days before the actual birthday rather than on the day itself gives the contact time to use a discount before their birthday rather than on it, which typically increases redemption rates.

7. One-time occasion

Send a campaign based on a specific date in a contact's record, for example, a maintenance reminder sent 3 months after a contract start date. Unlike the recurring occasion, this triggers only once per contact.

How to build it (bike rental example)

Start block: Contact field trigger, set to the "Contract start date" field, trigger 3 months after the date, run once. Belongs to segment "Customers w/ contract".
Send block 1: Maintenance reminder email. Timing: immediately.
Wait block: 7 days.
If/else block: Has the contact booked the maintenance appointment? (Check via a custom field or form completion.)
Yes path: End block.
No path: Send block 2, second reminder. Timing: immediately.

8. Follow-up on contact request

Automatically follow up with contacts who fill in your contact form, and immediately notify your sales team so they can reach out personally. Speed matters here, research consistently shows that faster follow-up after a contact request produces higher conversion rates. This workflow makes fast response automatic.

How to build it (moving firm example)

Start block: Contacts who completed form [contact request form].
Internal notification block: Alert the sales team with the contact's details. Timing: immediately.
Send block 1: Automated acknowledgement email, "We received your request and will be in touch within 24 hours." Timing: immediately.
Wait block: 1 day.
If/else block: Has a sales rep already followed up? (Check via a custom field updated by the sales team.)
Yes path: Stop block.
No path: Internal notification, reminder to the sales team to follow up.

Support tip The internal notification block is the key ingredient here. It turns your marketing automation into a bridge to your sales team, the contact gets an immediate automated response, and your team gets an immediate alert to follow up personally.

Next steps

See "Create a workflow" for a step-by-step walkthrough of building any of these in the workflow builder.
See "Workflow blocks and triggers reference" for a complete list of available triggers and actions.
See "When to stop your automation campaign" for how to add conversion exit points to any of these sequences.