Basic Flows to get you started
Not sure which automation to build first? These five flows cover the most common and highest-impact use cases. Each use case includes the trigger, a visual flow blueprint, the nodes you'll need, recommended flow settings, and tips for personalisation.
1. Welcome flow
Greet new subscribers immediately when they sign up — before they forget who you are.
Trigger | Form Submit (sign-up form) |
Nodes | Listen → Email → End Flow |
Entry Limit | 1 (once per profile) |
Pro tip | Add a Time Node and Check profile after the Email Node to build on your flow with more activities over time. |
2. Birthday flow
Send a personalised message or an offer on each subscriber's birthday.
Trigger | Date Attribute — Date of Birth, on birthday, every year |
Nodes | Listen (Date Attribute) → Email → End Flow |
Prerequisite | Date of Birth must be stored as a Date Attribute on the Profile. |
Bonus | Mile stone birthdays |
3. Re-engagement flow
Win back inactive subscribers before they churn.
Trigger | Segment entry — 'No email engagement in 90 days' (daily scheduled) |
Nodes | Listen → Email (re-engagement) → Time (7 days) → Check Profile (engaged?) → Yes: Update Profile / No: Email (last chance) → End Flow |
Entry Limit | Consider limiting to for instance 1 per 90 days (use Entry Limit with time-based restriction in flow settings) |
4. Follow-up flow after conversion
Follow up automatically after engages with your CTAs.
Trigger | CTA click (or segment on clicks) |
Nodes | Listen (Segment or CTA interaction) → Wait (x day/s) → Email (thank you + resources) → Wait (x days) → (Check profile)→ Email (feedback or next step) → End Flow |
5. Lead nurture flow
Route qualified leads to sales automatically based on engagement behaviour.
Trigger | Email Click — high-intent CTA (e.g. pricing page, demo request) |
Nodes | Listen (Email Click or Segment on clicks on specific campaign CTAs) (→ Check Profile) → Update Profile (tag: sales-ready) → Notification Node (alert sales) → End Flow |
Ready to go intermediate or even advanced?
Beginner flows (2–4 nodes, linear)
Intermediate flows (4–8 nodes, branching)
Advanced flows (8+ nodes, multi-channel, integrations)
💡 Tip — Save as Template: Once you've built a flow you're happy with, click Save as Template in the bottom bar to reuse the structure for future campaigns. See Navigate the Marketing Automation Canvas for how to save and use templates.
Beginner flows
Welcome series
Goal
Greet new subscribers with a warm welcome and introduce them to your brand over a few days.
Trigger | Subscription Opt-in (newsletter) |
Nodes | Listen → Time (1 hour) → Email ("Welcome!") → Time (3 days) → Email ("Here's what to expect") → Time (5 days) → Email ("Our most popular content") → End Flow |
Entry Limit | 1 (once per profile) |
Pro tip | Add a Check Profile node after the first email to branch by interest or language — personalise the rest of the series based on what you know about the subscriber. |
Recommended settings
Entry Limit | 1 time |
Subscriptions | Your newsletter subscription |
Why this works
The 1-hour delay prevents the welcome email from colliding with a double opt-in confirmation. The multi-day spacing builds familiarity without overwhelming. Entry Limit 1 ensures a subscriber only gets this series once, even if they unsubscribe and resubscribe.
Personalisation tip
Use a profile attribute (e.g. first name) in the email greeting. If you collect interests during signup, add a Check Profile node after the first email to branch into interest-specific content paths.
Birthday / anniversary campaign
Goal
Send an automated birthday greeting (or anniversary message) with a special offer.
Trigger | Attribute: Date of birth → On birthday → Every year (daily at 08:00) |
Nodes | Listen → Email ("Happy birthday! Here's 20% off") → End Flow |
Entry Limit | Unlimited (re-enters once per year) |
Pro tip | Switch the date attribute setting to "Milestone" for a higher-value offer on round birthdays (30th, 40th, 50th). Or add a Check Profile node to branch by loyalty tier and send different offers to VIPs. |
Recommended settings
Entry Limit | Unlimited (profile enters once per year on their birthday) |
Subscriptions | Marketing subscription |
Why this works
Date attribute triggers are evaluated on a daily schedule. "Every year" ensures the flow runs annually. Unlimited entry allows the same profile to re-enter each year.
Personalisation tip
Include the profile's first name and consider using a dynamic discount code generated via a custom event or webhook integration.
Form submission follow-up
Goal
Automatically send a confirmation or next-step email when a profile submits a form (e.g. contact form, download request, event registration).
Trigger | Form Submit (sign-up form, contact form, or download request) |
Nodes | Listen → Time (5 minutes) → Email ("Thanks — here's what happens next") → End Flow |
Entry Limit | 1 (once per profile) |
Pro tip | Add a Time node and Check Profile after the Email node to build on your flow with more activities over time — e.g. check if they opened, then send a follow-up or switch channel. |
Recommended settings
Entry Limit | 1 time (or Unlimited if the form can be submitted multiple times per person) |
Subscriptions | Relevant subscription |
Why this works
The short 5-minute delay avoids the email arriving simultaneously with any form confirmation page or browser notification. It feels immediate but isn't jarring.
Variation
For a download request, include the download link directly in the email using personalisation tags or event data from a custom event attached to the form.
Intermediate flows
Lead nurture with engagement branching
Goal
Guide new leads through an educational sequence and adapt the journey based on their engagement.
Trigger | Form Submit (whitepaper download form) |
Nodes | Listen → Time (2 days) → Email ("More resources") → Time (4 days) → Check Profile ("Opened email?" within 4 days) |
Entry Limit | 1 (once per profile) |
Pro tip | Make sure your Subscription covers both email and SMS. Profiles without SMS consent pass through the SMS node silently — consider adding a second email as a fallback on the No branch instead. |
Recommended settings
Entry Limit | 1 time |
Subscriptions | Marketing subscription (must cover both email and SMS) |
Why this works
The Check Profile node creates two personalised paths: engaged leads receive deeper content, while unengaged leads get a channel switch (SMS) to recapture attention. Each branch ends gracefully — no one receives excessive messages.
Re-engagement / win-back
Goal
Reach out to profiles who haven't interacted with your emails in a defined period and try to win them back.
Trigger | Segment: "Inactive 30 days" → Entered segment (daily at 10:00) |
Nodes | Listen → Email ("We miss you — 15% off") → Time (5 days) → Check Profile ("Clicked email?" within 5 days) |
Entry Limit | 1 (per cycle — profile re-qualifies when they leave and re-enter the segment) |
Pro tip | Use the "Re-engaged" tag in a Check Profile node at the start of the flow to prevent recently won-back profiles from re-entering too soon. |
Recommended settings
Entry Limit | 1 time per cycle (reset by segment criteria — once the profile becomes active again, they leave the "Inactive" segment and can re-qualify later) |
Subscriptions | Marketing subscription (email + SMS) |
Why this works
The segment-based trigger catches profiles as they cross the inactivity threshold. Multi-channel escalation (email → SMS) maximises reach. The "Re-engaged" tag enables future segmentation and prevents re-entry during the same cycle.
Customer onboarding sequence
Goal
Guide new customers through their first steps with your product or service, adapting based on whether they've completed key actions.
Trigger | Custom Event: Signals → "Account created" |
Nodes | Listen → Email ("Welcome — how to get started") → Time (3 days) → Check Profile (Event: "Completed setup" within 3 days) |
Entry Limit | 1 (once per profile) |
Pro tip | The Notification node sends an internal email with profile data (name, email) — giving your CS team context to reach out personally. Set the frequency to "every 30 minutes" to batch alerts. |
Recommended settings
Entry Limit | 1 time |
Subscriptions | Transactional or onboarding subscription |
Why this works
The Check Profile node detects whether the customer has completed a key milestone. Customers who are on track get encouragement; those who aren't get help — and your CS team gets an internal alert via the Notification node. Custom events from your app trigger the flow and provide data for evaluation.
Event / webinar reminder sequence
Goal
Send a series of reminders leading up to an event, plus a follow-up after.
Trigger | Form Submit (event registration form) |
Nodes | Listen → Email ("You're registered!") → Time (dynamic: event date − 2 days) → Email ("2 days to go") → Time (dynamic: event date − 1 hour) → SMS ("Starting in 1 hour") → Time (dynamic: event date + 1 day) → Email ("Here's the recording") → End Flow |
Entry Limit | 1 (once per profile) |
Pro tip | Use dynamic schedule in the Time node to calculate delays relative to the event date — so reminders are perfectly timed regardless of when the profile registered. |
Recommended settings
Entry Limit | 1 time |
Subscriptions | Event communication subscription |
Why this works
Using dynamic schedule in the Time node (based on the event date from event data or a custom event field) ensures each reminder is perfectly timed relative to the event — regardless of when the profile registered.
Personalisation tip
Pull event details (date, time, location, join link) from custom event data fields into the email content for fully dynamic, event-specific messages.
Advanced flows
Post-purchase follow-up with review request
Goal
Thank customers after a purchase, provide product-specific tips, and request a review — with a fallback for those who don't engage.
Trigger | Custom Event: Transactions → "Purchase completed" |
Nodes | Listen → Time (1 day) → Email ("Thanks! Your [product_name] is on the way") → Time (7 days) → Email ("Tips for [product_name]") → Time (7 days) → Check Profile (Event: "Review submitted" within 7 days) |
Entry Limit | Unlimited (each purchase triggers a new journey) |
Pro tip | Use event data personalisation to pull product name, order ID, and price into every email. The Achievement node flags reviewers for future loyalty segmentation. The flow stops after two review attempts — never nag. |
Recommended settings
Entry Limit | Unlimited (each purchase triggers a new journey) |
Subscriptions | Marketing subscription |
Why this works
Event data personalisation makes every email product-specific (product name, order ID pulled from the Transaction event). The Achievement node flags reviewers for future segmentation. The flow respects profiles who don't review — it ends after two attempts instead of nagging indefinitely.
Churn prevention with multi-channel escalation
Goal
Detect at-risk customers and attempt to retain them through a multi-step, multi-channel intervention before they churn.
Trigger | Segment: "At risk — no login 14 days" → Entered segment (daily at 09:00) |
Nodes | Listen → Email ("Here's what's new") → Time (3 days) → Wait for Event ("Login", 4-day timeout) |
Entry Limit | 1 (per cycle — profile re-qualifies when they exit and re-enter the segment) |
Pro tip | Add a Terminate tag (e.g. "Churned") in Flow Settings. If the customer cancels while mid-flow, they're removed immediately — no awkward "welcome back" to a churned customer. The Wait for Event node is the hero here: it pauses the journey to see if the profile returns before escalating. |
Recommended settings
Entry Limit | 1 time (per cycle — profile exits the "At risk" segment when they log in, and can re-qualify later) |
Terminate tag | Optional: terminate on "Churned" tag if the customer cancels during the flow |
Subscriptions | Service communication subscription (email + SMS) |
Why this works
The Wait for Event node is the key: it pauses the journey to see if the profile returns on their own. If they do, no further escalation. If they don't, the flow escalates from email → SMS → internal team notification. The Terminate tag ensures profiles who cancel their account during the flow are immediately removed — no awkward "welcome back" email to a churned customer.
Lead qualification and sales handoff
Goal
Qualify inbound leads through automated evaluation and hand off sales-ready leads to the sales team with full context.
Trigger | Custom Event: Conversions → "Demo requested" |
Nodes | Listen → Email ("Thanks for requesting a demo") → Time (2 days) → Check Profile (pricing page view ≥ 2 times within 2 days) |
Entry Limit | 1 (once per profile) |
Pro tip | This flow layers custom events, standard events, segments, tags, and the Add to Flow node. Include profile attributes (name, company, email) in the Notification node so sales has full context when they receive the alert. |
Recommended settings
Entry Limit | 1 time |
Subscriptions | Marketing subscription |
Why this works
This flow layers multiple data types: custom event (trigger), standard events (page views), segments (company size), tags (lead status), and the Notification node (sales alerts). High-intent leads get fast-tracked to sales with the right team (enterprise vs. SMB). Low-intent leads are routed to a long-term nurture flow via the Add to Flow node — keeping the pipeline warm without manual effort.
Building your own use cases
These ten blueprints cover the most common scenarios, but Marketing Automation is flexible enough to support almost any workflow. When designing your own flows, keep these principles in mind:
Start simple, then iterate. Launch with a linear flow (trigger → delay → email → end). Once it's running and you have data, add branching and personalisation.
Always end with an End Flow node. Every branch needs one. Without it, profiles stay "active" in the flow indefinitely.
Respect your audience's attention. Limit the number of messages per flow. If a profile doesn't engage after 2–3 attempts, end gracefully instead of escalating further.
Use the Goals field. Document what the flow is for, what it's connected to, and who owns it. This helps your team and Apsis Support.
Test before going live. Use a test segment in the Listen node to verify the flow works as expected. See Create a Marketing Automation Flow → How to test.
Monitor with the report. After launch, check the Marketing Automation Report regularly — especially Node Stats and Profile Activity — to spot bottlenecks early.
What's next?
Create a Marketing Automation Flow — Step-by-step guide to building and activating any of the flows above.
Marketing Automation Nodes — Full reference for every node type used in these blueprints.
Profile Data in Marketing Automation Nodes — How to configure attributes, tags, events, and segments in your nodes.
Use Custom Events in Marketing Automation — Set up custom events for triggers and email personalisation (used in use cases 6, 7, 8, 9, 10).
Dynamic Schedule Using Event Time in Time Node — How to time delays relative to event data (used in use case 7).
Marketing Automation — Key Terms Glossary — Definitions for all terminology used in these blueprints.