Get Started With Marketing Automation

This article walks you through the full process of creating a Marketing Automation flow in Apsis One — from planning what you want to automate, through building and configuring your flow on the canvas, to testing and activating it.

Plan your flow

Before you start dragging nodes onto the canvas, it's worth spending a few minutes defining what you want to achieve. A clear plan leads to a cleaner flow — and makes it much easier to troubleshoot later.

Ask yourself three questions:

1. What should trigger this flow?

Every flow starts with an event — something a profile does, or a change in their data. Common triggers include: a profile subscribes, a form is submitted, a custom event fires from your website or app, or a profile enters or leaves a segment.

💡 Tip: If you're unsure which trigger to use, browse the Listen node's event categories: Subscription events, Form & page interactions, Response data, Segment activity, and Custom events. The right trigger is usually the one closest to the moment you want to respond to.

2. Who should enter this flow?

Think about your audience. Should every profile who triggers the event enter the flow, or only a subset? You can narrow entry by attaching a segment filter to the Listen node or by requiring specific subscription consent in the flow settings.

3. What should happen — and when?

Map out the journey on paper or in your head. For example: trigger → wait 1 hour → send email → wait 3 days → check if opened → if yes, send follow-up → if no, send SMS reminder → end flow. This sequence becomes your node structure on the canvas.

Step-by-step: Create and build a flow

Step 1 — Create a new flow

In the left-hand navigation, go to Marketing Automation.
Click Create a New Flow.
Give your flow a name (e.g. "Welcome series — Newsletter subscribers") and optionally add a description. A clear, descriptive name makes it much easier to manage multiple flows later.
Click Create. You'll land on the Marketing Automation canvas with a Listen node already in place.

Step 2 — Configure the Listen node (your trigger)

The Listen node defines what event causes a profile to enter your flow. Every flow must have exactly one Listen node, and it's always the first node on the canvas.

Click the Listen node to open its settings panel.
Under Listening for, choose Events and navigate to the event category and specific event you want.

If you want to trigger when…	Choose this path
A profile submits a form	Events → Form & Page interactions → Form → [your form] → Submit
A profile subscribes to a subscription	Events → Subscription → [your subscription] → Opt-in
An event is triggered (custom event fires)	Events → [choose event] → configure details
A profile enters a segment	Events → Segment activity → [your segment] → Entered segment

(Optional) Add a Segment filter to narrow which profiles can enter the flow. For example, you might only want profiles from a specific country or with a certain attribute value. Click Add Segment within the Listen node settings and select or create a segment.

💡 Good to know: When using events from the Form tool, the form submission is automatically stored on the profile. The Listen node picks up this data in real time — there's no delay between form submission and flow entry.

(Optional) Use Match to further filter the event. For example, if you're listening for a subscription opt-in event, you can use Match to specify a particular subscription ID, so the flow only triggers for that specific subscription.

Step 3 — Add and connect nodes

Now build out your journey by adding nodes to the canvas.

Click the + button on the canvas or drag a node from the node picker panel on the right side.
Connect nodes by dragging from one node's output to another node's input. The connecting line shows the path a profile will follow.

Here's a quick reference for the most commonly used nodes in a first flow:

Node	What it does	Typical use
Time node	Holds a profile for a set duration (minutes, hours, days)	Add a delay between emails to avoid overwhelming your audience
Email node	Sends an email to the profile	Welcome message, nurture content, re-engagement reminder
SMS node	Sends an SMS to the profile	Time-sensitive alerts, appointment reminders, flash sales
Check Profile node	Evaluates a profile attribute or event and branches the flow	Send different content based on location, interest, or engagement
End Flow node	Removes the profile from the flow	Every branch should end with this node

⚠️ Important: Always add an End Flow node at the end of every branch. Without it, profiles will remain "in the flow" indefinitely, which can affect your reporting and prevent re-entry if you've set an entry limit.

Step 4 — Configure each node

Click on each node to open its settings and configure it:

Email node: Click Create new email to open the email editor and design your message, or select an existing email draft. Once you save and return to the canvas, you'll see a preview thumbnail in the node.
Time node: Set the delay duration — e.g. 1 hour, 3 days, 1 week. You can also use a dynamic schedule based on event time (see Dynamic schedule using event time).
Check Profile node: Define the condition to evaluate — e.g. "Country equals Sweden" or "Has opened email in last 7 days" — and connect the Yes/No outputs to different paths.
SMS node: Write your SMS message and configure the sender name.

(Optional) Give each node a custom title to make your flow easier to read. Right-click the node (or use the ⋮ menu) and select Rename. For example, rename an Email node from "Email" to "Welcome email — Day 1".

💡 Tip: Naming your nodes is especially valuable in complex flows with multiple email or check nodes. It also makes the Marketing Automation Report much easier to read since report data is grouped by node name.

Step 5 — Configure flow settings

Before you activate, review the flow settings. Click Flow Settings in the bottom bar of the canvas.

Entry Limit

Controls how many times a single profile can enter this flow.

Setting	When to use it	Example
1 time	When each profile should only go through the flow once	Welcome flow — a subscriber should only receive the welcome series once, even if they unsubscribe and resubscribe
More than 1 time (set a number) *Optional: during a time frame*	When re-entry is acceptable but you want a cap	Birthday flow — limited to 1 entry per year for safety
Unlimited	When every event should trigger a new flow journey	Purchase confirmation — each purchase should generate a new journey. Also essential for unsubscribe webhook flows

⚠️ Important: With Entry Limit set to more than 1, a profile can re-enter the flow while still active in a previous journey. This means a profile could be at multiple points in the same flow simultaneously. To prevent duplicate sends, use a Check Profile node early in the flow to verify whether the profile is already active. See Troubleshooting Your Marketing Automation Flow for common patterns.

Terminate tag

A Termination tag lets you automatically remove profiles from the flow based on an external signal — for example, if a profile unsubscribes or is tagged with a specific attribute while mid-flow.

In Flow Settings, click Terminate and select the tag or condition that should eject a profile from the flow.

💡 Good to know: The Termination tag is evaluated continuously. If a profile receives the tag at any point during their journey, they're removed immediately — they don't wait until they reach the next node.

Subscriptions

This setting determines which subscription(s) a profile must be subscribed to in order to enter the flow. It acts as a consent gate.

In Flow Settings, go to Subscriptions and select one or more subscriptions.

💡 Tip: If your flow sends both email and SMS, make sure you select subscription(s) that cover both channels. A profile must have active consent for the relevant channel to receive the message — otherwise the Email or SMS node will skip them silently.

Step 6 — Activate, pause, and stop a flow

Activate

When all nodes are configured and connected, and flow settings are reviewed, click Activate in the bottom-right corner of the canvas.

The flow is now live. Profiles will enter in real time as the trigger event fires.

Pause

Pausing a flow means:

New profiles continue to enter the flow but are held in the Listen node — they won't progress.
Profiles already in the flow stay exactly where they are and will resume when you reactivate.

Use pause when you need to make a quick edit to a node without losing profiles from the flow.

Stop

Stopping a flow means:

No new profiles can enter the flow.
Profiles already in the flow stay where they are but do not progress.

Use stop when you want to fully deactivate the flow, for example at the end of a campaign or seasonal automation.

💡 Good to know — Pause vs. Stop: The key difference is that a paused flow still accepts new entries (queued in the Listen node), while a stopped flow blocks all new entries. In both cases, existing profiles remain in their current node position. You will be asked what to do with profiles in the flow if you reactivate the flow.

How to test a flow before going live

We always recommend testing a flow before activating it for your full audience. Here's a reliable method using a test segment.

Step-by-step: Test with a segment filter

Create a test segment. Go to Audience → Segments and create a new segment. Use a unique attribute to isolate your test profiles — for example: Email address → equals → your own email address.

If you want to include multiple test profiles, use OR logic to add additional email addresses.

Verify your segment. Click Calculate Profiles to confirm the correct number of profiles are included. Save the segment.

Apply the segment to your Listen node. Open the Listen node and add the test segment under the Segment option. This ensures only your test profiles can enter the flow — regardless of which event triggers it.

The Listen node with a segment filter applied, showing the test segment selected.

Activate the flow. With the test segment in place, activate the flow normally.

Trigger the event. Perform the action that triggers the flow — e.g. submit the form, fire the custom event, or subscribe the test profile to the relevant subscription.

Monitor progress. Check the Marketing Automation Report to verify that your test profile moves through the flow as expected. Also check your inbox for the test emails/SMS.

Remove the test segment. Once you're satisfied the flow works correctly, pause the flow, remove the test segment from the Listen node, and reactivate.

⚠️ Important — Form testing: If your flow is triggered by a form submission and you want to submit the form multiple times with the same test profile, make sure the form's Profile Check is set to Allow Profile Overwriting. Without this, the form may reject duplicate submissions from the same email address.

Additional testing tips

Shorten time delays for testing. If your flow has a Time node set to "wait 3 days", temporarily change it to "wait 5 minutes" during testing. Remember to reset it before going live.
Check node status badges. After activation, each node should show a green Active badge. If any node still shows Draft, it hasn't been fully configured and profiles will stall.
Use the report. The Marketing Automation Node stats shows you exactly how many profiles are in each node at any time — a quick way to confirm profiles are progressing correctly.

Technical deep dive: Flow settings explained

This section covers the more nuanced behaviours of flow settings for users who need to understand exactly how the system works under the hood.

Entry Limit — What "re-entry" actually means

When a profile enters a flow, their journey is tracked as a unique instance. If the Entry Limit allows more than 1 entry, and the same trigger event fires again while the profile is still in the flow, a second instance of that profile is created. Both instances move through the flow independently.

This means:

The same profile can receive the same email multiple times if they re-enter the flow.
Time nodes, Check Profile conditions, and other logic are evaluated independently for each instance.
The Marketing Automation Report shows each instance separately — the total profile count in a node may exceed the number of unique profiles.

💡 Good to know: To prevent unintended re-entry while still allowing it for legitimate cases (e.g. repeat purchases), add a Check Profile node immediately after the Listen node. Configure it to check whether the profile has already received a specific email or has a certain attribute tag set by the flow — and route repeat entries to an End Flow node.

Terminate tag — How immediate removal works

The Terminate tag is evaluated continuously across all profiles in the flow. When a profile receives the tag (via an API call, import, or another flow's Update Profile node), they are removed from the flow at their current position — they don't complete the current node.

This is particularly useful for:

Consent withdrawal: If a profile unsubscribes, tag them and they're immediately removed from all flows using that termination tag.
Conversion events: If the goal of the flow is to drive a purchase, tag the profile when they convert and terminate them before they receive unnecessary follow-up messages.

Subscription gating — What happens when consent is missing

If a profile triggers the Listen node event but is not subscribed to the required subscription(s) defined in Flow Settings, they are silently blocked from entering the flow. No error is logged — the profile simply doesn't enter.

If a profile enters the flow with valid consent but later unsubscribes while mid-flow, the behaviour depends on the node type:

Email and SMS nodes: The message is not sent. The profile passes through the node without receiving the message and continues to the next connected node.
All other nodes (Time, Check Profile, Update Profile, etc.): These execute normally regardless of subscription status — they don't check consent.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Likely cause	Solution
Flow is active but no profiles are entering	The trigger event hasn't fired, or the profile doesn't match the segment filter or subscription requirement	Verify the Listen node event is correct. Check Flow Settings → Subscriptions. Remove any segment filter temporarily to test.
Profiles are stuck in the Listen node	The flow is paused (not active)	Check the flow status in the bottom bar. Click Activate or Resume.
Profiles enter but don't receive the email	The Email node is still in Draft status, or the profile has unsubscribed	Click the Email node — verify it shows a green Active badge and the email status is "Ready to send". Check the profile's subscription consent.
Profiles appear multiple times in the report	Entry Limit is set to more than 1, and the trigger event fired again	Review Flow Settings → Entry Limit. Add a Check Profile node to prevent duplicate journeys if needed.
Test profile can't re-enter after testing	Entry Limit is set to 1 and the profile already completed the flow	Temporarily set Entry Limit to Unlimited for testing, or use a different test profile.
Form submission doesn't trigger the flow	The form's Profile Check may be blocking duplicate submissions	Set the form's Profile Check to Allow Profile Overwriting during testing.

For more troubleshooting scenarios, see Troubleshooting Your Marketing Automation Flow.

What's next?

Navigate the Marketing Automation Canvas — Master the canvas workspace: drag, connect, duplicate, and manage nodes.
Marketing Automation Nodes — Detailed reference for every node type.
Profile Data in Marketing Automation Nodes — How to personalise node behaviour using profile attributes and events.
Use Custom Events in Marketing Automation — Trigger flows from your website, app, or CRM.

Create a Marketing Automation Flow