Workflows: Triggers

Every Workflow starts with a Trigger, which is an event that defines how people enter a Workflow. A Trigger can be anything from marketing engagement - which email someone opened - to orders made, pages browsed, actions taken in a third-party integration, and more.

Workflow Triggers are forward-facing. This means that they only apply to people who perform the action defined after the Workflow is turned on. 

 

Add a Trigger

Specify the trigger provider and event to trigger Workflow automation. The drop-down to the left contains all of the providers that send events to Drip. When you select Drip as the provider, the drop-down to the right contains events specific to Drip. When another provider is selected, events specific to that provider are made available in the drop-down to the right.

To add a Trigger:

1. Click Define your trigger...
2. Select the event Provider
3. Select the Event
4. Click Update Trigger

When a person performs the specified event they will enter into the Workflow.

Trigger Filter

Use a Trigger filter to apply additional criteria and narrow down the number of people who can enter a Workflow. The same filter criteria that are available for segments are available for Trigger filters.

For example, you can use a Trigger filter to target customers who buy specific products and tailor your messaging.

To apply a filter to a trigger:

1. Click Change
2. Apply Filters
3. Click Update Criteria

With a filter, the trigger no longer applies to everyone who performs the trigger event. A person must perform the event and fulfill the additional criteria as specified.

Date-Based Trigger

Date-based triggers allow you to automate when people are added to your workflow relative to a specified date from a date picker or stored in a custom field (ISO-formatted). Combined with configuring the trigger filter, you can control when a segment of people should enter your date-based triggered workflow.

Configure your Trigger Filter

Trigger Filters will define who to add to the workflow trigger according to the date-based settings.

By leaving the filters blank, you are targeting everyone on your Active list to trigger the workflow on the specified date:

However, you can determine who in your list should trigger into the workflow by adding any criteria such as people with a specific tag or who have performed a certain event.

For example: If you’d like to trigger people into the workflow who have an interest in your newsletter, you can configure the trigger filter to only include people who have been tagged with “newsletter”. Any person who fits the trigger’s filter criteria will then be added to the workflow based on the date and time chosen:

Date-based trigger: Custom Field

Date-based triggers also allow people to be dynamically added to the workflow on a specific or recurring date stored in a date-type custom field. 

• Only custom fields with date-type values (ISO 8601 Format: YYYY-MM-DD) will populate the Trigger’s dropdown.
• Custom Fields become date-type fields when written in the correct ISO format. In a person’s profile, this change is indicated by the appearance of this icon :

There are two types of Date-Based custom field options:

• custom field: date - People will trigger the workflow based on the date stored in the custom field. 
• custom field: recurring date - People will trigger the workflow annually on the date stored in the custom field.

When using either of the dates based on a custom field, only people with that custom field will trigger the workflow. However, Trigger Filters allow you to further define which people with that date-based custom field should trigger the workflow.

Tip: If you’d like for people to start Workflow Actions on a specific date and time, you can choose to either:

• Use an ISO 8601-formatted date with a timestamp (YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ)
  • Here is an ISO Time Converter you can use.

Or

• Add a Delay right after your Trigger (recommended). 
  • Using an ISO date without a timestamp will enter the person into the workflow at midnight according to the Owner’s timezone.
  • By using an immediate 0-day delay, they will be held until the next instance of the time set. 
  • In the following example, people will trigger the workflow at midnight, then immediately enter a 0-day delay. Because there are no number of days to wait for, they are released at the designated time, 8:00 pm:

 

Entered a Segment Trigger

Use the Entered a segment Trigger to start a saved segment of people into a Workflow. When this Trigger is applied, a person who enters the selected Saved Segment will start the Workflow within 24 hours.

Triggers are forward-facing, so select the Entered a segment trigger and turn on the Workflow before you add people to a segment. This is not an evergreen Trigger.