Build an automation flow

What automations are

An automation is a sequence of steps that run automatically when a subscriber meets a trigger condition. Once activated, the flow runs in the background — you do not need to do anything for each subscriber who enters it.

A simple automation might be: when a subscriber joins your newsletter list, send them a welcome email immediately, then wait two days and send a follow-up with your best content. A more complex one might branch based on whether they clicked a link, apply tags, and call a webhook to update your CRM.

Automations run per-subscriber — each person's position in the flow is tracked independently. A subscriber in step 3 does not affect a subscriber in step 1.

Available triggers

Each automation begins with a single trigger — the event that causes a subscriber to enter the flow.

• Subscriber added to list

  Fires when a subscriber is added to a specific list — via form, CSV import, or the API. The most common trigger for onboarding sequences.

• Tag applied

  Fires when a specific tag is added to a subscriber. Useful for behaviour-based flows — e.g. trigger when a subscriber clicks a "Interested in X" link which applies a tag.

• Date field

  Fires at a set number of days before or after a date stored in a subscriber custom field. Use this for birthday flows, renewal reminders, and anniversary campaigns.

• Campaign link clicked

  Fires when a subscriber clicks a specific link in a campaign. Lets you follow up based on demonstrated interest.

• Manual entry

  Lets you add specific subscribers to a flow from the subscriber detail page. Useful for testing and edge cases.

Available steps

After the trigger, you build a sequence of steps. Steps are added by clicking + Add step below any existing step in the flow builder.

• Email

  Send an email to the subscriber. Opens the same email builder as campaigns — you can use the visual builder, HTML editor, or AI composer to write the email.

• SMS

  Send an SMS message. Requires a configured SMS gateway. Write the message text (max 160 chars per segment) directly in the step.

• Wait

  Pause the flow for a set duration. Specify hours or days. The subscriber stays at this step until the wait period expires, then moves to the next step.

• Add tag

  Apply one or more tags to the subscriber. Tags are useful for segmentation and as triggers for other automations.

• Remove tag

  Remove tags from the subscriber. Use this to clean up after a flow completes, or to move subscribers between segments.

• Condition

  Branch the flow based on subscriber data. The condition checks a field, tag, or engagement event and routes the subscriber to the "Yes" or "No" branch.

• Webhook

  POST a JSON payload to an external URL. Use this to notify your CRM, update a Zapier/Make trigger, or call any external service.

Building a flow step by step

Go to Automations → New Automation. You will see an empty canvas with a trigger block at the top.

1. 1Click the trigger block and select your trigger type. Configure any required options (e.g. which list to watch for new subscribers).
2. 2Click "+ Add step" below the trigger to add your first step.
3. 3Select the step type (e.g. Email). Configure the step — for an Email step, write the subject and body in the email editor that opens.
4. 4Click "+ Add step" again to add the next step, e.g. a Wait of 2 days.
5. 5Continue adding steps until your sequence is complete.
6. 6For Condition steps, configure the condition rule and then add steps to both the Yes and No branches.
7. 7Save the automation as a draft — it will not run until you activate it.

Activating vs draft

New automations start in Draft state. In Draft, you can edit all steps and the trigger without affecting any subscribers. The trigger is not active — no subscribers can enter the flow.

When you are ready, click Activate. The automation switches to Active state and the trigger begins watching for qualifying subscribers. Subscribers who match the trigger from this point forward will enter the flow.

To pause an active automation without deleting it, switch it back to Draft. Subscribers already inside the flow will be paused at their current step and resume when you reactivate.

What happens when a subscriber enters the flow

When a subscriber matches the trigger, Mally creates a flow enrolment record for them. The subscriber then moves through the steps sequentially:

• Email and SMS steps execute immediately — the message is queued and sent within seconds.
• Wait steps hold the subscriber for the configured duration. A background task resumes them after the wait expires.
• Condition steps evaluate the condition immediately. The subscriber is routed to the matching branch without any delay.
• Tag and Webhook steps execute immediately.

You can view each subscriber's progress from the automation's Enrolments tab — their current step, status (active, waiting, completed, or errored), and the timestamps for each step they have passed through.

If an email step fails (e.g. the subscriber has since unsubscribed), the enrolment is marked as skipped for that step and moves on. The entire flow does not stop for a single failed step.