In this Getting started with Automations guide, we will provide the initial steps and best practices for creating and launching your first automation.

🤖 What is an automation?

Brevo Automations has a lot of potentials: thanks to our various triggers, actions, and rules, you can set up automations which automatically complete repetitive tasks in areas such as marketing, sales, and contact management. Automations help businesses boost efficiency and productivity while ensuring accuracy.

➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article Introduction to Marketing Automation.

👀 Examples of automations

Brevo Automations helps you automate your marketing tasks, from simple actions like sending welcome emails to more complex workflows. 

Here are some examples of automations you can create:

🛠️ Create your first automation

Brevo offers two automation editors, giving you the option to create your first automation with either the classic or the new editor:

New editor [BETA] Classic editor

The new editor provides an enhanced experience, featuring a user-friendly canvas, a well-organized library of steps, and a dedicated workspace for tracking statistics.

➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article About the new automation editor.

Step 1: Create a custom automation

To create your first automation, go to Automations and click Create an automation. Select the new editor. You can then create your own custom automation. For your first automation, we recommend starting with a simple use case to help you get familiar with the editor, such as sending an automated welcome or birthday email.

👋 Send a welcome email Welcome and introduce new contacts to your business and products.

🎉 Send a birthday or anniversary email Send an email to your contacts to celebrate their special day or milestone.

Step 2: Build your automation

Manually add each trigger, action, and rule that you want your contacts to follow in the automation. You can either drag and drop the steps onto the canvas or click on them and select where to place them.

➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article Available triggers, actions, and rules in an automation.

Step 3: Activate your automation

Once you activate your automation, any contacts who trigger it will enter the workflow and progress through each step automatically, receiving any emails or messages you’ve included along the way.

Step 4: Analyze your automation statistics

After activating your automation, you can access its statistics. This includes tracking the number of contacts who have started, are currently engaged, or have finished the automation.

Additionally, you can monitor email metrics such as opens, clicks, and unsubscribes.

Step 1: Choose a template or create a custom automation

To create your first automation, go to Automations and click Create an automation. Select the classic editor. You can then choose between using an automation template or creating a custom automation. For your first automation, we recommend starting with one of our simple templates to help you get familiar with the editor:

👋 Welcome message Engage new customers with a series of welcome emails.

🎉 Anniversary date Send a special email to your contacts on their birthday.

➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated articles What automation templates are available? and Create an automation using the classic automation editor.

Step 2: Build your automation

If you opt for an automation template, you'll be guided through the setup of each step of your automation. For example, if you select the Welcome message automation, we will help you set up the following steps:

If you create a custom automation, you'll need to manually add each entry point, action, and condition that you want your contacts to follow.

➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article Available entry points, actions, and conditions in an automation.

Step 3: Test your automation

After creating your automation, we recommend you test it. For example, by testing the Welcome message automation, you can ensure that the email sent to your contacts appears as intended.

➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article Testing an Automation workflow.

Step 4: Activate your automation

Activating your automation will let the contacts who match its entry point enter it. They will then progress through each step automatically, receiving any emails or messages you've included.

Step 5: Analyze your automation report

After activating your automation, you can access its statistics. This includes tracking the number of contacts who have started, are currently engaged, or have finished the automation. Additionally, you can monitor email metrics such as opens, clicks, and unsubscribes. ➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated articles What are Marketing Automation statistics for? and What are Marketing Automation logs for?.

🚀 Take your automations to the next level

• Install the Brevo tracker to monitor your website visitors
  The Brevo tracker can monitor your website visitors and track their activities. It enables you to use Brevo more extensively by leveraging your website's real-time events.
  ➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article What is the Brevo tracker and how to install it? .
• Build more advanced automations
  Advanced automations can automate tasks linked to activities on your website, such as sending abandoned cart or product purchase emails. It can also help target contacts more efficiently by putting in place a lead scoring model, for example.
  ➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated sections for the new editor and classic editor.
• A/B test an automation to optimize its performance [classic editor only]
  You can compare how some steps in an automation are performing to determine what works best for your contacts and drives more conversions.
  ➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article A/B test an automation to optimize its performance.
• Share or import automation templates [classic editor only]
  You can share your automations across several Brevo accounts (clients, agencies, community, etc). Shared automations can be edited and re-shared endlessly without impacting the source automation.
  ➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article Share or import automations to your Brevo account.

🤔 Have a question?

If you have a question, feel free to contact our support team by creating a ticket from your account. If you don't have an account yet, you can contact us here.

If you’re looking for help with a project using Brevo, we can match you with the right certified Brevo expert partner.