Sending an email from an automation is useful in various scenarios, such as when you need to:
- Send a series of welcome emails to new contacts
- Send a birthday or anniversary email on a specific date
- Send an abandoned cart email to recover lost sales
- Send an order confirmation email after a purchase
This can be achieved by adding the Send an email step in an automation. You can then design and configure an email template, and choose the event that will trigger the automation.
Step 1: Add a Send an email step to your automation
First, create an automation and add a Send an email step.
- Go to Automations.
- Click Create an automation and choose the new editor, or select an existing automation created with the new editor.
- (Optional) Add a trigger or any other steps you want to include in your automation before the Send an email step. You can add more steps or rearrange them later if needed. To learn more about all the steps available, check our dedicated article Available triggers, actions, and rules in an automation.
- From the Actions tab, add the Messaging - Send an email step to the canvas.
Step 2: Design your email template
Then, design the email template that will be sent to contacts who enter your automation.
- Under the Content section, click Select template.
- Choose one of Brevo's pre-configured templates or your own template, or create your own design from scratch.
💡 Good to knowIf you select your own template, the subject line, preview text, and update profile form already configured in the template are reused in the Send an email step. You can override these settings if needed.
- Design your email template by updating its content and adding any extra content or blocks as needed. To learn how to use the Drag & Drop editor, check our dedicated series of articles.
Step 3: Preview and test your email template
Now, you can preview your email template as a recipient or send a test email to yourself or a colleague. This step allows you to verify personalized details, like the recipient's first name, and review the design and layout of your email template.
- Once you're done designing your email template, click Preview & test.
- In the Preview tab, select how you want to preview your email template:
- Click Preview as recipient.
- Select a contact. The data from the contact replaces the contact variables and you can preview the template with the real contact information.
- If your email template includes event-related personalization, activate the Add transactional JSON data and input the JSON data to test the template. The JSON data replaces the variables and you can preview the template with the provided information.
- If your email template includes event-related personalization, click Preview event.
- Select the event type (e.g., a custom event or an eCommerce event).
- Choose a specific past event. The data from this event will replace the variables, letting you preview the template with real information.
- In the Send test email tab, enter your email address or a colleague's email address.
- Click Send test to review the email directly in the inbox.
- Once you're done previewing and testing the email template, close the window.
- In the top bar of the email editor, click Use this design in automation to save your email template and return to the automation editor.
Step 4: Configure the settings of your email template
Finally, configure the sender details, subject line, and other settings for your email template. These settings will be reused every time the email is sent.
- In the What event data to display section, choose which event to retrieve data from based on whether your email includes event-related personalization. Expand the following accordions to learn when to use each option:
The email doesn’t have variablesSelect this option if your email does not include event-related personalization, such as a product name or price.
Event that triggered this automationSelect this option if your email includes personalization related to the event that triggered the automation. For example, an order confirmation email personalized with product details would use data from the "Order Created" event, which is the trigger of the automation.
Latest instance of an eventSelect this option if you want to pull data from the most recent occurrence of a specific event, even if it’s different from the event that triggered the automation. For example, if you're sending a follow-up email about a customer’s most recent purchase, this option ensures the email reflects the latest order details rather than the one that triggered the automation.
- Under the Subject section, configure your subject line and preview text.
Under the Sender section, configure your sender email address and name. Ensure your recipients can easily recognize your business by using sender details associated with your company.
Under the Additional settings section, click Edit settings to configure more options for your email template. Expand the following accordions to view the available settings:
The Frequency cap option allows you to reduce the number of emails you send and limit the marketing pressure on your contacts. ➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article Limit your marketing pressure with sending cadence (Frequency cap and Email overload prevention). |
Activate this option to choose when to send your automated welcome email. You can choose to send it based on:
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If you added a delay before sending the email but choose to schedule the sending time, the delay may not be applied.
Activate this option to send a copy of your email to a designated recipient each time a contact receives it.
Both CC (Carbon Copy) and BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) options allow you to send a copy of your welcome email. The main difference is that CC recipients are visible to others, while BCC recipients are not. |
Use a different Reply-to address
By default, the Reply-to address is the same as the sender’s. Activate this option to override it by entering another email address in the field. |
Activate Google Analytics tracking
Activate this option to track your email in Google Analytics.
You can specify a custom UTM name, such as the name of your automation, or use the name of your email template by default. You can also track the ID of your email. ➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article Integrate Google Analytics with your Brevo account. |
Add a tag
You can use descriptive tags to find your email more easily. |
Add an attachment
Activate this option to add an attachment to your email. You can add one file with a limit of 5MB. |
Use an update profile form
Activate this option to select an existing update profile form to add to the footer of your email or create a new one. ➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article Update your contacts details and preferences (Update Profile form). |
Use a custom unsubscribe page
Activate this option to select an existing unsubscribe page to add to the footer of your email or create a new one. ➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article Customize an unsubscribe page to integrate into your email campaigns. |
Once you're done configuring the settings, click Save.
That's it, you've added a Send an email step to your automation. You can now add a trigger and any other steps before activating it. The email will then be automatically sent to contacts who reach this step.
🤔 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.
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