Automation Trigger Types

Understand all available automation triggers

Automation Trigger Types

Every automation starts with a trigger — the event that enrolls a contact into the workflow. Mailnaptic supports several trigger types, each designed for different use cases. Choosing the right trigger is the foundation of an effective automation.

Available trigger types

Contact subscribes to list

Fires when a contact is added to a specific mailing list. This is the most common trigger for welcome series and onboarding automations.

• Configuration: Select which list triggers the automation.
• Use cases: Welcome series, list-specific nurture sequences, double opt-in confirmation follow-ups.

Tag added

Fires when a specific tag is applied to a contact. Tags can be added manually, via import, by another automation, or through API calls.

• Configuration: Select which tag triggers the automation.
• Use cases: Lead scoring workflows, interest-based nurture sequences, post-action follow-ups.

Tag removed

Fires when a specific tag is removed from a contact.

• Configuration: Select which tag removal triggers the automation.
• Use cases: Status change workflows, downgrade notifications, segment exit actions.

Site event

Fires when a contact performs a tracked action on your website. Requires the Mailnaptic site tracking snippet to be installed. This trigger supports two event types:

• Page view (page) — Fires when a contact visits a specific page. Configure with the page URL or path.
• Track event (track) — Fires when a custom tracking event is sent. Configure with the event_name (e.g., "cart_abandoned", "pricing_viewed").

Use cases: Abandoned cart recovery, post-purchase follow-up, pricing page follow-up, feature adoption nudges.

Date-based

Fires on a specific date stored in a contact's field. Used for birthday, anniversary, and renewal automations.

• Configuration: Select the date field and optional offset (e.g., 7 days before the date).
• Use cases: Birthday emails, subscription renewal reminders, contract expiration alerts.

Trigger configuration options

All triggers share some common configuration options:

• Run once vs. re-entry: Control whether a contact can enter the automation multiple times or only once.
• Filter conditions: Add additional conditions that must be true for the trigger to fire (e.g., "only contacts with tag X").

Choosing the right trigger

Testing triggers

Before activating an automation, test the trigger by manually creating the trigger event for a test contact. For example, add the test contact to the target list, apply the trigger tag, or fire a test site event. Verify that the contact is enrolled in the automation and proceeds through the steps correctly.

Selecting the right trigger ensures your automation reaches the right contacts at the right moment.