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Automations

Automations let you send emails automatically based on what your contacts do. Instead of manually sending a welcome email every time someone signs up, you...

Automations let you send emails automatically based on what your contacts do. Instead of manually sending a welcome email every time someone signs up, you set it up once and Owlat handles the rest — every new contact gets the right email at the right time, without you lifting a finger.

Core concepts

Every automation has three ingredients:

  • Trigger — the event that starts the automation for a contact
  • Steps — the sequence of actions to take (send an email, wait, check a condition)
  • Status — whether the automation is currently active, paused, or in draft

Each contact runs through the automation independently. If 50 people sign up today, each one gets their own run through the steps.

Trigger types

TriggerWhen it fires
New contact addedA contact is created in your audience (manual, import, form, or API)
Contact updatedA contact's data is modified
Custom event receivedYour application sends a custom event through the API
Added to listA contact is added to a specific mailing list

The "Custom event received" trigger is the most flexible. It lets you trigger automations from any event in your application — purchase completed, trial started, feature activated, and so on. See the API documentation for details.

Step types

StepWhat it does
Send emailSends a specific email template to the contact
WaitPauses the automation for a set duration (hours, days, or weeks)
ConditionBranches the flow based on contact properties or events — contacts who match go one way, the rest go another

Building an automation

1. Create the automation

  1. Open Campaigns > Automations.
  2. Click New Automation.
  3. Give it a descriptive name (e.g., "Welcome Series" or "Trial Expiration Reminder").

2. Configure the trigger

Choose which event starts the automation and set any conditions. For example:

  • Trigger: New contact added
  • Condition: Source is "signup form"

3. Add steps

Build your sequence by adding steps one after another:

  1. Send email — choose the template for your first email
  2. Wait — add a delay (e.g., 2 days)
  3. Send email — choose the template for your follow-up
  4. Condition — check if the contact opened the first email, then branch accordingly

You can add as many steps as your workflow needs.

4. Activate

Once your automation is built and tested, change its status to Active. It will start processing any contacts that match the trigger going forward.

Common patterns

Welcome series

A multi-step sequence for new signups:

  1. Immediately: Send a welcome email with key features
  2. Wait 2 days: Send tips for getting started
  3. Wait 5 days: Send a case study or success story
  4. Wait 7 days: Check if the contact has engaged — if not, send a re-engagement nudge

Trial lifecycle

Guide trial users toward conversion:

  1. On trial start: Send setup instructions
  2. Wait 3 days: Check if they've completed onboarding — send help if not
  3. Wait 7 days: Send a feature highlight
  4. 3 days before expiration: Send a conversion reminder

Purchase follow-up

Engage customers after a purchase:

  1. On purchase event: Send order confirmation
  2. Wait 3 days: Send a feedback or review request
  3. Wait 14 days: Send related product recommendations

Re-engagement

Win back inactive contacts:

  1. Trigger: Contact hasn't opened an email in 90 days
  2. Immediately: Send a "we miss you" email with incentive
  3. Wait 7 days: Check if they re-engaged — if not, send a final reminder

Automation statuses

StatusMeaning
DraftBeing configured. No contacts will be processed.
ActiveRunning. New contacts matching the trigger enter the flow.
PausedTemporarily stopped. Contacts already in the flow are paused, and no new contacts enter.

Pausing an automation doesn't cancel runs in progress — it freezes them. When you resume, those contacts continue from where they left off.

Monitoring

Open any automation's detail page to see:

  • Current status — draft, active, or paused
  • Run count — how many contacts have entered the automation
  • Step progression — how many contacts are at each step
  • Failure reasons — any errors that occurred during execution

Check your automations periodically. An automation with a high failure rate may have a broken template link or reference a deleted template.

Next steps

Next Transactional Emails