Choose a trigger and who gets in

The trigger is what puts someone into a flow. Around it sit four more settings: who is allowed in, who may come back, when people leave early, and how often one person can be emailed.

#Pick a trigger

On a blank flow, the left panel opens on Select a trigger: People enter the flow when this happens. It has three tabs.

• Recommended. Cards grouped as Most popular, Your store and Your subscribers. Examples: Checkout started, Added to list, Viewed product, Placed order, Added to cart, Applied for wholesale, Sent a form, Added to a group, Date property.
• Your metrics. Everything your shop has sent in the last 90 days, with a count. If it is empty, your shop has not sent anything yet. Connect the store first.
• All triggers. Added to list, Added to a group, Something happened, Date property and Price drop.

After you pick one, the panel shows Set up trigger:

• Added to list asks Which list. Added to a group asks Which group.
• Something happened asks Which one. A note tells you whether your shop sent that event in the last 90 days.
• Date property asks Which date on the contact (a date like 1987-12-25, repeating every year), How many days off it (negative is before) and At what hour.
• Price drop asks How far it has to fall, a whole percent from 1 to 100. Leave it empty for any drop.

Press Save in the panel to store the trigger.

#The trigger locks

Once saved, the trigger cannot be changed. Everyone inside was enrolled by it. If you need another, create a new flow. Everything else below stays editable while the flow is off.

#Re-entry

Under Re-entry criteria, choose:

• No re-entry. They enter once, ever.
• Allow re-entry. They enter again whenever it happens again.
• Allow re-entry after a time period. Enter a number of hours. Someone who abandons three carts in one day should not get three sequences at once.

#Who gets in

• Trigger filters. Only available when the flow starts on something your shop did. Start the flow only when what happened looks right, such as an order over $100 or a particular product code. Press + Add.
• Profile filters. Only let someone in when the person looks a certain way. They are checked once, as the person joins.

#When people leave

A trigger cannot also be its own exit. If you try, the editor says the event "is what starts this flow, so it can't also end it".

#How often

Under How often, Don't email the same person more than once every… has two choices:

• Use my brand setting. The default.
• Set it just for this flow. Enter hours. This number wins for this flow.

The brand setting lives at Settings, General, Messaging, in the Smart Sending card. Flows — every is in hours. Leave it empty to use the campaigns number. Receipts are never held back by it. Someone held by this rule shows as Already had a marketing email inside your … cap in the flow's report.

#If it didn't work

• The trigger is greyed out. It is locked. Make a new flow.
• "Only available when the flow starts on something that happened in your shop." Trigger filters need a shop event as the trigger.
• Nobody enters. Switch the flow on, and remember it only sees things that happen afterwards. Check Your metrics to see whether your shop reports the event.
• People leave too soon. Look at People leave this flow when.