Automations are an advanced drip campaign platform that you can use to stay in touch with your clients throughout their customer journey.

Automations can be sent using emails, text messages, or both. Clients who have opted into email marketing will receive the email automations, while clients who have opted into text message marketing will receive the text ones; clients who have opted into both will receive everything.

Here's how it all works:

  • You assign contact lists (e.g., prospects, new clients, active members, etc.) to an automation.
  • You design a series of promotional emails or texts using our built-in, user-friendly editor.
  • You choose the interval at which each communication is sent (e.g., every 2 weeks until the series concludes or the client is no longer eligible.)

Once created, new clients are automatically enrolled in the automations that they're eligible for. As a client transitions from prospect to visitor to member, they'll switch between contact lists and become eligible for a whole new set of emails or texts.

Contents

  • Step-by-step: Setting up automations explained
  • Adding pricing option links to automations
  • When do communications go out and who are they sent to?
  • What gets sent to my clients? Can I preview my automation?


Step-by-step: Setting up automations explained

We recommend watching the tutorial video above when getting started with automations—it will give you a good idea of what to expect when creating automations of your own.

When you're ready to try it out yourself, you can follow along with the written directions below:

  1. Go to the Marketing tab and choose Automations on the right side.
  2. Click Create Automation; a "New Automation" box will appear on the right side.
  3. Enter a name and description for your new automation. These are only visible to you, but it helps to name it something that indicates what the automation does and who it should be sent to.
  4. Click on Who it's sent to to define your target audience.
  5. Use the smart lists and static lists in your site to target (or exclude) specific client groups. Make sure to save when you're finished.
    • "Contacts on ALL of the lists below" vs. "Contacts on ANY of the lists below": The "all" option means that clients must appear on all of the lists to receive an email; the "any" option means that clients will receive an email if they appear on just one of the lists you've selected.
      • How is this used?: Let's say you've created a contact list of clients who are non-members, and another contact list of clients who've had their first visit in the last 7 days. The "any" option would send an email blast to all non-members plus any new clients who've visited in the last 7 days; the "all" option would only send to non-members who've had their first visit in the last 7 days.
    • Enroll contacts who already meet this criteria: Check this to opt existing clients into the automation. This is disabled by default, meaning only newly qualified contacts will be added.
  6. After saving your contact lists, click on What to send. You're about to design your first automation!
  7. Choose to send either an email, a text message, or both for this automation.
    • Note: The delivery method you choose here will be used for the entire automation, so you won't be able to go back and choose a different mix later.
  8. Customize your email using our built-in content editor.
    • We provide a variety of templates you can use to create the perfect message for your target audience.
    • If you need help editing these templates, check out our Setting up Campaigns in Mindbody article or Email Builder for Booker article and watch the opening video to learn how you can customize the look and feel of your emails.
    • We also have support content on
  9. After finishing your email, enter your text message just below it. This won't apply if you're creating an email alone.
    • Text messages are limited to 136 characters.
  10. Click +Add Step to create a second series of emails and texts.
  11. Click Add Delay to set when your second message will go out (e.g., a week after the first message).
  12. When finished crafting your communications, click Save.
  13. Finally, review all of your settings and click Looks Good, Turn it On to activate your automation.

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For Mindbody: Adding pricing option links to automations

The MINDBODY Marketing Suite's integrated offer builder allows you to add pricing option links to your automations and campaigns, meaning you can easily target specific client groups with your most enticing offers. You need only to drop your pricing option into an email template of your own design; your clients will then be whisked through the checkout process using a mobile-friendly format optimized for computers, tablets, and mobile phones.

Click here to learn more about this works.



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When do communications go out and who are they sent to? 

Automations are sent en masse once daily between the hours of 9 AM - 8 PM. The specific send time for your business is randomly assigned and coincides with the update time for the rest of your Marketing Suite tools; if you'd like emails to be sent out at a specific time, we recommend using campaigns and the included scheduling feature. Please note that it may take up to 24 hours for a client to receive their first automation after being added to a list.

Once a client becomes eligible for an automation, the series will will run until:

  • The campaign has run its course
  • The client is removed from the linked list because their status has changed (e.g., they were a prospect and became a client)
  • The client opts out of receiving marketing communications

Because each automation runs automatically and continuously, every client receives these messages on their own schedule—they'll only be sent to everyone simultaneously if you've intentionally set up the automation to target all clients.
Text message eligibility
Text messages will only be sent to clients who have previously opted to receive text messages from your business. Clients can text "NOOFFERS" at any time to opt out of these marketing text messages, or "STOP" to opt out of text messaging entirely; a communications preference link is also included in all of your outgoing emails.
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What gets sent to my clients? Can I preview my automation?

You're in full control of the content and timing of these emails and texts. Using our built-in editor, you can quickly create a series of custom messages that are sent to your customers at regular intervals.

You can make a special introductory offer for prospects, an up-sell campaign for recent drop-ins, or send a special thank you coupon to your very best clients—the choice is entirely yours. We have plenty of templates to get you started and a library of stock images to choose from.

When you're satisfied with your email or text communication, use the following steps to preview it:

  1. Click Preview & Test on the Automations screen.
  2. Click the down arrow and select Preview & Test once again from the dropdown menu.



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