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To create a custom automation in Reach, open Automations, select New automation, choose Build from scratch, and then select the event that should enroll a contact. Build the flow with the plus icon beneath the trigger, adding Delay, Email, and Condition steps as needed.
The most important design choice after the trigger is timing: use a relative delay for continuously arriving contacts, and a fixed date and time for an event-bound sequence. Conditions split contacts into Yes and No paths so each group can receive a different follow-up.
What a custom automation in Reach does
A custom automation is a visual sequence that starts when a contact performs a selected action and then moves that contact through timed messages and decision points. Instead of sending one broadcast to everyone at once, you define what happens after enrollment: wait for a period, send an email, check behavior, and route the contact to the appropriate branch.
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Reach’s documented custom-flow controls are deliberately small and easy to scan. A trigger starts the workflow. A Delay controls when the next step occurs. An Email sends a message. A Condition evaluates subscriber behavior and creates separate Yes and No paths. You can place more than one condition in a flow, including inside an existing condition branch.
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Before you build
- Have access to the Reach workspace and the Automations area.
- Know the event that should enroll a contact. Documented examples include a new subscriber joining, a subscriber submitting a form, and a purchase being made.
- Prepare the email content you intend to send and decide how long each contact should wait between messages.
- Decide whether the sequence is ongoing or tied to a calendar event. That decision determines whether delays should be relative or fixed.
- Confirm that the contacts you expect to enter are subscribed or otherwise eligible under your account’s rules.
The available documentation does not state universal plan, account, or geographic requirements for custom automations. If the option is missing from your workspace, check the current product interface or account documentation before assuming that the feature is unavailable everywhere.
Create a custom automation step by step
1. Open Automations
Sign in to Reach and open Automations from the sidebar. This is the starting point for both prebuilt flows and custom automations.
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2. Start a new automation
Select New automation. Reach presents a flow-selection screen with available starting options.
3. Choose Build from scratch
Select Build from scratch rather than a prebuilt template. This opens an empty flow in which you choose the trigger and add each subsequent step yourself.
4. Choose the trigger
Select the event that should enroll a contact. The help documentation uses these examples:
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- New subscriber joins: useful for a welcome or onboarding sequence.
- Subscriber submits a form: useful for a form-specific confirmation or follow-up.
- Purchase is made: useful for post-purchase instructions or customer care.
Choose the trigger before adding the rest of the workflow. The trigger defines who enters the automation; delays, emails, and conditions determine what happens afterward.
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5. Add the first step
Use the plus icon beneath the trigger. Choose one of the documented step types: Delay, Email, or Condition. Continue using the plus icon under the latest step or branch to extend the flow.
6. Arrange the sequence
Build the flow in the order a contact should experience it. A simple sequence might be a delay followed by an email, while a behavior-based sequence might send an email, wait, evaluate whether it was opened or clicked, and then send different follow-ups on the Yes and No paths.
7. Review and activate
Check the trigger, timing, message order, and branch destinations before activation. When the flow is ready, use the activation control shown in the editor. New eligible contacts can then enter when the selected trigger occurs.
Choose the right delay
Reach supports delays measured relative to enrollment and delays tied to a specific calendar date and time. They serve different purposes.
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|---|---|---|---|
| Relative | Waits a chosen number of hours, days, or weeks after that contact reaches the step. | Ongoing enrollment, such as welcome or onboarding sequences. | Each contact gets timing based on its own enrollment or arrival at the step. |
| Fixed date and time | Targets one calendar date and time for the step. | Event-tied sequences such as webinar reminders or a limited promotion. | Contacts arriving after the target date has passed skip that step. |
When to use a relative delay
Choose a relative delay when subscribers can join at any time and should receive a consistent experience. For example, a welcome message can follow one day after enrollment regardless of the day the person joined. The same principle applies to a post-purchase sequence in which every customer should receive the next message after the same waiting period.
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When to use a fixed date
Choose a fixed date and time when every contact needs to reach a step in relation to one event on the calendar. A reminder before a scheduled webinar is a typical pattern. Check the enrollment window carefully: anyone who reaches that step after the target has already passed skips it, so a fixed date is unsuitable for a sequence that must work identically for late arrivals.
Use Email steps without losing the sequence logic
An Email step is the message action in the workflow. Place a Delay before it when the message should not send immediately, or place another Delay after it when the next action should occur later. Keep the purpose of each message tied to the trigger and the point in the contact’s journey.
- For a new-subscriber trigger, the first email can establish what the subscriber should expect from future messages.
- For a form-submission trigger, the next email can continue the subject of the form rather than restarting a general welcome sequence.
- For a purchase trigger, later messages can be timed around the customer’s post-purchase stage.
These are flow-design patterns, not required templates. The editor’s documented building blocks are the trigger, Delay, Email, and Condition steps; the actual message content is determined by your campaign.
Branch the flow with Conditions
A Condition evaluates a contact and creates two paths labeled Yes and No. The documentation gives opening and clicking behavior as examples of what can be tested. Treat those as examples rather than a complete list of every condition input available in the interface.
Build the two paths
- Add a Condition with the plus icon at the point where a decision should occur.
- Configure the behavior or criterion offered by the editor, such as whether a subscriber opened or clicked.
- Under the Yes path, add the email or delay appropriate for contacts who meet the criterion.
- Under the No path, add the alternative email or delay for contacts who do not meet it.
- Continue each path independently. You can add further conditions inside either branch.
For example, after an initial email you could test whether a subscriber opened it. The Yes branch might receive the next educational email after a delay, while the No branch could receive a different reminder. A later condition can refine either group again, allowing a multi-stage engagement flow.
Keep branches understandable
- Give each branch a clear purpose so that a contact cannot receive conflicting messages.
- Use delays deliberately; a condition immediately after an email may evaluate behavior before the subscriber has had a realistic chance to open or click.
- When nesting conditions, sketch the intended paths first. Multiple nested branches are supported, but they become harder to audit if every path sends a different message.
Change the trigger after building the flow
You can change the trigger on a custom automation after the flow has been created. Open the options menu beside the trigger and choose Change trigger. The changelog also identifies a Change trigger dropdown for custom automation items.
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Changing the trigger changes the enrollment event, not merely the wording shown on the canvas. Recheck every downstream delay, email, and condition after making the change. A sequence designed for a purchase may no longer make sense when contacts enter after submitting a form.
Design patterns you can assemble from the same steps
Welcome sequence
- Trigger: a new subscriber joins.
- Delay: a relative wait suited to an ongoing sign-up stream.
- Email: the first welcome message.
- Delay: another relative wait.
- Email or Condition: continue with education, or split based on an opening or click.
Form follow-up
- Trigger: a subscriber submits a form.
- Email: acknowledge the subject of the submission.
- Delay: wait before the next contact.
- Condition: route contacts according to the behavior criterion offered in the editor.
Purchase follow-up
- Trigger: a purchase is made.
- Delay: use a relative interval when customers can buy continuously.
- Email: send the next post-purchase message.
- Condition: provide different follow-ups for contacts who engage or do not engage.
If the sequence is tied to one event date rather than each contact’s enrollment, replace the relative timing with a fixed date and time and account for late entrants skipping an expired step.
Custom flows versus prebuilt re-engagement templates
Reach also documents prebuilt re-engagement flows, including follow-ups for non-openers and non-clickers, plus segment-based inactivity, anniversary, and feedback templates. These templates are optional starting points; they are not required for creating a custom automation from scratch.
Eligibility matters for those templates. They apply to subscribed or otherwise eligible contacts who meet the relevant conditions. A segment-triggered re-engagement automation applies to contacts who join the segment after the automation starts, not to contacts who were already in that segment. That distinction can explain why an existing segment member does not enter a newly activated flow.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Review results in the automation report
After activation, open the automation report to see how contacts progress through the flow. The report provides overall counts and step-level email details.
| Report area | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Overall status counts | Started, In progress, Completed, and Failed contacts. |
| Email performance | Open rate, click rate, click-to-open rate (CTOR), bounce rate, and unsubscribe rate. |
| Message details | Information for individual messages and their delivery or engagement results. |
| Click map | Where recipients clicked within the message. |
| Recipients | The contacts associated with the step or message. |
| Device breakdown | Engagement grouped by recipient device. |
The documentation supplies these report fields but does not publish benchmark values. Use the report to compare your own messages and branches over time rather than assuming a universal open, click, or conversion target.
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Troubleshoot common setup problems
The automation does not start
Confirm that the automation is active, the selected trigger actually occurred, and the contact is subscribed or otherwise eligible. For segment-based flows, verify that the contact joined the segment after the automation started.
A contact skipped a message
Check whether the step used a fixed date and time. A contact reaching that step after the target date has passed skips it by design. Also inspect the condition path to see whether the contact was routed to No instead of Yes.
The flow sends an unexpected follow-up
Review the order of delays and conditions. An email placed under a branch is sent only to contacts taking that path. If you changed the trigger, revisit the entire sequence because the new enrollment event may imply a different customer context.
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Check which behavior the condition evaluates and whether enough time has elapsed after the preceding email for a subscriber to open or click. Use the report’s step details and recipient view to identify the path each contact took.
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Because the documentation does not specify universal plan or regional eligibility, confirm the current account requirements and product availability rather than relying on assumptions from another workspace.
Quick Recap
Practical checklist before activation
- The trigger matches the event that should enroll contacts.
- Every Delay is intentionally relative or fixed.
- Any fixed date still lies ahead for the people expected to reach it.
- Each Email appears on the correct path.
- Yes and No branches have a deliberate next step.
- Nested conditions do not create contradictory messages.
- Eligibility and segment timing match the audience you intend to reach.
- You know which report fields you will monitor after activation.
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