What automations are
Automations are lifecycle flows: when a trigger fires, SmartMailing sends one email or a whole series over time, without you doing anything. Switch one on and it runs on its own. The classic example is a welcome series that greets every new subscriber the moment they confirm.
Automations vs campaigns
A campaign is a one-time send: you pick a list, pick a moment, and everyone gets the email together. An automation is ongoing: it watches for a trigger, and each subscriber who matches enters the flow individually and moves through it on their own schedule. Two people who sign up a week apart each get the same welcome experience, timed from their own signup.
The shape of an automation
Every automation is a simple vertical flow:
- One trigger that starts it, for example a new subscriber confirming their email through double opt-in, or a specific tag being added to a subscriber.
- An ordered series of emails, each built from one of your saved templates, with a delay before it (send immediately, or wait minutes, hours, or days).
Flows are linear and time-based. Each email sends after its delay; there is no branching or "if opened" logic. One email makes a simple welcome message, several make a welcome series.
The automations page
Open Automations from the dashboard (the /automations page) and pick a brand with the brand picker. Automations belong to a brand, so each brand has its own list.
Each automation appears as a card showing:
- Its name (click it to open the editor).
- Its trigger, for example New subscriber or Tag added.
- How many subscribers have enrolled, and how many have finished the flow.
- An Active / Off switch, so you can turn it on or off right from the list.
- Edit and delete buttons.
Click New automation to create one. It opens straight into the automation editor, where you choose the trigger and build the email sequence. See Create an automation for the full walkthrough.
Safe by design
Automation emails go through the same sending pipeline as your campaigns: the same suppression list, the same unsubscribe footer and one-click unsubscribe header, and the same reputation safeguards. Anyone who unsubscribes or bounces leaves the flow automatically, so a series never keeps mailing someone who opted out.
Start with a single welcome email triggered by new subscriber confirmations. It is the highest-impact automation, takes a few minutes to set up, and you can grow it into a series later by adding more emails to the same flow.