Skip to main content

Build Your First Journey

Let's build a 3-email welcome series from scratch. By the end, you'll know how the journey builder works and be ready to create your own automations.

Step 1: Create the Journey​

  1. Go to Journeys in the sidebar
  2. Click + Create Journey
  3. Give it a name (e.g., "Welcome Series")
  4. You're now in the journey builder

Step 2: The Journey Builder​

The builder has two main areas:

Left sidebar — your toolbox of steps, organized into three groups:

GroupStepsWhat They Do
ActionsSend Email, Update Field, Add to List, Remove from List, Fire WebhookDo something
LogicCondition, Email Engagement, Segment Check, Event ConditionMake a decision (Yes/No branch)
FlowWait, Wait Until, Wait for Event, ExitControl timing and endings

Canvas — the visual workspace where you drag steps and connect them into a flow.

Canvas Controls​

  • Scroll wheel — zoom in/out
  • Click + drag background — pan around
  • Click a step — select it and edit its settings
  • Drag from output handle — connect one step to another
  • The mini-map in the bottom-right helps you navigate larger journeys

Step 3: Set Up the Entry Trigger​

Every journey starts with an Entry node — it's already on the canvas. Click it to configure how contacts enter.

Trigger types:

TriggerHow It WorksBest For
ManualYou manually enroll contacts or a listTesting, one-time sequences
List-BasedContacts enter when added to a specific listWelcome series, onboarding
Email EventContacts enter when they open/click/bounce a campaignFollow-ups, re-engagement

For our welcome series, choose List-Based and select your "New Subscribers" list. Now, anyone added to that list automatically enters the journey.

tip

Only new additions to the list trigger entry. Contacts already on the list when you publish won't be enrolled — this prevents flooding everyone on day one.

Re-Entry Rules​

By default, each contact can only go through the journey once. You can change this:

  • No re-entry — once is enough (best for welcome series)
  • Allow re-entry after completion — they can go through again after finishing (good for recurring promotions)
  • Allow concurrent — they can be in the journey multiple times at once (use with caution)

Step 4: Add Your First Email​

  1. Drag Send Email from the Actions group onto the canvas
  2. Connect the Entry node's output to the Send Email input
  3. Click the Send Email step to configure it:
    • Step name — "Welcome Email" (helps you identify it later)
    • Subject line — your email subject
    • From name / email — sender identity
    • HTML content — design your email (supports merge tags like {{firstName}})
    • SMTP Connection — which provider sends this email

Step 5: Add a Delay​

You don't want to send the next email immediately. Drag a Wait step onto the canvas and connect it after the welcome email.

Set it to 2 days. Now there's a 2-day pause before the next step.

Delay options:

TypeUse When
WaitYou want a fixed pause (3 days, 12 hours, etc.)
Wait UntilYou want to wait for a date on the contact's profile (e.g., trial expiry minus 3 days)
Wait for EventYou want to wait for the contact to do something (e.g., click a link), with a timeout

Step 6: Add a Decision​

Here's where journeys get powerful. Drag an Email Engagement step onto the canvas.

Configure it to check: Did they open the "Welcome Email" step?

This creates two branches:

  • Yes — they opened it (engaged contacts)
  • No — they didn't (need a nudge)

Connect the Yes output to a new Send Email step ("Getting Started Tips"). Connect the No output to a different Send Email step ("Friendly Reminder" — maybe resend with a different subject).

Step 7: Finish the Flow​

Add another Wait step (3 days), then a final Send Email ("Feature Highlights"), and end with an Exit step.

Your complete flow looks like:

Entry → Welcome Email → Wait 2 days → Opened? → Yes: Tips email / No: Reminder → Wait 3 days → Feature Highlights → Exit

Step 8: Configure Settings​

Before publishing, check the toolbar buttons at the top:

Goal​

Click Goal to define a success condition. For example: "Contact's lifecycle_stage field equals active." Contacts who meet the goal exit early with a "goal met" status — great for tracking conversions.

Quiet Hours​

Click Quiet Hours to set a send window. When enabled, emails will only be sent during the time window you configure. If a contact reaches a Send Email step outside the window, they're held until the next valid time.

Perfect for avoiding 3 AM emails.

Step 9: Save and Publish​

  • Click Save to save your draft (you can come back and edit later)
  • Click Publish Changes to make the journey live

Once published, contacts start flowing through automatically based on your entry trigger.

info

When you publish, you'll see: "You are editing a draft. The live journey continues to run unchanged." This means contacts already in the journey keep going on the current version — your edits only affect new enrollments.

Tips for Better Journeys​

  • Start simple — 3–5 steps is plenty for your first journey. Add complexity later.
  • Name every step — "Wait 3 days for engagement" is much clearer than "Wait" when you're reviewing analytics.
  • Space out your emails — at least 2–3 days between sends. Nobody wants daily automated emails.
  • Always end with Exit — give every path a clear ending.
  • Test with manual enrollment first — before activating automatic triggers, enroll yourself and verify each step works.

Next Steps​