In the last post we talked about how to use Actions inside of your workflow. Today, we’re tackling the often more intimidating Conditions.
Think of conditions as the road map for your subscribers. They’re the work crew who put up the detour sign when the road ahead isn’t quite right for your subscribers. Conditions are traditional “If this, then that” statements. If a subscriber fits a criteria, then this will happen.
Let’s take a deeper look into what conditions are and what options you have as an author when inserting them into your welcome sequences.
Here is an example of the condition most sequences will have at their onset. It’s my #1 super-top-tip for any welcome sequence.
First, tag or group your subscribers on their way out of your sequence with a unique single group tag that tells you they’ve completed a welcome sequence. If you have other sequences frequently running, give it a group tag as well.
This way, before you let any new subscriber start a sequence, you let this condition scan that group for the subscriber’s info. If they’re in that group (those who have completed a welcome sequence), nothing happens. They’re sorted out of the sequence and you won’t get angry emails from readers who say they’re receiving duplicate emails from you.
“If subscriber X is in Group Y, (if this) then do not deliver them this welcome sequence (then that). If subscriber X isn’t in Group Y, then deliver them the sequence.”
This cuts down on always trying to insert a pile of conditions at the top of the sequence. You only have five conditions that you can set at one time anyway and imagine if you have six bonus scenes from six different books! You’ll be setting up conditions to clear repeat subscribers all day long.
This is what I would consider a non-negotiable in workflows.
The other condition I would consider a non-negotiable in a welcome sequence is the condition at the end of the sequence.
What you’re seeing here is the end of a sequence where I’ve inserted the condition to sort subscribers based on their actions within the workflow. I’ve told it that if anyone had opened any of the emails, then move them into my regular general news group. (Remember the point above where I have that one group that everyone gets tagged in after they leave? This is it!)
Equally as important is the same condition with the negative result. These subscribers don’t get tagged with anything other than they need re-engagement on the next scheduled re-engagement sequence date. Then I will exclude them from every regular email I send to help keep the open rates elevated.
These are examples of the two most common conditions in a workflow. Here are two other conditions you might like to use:
- If a subscriber clicks a link, then add them to a group. I LOVE this one as a workaround for link click tracking inside a workflow email. Have a few links inside an email and want to track who clicks what? Just set up an automation with a condition where if they click a specific link, then add them to a group. Or move them to another step in the sequence.
Example: You’re sending a welcome sequence, around email three you insert a link to a pre-order for a new series you’re working on. You decide to track those who click on the link with a condition. Your condition says: If a subscriber clicks the pre-order link, add in a delay until release day, then send her a release day email. Then you add another condition that moves her back into the regular sequence. - You could create a condition that triggers a sequence from a campaign email activity.
Example: You send out a campaign email that is asking for new ARC team members. Your workflow has the condition that if the campaign email had a specific link clicked (your Google form to apply) then shoot them into an ARC application funnel.
The possibilities are endless. My best piece of advice is to experiment with conditions and actions. Don’t be afraid to try them out to make things work for you at the next level. Your list works harder for you when you’re delivering your subscribers a customized experience and conditions and actions help automate that for you. Which in turn sells more books and gives you the time to write more books.
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