How to set up multiple triggers in your automation workflow

Multiple triggers allow you to kick-start an automation workflow by more than one event. For example, when a subscriber joins a group as well as when a subscriber clicks a link.

You can add up to three triggers to each automation, allowing you to set up multiple entry paths to a single workflow. In this article, you’ll learn how multiple triggers work and how to set them up in both new and existing workflows. Please note, the multiple triggers feature is only available on the new version of Mailerlite, and only on the Advanced plan.

When creating a new workflow:

1. Navigate to the Automations page and click New automation.

2. In the workflow editor, you’ll find the option to select your first trigger in the sidebar.

3. Set up your first trigger, then click + Add another trigger to set up your second trigger, and repeat if you wish to add a third.

4. Click Save.

5. Add automation steps to complete your workflow.

To add additional triggers to an existing workflow:

1. Navigate to the Automation page.

2. Find the workflow you wish to enhance and click Edit.

3. Pause your workflow for editing by toggling your automation OFF.

4. Click the trigger step to select it.

5. In the sidebar, click + Add another trigger to set up additional triggers.

6. Click Save.

For a subscriber to trigger a workflow containing multiple triggers, they must only meet the rules of one trigger. For example, if your workflow contains 3 triggers that each begin with "when a subscriber joins a group," then a subscriber would only need to join one of the trigger groups to enter the workflow.

The triggers don’t “work with” each other, instead, they simply provide three separate ways to enter a workflow. If you set up three triggers and exclude a subscriber group from one of those triggers, members of that subscriber group can still enter the workflow through a trigger that does not exclude their subscriber group.

If you wish to exclude a subscriber group from a workflow with multiple triggers, you must exclude that group in the setup of all workflow triggers.

Some triggers have an option to be repeated every time a subscriber meets the rules of the trigger event. You simply check the box in the sidebar labeled: Allow subscribers to repeat the workflow. These triggers are:

• When a subscriber joins a group

• When a subscriber completes a form

• When a subscriber clicks on a link

If you check the box to allow subscribers to repeat the workflow, the rule will be applied to all triggers.

Triggers that always repeat

Some triggers automatically repeat if the subscriber meets the rules. For example, when using the trigger The anniversary of a date, you do not need to apply any extra settings for this trigger to work every year. These triggers are:

• Updated field

• The anniversary of the date

• The exact match of the day

If you have at least one of these triggers included in your multiple trigger combination, you will see the following note:

The configuration contains triggers of types that will be always repeated

This means that the set of triggers includes one of the triggers that always repeats. This message lets you know that those specific triggers will allow subscribers to repeat the workflow, regardless if you check the box to Allow subscribers to repeat the workflow.

For example, if you have the following trigger combination:

When a subscriber joins a group + When a subscriber completes a form + The anniversary of the date

The yellow notice will appear, because this trigger combination contains one of the triggers (The anniversary of the date) that will always repeat regardless of the settings applied to the other triggers in the set.

In the above combination, the Allow subscribers to repeat the workflow box is left unchecked. In this case, that rule will only apply to the triggers When a subscriber joins a group & When a subscriber completes a form.