How to Create an Email Automation

You can access the Email Automation area in two ways.

First, go to Campaigns in the main menu and select Automation.

You can also open the Automation section directly from your Dashboard.

Once you are in the Automation area, you can begin creating your automation.

Click Create New Email Automation to start building your workflow.

After clicking Create New Email Automation, a popup will appear asking you to choose the editor you want to use.

You can choose between:

Next, you will be asked to name your automation.

This name is internal only, meaning it is visible only to you and helps you organize your automations. Click Create to continue.

After your automation is created, you will choose the trigger that starts the automation. A trigger determines when contacts enter the automation workflow.

The following triggers are available:

Once you select a trigger, the Automation Builder will open and several menu options will become available.

Save All Changes, this saves the progress of your automation workflow. It is recommended to save your work before closing the editor.

Selecting Close will return you to the main Automation page, where you can manage or create additional automations. Export this option allows you to export your automation workflow.

The automation builder uses drag-and-drop actions. You can drag actions from the right-side panel into the workflow area to begin building your automation.

The Send a Message action is used to create the email that will be sent as part of your automation workflow.

To begin, drag the Send a Message action from the right-side menu into your workflow area.

Once the action is added, you will see two icons in the corner of the block.

When you click the Edit icon, the Send Message block will change color.

This also opens additional options on the right side Action Menu under the SEND MESSAGE Action. 

​Here you now have options to Edit Your Message and to also Change your global message sending options

From the right-side menu, click Edit Your Message to open the message editor.

The editor is similar to the HTML Editor used in regular campaigns, with additional options specific to automation messages.
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The Friendly Name helps you identify the message inside your automation workflow.

Examples include:

This name is internal and is only used for organizing your workflow.

The From Name is the name recipients will see in their inbox.

This can be your:

You will notice a + icon next to this field, which allows you to add multiple From Names.

The Subject Line is the subject displayed in the recipient’s inbox.

You can also add multiple subject lines using the + icon, which can be useful for testing different subject variations.

This option allows you to track link clicks inside your email.

When enabled, you can click the Edit hyperlink to open a window where you can choose which links should be tracked and masked.

Tracking helps you measure engagement and understand how recipients interact with your message.

The HTML editor used here works the same as the editor used when creating regular campaigns.

You can:

Click Save to store your changes.

It is recommended to save your work regularly while editing.

Selecting Back returns you to the automation workflow builder.

Once you are back in your workflow, click the link under Edit your message on the right side menu that says "Change your global message sending options."

Once clicked, a window will pop up with settings:

The Wait action allows you to pause the automation before the next step in your workflow. This is useful when you want to delay the next message or action for a specific amount of time.

For example, you may want to send a welcome email immediately, then wait one day before sending a follow-up message.

You can set the workflow to wait for a specific amount of time, including:

Enable time and day settings - You can ensure automation emails are sent only on weekdays and set it to continue only when the day matches your desired schedule (for example, Monday–Friday).

To add a wait step, drag the Wait action from the right-side menu into your workflow area.

Similar to the Send a Message action, once the Wait action is added to your workflow, you will see two icons on the block:

By default, the wait time is set to 1 day.

Click the Edit icon to open the settings on the right-side menu.

Conditions let you guide contacts through different paths in your automation based on how they interact with your email.

You can create a condition based on:

To use a condition, drag the Conditions action into your workflow area. Once added, you will see the IF block appear in your automation.

When the block is in place, you will have two options:

After clicking Edit, the condition block will become active and the available condition settings will appear in the Actions menu on the right.

From there, select the condition you want to apply at that point in your workflow. Once selected, the chosen action will be displayed in the workflow.

Keep in mind that Conditions can only be added after a Message step, since they depend on recipient activity such as opens or clicks. They cannot be added directly after a Wait action. If needed, add the Wait step after the condition to delay what happens next.

You can also add multiple conditions at the same level, including all four options, to create different branches in your workflow.
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The Move Emails action lets you move contacts from the list that started the automation into a different list.

This can be useful when a contact reaches a new stage in their journey, for example, when a lead becomes a customer or when a contact is no longer responding.

To use this action, drag Move Emails into your workflow area.

Once added, you will see two options on the action block:

When you click Edit, the Move Emails block will become active and a settings menu will appear on the right side under the Actions menu.

From there, use the Select dropdown to choose the list you want contacts to be moved to at this point in the workflow.

Once you select the list, this action is ready to use.

The Copy Emails action lets you copy contacts from the list that started the automation into another list.

This is useful when you want to keep contacts in their current list while also adding them to a new list, for example, to start another workflow based on their activity.

To use this action, drag Copy Emails into your workflow area.

Once added, you will see two options on the action block:

When you click Edit, the Copy Emails block will become active and a settings menu will appear on the right side under the Actions menu.

From there, use the Select dropdown to choose the list you want contacts to be copied to at this point in the workflow.

Once you select the list, this action is ready to use.

The Apply Tags action lets you add a custom tag to a contact as they move through your automation.

Tags can be used to identify subscriber behavior, track progress, or group contacts based on actions they have taken. For example, you might apply a tag when someone opens an email, clicks a link, or reaches a specific point in the workflow.

To use this action, drag Apply Tags into your workflow after the step where you want the tag to be added.

Once a tag is applied, you can also use it to trigger another automation or organize contacts for future targeting.

The Check Field action lets you create a condition based on the value of a contact field.

This is useful when you want your automation to respond to information stored on the contact record, such as status, location, plan type, or any custom field. For example, if a field is updated through the API, the automation can check that value and send a different message based on the result.

When setting up this action, enter the field you want to check, the value you want to compare, and the condition you want to use.

Available conditions include:

You can also check multiple fields by selecting + Add another field.

The Check Tag action lets you create a condition based on whether a contact has a specific tag.

This is useful when you want your automation to respond to subscriber behavior, status, or actions tracked with tags.

To use this action, drag Check Tag into your workflow where you want the condition to be applied.

When setting it up, enter the tag you want to check and choose one of the following conditions:

You can also check multiple tags by selecting + Add another tag.

The Update Field action lets you change a contact field value at a specific step in your automation.

This is useful when you want to update contact information automatically based on where a subscriber is in the workflow.

To use this action, drag Update Field into your workflow where you want the field to be updated.

You can also update multiple fields by selecting + Add another field.

The Webhook action lets your automation send information to an external system at a specific step in the workflow.

This is useful when you want to notify another platform, trigger an external process, or pass contact activity outside of Emercury.

To use this action, drag Webhook into your workflow where you want the webhook to be triggered.

The Go To action allows you to redirect a contact to another step within your automation workflow.

This is useful when you want to reuse parts of your workflow, skip steps, or guide contacts to a different path without duplicating actions.

To use this action, drag Go To into your workflow where you want the redirection to happen.

When setting it up, select the step (block) you want the contact to move to. Once applied, the contact will continue the automation from that selected point.

Once you are done with your automation, you need to click Save All Changes, to save your workflow and Close option to close the automation . The options are located on the right side menu. 

By default, all newly created automations are set to Disabled.

To enable your automation, go to the main Automations page. Select your automation by checking the box next to it, then click Enable Selected.

Once enabled, the status will change from Disabled to Enabled, and your automation will begin running based on the configured triggers.

You will also see additional details in the table:

DISABLE Automation

To stop an automation, go to the main Automations page and select the automation you want to disable.

Check the box next to the automation, then click Disable Selected.

Once disabled, the status will change to Disabled, and the automation will stop running. New contacts entering the workflow will not receive any messages, and no triggers within the automation will be executed.

On the main Automations page, you will see a list of your automations.

To edit an automation, click the Edit icon located on the right side of the automation you want to update. This will open the workflow.

Before making any changes, the automation must be disabled, as explained in the previous section.