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This guide builds an automation from scratch. If a template covers your use case, start there instead — you can customize everything after.

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1. Create the workflow

Go to Automations and click Create automation. Give it a name that describes its job — “Welcome series”, “Post-purchase thank you”.

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2. Configure the trigger

Every flow starts with one trigger event:
1

Pick the trigger source and event

Choose where the event comes from (your store, Retainful itself, or a connected integration) and which event starts the flow — for example Checkout started, Order placed, or Subscribed to list. The full catalog is in Triggers.
2

Add trigger filters (optional)

Narrow which events qualify — for example, only orders over $50, or only signups to a specific list.
3

Add audience filters (optional)

Require the contact to match conditions — for example, only first-time customers, or only contacts in a segment.
4

Set re-entry rules

Decide whether a contact who finishes the flow can enter it again — never, always, or only after a cooldown (hours, days, or weeks).

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3. Add steps

Click the + button on any connection to insert a step. Build your sequence from the step library: send an email, wait a day, branch on a condition, generate a coupon, and so on. A simple welcome series looks like:
  1. Trigger: Subscribed to list “Newsletter”
  2. Email: “Welcome — here’s what we’re about”
  3. Delay: 2 days
  4. Email: “Our customers’ favorites” (with a product block)
  5. Delay: 3 days
  6. Binary: Has the contact placed an order?
    • No → Email: “Here’s 10% off your first order” (with a coupon)
    • Yes → exit

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4. Write the emails

Click any email step to set its subject, sender, and content. The full email editor opens — same blocks, personalization, and templates as campaigns. Cart and coupon merge tags are available where the trigger provides them.

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5. Test the flow

Before publishing:
  • Send test emails from each email step.
  • Walk the canvas end to end: does every branch lead somewhere sensible? Are your delays realistic?
  • Trigger it for real if you can — for example, place a test checkout on your store for a cart recovery flow.

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6. Publish

Click Publish. From this moment, new trigger events enter the flow. Contacts already mid-flow continue even if you later pause the automation for new entries.
Editing a published automation creates a new version — contacts who entered before your edit finish on the path they started, while new contacts get the updated flow.

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Monitor and iterate

Give a new automation a week, then open its analytics. The most common improvements: tightening the first delay, rewriting the first subject line, and adding a coupon to the final email of a recovery flow.