Automated email series not sending when contacts added to list

[Guardian_Accounting]

I have an automated series set to be triggered the first time a contact joins this list. It's set to send immediately and is active. However, when I added contacts to the specified list, they weren't sent the automated email. How do I fix this?

[William_A]

Hello @Guardian_Accounting ,

Were the lists associated with your autoseries 100% empty before activating them? Or at least, were the contacts that you added absolutely not part of those lists before the activation? If you remove the contacts from the lists, then re-add them, does the autoseries trigger for them?

[Guardian_Accounting]

Yes, the list was brand new and completely empty. And, no ... when I remove a contact and re-add it, that still doesn't trigger the autoseries. 

[William_A · Accepted solution]

So, taking a look at the automations, it looks like they're all welcome emails, not actual series (the wording in the My Campaigns screen threw me off as well).  I've noted in your case that this is a significant source of confusion, and needs to be more explicitly displayed in the Campaigns UI.

So accounts can only have one active welcome automation at a time that can trigger. You currently have 3 active, so only that first one is actually going to trigger.

If you're wanting additional "welcome" type emails to be automatically sent out for different lists, you'd need to upgrade to a Plus account and setup two separate true automation series - not welcome automations.

See also:

Activating automation

Getting Started with the Automation Path Builder

Automation tips

[user659930]

Hi William, I am having a similar problem, can you help?

I have created a welcome email and set the trigger to join a specific list. I will be manually adding the contacts to the list, it will not come from a sign up form. I created the welcome email, set the trigger and chose the appropriate list (which was empty at the time), set up the email, and activated the automation. Then I added the contacts to the list and no email automation was sent. I have tried this several times today, restarting the entire automation with the same, or lack of, results. We do have an email plus account and have another welcome email active. What can I do to resolve this issue?

[user659930]

There has also not been anyone added to the que.

[William_A]

Hello @user659930 ,

Welcome / New Subscriber emails only trigger from sign-up form additions. If you want automations that trigger from any list additions, they'd need to be the added to specific list trigger type. 

The thread you're replying to is a couple years old, and was in response to the older automation series system. I'd advise following along with our main article on automation path trigger types to determine which will work best for what you need. For guidance on getting started with the automation path system, check this article. 

[user659930]

I also tried creating an automated email using the "a contact joins a list" option with the same luck. Any advice?

[William_A]

Were the contacts already in the list prior to being re-added or the automation being activated? Did you give enough time from the first step delay to allow them to queue up?

[user659930]

No, I created a new list every time I restarted to ensure they were not already in the list. I have it set to send immediately after. I did add the contacts to the list rather quickly after activating it, maybe a minute later. To clarify what you mean by first step delay, do you think I need to give it sometime after activating before adding the contacts to the list?

[William_A]

No, as in the first step of the automation path, which is typically the time delay setting for whatever will trigger the automation (in this case list addition).

If you' made sure the contacts were absolutely not in the list specified for the list-join type, that the list being added to is absolutely the one assigned to the automation, and that the contacts were not added until after the automation series had been activated, then you'll need to call in for further troubleshooting. 

[HVAIdaho]

ive been adding people to my list and my auto welcome email isnt sending to the new contacts? can you help?

[William_A]

Welcome or New Subscriber emails, depending on the automation tool used, will only trigger from sign up form additions. Advanced automations or Automation Paths with List Join triggers will trigger from manual additions - e.g. you importing contacts through a file or manually adding them through the dashboard. 

[user80672]

Sorry - just want to clarify what you mean here. Will an automation path send to people who have joined a list via a sign-up form? Or just manual additions?

[William_A]

Hello @user80672 ,

If the trigger is set to either Welcome (legacy automation series) or New Subscriber (Automation Path), then it will only trigger from new contacts using a sign up form- landing page or coded. 

Added to a specific list / list-join triggers will be for any additions to the list the automation is set for, whether added manually or by sign-up form.

For guidance on automation path triggers, I'd recommend checking out this article. 

[user80672]

Thanks, that’s good and my initial testing had shown that, but then I had 4 started without sending. I believe I have worked out the issue, it may be worth me posting it here in case someone has the same issue:

We had a sign up page with multiple sign ups to lists, we then had one single list that if people joined, they would get an email from an automation path. But they had to confirm their email address from their first joining, and that appears to have stopped the automation path. 

We’ve now split the two sign ups, hoping this will fix it and will send an email to the second sign up page (probably after a time delay) or something.