Event Automation
Event Automation is a feature in AgencyZoom available to users on the “Pro” subscription plan, that allows you to create batch automation that sends out for special “Events” such as birthdays, holidays, and more. In this article we’ll go over what the automation can do, how to set it up, and other commonly asked questions regarding Events Automation.
What is Event Automation Used For?
There are three primary types of Events Automation:
Birthdays
In setting up a Birthday automation, AgencyZoom will use the Date of Birth listed for the customer or lead- and based on that date, automatically trigger the Birthday automation you set up.
Holidays
You can select from a variety of pre-existing holidays we have set up in our system. As long as the automation remain turned on, they’ll recur every year (we’ll automatically update default holidays that change yearly, like Labor Day, Easter, etc). You can also add custom holidays, which I’ll go over later in this article.
Newsletters
Where Holidays and Birthdays are a recurring yearly date, Newsletters are a one-time automation you can send on any specific day you choose. You’ll select a day on the calendar, and the Newsletter will send out a batch email or text on that set date. After that, the automation won’t send again unless the date is updated.
How to Set Up Event Automation
Setting up Events Automation works the same as setting up Automation for Leads and Customers for the most part, with a few small differences.
First- to get to Events Automation you’ll click Lifecycle Automation (the rocketship symbol on the left toolbar), then click the Events section of your Lifecycle Automation. If Events has a Lock symbol on it, this means you’re not on a Pro plan and don’t have access to the Events Feature.
Once on the Events page, click the Add Automation button in the top right, and select your Automation Type.
Once you’re setting up the Automation- you’ll see many of the familiar features when creating an automation. You can either create a template, or select an existing one. You can limit the automation based on certain tags. You can select who displays as the “Sender” of the automation.
The unique elements to Events automation are:
The Events Dropdown. From there, you’ll select one of the Birthday options, one of the pre-set holidays, one of your custom holidays, or you can click “Add New” to create a newsletter. Then under that you’ll choose what day the automation will send- on the holiday, or before.
The “For These Contacts” Dropdown. Events automation is based on Contacts, and here you can choose whether the automation sends to your entire contact list, specific contacts associated with customers, leads, or both.
Adding a Custom Holiday
From the Events page, you can add Custom Holidays by clicking the Actions dropdown at the top, then “Manage Your Own Holidays”. This will open a new window where you can edit your custom holidays or add new ones.
Where do Event Automation Send From?
Even if you have an integrated email with AgencyZoom- Events automation will always send from a default AgencyZoom email, notifications@agencyzoom.com. This is to avoid overflowing a user’s integrated email, as many Events automation will batch send to hundreds, if not thousands of contacts at once.
Can Event Automation Trigger the Same Day the Automation was Created?
It will not. The automation triggers at the start of the day you’ve set it to go out, and creating the automation after that day’s trigger means it will never activate.
So for instance, if an Event automation you created is set to trigger on December 25th, as long as the automation was created December 24th or earlier, it should trigger on the 25th without issue. But if the automation was created on December 25th- the same day it was set to trigger, it likely would skip the automation.
Template is Missing from Events Automation
There are three types of templates in AgencyZoom: Lead, Customer, and Contact templates. Event automation are Contact based automation, so templates listed as “Lead” or “Customer” will not be available when selecting a template for an Event Automation. If there’s a template you’re unable to locate when setting up Events automation, we recommend confirming its set up as a “Contact” template in Content Library – Templates, like pictured above.