Skip to main content

​
Overview

Knowlix Marketing Automation creates dynamic, multi-step campaigns that execute automatically based on customer behavior and defined triggers. Design workflows combining emails, SMS messages, and internal actions that respond to how contacts engage with your marketing content. Automation workflows nurture leads through sales funnels, onboard new customers with timed welcome sequences, re-engage dormant contacts, and execute complex multi-touch campaigns without manual intervention. Once configured, campaigns run continuously, engaging new contacts as they enter your database and progressing existing contacts through carefully designed customer journeys. The system tracks individual participant progress through workflows, records engagement metrics at each step, and branches campaign paths based on recipient actions (email opens, link clicks, form submissions, or non-action after defined periods). This behavioral tracking enables sophisticated marketing strategies that adapt to each contact’s level of interest and engagement. Integration with CRM, email marketing, and SMS platforms provides unified campaign coordination. Lead scores update automatically based on automation engagement. Sales opportunities generate from highly engaged automation participants. Revenue attributes back to campaigns that initiated customer relationships. Key capabilities:
  • Multi-step workflow creation with conditional branching
  • Behavior-based triggering (opens, clicks, replies, time delays)
  • Email and SMS campaign automation
  • Lead nurturing and scoring workflows
  • Customer onboarding sequences
  • Re-engagement campaigns for inactive contacts
  • A/B testing for workflow optimization
  • Comprehensive engagement analytics
Important: Marketing automation requires careful planning to avoid overwhelming contacts with excessive communications. Design workflows that provide value at each touchpoint, respect engagement signals, and include clear opt-out mechanisms.
💡 Pro Tip: Ask Your Knowlix for automation tasks: “Create a welcome email series for new newsletter subscribers” or “Show me participants who opened the welcome email but didn’t click”

​
Campaign Creation

Design automated marketing workflows for specific business objectives.

​
Starting New Campaigns

To create campaigns:
  1. Navigate to Marketing Automation dashboard
  2. Click New
  3. Configure campaign settings:
    • Campaign Name: Descriptive identifier
    • Responsible: Campaign owner
    • Target: Record type (Contact, Lead, Event Registration)
    • Filter: Audience targeting rules
  4. Build workflow activities
  5. Test campaign
  6. Launch

​
Campaign Templates

Pre-built templates for common scenarios: Tag Hot Contacts: Send welcome email and tag contacts who click links (identifies engaged prospects). Welcome Flow: Send welcome series to new subscribers, remove bounced addresses automatically. Double Opt-In: Confirm subscription consent via email confirmation link (regulatory compliance). Commercial Prospection: Send catalog and follow up based on engagement levels. Schedule Calls: When lead is created for existing contact, schedule call with assigned salesperson. Prioritize Hot Leads: Send email to new leads and flag high priority if they open it (lead scoring). To use templates: Navigate to Marketing Automation dashboard. Template cards display when no campaigns exist. Select desired template to create pre-configured campaign. Customize settings and workflow, then launch. 💡 Template Strategy: Start with templates for proven workflows. Customize based on your industry, audience, and business goals rather than building from scratch.

​
Target Audience Definition

Define which contacts receive campaign communications.

​
Target Selection

To configure audience: In the Target and Filter section: Target: Select record type for campaign:
  • Contact: All database contacts
  • Lead/Opportunity: CRM prospects
  • Event Registration: Event attendees
  • Mailing List Contact: Email subscribers
  • Other models: Any database object with contact information
Unicity based on: Choose field to prevent duplicates (typically Email). System excludes records with duplicate values in this field. Filter: Define targeting rules using domain logic.

​
Filter Rules

To define audience filters:
  1. Click Add condition in Filter section
  2. Configure rule parameters:
    • Field: Database field to evaluate
    • Operator: Comparison type (equals, contains, greater than, etc.)
    • Value: Comparison value
  3. Add multiple rules for precise targeting
  4. Choose match logic:
    • Match all: Record must meet every rule (AND logic)
    • Match any: Record must meet at least one rule (OR logic)
Example filters: Target US-based leads with revenue over $1,000:
  • Country equals United States
  • Expected Revenue > 1,000
  • Type equals Lead OR Type equals Opportunity
Records count: Number displayed shows how many records currently match filter criteria. Click number to view actual record list. Include archived: Enable to include archived records in campaign (typically leave disabled). Save as Favorite Filter: Save filter configuration for reuse in future campaigns targeting same audience. 💡 Segmentation Best Practice: Start with broad targeting and refine based on campaign performance. Over-segmentation fragments audiences and reduces statistical significance for optimization.

​
Workflow Activities

Build campaign sequences with timed communications and actions.

​
Activity Types

Available activity options: Email: Send email messages to participants. Configure email template, subject line, content, and design. SMS: Send text messages to participants. Configure SMS template and message content. Server Action: Execute internal database actions:
  • Update lead scores
  • Change record states
  • Create CRM activities
  • Add/remove tags
  • Assign to users
  • Trigger external integrations

​
Creating Activities

To add activities to workflow:
  1. In campaign form, click Add new activity in Workflow section
  2. Configure activity settings:
    • Activity Name: Internal identifier
    • Activity Type: Email, SMS, or Server Action
    • Template: Select or create template (Email/SMS)
    • Trigger: When activity executes
    • Activity Filter: Optional additional targeting
  3. Click Save & Close or Save & New
Email activity configuration:
  1. Select Email as Activity Type
  2. Choose Mail Template (or create new)
  3. Configure email content, design, and settings
  4. Set trigger timing
  5. Save
SMS activity configuration:
  1. Select SMS as Activity Type
  2. Choose SMS Template (or create new)
  3. Configure message text
  4. Set trigger timing
  5. Save
Server action configuration:
  1. Select Server Action as Activity Type
  2. Choose existing server action or create new:
    • Update Record
    • Create Activity
    • Send Email/SMS
    • Add/Remove Followers
    • Create Record
    • Execute Code
    • Send Webhook
    • Execute Multiple Actions
  3. Configure action parameters
  4. Set trigger timing
  5. Save

​
Activity Triggers

Define when activities execute: Timing configuration: Interval number: How many time units to wait Interval type: Unit of time (Hours, Days, Weeks, Months) Example: 2 Days means activity executes 2 days after trigger event occurs. Trigger types: Beginning of workflow: Activity executes when participant enters campaign. After another activity: Executes specified time after previous activity completes. Email-specific triggers:
  • Mail: opened: Recipient opened email
  • Mail: not opened: Recipient didn’t open email within specified time
  • Mail: replied: Recipient replied to email
  • Mail: not replied: No reply received
  • Mail: clicked: Recipient clicked link in email
  • Mail: not clicked: No link click detected
  • Mail: bounced: Email delivery failed
SMS-specific triggers:
  • SMS: clicked: Recipient clicked link in SMS
  • SMS: not clicked: No link click detected
  • SMS: bounced: SMS delivery failed
Trigger logic: Activities can branch based on engagement:
  • Send follow-up if email opened
  • Send reminder if email not opened
  • Tag highly engaged contacts who click links
  • Remove non-engaged contacts who don’t respond

​
Child Activities

Create branching workflows: Child activities execute conditionally based on parent activity outcomes. To add child activities:
  1. Hover over activity in workflow
  2. Click Add child activity button below activity
  3. Select trigger condition:
    • After parent activity completes
    • If parent email opened/not opened
    • If parent email clicked/not clicked
    • If parent email replied/not replied
    • If parent SMS clicked/not clicked
  4. Configure child activity same as regular activity
  5. Save
Branching strategy: Engaged path: For contacts who open/click, send next content piece Non-engaged path: For contacts who don’t engage, send reminder or change messaging approach High engagement path: For contacts clicking multiple times, flag for sales follow-up

​
Activity Filters

Further refine activity targeting: In Activity Filter section, add additional rules that apply only to this specific activity (not entire campaign). Use case: Campaign targets all contacts, but specific activity only sends to contacts in specific locations or with specific attributes. Applied Filter: Shows combined rules from campaign filter plus activity filter, displaying total records targeted by activity.

​
Expiry Duration

Set activity timeouts: Enable Expiry Duration to cancel activity if not executed within specified timeframe. Example: If welcome email trigger is “after lead created” with 24-hour expiry, email won’t send if 24 hours pass before trigger conditions are met. Use case: Time-sensitive communications (event reminders, flash sales) that become irrelevant after deadline. 💡 Your Knowlix: “Add a follow-up email activity 3 days after welcome email is sent” or “Create a server action to tag contacts who click the pricing link”

​
Testing Campaigns

Validate workflows before launching to full audience.

​
Running Tests

To test campaigns:
  1. Open campaign form
  2. Ensure activities are configured in workflow
  3. Click Launch a Test button
  4. Select or create test contact
  5. Enter required contact information (email, mobile)
  6. Click Launch
Test environment opens showing workflow for selected contact. Executing test steps:
  1. Click Run button (play icon) next to first activity
  2. System executes activity and displays results
  3. Review activity analytics (sent, opened, clicked)
  4. Continue clicking Run for subsequent activities
  5. Complete all workflow steps
Test completion: When all activities execute, status updates to Completed. Review entire workflow performance before launching to full audience. Test best practices:
  • Test with realistic contact data (valid email, mobile number)
  • Verify emails display correctly in multiple email clients
  • Click all links to ensure tracking works
  • Review SMS character counts and formatting
  • Check that server actions execute as expected
  • Test both engaged and non-engaged paths in branching workflows
Stopping tests: Click Stop button to end test before completion if issues are discovered. 💡 Testing Tip: Create multiple test contacts representing different scenarios (engaged vs. non-engaged, different segments) to validate all workflow branches.

​
Running Campaigns

Launch campaigns to engage target audiences.

​
Starting Campaigns

To run campaigns:
  1. Open campaign form
  2. Verify all activities configured correctly
  3. Review target audience count
  4. Click Start button
Campaign status updates to Running. Activities begin executing for participants who meet trigger conditions. Real-time execution: As campaign runs, activity blocks display engagement metrics:
  • Messages sent
  • Open rates
  • Click rates
  • Bounce rates
  • Success/rejected counts
Smart buttons at top of form populate with aggregated data:
  • Templates: Email/SMS templates used
  • Clicks: Total link clicks
  • Tests: Test runs conducted
  • Participants: Active campaign participants

​
Campaign Updates

Modifying running campaigns: If changes are needed after campaign starts:
  1. Click Stop to pause campaign
  2. Make necessary modifications to activities or filters
  3. Click Start again
  4. System prompts to Update campaign
  5. Existing participants may re-enter modified workflow
Caution: Updating running campaigns can create duplicate communications for participants already in workflow. Test modifications thoroughly or create new campaign for major changes.

​
Stopping Campaigns

To stop campaigns:
  1. Open campaign form
  2. Click Stop button
  3. Campaign status updates to Stopped
Stopped campaigns cease all activity execution. Participants remain in current workflow positions if campaign restarts.

​
Campaign Analytics

​
Activity Metrics

In workflow section, each activity displays: Graph tab (default): Line graph showing success (green) and rejected (red) activity outcomes over time. Hover over points for daily breakdown. Detail metrics below graph:
  • Sent: Total communications sent
  • Clicked: Percentage clicking links
  • Replied: Percentage replying (email activities)
  • Bounced: Percentage delivery failures
Click any metric to view individual participant records for that data point. Filter tab: Shows targeting rules applied to activity and count of matching records. Click records link to view list of targeted participants. To analyze campaign URLs: Navigate to Marketing Automation → Reporting → Link Tracker Available data:
  • All URLs used in campaigns
  • Click counts per URL
  • Click rates over time
  • Participant-level click tracking
View options:
  • Bar Chart: Compare click volumes
  • Line Chart: Track clicks over time
  • Pie Chart: See URL distribution
Export to spreadsheet: Click Insert in Spreadsheet to analyze data in Knowlix Spreadsheet application.

​
Traces

Activity execution tracking: Navigate to Marketing Automation → Reporting → Traces Displays all activity executions across all campaigns:
  • Processed: Successfully executed activities
  • Scheduled: Activities queued for future execution
  • Rejected: Activities that failed to execute
Filter and group by campaign, activity type, date, or outcome.

​
Participants

Contact-level engagement: Navigate to Marketing Automation → Reporting → Participants Shows all contacts engaged by campaigns:
  • Participant identification
  • Campaign association
  • Current workflow position
  • Engagement history
  • Activity completion status
Group by campaign, status, or date to analyze participant patterns. 💡 Optimization Strategy: Review activity metrics weekly. Identify activities with low engagement and test improvements (subject lines, content, timing, messaging). Replicate high-performing activities in other campaigns.

​
Double Opt-In Campaigns

Confirm subscription consent for regulatory compliance.

​
Double Opt-In Concept

Double opt-in requires subscribers to confirm subscription via email after initial signup. Benefits include:
  • Regulatory compliance: Meets anti-SPAM law requirements in many jurisdictions
  • Email validation: Confirms addresses are real and accessible
  • List quality: Eliminates spam addresses and bots
  • Engagement: Only includes contacts who actively want communications

​
Using Double Opt-In Template

To implement double opt-in:
  1. Navigate to Marketing Automation dashboard
  2. Select Double Opt-in campaign template
  3. Campaign creates with pre-configured workflow:
    • Confirmation email activity: Sends 1 hour after contact added to list
    • Add to list server action: Executes when recipient clicks confirmation link
  4. Customize confirmation email template
  5. Configure expiry duration (recommended)
  6. Launch campaign
Workflow operation:
  1. Contact submits website signup form
  2. Contact added to “Newsletter” mailing list
  3. After 1 hour, confirmation email sends
  4. If contact clicks confirmation link, server action adds to “Confirmed contacts” list
  5. Only “Confirmed contacts” list receives marketing emails
Customizing confirmation email:
  1. Click Templates smart button
  2. Select Confirmation email template
  3. Edit subject line, message content, confirmation button
  4. Link confirmation button to thank-you page on website
  5. Keep message brief and clear
  6. Save
Confirmation button requirement: Confirmation email should include single call-to-action link for confirmation (plus unsubscribe link). Any click except unsubscribe triggers “Add to list” action. 💡 Compliance Tip: Implement double opt-in for all newsletter signups, especially if you operate in EU (GDPR) or send to international audiences. This demonstrates clear consent and reduces spam complaints.

​
Marketing Automation Best Practices

​
Start with Welcome Series

New contacts are most engaged immediately after signup. Create onboarding workflows that deliver value quickly, set expectations, and guide contacts toward desired actions.

​
Respect Timing and Frequency

Don’t bombard contacts with too many communications too quickly. Space activities appropriately (days, not hours) and limit total workflow length to 5-7 touchpoints.

​
Provide Value at Each Step

Every activity should offer something useful (information, offers, resources). Avoid pure promotional messages throughout workflows. Mix education with promotion.

​
Test Everything Before Launching

Run comprehensive tests with multiple test contacts. Verify all email templates display correctly, links work properly, SMS messages format correctly, and server actions execute as expected.

​
Monitor Engagement Metrics

Review campaign performance weekly. Identify underperforming activities and test improvements. Replicate successful elements across other campaigns.

​
Use Behavioral Branching

Create different paths for engaged vs. non-engaged contacts. Send more advanced content to engaged contacts, send re-engagement or different messaging to non-responsive contacts.

​
Set Appropriate Expiry Durations

Time-sensitive activities (event reminders, limited offers) should have expiry timeouts to prevent irrelevant communications.

​
Segment Your Automation

Don’t send same workflow to all contacts. Create different campaigns for different audience segments (industry, role, interest level, lifecycle stage).

​
Include Clear Opt-Out Options

Every email must include unsubscribe links. Honor opt-out requests immediately. Consider offering preference center for contact control over communication types and frequency.

​
Maintain List Hygiene

Remove hard bounces automatically. Monitor soft bounce patterns and remove consistently failing addresses. Periodically remove long-term non-engaged contacts.

​
Document Your Workflows

Maintain clear documentation of campaign purposes, target audiences, and expected outcomes. This helps team members understand automation strategy and troubleshoot issues.

​
Review and Update Regularly

Market conditions, products, and messaging change. Review automation workflows quarterly and update content, offers, and strategies to stay current.

​
Troubleshooting Common Issues

​
Activities Not Executing

Possible causes:
  • Campaign not started (still in draft)
  • Trigger conditions not met
  • Activity filters excluding all participants
  • Server cron jobs not running
Resolution: Verify campaign status is “Running.” Review trigger conditions and activity filters. Check that contacts meet all targeting criteria.

​
Emails Not Sending

Possible causes:
  • Email template missing or malformed
  • Participant email addresses invalid
  • Email service provider issues
  • Daily sending limits reached
Resolution: Test email template outside campaign. Verify contact email addresses are valid format. Check email service provider status and quota limits.

​
Low Engagement Rates

Possible causes:
  • Poor subject lines
  • Non-compelling content
  • Wrong target audience
  • Bad timing
  • List quality issues
Resolution: A/B test subject lines. Improve content value proposition. Verify audience targeting. Test different send times. Clean inactive contacts from lists.

​
Participants Not Progressing

Possible causes:
  • Activity expiry durations too short
  • Trigger conditions never satisfied
  • Server actions failing
  • Child activity configuration errors
Resolution: Review participant traces to see where workflow stops. Check activity configurations and trigger logic. Verify server actions execute successfully.

​
Duplicate Communications

Possible causes:
  • Campaign restarted after modifications
  • Participants match multiple filters
  • Same contact in multiple targeting segments
Resolution: Review unicity field configuration. Check for duplicate contact records. Use proper filters to exclude previously contacted participants.

​
Need Help?

Ask Your Knowlix:
  • “Create a welcome email series that sends 3 emails over 10 days”
  • “Show me contacts who opened the welcome email but didn’t click”
  • “Add a child activity that tags contacts who click the pricing page link”
  • “How many participants completed the onboarding workflow?”
  • “Create a double opt-in campaign for newsletter signups”
  • “Launch a test of the lead nurture campaign”
Contact Support: For questions about workflow design, server action configuration, campaign optimization strategies, or technical troubleshooting, contact Knowlix support through the Help menu.