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Visual Automations: Conditions
Visual Automations: Conditions

Learn how to use logic to determine the path your subscribers take through your Visual Automation.

Updated over a week ago

What is a Condition within a Visual Automation in ConvertKit?

Conditions are the Visual Automation equivalent of a fork in the road.

They give you the ability to direct your subscribers down different paths based on the criteria that matters to you. This can be a simple 'yes' or 'no' or branch into something much more sophisticated.

Within your Visual Automations, Conditions are blue. πŸ“˜

Using Conditions is a great strategy to send personalized content that is still automated.

You can check whether a subscriber...

  • Has purchased a product

  • Has attended a webinar

  • Has a Tag from clicking a link trigger

  • Has opened any email from you within the last certain number of days

  • Is located in a particular country or region

  • Is marked as cold

...and much more. Then you can customize the different paths in your Visual Automation accordingly.

Let's dive into how to utilize this powerful feature!

Adding a Condition to your Visual Automation

To add a Condition to your Visual Automation, click the plus (+) sign symbol, then select 'Condition':

The 4 types of Conditions

There are 4 options for Conditions: Tags, Custom Fields, Advanced filters, and Email Opens. Let's cover how each Condition works!

1. Tag Conditions

This option will check whether a subscriber has a particular Tag. Selecting the Tag option will also reveal a toggle for you to select between Yes/No and Split Path:

Here's how these options work, with examples:

a. Yes/No

The Yes/No option will check for the presence of a single Tag. Simply select the Tag you want to check for from the dropdown, and then click Add Condition.

For example, the Condition in the screenshot below will check whether the subscriber has the 'Purchased Paddle-Boarding Course' Tag, and send them down the path accordingly:

b. Split Path

Split Paths allow you to check whether a subscriber has one of multiple Tags.

First, select 'Split path' from the toggle, and then select each of the Tags you want to check for:

Once you click 'Add Condition', the Split Path will look something like this:

The subscriber will be sent down the path of the first positive match (reading from left to right). Make sure you order the Tags accordingly if you want one to take priority over another.

If a subscriber doesn't have any of the selected Tags, they'll be sent down the last 'Everyone else' path.

2. Custom field Conditions

This option will check the value of a custom field. You'll have the option to toggle between Yes/No and Split Path:

Again, keep on reading for how each option works, with examples:

a. Yes/No

The Yes/No option will check the value of a single custom field against a criterion of your choosing.

From the top dropdown, select the custom field you'd like this Condition to evaluate.

Using the second dropdown, select the option that you want to check the custom field against. There are several options β€” here's a breakdown:

  • has a value: If the custom field is not blank, the subscriber will go down the 'yes' path

  • is blank: If the custom field is blank, the subscriber will go down the 'yes' path

  • matches: If the custom field matches the value that you enter, the subscriber will go down the 'yes' path

  • contains: If the custom field contains the value that you enter, the subscriber will go down the 'yes' path

  • is greater than / is greater than or equal to: If the custom field contains a numerical value and is > or β‰₯ the value that you enter, the subscriber will go down the 'yes' path

  • is less than / is less than or equal to: If the custom field contains a numerical value and is < or ≀ the value that you enter, the subscriber will go down the 'yes' path

For example, the Condition below will check whether the value of the 'Paddle-Boarding Experience' custom field matches 'Expert':

And here's what that Condition would look like in your Visual Automation once you click the Add Condition button:

b. Split Path

A custom field Split Path will check whether the custom field you select matches one of several possible values.

Let's say you want to check whether the 'Paddle-Boarding Experience' custom field matches 'Beginner,' 'Intermediate,' or 'Expert'. You could set your custom field Split Path up as follows:

Once added to your Visual Automation, it'll look like this:

As described above with Tags, the subscriber will be sent down the path of the first positive match (reading from left to right). Make sure you order the options accordingly if you want one to take priority over another.

NOTE: The 'Everything else' option on the far right is a catch-all for subscribers who don't match with any of the other paths.

3. Advanced filter Conditions

The advanced filter allows you to select and combine different criteria. If your subscriber matches the criteria you select, they'll go down the 'yes' path, and vice versa.

These filters are the same as those you'd use when creating a Segment, with a few exceptions: products, Segments, and engagement score cannot be used as filters within Conditions.

Here's an example of how the setup for an advanced custom field might look:

In the above Condition, the subscriber will proceed down the 'yes' path if they have both the 'Purchased Paddle-Boarding Course' Tag and the 'Attended Webinar' Tag.

Once added to your Visual Automation, this type of Condition will simply say 'Matches Advanced filter':

4. Email Opens Condition

The Email Opens Condition checks whether the subscriber has ever opened any of your emails. These emails include confirmation emails for double opt-ins (also known as incentive emails).

This feature is useful for taking follow-up action based on whether a subscriber has ever opened your emails.

For example, you could set up a Visual Automation that automatically unsubscribes subscribers who haven't opened your emails within 14 days of subscribing.

To add the Email Opens Condition to your Visual Automation, click the Email Opens Condition option.

State the past number of days for which we should check whether subscribers have opened your emails. Leave the field blank to check whether subscribers have opened your emails at any point.

How to edit Conditions

To review or edit the Condition criteria, simply hover your cursor over the Condition and then click 'Edit step':

If you want to change a Condition's type altogether, you'll need to add a new Condition and remove the original.

That's it!

Apart from sending subscribers down different Visual Automation paths based on the Conditions they meet (or don't meet), you can also have them jump straight to specific Visual Automation steps when certain Events happen.

Keep reading to learn more about how such Visual Automation Events work in ConvertKit. πŸ‘‡

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