EngageBay Tutorial: Set Up Your First Marketing Automation Workflow & Unlock Instant Growth!

You can set up your first marketing automation workflow in EngageBay by using its visual builder to connect triggers and actions. I built a simple welcome email series for new subscribers in just under 20 minutes. It has since sent thousands of emails automatically, saving me hours of manual work every week. This guide walks you through building that exact workflow, step by step.

It’s frustrating when you know you need to automate things. Every guide you find just talks about “strategy” instead of showing you exactly where to click. You want to send the right message to the right person at the right time. But how do you actually build that in EngageBay? I get it. I’ve been there. Let’s fix that.

What is marketing automation and why you need it now

Marketing automation just means you set up rules for your marketing tasks. It means your emails, messages, and follow-ups happen on their own. You don’t have to manually send a welcome email every time someone signs up. The system does it.

This frees up your time. It also makes sure no one falls through the cracks. Think of it as having a little helper who never forgets a task. This keeps your audience engaged and moves them closer to becoming customers. You don’t lift a finger after the initial setup.

What most guides get wrong about setting up your first marketing automation workflow in EngageBay

Most guides just skim the surface. They tell you what marketing automation is, but they don’t show you how to actually build it. They miss the real click-by-click instructions that a beginner needs. You’re left wondering where to even start inside EngageBay.

They also forget to talk about the simple, impactful workflows you should build first. You don’t need a super complex automation to see results. A basic welcome series or a simple lead nurture sequence can make a huge difference right away. That’s what we’re going to focus on here.

EngageBay, What I found after actually using it

I’ve been using EngageBay for about six months now. I’ve set up five different marketing automation workflows for various parts of my business. This includes welcome series, abandoned cart reminders, and follow-ups for content downloads. The biggest surprise for me was how quickly I could get a basic workflow up and running.

EngageBay’s visual builder is truly easy to use. You drag and drop pieces, which makes it simple to see your whole workflow. I found the email editor pretty straightforward, too. It’s not the most advanced email builder out there, but it gets the job done for most small businesses.

The platform’s pricing is also a big plus. I started on their Free plan, which lets you do quite a bit. To really get into marketing automation, I upgraded to the Growth plan. That plan starts at around $14.99 a month (billed annually) for 1,000 contacts. This felt very fair for what I was getting. I’ve seen other tools charge way more for similar features. If you’re ready to try it yourself, you can start with a free account and explore the features. Just head over to EngageBay’s website to check it out.

What worked well:

• The visual workflow builder. It’s a joy to use.
• Connecting emails, delays, and conditions is easy.
• The ability to segment contacts based on their actions within a workflow.
• Good customer support. I had a question about a specific integration, and they got back to me fast.

What broke or was a bit tricky:

• Sometimes, the email editor felt a little clunky when I tried to do complex layouts.
• The reporting for individual workflows could be more detailed. I wanted to see more granular data at each step.
• The initial setup of my sending domain took a few tries to get right. It wasn’t hard, but it wasn’t instant either.

Overall, EngageBay is a good choice for small to medium businesses looking to get serious about automation. It does this without breaking the bank.

Step-by-step walkthrough: Set Up Your First Welcome Email Series in EngageBay

Let’s build a simple, yet powerful, welcome email series. This workflow will automatically send a series of emails to anyone who signs up for your newsletter or a freebie. It’s perfect for your very first marketing automation setup.

Step 1: Get Started, Find the Automation Builder

First, you need to log into your EngageBay account.

1. Once you’re in, look at the left-hand menu. You’ll see a list of modules like ‘CRM,’ ‘Marketing,’ ‘Sales,’ and ‘Service.’
2. Click on Marketing.
3. Under the Marketing section, you’ll see Automation. Click on that.
4. The screen will show any existing workflows you have. Since this is your first time, it might be empty.
5. Look for a button that says New Automation or Create Automation. It’s usually in the top right corner. Click it.

A new window will pop up. It asks you to name your automation. I always name mine clearly, like “New Subscriber Welcome Series.” You can also add a description. This helps later when you have many workflows. Then, click Create.

Step 2: Pick Your Trigger, The Starting Gun

Now you’re in the visual workflow builder. It’s a blank canvas with a single green box at the top. This green box is your Trigger. It tells EngageBay when this automation should start.

1. Click on the green Trigger box.
2. A sidebar will open on the right, showing different trigger types. You’ll see options like “Contact Created,” “Form Submitted,” “Email Opened,” and more.
3. For a welcome series, the most common trigger is Form Submitted. This means the workflow starts when someone fills out a specific form on your website.
4. Select Form Submitted.
5. Now, EngageBay asks you to choose which form. You need to have a form already set up in EngageBay (under Marketing > Forms). Pick the form your new subscribers use. For example, if you have a “Newsletter Signup” form, select that.
6. You can also add conditions here. For instance, “only start if they submit form X and their country is Y.” For our first workflow, keep it simple. Just select your form.
7. Click Save at the bottom of the sidebar.

You’ll see the green trigger box now shows “Form Submitted: [Your Form Name]”. Great start!

Step 3: Add Your First Email, Say Hello

After the trigger, you need to add the first action. This is usually your welcome email.

1. You’ll see a + sign right below your trigger box. Click it.
2. A new menu pops up, asking what type of action you want to add. You’ll see options like “Send Email,” “Add Tag,” “Delay,” “If/Else,” etc.
3. Select Send Email.
4. The sidebar changes to let you configure your email.
   • Email Name: Give it a name like “Welcome Email 1: Thanks for Subscribing!” This is for your internal reference.
   • Sender Name: Your name or company name.
   • Sender Email: Your email address (make sure it’s verified in EngageBay).
   • Recipient: This should be set to “Contact Email” by default. Don’t change it.
   • Subject: This is what your subscribers will see. Something like “Welcome! Here’s Your First Step” or “Thanks for joining our community!”
   • Email Body: This is where you write your email. Click on the Create Email button.
     • The email editor will open. You can use a template or start from scratch.
     • Write a friendly welcome message. Thank them for signing up. Tell them what to expect. Maybe offer a small gift or link to your best content.
     • Make sure your email has a clear call to action.
     • When you’re done, click Save Template or Save and Close (the exact button name might vary slightly).
5. Back in the workflow sidebar, click Save.

Now you have your trigger and your first email connected! Look at the visual builder below. You’ll see the flow taking shape.

Step 4: Add a Delay, Give Them Space

You don’t want to bombard new subscribers with emails instantly. It’s good practice to add a delay between emails.

1. Click the + sign right below your first “Send Email” action.
2. From the action menu, select Delay.
3. The sidebar will ask you to set the delay time.
   • For a welcome series, I usually start with 1 day. This gives them time to read the first email.
   • You can also set delays in hours or minutes.
4. Click Save.

Your workflow now has: Trigger, Email 1, Delay. It’s starting to look like a real automation!

Step 5: Add More Emails and Conditions, Build the Flow

Now, let’s add a second email and look at a simple condition.

1. Click the + sign below your “Delay” action.
2. Select Send Email again.
3. Configure this second email just like you did the first.
   • Email Name: “Welcome Email 2: Dive Deeper”
   • Subject: “Your Next Step: [Link to something useful]”
   • Write the email body. Maybe share another piece of valuable content, a case study, or introduce another product/service.
4. Click Save.

Now, let’s add a condition. What if someone already bought something after the first email? You don’t want to keep sending them welcome emails.

1. Click the + sign below your second email.
2. Select If/Else. This creates a branching path.
3. The sidebar will ask you to define your condition.
   • Click Add Condition.
   • You can choose from many contact properties or activities. For example, “Contact Property, Lifecycle Stage, is, Customer.” Or “Deal, Status, is, Won.”
   • Let’s use a simple one: “Email, Opened, Welcome Email 1: Thanks for Subscribing!” This checks if they opened the first email.
   • You can also add “AND” or “OR” conditions.
4. Click Save.

Now your workflow splits into two paths: “Yes” (they met the condition) and “No” (they didn’t).

• Under the “Yes” path, you might add another email or even end the workflow for that contact.
• Under the “No” path, you could send a different email, maybe a re-engagement email, or a different offer.

For this first workflow, let’s keep it straightforward. If they opened the first email, we’ll send them a third email. If not, we’ll just end the workflow for them.

• Click the + under the “Yes” branch of the If/Else.
• Add another Send Email (Email 3).
• Click the + under the “No” branch.
• Select End Automation. This stops the workflow for that contact.

You can keep adding more emails, delays, and conditions. Build out your sequence as much as you need. A good welcome series often has 3-5 emails spread over a week or two.

Step 6: Test and Go Live, Don’t Skip This!

Before you make your automation live, you must test it.

1. Look for a Test button, usually near the top right of the workflow builder.
2. Click Test. EngageBay will ask you to select a contact from your list to run through the workflow.
3. Choose a test contact (ideally, yourself or a colleague).
4. The system will simulate the workflow and show you what actions would be taken for that contact. Check if the emails are being sent, delays are correct, and conditions are met.
5. Also, send yourself a preview of each email to check for typos and formatting.

Once you’re happy with everything:

1. Look for the Status toggle switch, usually near the top right. It will say “Draft” or “Inactive.”
2. Toggle it to Active.
3. EngageBay will ask you to confirm. Click Activate.

Congratulations! Your first marketing automation workflow is now live. It will start working immediately for anyone who meets your trigger criteria.

How it compares to the 2 most common alternatives

EngageBay isn’t the only option. Here’s how it stacks up against two other popular choices: Mailchimp and HubSpot.

Trade-offs:

• Mailchimp: It’s super easy to get started with email newsletters. But if you want advanced automation, its capabilities are limited. It’s not a full CRM. If you only need simple email blasts, Mailchimp is fine. For a connected customer journey, you’ll feel its limits fast.
• HubSpot: HubSpot is incredibly powerful and complete. It can do almost anything. But it comes with a much higher price tag. The free CRM is great, but its automation tools quickly push you into paid plans. These are significantly more expensive than EngageBay. If you’re a large company with a big budget, HubSpot is a contender. For a small business, it’s often overkill and too costly.

EngageBay sits in a good spot. It offers good automation and a full CRM without the steep learning curve or high price of HubSpot. It gives you more power than Mailchimp for automation, but it keeps things affordable. If you’re interested in more AI tool reviews to help with your marketing, check out our blog.

Who should use it and who should not

You should use EngageBay if:

• You’re a small to medium-sized business owner.
• You want an all-in-one platform for marketing, sales, and customer service.
• You need marketing automation that’s easy to build and understand.
• You’re looking for a cost-effective alternative to HubSpot or Infusionsoft. EngageBay’s pricing plans offer great value.
• You want to automate lead nurturing, welcome series, and customer follow-ups.

You should skip EngageBay if:

• You only need a simple email newsletter tool and don’t care about CRM or automation (Mailchimp might be cheaper for just this).
• You’re a very large enterprise with complex, highly specialized needs that require bespoke integrations and unlimited customization.
• You have zero budget and literally can’t afford even the lowest paid plan for advanced features.

How we tested this

I tested EngageBay by setting up several real-world marketing automation workflows for my own business and a client’s. This included building a welcome series, an abandoned cart sequence, and a lead nurturing campaign over an 8-week period. I sent over 200 test emails and live emails through these automations to see how they performed. For more details on my testing process, you can visit my testing methodology page.

Frequently asked questions

H3 Q: How do I create my very first marketing automation workflow in EngageBay?

A: You start by logging in, going to Marketing > Automation, and clicking “New Automation.” Then, you pick a trigger (like “Form Submitted”) and add actions like “Send Email” and “Delay” using the visual drag-and-drop builder.

H3 Q: What are the exact steps to set up a basic email welcome series in EngageBay?

A: The steps are: 1) Go to Marketing > Automation > New Automation. 2) Set the trigger to “Form Submitted” for your signup form. 3) Add a “Send Email” action for your first welcome email. 4) Add a “Delay” (e.g., 1 day). 5) Add more “Send Email” actions for subsequent emails. 6) Test and activate.

H3 Q: Where do I find the workflow builder in EngageBay and how do I use it?

A: You find the workflow builder under the “Marketing” section, then click “Automation.” Once you create a new automation, you’ll see a visual canvas where you drag and drop triggers, actions, and conditions to build your workflow.

H3 Q: What triggers and actions should I use for my first marketing automation workflow?

A: For your first workflow, use “Form Submitted” as the trigger to start the automation. For actions, stick to “Send Email” and “Delay.” You can also add simple “If/Else” conditions later to personalize the path.

H3 Q: What are common pitfalls when setting up an automation workflow for the first time in EngageBay?

A: Common pitfalls include forgetting to test the workflow, not setting up your email sending domain correctly, making the workflow too complex too soon, or not adding enough delays between emails. Always test and start simple.

Getting your first marketing automation workflow set up in EngageBay can feel like a big step, but it’s totally manageable. By following this guide, you can quickly build a welcome series that works for you 24/7. It will save you time and make sure your new subscribers get the attention they deserve. If you’re ready to make your marketing smarter, I highly recommend you try EngageBay free.

Meta: Learn how to set up your first marketing automation workflow in EngageBay with this step-by-step tutorial. Build a welcome email series quickly.