Create a marketing automation campaign

Current version: 10.1

In the Marketing Automation application, you create and edit your automation campaigns in a drag-and-drop user interface.

To create a campaign, you drag and drop elements from the Toolbox pane onto your canvas. In the automation campaign, you can specify when your contacts should automatically be enrolled in the campaign, the rules they should be evaluated against, and the marketing actions that must happen to the contacts depending on their individual actions. For example, you can create a campaign to engage with and welcome new customers or send them an email if they trigger a goal.

For a quick overview of how to create a campaign, watch the video.

To create a new marketing automation campaign:

  1. On the Sitecore Launchpad, click Marketing Automation.

  2. On the Marketing Automation dashboard, click Create  and, in the Create a Campaign dialog, select Blank automation campaign.

    A draft automation campaign with the Start and End elements on the canvas opens.

    The marketing automation canvas with start and end elements
  3. To build your automation campaign, drag and drop the relevant elements from the Toolbox pane onto the canvas.

    When you drag an element onto the canvas, the green circles on the paths indicate where in the campaign you can drop the element, for example, you can only add a decision point after a listener or another decision point. The cursor changes to indicate when you can drop the element.

    Dropping an action on the canvas
    Note

    When you create a new automation campaign, you can quickly map out the campaign just by dragging all the relevant elements onto the canvas and then defining each element later. You can add new elements and branches to the campaign at any time. You do not have to follow a specific sequence of actions.

  4. To specify the details for an element, click the element on the canvas. The Toolbox pane changes and enables you to enter the details for the selected element.

    For example, if you click the Start element, you can specify the conditions for when you want contacts to be enrolled in the automation campaign.

    The canvas with the start element selected
  5. When you have made changes to the details for an element, click Apply.

  6. If you build an automation campaign that gets too big for the canvas, you can move the automation campaign around on the canvas, zoom in or out, and hide the Toolbox pane to get more space to work on your campaign:

    • To move the automation campaign on the canvas, click and hold down the left mouse button on the canvas until the campaign is in the right position.

    • To zoom in and out on the canvas, use the scroll wheel or use the zoom controls in the lower left corner of the canvas

    • To hide the Toolbox pane, click Hide toolbox . To show the pane again, click the button again or click an element on the canvas to edit the details for that element.

  7. To save your campaign, click Save and, in the Campaign details dialog, specify the:

    • Name and description of your campaign.

    • Start date for the campaign. If the campaign is activated, it starts to process contacts after this time. If you do not specify a start date, the campaign starts to process contacts when the campaign is activated.

    • End date for the campaign. The campaign automatically deactivates after this time. If you do not specify an end date, the campaign runs indefinitely.

    • Maximum enrollments. Control how many times the same contact can enroll in the campaign. The default number of enrollments is Unlimited.

    The Campaign details dialog box
    Note

    You cannot save your campaign before you have made changes to it. For example, to save a campaign it must include more than the default Start and End elements or you must have specified the rules for enrolling a contact to the campaign.

  8. Click Save.

  9. To activate your campaign, click Actions , and then from the drop-down menu click Activate.

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