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This guide walks through creating a welcome journey from scratch.

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Step 1: Create the Journey

  1. Navigate to Journeys
  2. Click New Journey
  3. Enter a name: “Welcome Series - Main List”

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Step 2: Configure Triggers

Triggers define when contacts enter the journey.

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Trigger Type: List Membership

The most common trigger—enter when joining a list: 
Trigger: Contact added to list
List: Main Marketing List

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Trigger Type: Custom Field

Enter based on a field value. The operator field is required: 
Trigger: Custom field matches
Field: signup_source
Operator: eq
Value: "website"
Valid operators for custom field triggers:
OperatorMeaning
eqEquals
neNot equals
inValue is in a list
not_inValue is not in a list
existsField exists on the contact
containsField contains substring

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Multiple Triggers

Triggers are organized using a JourneyTriggerGroup structure that supports nested logic: 
TriggerGroup:
  operator: AND          # AND or OR
  conditions:
    - type: list
      list_id: "main_marketing_list"
    - type: custom_field
      field: signup_source
      operator: eq
      value: "website"
  groups:                # Optional nested groups
    - operator: OR
      conditions:
        - type: custom_field
          field: referral_source
          operator: eq
          value: "partner_a"
        - type: custom_field
          field: referral_source
          operator: eq
          value: "partner_b"
Each JourneyTriggerGroup has:
  • operator: AND or OR — how to combine the conditions and nested groups
  • conditions: Array of individual trigger conditions
  • groups: Optional array of nested JourneyTriggerGroup objects for complex logic
Only contacts matching the full trigger group will enter the journey.

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Step 3: Add Steps

Click Add Step to add each journey step.

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Send Message Step

Deliver a message:
  1. Click Add Step > Send Message
  2. Select a creative or define an inline message
  3. Optionally select an offer binding
Step: Send Message
Creative: "Welcome - 10% Off"
Offer: welcome_discount
You can also define messages inline directly in the step instead of referencing an existing creative: 
Step: Send Message
Inline Message:
  body: "Welcome to {{brand_name}}! Use code WELCOME10 for 10% off: {{link1}}"
Inline messages support the same template variables as creatives ({{brand_name}}, {{linkN}}).

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Wait Step

Pause before the next step:
  1. Click Add Step > Wait
  2. Set duration and unit
Step: Wait
Duration: 24
Unit: hours

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Condition Step

Branch based on behavior:
  1. Click Add Step > Condition
  2. Configure the condition
  3. Define Yes and No branches
Step: Condition
Type: Has clicked
Timeframe: Since enrollment

Yes branch: → Go to step 5
No branch: → Go to step 6

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Wait Until Step

Wait until a specific time of day before proceeding:
  1. Click Add Step > Wait Until
  2. Set the target time (HH:MM)
Step: Wait Until
Time: "09:00"
This is different from a regular wait step, which pauses for a duration. wait_until holds the contact until the next occurrence of the specified time (e.g., 9:00 AM).

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Set Custom Field Step

Set a custom field value on the contact’s ListContact record:
  1. Click Add Step > Set Custom Field
  2. Specify the field key and value
Step: Set Custom Field
Field: onboarding_stage
Value: "completed_welcome"
Use this to tag contacts as they progress, enabling audience segmentation and trigger conditions in other journeys.

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Unsubscribe Step

Unsubscribe the contact from the list:
  1. Click Add Step > Unsubscribe
Step: Unsubscribe
The contact will be unsubscribed from the sending list associated with the journey. Use this at the end of a branch when a contact should no longer receive messages.

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Exit Step

End the journey:
  1. Click Add Step > Exit
Step: Exit

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Step 4: Connect Steps

Steps flow sequentially by default. Use conditions to create branches.

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Linear Flow

Step 1 (Send) → Step 2 (Wait) → Step 3 (Send) → Step 4 (Exit)

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Branching Flow

Step 1 (Send)
    ↓
Step 2 (Wait 2 days)
    ↓
Step 3 (Condition: Clicked?)
   ↓ Yes        ↓ No
Step 4 (Exit)  Step 5 (Send reminder)
                    ↓
               Step 6 (Exit)

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Step 5: Review and Activate

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Preview

Before activating:
  1. Click Preview
  2. Review the flow visually
  3. Check trigger conditions
  4. Verify creatives are correct

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Activate

  1. Click Activate
  2. Journey starts enrolling new matching contacts
  3. Existing contacts are NOT enrolled (only new matches)
Activating a journey is immediate. Make sure everything is configured correctly.

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Example: Simple Welcome Series

Let’s build a 3-message welcome:
1

Create journey

Name: “Simple Welcome Series”
2

Set trigger

List: Main Marketing List
3

Step 1: Send welcome

Creative: “Welcome! Here’s 10% off your first order.”
4

Step 2: Wait 24 hours

Duration: 24 hours
5

Step 3: Send bestsellers

Creative: “Check out our bestsellers”
6

Step 4: Wait 3 days

Duration: 3 days
7

Step 5: Send offer

Creative: “Last chance: 15% off expires today”
8

Step 6: Exit

End the journey
9

Activate

Turn on the journey

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Editing Active Journeys

You can edit active journeys, but be careful:
ChangeEffect
Add step at endSafe - affects future enrollees
Change creativeAffects enrollees who haven’t reached that step
Change timingAffects future waits, not in-progress waits
Change triggerOnly affects new enrollments
Delete step⚠️ May break in-progress enrollments
For major changes, create a new journey version and sunset the old one.

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Monitoring Journeys

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Enrollment Stats

View in the journey dashboard:
  • Total enrollments
  • Active enrollments (in progress)
  • Completed
  • Exited early

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Step Performance

See metrics per step:
  • How many reached this step
  • Conversion to next step
  • Drop-off rate

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Troubleshooting

Check:
  • Is the journey active?
  • Do contacts match trigger conditions?
  • Are they already enrolled (one enrollment per journey)?
Check:
  • Is the contact still subscribed?
  • Is the creative active?
  • Are there sending list issues?
Wait steps process on schedule. Check:
  • Is the job server running?
  • Is next_step_at set correctly?

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Next Steps

Conditions

Add branching logic

Wait Steps

Timing best practices