# How to build your first automation

> Create an automation from a template or from scratch, choose its trigger, add emails and delays on the canvas, test it, and switch it on for contacts.

Product: Kelune CRM Cloud (hosted by us). Page: https://kelunecrm.com/docs/cloud/marketing-automation/first-automation

An automation does a task by itself when something happens to a contact, such as sending a welcome email when someone joins your list and a tip three days later. This guide builds a welcome automation from start to finish.

> **Before you start:**
>
> - [Connect an email provider](https://kelunecrm.com/docs/cloud/getting-started/connect-email-provider). An automation with an email step cannot be activated without one.
> - You need the permission to create and edit automations. Owner, Admin, Manager, and Agent have it by default.
> - Each plan limits the number of automations, active automations, steps, and enrollments per billing period; see [How to check plans, usage, and billing](https://kelunecrm.com/docs/cloud/getting-started/plans-and-usage).

## Step 1: Create the automation

1. Click **Automations** in the sidebar.
2. Click **Create automation**.
3. Choose how to start:
   - To start from a ready-made workflow, find it in the list and click **Use template**. Click the eye button (**Preview**) first to see its steps.
   - To start from nothing, click **Create from scratch**, enter an **Automation name**, choose the **Trigger type**, and click **Create**.

![The Create automation window with Use a template, Create from scratch and the list of templates](https://kelunecrm.com/images/docs/cloud/marketing-automation/first-automation/create-automation.webp)

| Template | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Welcome onboarding series** | Greets every new contact, then sends two more emails over the first week and tags them |
| **Lead nurture drip** | Tags new contacts as leads and sends three educational emails |
| **New subscriber discount** | Sends a welcome code, then a reminder before it expires |
| **Win-back re-engagement** | For contacts you add by hand: a "we miss you" email, then an incentive |
| **Event reminder sequence** | For registrants you add by hand: a confirmation, then reminders before the event |

The automation opens on the **Workflow** tab as a draft. Templates come with sample emails; you change them in step 3.

## Step 2: Set the trigger

The trigger is the first step on the canvas: the event that starts the automation for a contact.

1. Click the **Trigger** step.
2. Choose the **Trigger type**, such as **Contact created** or **Added to list**.
3. Fill in its settings, such as which lists.
4. Under **Enrollment**, choose whether **Allow re-entry** lets a contact go through more than once.
5. Click **Save**.

![The Trigger drawer with the trigger type, its tags, the match option, re-entry and entry rules](https://kelunecrm.com/images/docs/cloud/marketing-automation/first-automation/trigger.webp)

To let only some contacts in, turn on **Only contacts who match rules** under **Entry rules** and add conditions, as in a segment.

## Step 3: Add the steps

1. Click a **+** button on the canvas where the step should go.
2. Choose a tab: **Action**, **Condition**, or **Delay**.
3. Choose the step, such as **Send email**, and fill in its settings.
4. Click **Save**.

![The Add step drawer with the actions to choose from](https://kelunecrm.com/images/docs/cloud/marketing-automation/first-automation/add-step.webp)

For a welcome email:

1. Choose **Send email**.
2. Enter the **Email subject** and **Preview text**.
3. Under **Sender**, keep **Global email** or choose another sender.
4. Under **Content**, write the email or click **Templates** to start from one.
5. Click **Send test** to send it to yourself, then click **Save**.

Then add a **Delay**, such as **For a time** of 3 **Days**, and a second **Send email** after it.

The canvas saves every change by itself. To change a step, click it. To move, copy, or remove it, open its menu (the three dots) and click **Move up**, **Move down**, **Duplicate**, or **Delete**.

![A welcome automation on the canvas: the trigger, a send email step, a three-day delay and a second email](https://kelunecrm.com/images/docs/cloud/marketing-automation/first-automation/workflow.webp)

## Step 4: Activate it

1. Turn on the switch at the top right of the automation.
2. If a step is not finished, a message lists what to fix, such as "the email needs a subject and content". Fix it and try again.

The status changes to **Active**. From now on, every contact the trigger matches enters the automation. Contacts who were already on the list before you activated it do not enter; only new events start it.

> **Caution:**
>
> Templates leave their tag steps empty. Open each **Add tags** step and choose a tag before you activate, or remove the step.

## Step 5: Check that it works

1. Trigger it yourself, for example by adding your own contact to the list.
2. Open the automation's **Contacts** tab and find your contact.
3. Click it to see each step it went through.

See [How to read automation reports](https://kelunecrm.com/docs/cloud/marketing-automation/automation-reports).

## Pause or change an automation

Turn off the switch to pause it. Contacts stay where they are and carry on when you turn it back on.

You can edit an active automation. Changes apply to contacts when they reach the changed step. Changing a delay to another kind of wait, such as from **For a time** to **Until a date**, restarts the wait for contacts already on it.

For an automation with the **Manual enrollment** trigger, add contacts on its **Contacts** tab with **Enroll contact**. You can also add any contact to an active automation from their profile with **Add to automation**.

## Where to go next

- [How to use triggers, delays, and actions](https://kelunecrm.com/docs/cloud/marketing-automation/triggers-delays-actions)
- [How to build a conditional automation](https://kelunecrm.com/docs/cloud/marketing-automation/conditional-automation)
- [How to read automation reports](https://kelunecrm.com/docs/cloud/marketing-automation/automation-reports)