# Automation triggers, delays, and actions explained

> Learn how contacts enter a WordPress plugin automation, how timed delays work, and what each automation action does, including the Pro additions.

Product: Kelune CRM Self-hosted (hosted by you). Page: https://kelunecrm.com/docs/wordpress/marketing-automation/triggers-delays-actions

Every automation begins with a trigger. Delays control timing, while actions perform work on the enrolled contact.

## Triggers

![Automation trigger menu with contact, list, tag, and manual enrollment options](https://kelunecrm.com/images/docs/wordpress/marketing-automation/triggers-delays-actions/trigger-configuration.webp)

| Trigger | When it enrolls a contact |
| --- | --- |
| **Contact Created** | A new contact record is created |
| **Contact Updated** | An existing contact record is updated |
| **Added to List** | The contact is added to the selected list |
| **Removed from List** | The contact is removed from the selected list |
| **Tag Added** | The selected tag is applied to the contact |
| **Tag Removed** | The selected tag is removed from the contact |
| **Manual Enrollment** | A user deliberately enrolls the contact |

With Kelune CRM Pro, two engagement triggers are added: one enrolls a contact when they open an email, the other when they click a link in it. See [how to build a conditional automation](https://kelunecrm.com/docs/wordpress/marketing-automation/conditional-automation) for the Pro steps that branch on the same activity.

List and tag triggers require you to select the specific list or tag. Use the narrowest trigger that accurately represents the contact's intent.

## Re-entry rules

Choose **No** when each contact should enter only once. Choose **Yes** when the same contact may repeat the journey, then set **Wait Between Entries** in minutes, hours, days, or weeks.

Re-entry is useful for genuinely repeatable events, but it can also cause duplicate emails. Use a suitable waiting period and test repeated trigger activity before activation.

## Delays

![Delay step configuration with duration and time-unit controls](https://kelunecrm.com/images/docs/wordpress/marketing-automation/triggers-delays-actions/delay-step.webp)

A delay pauses an enrolled contact for a fixed duration before the next step. Enter a value of at least 1 and choose minutes, hours, days, or weeks.

Delays run per contact. If two contacts reach a two-day delay on different dates, each continues two days after their own arrival.

> **Note:**
>
> Changing a live journey does not necessarily recalculate the schedule of contacts already waiting. Pause the automation and review active enrollments before making a major timing change.

## Actions

![Automation action menu showing email, list, tag, field, and webhook actions](https://kelunecrm.com/images/docs/wordpress/marketing-automation/triggers-delays-actions/action-types.webp)

The standard actions are:

- **Send Email** sends a configured message through Global Email, a saved email provider, or supported custom sender details.
- **Add to Lists** adds the contact to one or more selected lists.
- **Remove from Lists** removes the contact from selected lists.
- **Add Tags** applies one or more selected tags.
- **Remove Tags** removes selected tags.

Kelune CRM Pro also provides:

- **Update Field** to change a supported contact field.
- **Trigger Webhook** to send automation data to an external endpoint.

An action can trigger another automation. For example, an **Add Tags** action can enroll the contact in an automation whose trigger is **Tag Added**. Map these relationships before activating interconnected journeys.

## A practical sequence

A good onboarding flow might use:

1. **Added to List** as the trigger.
2. **Send Email** for the immediate welcome.
3. A three-day **Delay**.
4. A second **Send Email** with the next step.
5. **Add Tags** to mark completion.

Save the automation, use a test contact, and confirm every contact change and email before activating it for your audience.