In what order do I use Condition steps and Pauses in Automation?

When building a workflow it is important to understand the order of steps.  For instance, a very common question we are asked is regarding the proper ordering of Pauses and Condition steps, like Opened Email, Clicked Email Link, Evaluate Contact Data, or Evaluate Category.  Here is an improper example:

Email -> Condition -> Pause

Contacts are sent an Email. Contact activity or data is evaluated immediately after the Email is sent.  And then a Pause occurs before the next step.

This order is improper because you want to give Contacts time to perform the action you're evaluating in the Condition step.  Placing the Condition step (Opened Email, Clicked Email Link, Evaluate Contact Data, Evaluate Category) immediately after the Email limits the ability to find accurate activity that may occur several minutes, hours, or even days after the Email is sent.

When using a Pause step, we always recommend ordering the Pause before the Condition step to 1) give your Contacts time to interact with the Email and 2) ensure you're accurately targeting the proper audiences and the proper times based on their activity or data changes being evaluated. 

Notes

Automation is available at all license levels however automation features will vary based on your license.

Resources

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