Triggers

A trigger is a rule that does one thing when one thing happens. For example: when someone joins your newsletter list, start the welcome drip group. Triggers let you automate routine work such as welcome emails, internal alerts and list hygiene.

Every trigger has three parts:

+-------------+     +-------------+     +-------------+
|    EVENT    | --> |   TIMING    | --> |   ACTION    |
|   (when)    |     |   (delay)   |     |   (what)    |
+-------------+     +-------------+     +-------------+

Contact added to a list     -->  Instantly        -->  Start a drip group
Field value changed         -->  After 1 hour     -->  Send a notification email
Contact added to a segment  -->  After 3 days     -->  Move to another list

For journeys with several steps, waits and branches, use Actions → Automations instead. See Actions Overview.

The Triggers page

Go to Actions → Triggers. Above the list:

• Add New opens the form for a new trigger.
• Templates opens ready-made triggers you can copy. It appears when templates are available. See Pre-defined templates.
• Triggers Limit shows how many triggers you've created and how many your plan allows, on plans with a limit.
• Bulk Actions → Delete deletes the triggers you've ticked.

A note underneath, The triggers are set to run every … minutes, says how often Mumara ONE processes the triggers that don't run instantly. See When triggers run.

Use the search box to find a trigger by name, and the status filter to show All Status, Active or Inactive triggers.

Column	What it shows
Name	The trigger's name. A warning icon before it means Mumara ONE paused the trigger; click it for the reason.
Status	A switch to turn the trigger on or off.
Last Activity	When the trigger last took an action, or --- if it hasn't yet.
Created On	When the trigger was created.
Actions Performed	How many actions the trigger has taken.
Actions	A pencil icon to edit the trigger, a trash icon to delete it.

Trigger order

Triggers run in the order shown. To change it, drag a trigger by the handle (≡) on the left and drop it in its new place. The new order is saved straight away.

Order matters when two triggers react to the same event, for example one that copies a contact to a list and another that deletes it.

Create a trigger

Go to Actions → Triggers and click Add New. The form has two steps: Event and Action.

Step 1: Event

Field	What to enter
Status	On by default. Switch it off to save the trigger without it running.
Trigger name	Required. A name that says what the trigger does, for example Newsletter signup → Welcome series.
Description	Optional notes about the trigger.
Event	Required. What sets the trigger off. See below.

Event	Fires when
Contact is added to a list	A contact is added to one of your lists.
Contact is added to a segment	A contact starts to match a segment. Listed when your plan includes segments.
When a field value is changed	A field on a contact changes.

If ready-made templates are available, Select from the pre-defined templates appears at the top of the form. See Pre-defined templates.

Contact is added to a list

First choose how the contact must be added. The default, Apply all, reacts to every way a contact can arrive:

Option	Reacts to contacts
Apply all	Added in any way
Contact is manually added to a list	Added by hand in the app
Contact is imported to a list	Added by an import
Contact is added through a web form	Subscribed through one of your web forms
Contact is added through API	Added through the API

Then, under List selection, choose:

• Selected lists: the trigger reacts only to the lists you tick. The lists are grouped as in Lists, with the number of contacts in brackets. Type in the search box to find one, and tick a group to select all of its lists.
• Any list: the trigger reacts to every list you have, including lists you create later.

Missing sending domain

A list that has no sending domain shows Missing sending domain and a Fix now link. Email sent to its contacts can't go out until you choose a verified sending domain for the list. Click Fix now to open the list's settings. See Sending Domains.

Contact is added to a segment

Under Segment selection, choose Selected segments and pick them, or Any segment. Segments are re-evaluated at regular intervals, so a segment trigger fires when Mumara ONE next finds a contact that has started to match.

When a field value is changed

Choose which field to watch, then which value:

Option	Meaning
Any field	A change to any field fires the trigger.
Selected field	Only a change to the field you select fires it.
Changed to any value	Any new value fires the trigger.
Changed to this value	Only the exact value you enter in Value fires it.

For example, Selected field Plan with Changed to this value Premium fires only when a contact's plan becomes Premium.

Click Continue to go to the next step.

Step 2: Action

When to execute decides the timing:

Option	What happens
Instantly	The action runs as soon as the event is picked up. See When triggers run.
After some time	The action runs after the delay you set: a number and a unit of Minutes, Hours, Days, Weeks, Months or Years. The delay counts from the event.

Action to perform decides what the trigger does. Each action is described below.

Action	What it does
Send a broadcast	Sends one of your broadcasts to the contact
Send a notification email to admin	Sends an email you write to an address you choose, such as your team's
Start a drip group	Starts a drip campaign for the contact
Change status to active or inactive	Sets the contact's status
Change format to receive HTML or Text	Sets the email format the contact receives
Update a custom field value	Sets a field on the contact
Move contact to another list	Moves the contact to another list
Copy contact to another list	Copies the contact to another list
Delete the contact	Deletes the contact
Add contact to suppression list	Stops email to the contact's address

Click Submit to save the trigger, or Back to return to the Event step.

The action is fixed once the trigger is saved

When you edit a trigger, Action to perform can't be changed. To do something different, create a new trigger and delete the old one.

Actions

Send a broadcast

Sends one of your broadcasts to the contact.

Field	What to enter
Select broadcast	The broadcast to send, listed by broadcast group.
Sending Node	The pool to send through. In Mumara ONE the entries in this list are your pools, grouped under a heading; tick a heading to select every pool under it. Tick at least one, and choose an Active pool: a pool that's inactive, under review or disabled for your account can't send. See Dedicated Pools.
Sender Information	Where the sender details come from: From Contact List or Custom. See Sender information.

Then choose the options. The switches start off on a new trigger.

Option	What it does
Track Opens	Records when the contact opens the email.
Track Clicks	Records clicks on links in the email.
Skip Duplicates	Doesn't send to a contact this trigger has already emailed.
Insert Unsubscribe Link	Adds an unsubscribe link to the email. It starts off; switch it on for marketing email unless the broadcast already has its own unsubscribe link. See Compliance.
Skip unconfirmed	Doesn't send to contacts whose subscription is still unconfirmed. Not every account shows this switch; where it's hidden, unconfirmed contacts are always skipped.

Send a notification email to admin

Sends an email you write, rather than a broadcast, usually to yourself or your team: for example "A new lead has joined the Enterprise list".

Field	What to enter
Email address	Who receives the notification. It starts as your account's email address.
Subject	The subject line.
Responsive Email	Adds mobile-friendly markup to the email.
Content	The body of the email, written in the editor. Insert dynamic tags to include details of the contact, and of the segment or trigger that fired.
Attachments	Files to attach, dropped or browsed into the upload area.
Sending Node	The pool to send through, as for Send a broadcast.
Sender Information	See Sender information.

Sender information

Both email actions ask where the sender details come from:

• From Contact List uses the sender details of the list the contact is on. Tick Use the Sender Name as defined in the contact list, or untick it and type a Sender Name for this trigger.
• Custom lets you enter the details here:
  • Sender Name: the name recipients see.
  • Sender Email: type the part before the @, then pick one of your sending domains. Domains that are verified and enabled are listed under Eligible Domains. Domains that aren't ready are listed under Ineligible Domains, with the reason, and can't be chosen.
  • Reply-to Email: where replies go.

Mumara ONE sets the bounce (return-path) address for you, so there's no bounce address to choose.

Google Analytics (UTM)

If Google Analytics link tagging is set up for your account, both email actions also show a Google Analytics (UTM) switch. Leave it off to tag links with your account's UTM defaults. Switch it on to set utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_content and utm_term for this trigger's emails only. The fields start filled with your account defaults.

Start a drip group

Starts a drip campaign for the contact.

Field	What to enter
Select a drip campaign	The drip group to start.
Skip Duplicates	Doesn't start the drip group again for a contact it has already started for.

Change status or format

• Change status to active or inactive: choose Active or Inactive under Status. Inactive contacts don't receive email.
• Change format to receive HTML or Text: choose HTML or Text under Format.

Update a custom field value

Choose the field under Custom field and enter the value to set. The value box matches the field's type, for example a list of options for a drop-down field.

Watch for loops

If another trigger fires When a field value is changed on the same field, updating it here fires that trigger too. Make sure two triggers can't keep setting each other off.

Move or copy the contact

Move contact to another list takes the contact out of its current list and puts it in the list you choose under Select List. Copy contact to another list puts a copy in that list and leaves the original where it is. Lists that are blocked are shown but can't be chosen.

If duplicates found decides what happens when the address is already in the target list:

Option	Move	Copy
Skip duplicate and keep in the original list	Leaves both contacts as they are.	Not offered
Skip duplicate and remove from the original list	Leaves the target list as it is and removes the contact from its original list.	Not offered
Skip duplicate	Not offered	Leaves both contacts as they are.
Overwrite duplicate	Replaces the contact in the target list and removes it from the original list.	Replaces the contact in the target list with a fresh copy. The original stays in its list.
Update duplicate	Not offered	Keeps the contact in the target list and updates its field values from the original.

Apply to all contacts recursively (move only) also moves the contacts that were already in the selected lists before you created the trigger, not only new arrivals. It isn't offered for When a field value is changed triggers.

Delete the contact

Deletes the contact from the list it was added to.

Apply to all contacts recursively also deletes contacts that were already in the selected lists before you created the trigger. It isn't offered for When a field value is changed triggers.

Deleting can't be undone

Deleted contacts, and their field values, are gone for good. Test a delete trigger on a test list first, and consider Add contact to suppression list or Change status to active or inactive instead.

Add contact to suppression list

Under Suppression, choose:

• Global suppression: no email from any of your lists goes to this address.
• List-specific suppression: email from the list you select under Select List no longer goes to this address.

When triggers run

Trigger	When the action runs
Instantly, contact added by hand, through a web form or through the API	Straight away
Instantly, When a field value is changed	Straight away
Instantly, contact added by an import	At the next processing run
Contact is added to a segment	At the next processing run after Mumara ONE finds that the contact has started to match
After some time	At the first processing run after the delay has passed

The note at the top of the Triggers page, The triggers are set to run every … minutes, gives the interval between processing runs. For example, with a 5-minute interval and a 30-minute delay, a contact added at 2:00 PM qualifies at 2:30 PM and the action runs by 2:35 PM.

Pre-defined templates

Mumara may publish ready-made triggers you can copy and adjust. When templates are available, there are two ways to use them:

• On the Triggers page, click Templates. In Trigger Templates, click Clone next to a template to add a copy to your triggers, or Clone All to copy every template. Then edit each copy to choose your own lists, broadcasts and pools.
• On the Add Trigger form, click Select from the pre-defined templates, then Use This next to a template. After you confirm, the template's settings fill in the form, replacing what you had entered.

Manage your triggers

• Edit a trigger with the pencil icon. Change the event or the settings of its action, then click Submit. The action itself can't be changed.
• Switch a trigger off with its Status switch. It stops reacting to events until you switch it back on.
• Delete a trigger with the trash icon, or tick several and choose Bulk Actions → Delete. You're asked to confirm.
• Reorder triggers by dragging, as described in Trigger order.

Plan limits

Your plan sets two limits for triggers:

• Triggers: how many triggers you can create. When you reach it, Add New returns you to the Triggers page with a message that the limit has been reached. Delete a trigger you no longer need, or move to a plan that allows more.
• Trigger actions: how many actions your triggers can take each month. A banner on the Triggers page shows how much of the allowance you've used.

The Triggers and Trigger Actions rows on the Dashboard show your usage, and so does Plan & Usage. See Plan & Usage and Mumara ONE pricing.

Paused triggers

Mumara ONE switches a trigger off and puts a warning icon before its name when it can't run. Click the icon to see which reason applies:

Reason	What to do
The monthly actions limit has been reached.	Nothing: the trigger switches back on by itself when your allowance resets. To keep it running sooner, move to a plan with more trigger actions.
Trigger contains a blocked contact list	Edit the trigger and remove the blocked list. The trigger can't be switched on while it includes one. Contact Mumara support to ask why a list was blocked.
The broadcast this trigger sends was deleted	Edit the trigger, choose another broadcast and switch it back on.

You also receive a notification each time a trigger is paused.

Good practice

• One purpose per trigger. Two simple triggers are easier to follow than one that tries to do everything.
• Test first. Point a new trigger at a small test list with your own address before using it on real contacts.
• Be specific. Prefer Selected lists to Any list, a single adding method where it fits, and Changed to this value to Changed to any value.
• Avoid loops. A trigger that updates a field can set off another trigger that watches that field. Make sure the chain ends.
• Use descriptions. Note what each trigger is for, especially in a shared account.
• Review regularly. Switch off or delete triggers you no longer need, and keep an eye on Last Activity and Actions Performed.

Troubleshooting

Problem	What to check
The trigger never fires	Its Status is on and there's no warning icon. The event matches what really happens: the right lists or segments, the right adding method, the right field and value.
A delayed or segment trigger seems late	These run at processing intervals, not to the second. Allow for the interval in the note at the top of the page.
No email arrives	The broadcast still exists, a pool is ticked under Sending Node, the list or sender email uses a verified sending domain, and the contact is active, not suppressed and, if Skip unconfirmed is on, confirmed.
The trigger was switched off by itself	Click the warning icon and see Paused triggers.
A contact was emailed more than once	Switch on Skip Duplicates, and check that two triggers aren't sending the same broadcast.

Next steps

• Webhooks: send email events to your own systems
• Trigger Stats: see what your trigger emails achieved
• Actions Overview: when to use a trigger, a webhook or an automation