Automation flows: triggers, actions, and rules
Automations in Textmagic save your business time on everyday messaging and contact tasks. Set them up once, and Textmagic handles the rest, sending the right message at the right moment. This guide walks you through the triggers, actions, rules, and scheduling options you can tailor to fit your team.
Triggers
A trigger is what starts the automation. Every flow must have exactly one trigger. You can filter all triggers by contact fields (for example: country, tags, and custom fields). SMS and email triggers also support extra filters such as keywords or message content rules.
Tag is added to a contact
The flow starts when the selected tag is added to a contact.
Contact is added to a list
The flow starts when a contact is added to a specific list.
New inbound SMS is received
The flow starts when your account receives a new SMS. Extra filters you can use:
- Keyword found in the message body.
- The number the SMS was sent to (your receiving number).
New inbound email is received
The flow starts when your account receives a new email. Extra filters you can use:
- Keywords in the email subject.
- Keywords in the email body.
- The inbox the email was sent to (your receiving address).
Manually select contacts
You manually choose the contacts who should enter the flow. Contacts enter the flow when you run it.
Actions
Actions are the steps that happen after the trigger. You can add as many actions as needed to build your sequence flow.
Send SMS
Sends an SMS to the contact using your sender settings. A compliant Textmagic number or Sender ID is required.
Send email
Sends an email from your configured email sender. A verified email domain is required.
Update contact
Updates name, email, phone, tags, and custom fields.
Add tag
Adds a selected tag to the contact.
Remove tag
Removes a selected tag from the contact.
Add to list
Adds the contact to a chosen list.
Remove from list
Removes the contact from a chosen list.
Unsubscribe contact
Marks the contact as unsubscribed from SMS, email, or both.
Create new task
Creates a task in your tasks board.
Create new deal
Creates a deal in your deals pipeline.
Rules
Rules add logic to your flow. They help you control timing or create different paths for different contacts.
Time delay
Wait for a set amount of time before moving to the next step.
Examples: 10 minutes, 2 hours, 3 days.
Conditional split
Create two paths based on conditions:
- Yes path — conditions are met.
- No path — conditions are not met.
Percentage split
Randomly split contacts based on a percentage (e.g., 50/50). Useful for A/B testing.
Wait until event happens
Pause the flow until a selected event occurs or the timer expires.
- If the event happens in time → contact goes down the Yes path.
- If not → contact goes down the No path.
You can choose from the following events:
Email events
- Email opened — Continues when the contact opens an email sent inside the flow.
- Link clicked — Continues when the contact clicks any link in an email from the flow.
- Unsubscribed — Continues when the contact unsubscribes from your emails.
Message events (coming soon)
- New inbound SMS
- New inbound email
Contact events
- Contact added to list
- Contact removed from list
- Tag added to contact
- Tag removed from contact
Scheduling the flow
Each automation flow has its own schedule. Choose when the flow should accept new contacts.
Always run
The flow accepts contacts at any time.
Run on selected hours
Choose days and times when new contacts may enter.
Timezone setting
Select the timezone the schedule should follow.
Contact re-entry
You can choose whether a contact can enter the same flow more than once.
Allow re-entry
Contacts can trigger and enter again.
No re-entry (default)
Contacts enter the flow only once.
Summary
Automation flows give you complete control over how contacts move through your messaging process. You can react to tags, lists, inbound messages, or manual selections — and then:
- Send SMS or emails
- Update contact fields
- Create tasks and deals
- Route contacts through delays, conditions, and event-based rules
Together, these tools help you build consistent, scalable customer journeys with minimal manual work.
Common use cases
👉 Example: A new lead signs up and instantly receives a welcome email followed by an SMS introduction.
👉 Example: A prospect receives a follow-up email, then a reminder SMS if they don’t respond.
👉 Example: A customer sends a message and instantly receives a confirmation or support reply.
👉 Example: After booking, a customer gets a confirmation email and a reminder SMS before the appointment.
👉 Example: A system sends a reminder email, then a follow-up SMS if payment is not completed.
👉 Example: If a user clicks a link, they receive a different follow-up than those who don’t.
👉 Example: A contact is tagged as “Interested” after clicking a campaign link.
👉 Example: A new lead triggers a task for a sales rep to follow up.