Among the different control step options available to you when designing your own automation workflow, the Filter (If condition / Else) one is probably the most common. It allows you to narrow down the target audience of your automation workflow by adding as many criteria as you need to target a specific type of contacts.
A. Choose a criteria
- After selecting the Filter (If condition / Else) in the Select action dialog, and selecting the email list it applies to.
- There are three menus that you need to fill out the criteria:
- The first drop-down menu lets you choose the type of criteria by which you will narrow down your target audience (e.g. Member Name, Member Email, Date they were Added, Campaigns they have Opened, Links they have Clicked, etc).
- The second drop-down menu helps you choose how the type of criteria you have chosen on the first box will narrow down your condition (e.g. is, is not, is before, is after, contains, does not contain, etc). It's like making a small sentence that describes what your condition will filter.
- The third drop-down menu defines the specific criteria that have to be fulfilled by the previous two boxes. The options available depend on your previous choices: it can be a drop-down list (e.g. if you have chosen Opened Campaign Name on the first box), date options (e.g. on Date Added), time spans, or time intervals (e.g. on Number of Campaigns Opened).
- Using the three menus, define the criteria to narrow down your audience. The available criteria are the following:
- Member Email
Used in order to filter your contacts based on their email address. You could use this to aim your automation workflows on all your contacts who come from e.g. a specific email account. The second drop-down menu lets you choose whether the email address is/is not/contains/does not contain/starts with/does not start with/ends with/does not end with whatever you write on the third available field. - Member Name
A perfect way of sending automation workflows on name days, this option is used in order to filter your contacts based on their first name. The second drop-down menu lets you choose whether this name is/is not/contains/does not contain/starts with/does not start with/ends with/does not end with/is empty/is not empty whatever you write on the third available field. - Member Mobile
You can use this in order to filter your contacts according to their mobile number and aim your automation workflows on all your contacts whose mobile number is / is not / contains / does not contain / starts with / does not start with / ends with / does not end with / is empty / is not empty, options that you can select on the second drop-down menu. In the final field, you can define the characteristic that suits you. - Member Tag
If you choose to aim your automation workflows to members of your email lists using a tag identification, all you have to do is select the Member Tag condition and in the second drop-down menu specify whether this tag is / is not / contains / does not contain / starts with / does not start with / ends with / does not end with / is empty / is not empty. After that, type in the tag that interests you on the final field. - Date Added
Used in order to filter your contacts based on when they were added to your list of recipients. The second drop-down menu lets you choose whether the date is / is not / is before / is after / is between / is not between one (or two) specific date(s) you choose from the calendar(s) available as the third field. - Date Updated
Used in order to filter your contacts based on when their information was last updated. The second drop-down menu lets you choose whether the date is / is not / is before / is after / is between / is not between one (or two) specific date(s) you choose from the calendar(s) available as the third field. - Other Mailing List
Used in order to filter your contacts based on whether they belong to a different list or not. The second drop-down menu lets you choose whether the mailing list is / is not one of the available mailing lists on the third drop-down menu. - Verified for Double Opt-in
Used in order to filter your contacts based on whether they are verified for Double Opt-in or not. The second drop-down menu lets you choose whether this is true / is false. - Subscription Method
Used in order to filter your contacts based on the method they subscribed to your email list. The second drop-down menu lets you choose whether the method is / is not one of the following options: Unknown, Add Member, API Integration, Form, Batch Subscribe Action, Automation, Zapier, Mailchimp Synchronizer, Tracked Website, Transactional Campaign, or Another Integration as they appear on the final drop-down menu. You can also define a time span by choosing whether the subscription has taken place in the last X amount of minutes / hours / days, or whether it has taken place between two dates that you specify. - Opened Any Campaign
Used to filter your contacts based on whether they have opened any campaign or not. The second drop-down menu lets you choose whether it is true / is false that they have opened a campaign. You can also define a time span by choosing whether a campaign must have been opened, or not opened, in the last X amount of minutes / hours / days, or between two dates that you specify. - Opened Any Campaign Titled
This filter can be used to filter your contacts if they have opened any campaign, based on its title. The second drop-down menu lets you choose whether the campaign title is / is not / contains / does not contain / starts with / does not start with / ends with / does not end with whatever you type on the third area. You can also define a time span by choosing whether the campaign must have been opened in the last X amount of minutes / hours / days, or whether it must have been opened between two dates that you specify. - Opened Campaign Name (deprecated)
Used to filter your contacts based on the name of the campaigns they will open. The second drop-down menu lets you choose whether the name of the campaign is / is not / contains / does not contain / starts with / does not start with / ends with / does not end with whichever of the campaigns you choose from the third drop-down list. You can also define a time span by choosing whether the campaign must be opened in the last X amount of minutes / hours / days, or whether it must be opened between two dates that you specify. - Specific Campaign Sent
Used in order to filter your contacts based on whether you have sent them a specific campaign. The second drop-down menu lets you choose whether the campaign you have sent is / is not one of the campaigns available on the third drop-down menu. You can also define a time span for when recipients received a specific campaign by using the clock or calendar icons and choosing whether the campaign must have been sent in the last X minutes / hours / days, or whether it must have been sent between two dates that you specify, respectively. - Specific Campaign Opened
Automations can be aimed at contacts who have interacted with specific campaigns. This option can be used to this end by filtering your contacts based on whether they have opened a specific campaign, based on the campaign's ID. The second drop-down menu lets you choose whether the name of this specific campaign is / is not whichever of the campaigns that you have sent out is chosen from the third drop-down list. You can also define a time span by choosing whether the campaign must have been opened in the last X amount of minutes / hours / days, or whether it must have been opened between two dates that you specify. - Specific Campaign Clicked
Automations can be aimed at contacts who have interacted with specific campaigns. This option can be used to this end by filtering your contacts based on whether they have clicked on a specific campaign, based on the campaign's ID. The second drop-down menu lets you choose whether the name of this specific campaign is / is not whichever of the campaigns that you have sent out. You can also define a time span by clicking on the clock icon to specify that the campaign must have been clicked on in the last X amount of minutes / hours / days, or clicking on the calendar icon to specify that it must have been opened between X and Y date. - Number of Campaigns Opened
If you want to create automation workflows that reach out to the people who have neglected opening a couple of your campaigns, this option is ideal, as it can be used to filter your contacts based on the number of campaigns they have opened. The second drop-down menu lets you choose whether the number of campaigns opened is / is not / is more than / is at least / is less than / is at most / is between / is not between the number(s) you write on the third field available. You can also define a time span by choosing whether the campaign(s) should've been opened in the last X amount of minutes / hours / days, or whether they should've been opened between two dates that you specify. - Number of Campaigns Clicked
Used in order to filter your contacts based on the number of links they have clicked. The second drop-down menu lets you choose whether the number of links clicked is / is not / is more than / is at least / is less than / is at most / is between / is not between the number(s) you write on the third field available. You can also define a time span by choosing whether the link(s) should've been clicked in the last X amount of minutes / hours / days, or whether they should've been clicked between two dates that you specify. - Specific Link URL Clicked
Used in order to filter your contacts based on the links they have clicked on. The second drop-down menu lets you choose whether the URL link is / is not whichever of the links you choose from the third drop-down list. You can also define a time span by choosing whether the link should've been clicked in the last X amount of minutes / hours / days, or whether it should've been clicked between two dates that you specify. - Device Type
Used in order to filter your contacts based on the type of device they use. The second drop-down menu allows you to choose whether the device type is / is not one of the three available options (Desktop, Mobile, Other) available for you to choose from on the third drop-down menu. - Operating System
Used in order to filter your contacts based on the type of device they use. The second drop-down menu allows you to choose whether the operating system is / is not / contains / does not contain / starts with / does not start with / ends with / does not end with whichever of the operating systems you choose from the list available on the third drop-down menu. There's also an option in case the OS is Unknown. - Email Client
Used in order to filter your contacts based on the email client they use. You could use this to aim your automation workflows on all your contacts who use e.g. a Gmail account. The second drop-down menu lets you choose whether the email client is / is not / contains / does not contain / starts with / does not start with / ends with / does not end with whichever email client you choose from the list available on the third drop-down menu. There's also an option for Other / Web Email. - Web Browser
Used in order to filter your contacts based on the web browser they use. The second drop-down menu lets you choose whether the web browser is / is not / contains / does not contain / starts with / does not start with / ends with / does not end with whichever web browser you choose from the list available on the third drop-down menu. - Mobile Browser
Used in order to filter your contacts based on the mobile browser they use. The second drop-down menu lets you choose whether the mobile browser is / is not / contains / does not contain / starts with / does not start with / ends with / does not end with whichever mobile browser you choose from the list available on the third drop-down menu. - Added a Product To Cart
One of the most useful filtering options, this is the heart of the cart abandonment automation workflows as it can be used in order to filter your contacts based on whether they have added a product to their cart. The second drop-down menu lets you choose whether this is true / is false. You can also define a time span by choosing whether the product must have been added in the last X amount of minutes / hours / days, or whether it must have been added between two dates that you specify. - Viewed a Product
Used in order to filter your contacts based on whether they have viewed a product. The second drop-down menu lets you choose whether this is true / is false. You can also define a time span by choosing whether the viewing must have taken place in the last X amount of minutes / hours / days, or whether it must have taken place between two dates that you specify. - Purchased a Product
An equally valuable filtering option that helps you filter your contacts based on whether they have purchased a product. The second drop-down menu lets you choose whether it is true / is false that a product purchase was made. You can also define a time span by choosing whether the product must have been purchased in the last X amount of minutes / hours / days, or whether it must have been purchased between two dates that you specify. - Order Total
Used in order to filter your contacts based on the total sum of a particular order on your connected with our platform website(s). The second drop-down menu allows you to choose whether the total order is / is not / is more than / is at least / is less than / is at most. Finally, write the corresponding number in the third field available. You can also define a time span by using the clock icon to specify that the order must have been placed within the last X minutes / hours / days, or clicking on the calendar icon to specify that it must have been placed between two dates that you select. - Total Spent
This option enables you to filter your contacts based on the total sum spent for all the orders made on your connected with our platform website(s). The second drop-down menu allows you to choose whether the total spent is / is not / is more than / is at least / is less than / is at most. Finally, write the corresponding number in the third field available. You can also define a time span by using the clock icon to specify that the orders must have been placed within the last X minutes / hours / days, or clicking on the calendar icon to specify that they must have been placed between two dates that you select. - Average Spent Per Order
This option enables you to filter your contacts based on the average amount spent per order on your connected with our platform website(s). The second drop-down menu allows you to choose whether the total spent is / is not / is more than / is at least / is less than / is at most. In the third field available, you can write the corresponding number. You can also define a time span by using the clock icon to specify that the order must have been placed within the last X minutes / hours / days, or clicking on the calendar icon to specify that it must have been placed between two dates that you select. - Purchased Product Price
This option enables you to filter your contacts based on the value of a product purchased on your connected with our platform website(s). The second drop-down menu lets you choose whether the product price is / is not / is more than / is at least / is less than / is at most. In the third field available, you can write the corresponding number. You can also define a time span by using the clock icon to specify that the purchase must have taken place within the last X minutes / hours / days, or clicking on the calendar icon to specify that it must have taken place between two dates that you select. - Custom Field
All your Custom Fields are also available to choose from as filtering options. Any information you have deemed useful to keep about your contacts (their location, their gender, their age, etc) can help you narrow down your automation so that it is as focused as you want it to be. The second drop-down menu's options change depending on whether the data type of the custom field is Text, Number, Date Time, Single Select Drop Down or Check box. Similarly, the final field accommodates the custom field's data type by requiring that you either type in a value or a word or that you select a date, etc.
B. Additional options
You also have the option of adding more than one field value per condition. To give an example, you could specify that the Member Name is "Tom" OR "Mary". This can be done for any of the criteria described above.
The possibilities you have when creating your automation workflows give you flexibility to design a fully customized, and fully automated behavioral strategy for your email marketing.