Setting up a birthday email with an automation #

In Autorespond you can send birthday emails to your contacts automatically with a recurring automation. It works on the basis of the date of birth field in your contact list.

Requirements #

Before you can set up a birthday email, make sure your contacts have a date of birth on file. This field is available in every contact profile by default.

The date of birth field on the contact #

Each contact needs the date of birth field filled in. You can do that in the contact settings:

You can also collect this information through forms. See the explanation on linking form fields to the CRM: https://autorespondhub.com/docs/connecting-form-sign-ups-to-the-crm/

Creating the automation #

1. Go to CRM & Emails → Automations
2. Click Add new automation
3. Give the automation a name such as “Birthday email”
4. As the trigger, select Contact birthday
5. Save the trigger

Adding the email action #

1. Click the + icon below the trigger
2. Go to the Actions tab
3. Select Send custom email
4. Set up your birthday email:
   • Enter a subject line (for example: “Happy birthday {{contact.first_name}}”)
   • Write your birthday message or import an existing template
   • Use the shortcode {{contact.first_name}} to address the contact personally
5. Save the email action

Activating the automation #

Do not forget to activate the automation with the switch at the top of the page. Only active automations run.

Further options #

You can extend the birthday automation with additional actions:

• Add a dedicated birthday tag
• Send a discount code
• Add the contact to a dedicated birthday list
• Send a follow-up email a week later

Testing the automation #

To test whether the automation works, you can temporarily change your own date of birth to today. Remember to set it back to the correct date afterwards.