Choose a sequence entry trigger

The entry trigger is what enrolls a contact in a sequence: when it happens, that contact starts at the first step. Every sequence needs one before it can go live.

This page covers the trigger options and the re-entry policy. To build the rest of the sequence, see Build an email sequence.

Set the trigger#

A new sequence opens the Entry trigger window for you the first time. After that, there are two ways back to it:

• On the canvas, click Set trigger (or Edit) on the entry card at the top of the flow.
• On the sequence’s Settings tab, click Set a trigger (or Edit trigger) on the Entry trigger card.

Pick an option from the Trigger list, fill in its fields, then click Set trigger. The button stays disabled, with the note Finish configuring the trigger first, until every required field is filled in.

The triggers#

Added to a list / Removed from a list#

Fires when a contact is added to, or removed from, a static list. Pick the list. List triggers fire right away, so they’re the right choice when timing matters.

Enters a segment / Exits a segment#

Fires when a contact starts or stops matching a dynamic segment. Pick the segment.

RadarSend re-checks segment membership about every 5 minutes, so this trigger fires shortly after a contact starts matching, not the instant they do.

Submits a form#

Fires when a contact submits one of your forms. Pick a Form, or choose Any form to enroll everyone who signs up anywhere.

Contact field changes#

Fires when a field on the contact changes.

• Field — the contact’s stage, or any custom field that isn’t a tag field.
• Changed from / Changed to — leave both blank to fire on any change. Set Changed to to fire only when the field changes to a particular value. Fields with a fixed set of options also offer Any value and No value (not set).

When a date is reached#

Fires relative to a date stored on the contact, such as a renewal date, a birthday, or the end of a trial.

• Date field — a date or date-and-time custom field.
• When — Days before, On the date, or Days after.
• Offset (days) — how many days before or after. It’s hidden when you choose On the date.
• Repeat — Once or Every year.

RadarSend checks date triggers once a day, in your workspace’s timezone.

Score crosses threshold#

Fires when a contact’s lead score crosses a value you set.

• Track — Prospect or Customer.
• Direction — Crosses above or Falls below.
• Threshold — the number to cross.

Activity occurs#

Fires when a contact records one of your scoring activities often enough.

• Activity — which activity to watch.
• Min. times — how many times it has to happen. The default is 1.
• Within (days) — the window those times have to fall in.

If you haven’t defined any activities, the list reads No activities defined yet and points you to Settings→Activities.

Clicked a link / Visited a page#

Fires when a contact clicks a link in one of your emails, or views a page on a site you track.

• Link URL contains / Page URL contains — optional. Leave it blank to match any link or any page.
• Page topic — optional, for Clicked a link only. It appears once you’ve set up page topics.
• Within — last — optional. Leave it blank for any time.
• Confidence floor — how sure RadarSend must be that a real person did it. Use workspace default counts only likely-human activity unless your workspace is set differently. Likely human is the strictest, and Maybe human also counts less certain activity.

These triggers wait until RadarSend has checked whether the click or visit came from a person or from an automated scanner, such as an email security tool that clicks every link. That usually takes from a few minutes to a few hours, so the contact enrolls after that check, not the instant they click. Automated activity never enrolls anyone. If activity that enrolled someone is later found to be automated, RadarSend takes them back out of the sequence.

Only known contacts can enroll. A visit from someone RadarSend hasn’t identified yet doesn’t start a sequence.

Re-entry: can a contact enroll twice?#

The Re-entry policy card on the Settings tab has two options. The same choice sits in the builder header as a toggle.

• Enters once (the default) — a contact enrolls once, ever. After they finish or leave, the trigger won’t enroll them again.
• Allow re-entry — a contact can enroll again after they’ve left.

With re-entry on, the Entry trigger window also shows Re-entry cooldown (hours): the least time before the same contact can enroll again. Leave it blank for no cooldown. Date, Clicked a link and Visited a page triggers don’t use a cooldown, so the field is hidden for them.

Enroll the people already there#

When you activate a sequence whose trigger is Added to a list or Enters a segment, RadarSend asks what to do about the people who are already in that list or segment:

• Future entrants only — only people who join from now on are enrolled. Click Activate sequence.
• Also enroll the N current members — everyone in it now is enrolled as well, up to 5,000 people. Click Activate & enroll now.

Change the trigger later#

You can change the trigger while the sequence is a Draft or Paused. On a live sequence, click Edit steps, which pauses it first. Change the trigger, save, then click Resume. See Edit a live sequence.

A new trigger affects future enrollments only. Contacts already in the sequence carry on as they were.

Common issues#

• Activate is greyed out. No entry trigger is set. A sequence without one can never enroll anyone.
• Set trigger is disabled. A required field for that trigger is still empty.
• “No dynamic segments yet” or “No static lists yet.” Segment triggers need a dynamic segment, and list triggers need a static list.
• “No date fields yet.” Date triggers need a date or date-and-time custom field on your contacts. Add one in Settings, then fill it in.
• A click or visit trigger hasn’t enrolled someone yet. RadarSend is still checking whether the activity came from a person, which can take a few hours. Activity from an automated scanner never enrolls anyone, and neither does a visitor RadarSend hasn’t identified. See above.
• Contacts aren’t enrolling a second time. The policy is Enters once. Switch to Allow re-entry, and consider a cooldown.
• An annual date trigger only fired once. Same cause: yearly repeats need Allow re-entry.

Good to know#

• One trigger per sequence. For several ways in, widen the segment behind a segment trigger, or add people by hand with Enroll contacts on the Enrollments tab. See Track a sequence & manage enrollments.
• Duplicating clears the trigger. A copy of a sequence starts with no trigger, so it can’t begin enrolling people the moment it’s activated.
• Lists fire right away and segments within about 5 minutes. If timing matters, use a list.