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Journey Builder Basics

MarketingAdmin

The Journey Builder is a visual tool for creating automated customer experiences.

Opening the builder

  1. Click Journeys in the sidebar
  2. Click Create Journey
  3. The Journey Builder opens

Building your first journey

1

Name your journey

Give your journey a clear, descriptive name:

  • Good: "New Member Welcome Series"
  • Avoid: "Journey 1"

Add a description explaining the journey's purpose.

2

Configure the trigger

Choose what starts the journey:

  • Segment Entry - When customers join a segment
  • Event Triggered - When something happens
  • Manual - You'll manually enroll customers

For beginners, start with Segment Entry.

3

Add your first step

Click Add Step on the canvas.

Choose a step type:

  • Send - Send a message
  • Wait - Pause before next step

For a welcome journey, start with a Send step.

4

Configure the step

Click the step to configure it.

For a Send step:

  • Choose channel (Email, SMS, Push)
  • Select or create template
  • Preview the message
5

Add more steps

Build out your journey by adding more steps:

  1. Add a Wait step (e.g., 3 days)
  2. Add another Send step
  3. Repeat as needed
6

Save and activate

  1. Click Save to save your draft
  2. Review all steps
  3. Click Activate when ready

The canvas

The canvas is where you visually build your journey.

  • Drag to pan around
  • Scroll to zoom in/out
  • Click steps to select and configure

Adding connections

  • Steps automatically connect in sequence
  • Condition steps create branches
  • Split steps create parallel paths

Step types

Send Step

Sends a communication to the customer.

  • Choose channel: Email, SMS, Push, WhatsApp
  • Select template or create content
  • Personalize with customer data

Wait Step

Pauses before the next step.

  • Set duration: hours, days, or weeks
  • Consider optimal timing for your audience

Condition Step

Branches based on customer data.

  • Creates "Yes" and "No" paths
  • Example: "Is Platinum member?"

Split Step

A/B tests different paths.

  • Creates multiple variants
  • Measures which performs better

Update Step

Modifies customer data.

  • Update custom fields
  • Change tags or attributes

Start simple with Send and Wait steps. Add Conditions and Splits once you're comfortable.

Journey settings

Re-entry rules

  • Allow re-entry - Customers can go through again
  • Wait period - Minimum time between entries
  • Once only - Customers can only enter once ever

Timezone

Set the timezone for time-based logic.

Saving and testing

Save often

Click Save regularly. Drafts are not automatically saved.

Test before activating

  1. Add yourself to the trigger segment
  2. Watch for test messages
  3. Verify timing and content

Next steps