A common question customers ask is "What happens when I make a change to an existing automation and then re-publish it?" This article will answer specific questions that are commonly associated with re-publishing an advanced automation.
Can I change the text or verbiage of a specific email?
Yes. Once you re-publish the automation, the revised email will only be seen by the people to who have not received the email previously.
What happens when I change timers when there are already contacts moving through the sequence?
Editing automation timers in which contacts are queued up can cause unintended consequences and result in unpredictable behavior. If you need to edit a timer that is in a launched automation, review our best practices for editing timers
Can I change where a link is driving a contact, without impacting the “Link Clicked” goal following it?
Yes, as long as you don't delete the link from your email and replace it with a brand new one, then the goal will remain unchanged. The Link Clicked goal is tracking a hyperlink you have created, you can change the destination at any time. If you do delete the link, and replace it with a new one, you’ll need to be sure to go reconfigure the “Link Clicked” goal.
What happens if I add a goal?
Goals are either achieved or not. They cannot be retroactively achieved. So, if you publish a new goal, it can only be achieved in the future. If you have a goal configured to look for the application of a tag, when you publish, it will look for new applications of that tag. Any people who already have that tag will not automatically be placed into this automation. The concept applies the same to customers that purchase products. If you publish an automation with a goal configured by the purchase of a product, it will only be achieved by new purchases of that product.
What happens when I add a new email in the middle of a sequence? For example, what if I add an email between emails four and five in an existing sequence?
Only contacts that have not reached this point of the sequence will receive the newly added email. Contacts that have already passed this point in the sequence will not receive the email
What happens if I remove an email from a sequence?
If you remove an email and there are people who would have normally received the message, Keap will not send that email to those people. If you remove a timer as well, it will recalculate future steps and process accordingly.
What happens when I add an email or step to the end of an existing sequence?
Contacts that have not yet reached the end of the sequence will process the step based on the sequence setup, naturally. Contacts that have already passed through the sequence, or fell into queue at the end of the sequence will not have the additional step processed.
Insider’s Advice...
I recommend to completely build your automations out before launching. I know that’s easier said than done. If you need to add steps to an existing sequence and you want all queued contacts to receive them, consider adding a new sequence after your existing one. Once contacts complete the steps in an existing sequence, if they don’t have somewhere to move to, they are added to a queued list. If you add a new sequence afterward, all queued contacts will be funneled in at the same time and the system will calculate the new sequence’s steps for everyone.