Brevo Automation: Build Your First Workflow Step by Step

Short answer. A reliable Brevo automation starts with five decisions: who enters, what each contact receives, how long the workflow waits, what changes the path, and what makes the contact exit. Build those rules before designing the emails, test every route with controlled profiles, then activate the workflow gradually.

This tutorial builds a four-email welcome workflow in Brevo's new automation editor. The example includes a list-based trigger, fixed delays, a customer branch, a purchase exit condition, and prelaunch testing.

The scope is intentionally narrow. For domain authentication, contact architecture, forms, ecommerce events, SMS, transactional email, and account-wide reporting, use the complete Brevo setup tutorial.

Brevo can change interface labels as the editor evolves. The instructions below follow Brevo's current new automation editor overview, verified July 16, 2026.

The workflow you will build

Use this starting architecture for a prospect welcome sequence:

Subscription to the selected list
  -> Email 1: deliver the promised value immediately
  -> Wait 1 day
  -> Email 2: explain the brand and next best action
  -> Wait 2 days
  -> Customer-status check
       -> Customer: exit or move to a customer path
       -> Prospect: Email 3 with product or service proof
  -> Wait 3 days
  -> Email 4: address objections and present one clear CTA

This is a blueprint, not a universal cadence. A lead magnet, retail newsletter, B2B consultation request, and existing-customer subscription should not all receive the same content.

Before opening the builder, complete this one-page specification:

That document prevents the most expensive automation error: building attractive messages around undefined audience logic.

1. Open the Brevo Workflow Builder

In Brevo, go to Automations > Workflows, then create an automation. You can start from a predefined workflow or a blank workflow. Choose a blank canvas if your goal is to understand and control every rule.

The editor organizes workflow elements into three groups:

• Triggers start the automation when a contact meets an event or condition.
• Actions send a message, update data, or perform another operation.
• Rules add timing, logic, or routing, such as a delay or conditional split.

The Builder contains the canvas, Settings controls audience entry and exits, and Activity helps you inspect what happened after testing or launch. A workflow needs at least one trigger before it can be activated.

Brevo's trigger, action, and rule reference is useful when an element shown in a legacy tutorial is no longer available under the same name.

2. Configure the welcome trigger

Add the trigger that corresponds to a contact joining or subscribing to the intended list. Select the exact list that receives confirmed newsletter subscribers. The wording available in your account may differ, so read the trigger description rather than relying on a screenshot from another account.

Then refine the entry logic. A useful welcome trigger should answer all of these questions:

1. Is the contact joining the correct list?
2. Does the contact have the required channel permission?
3. Should existing customers receive this sequence?
4. Can a contact enter again after leaving?
5. Could an import accidentally trigger the workflow?

For a first-time welcome, disable re-entry in most cases. If a contact unsubscribes and subscribes again months later, decide whether they should restart this workflow, receive a shorter reactivation message, or simply return to regular campaigns. Do not let the platform make that policy decision by default.

Other automation use cases require different triggers:

Brevo lets you add filters to triggers, but a filter is only as reliable as the data behind it. Generate a test event or profile change before assuming the rule works.

3. Add the first email

Place a Send an email action immediately after the trigger. The first email should deliver whatever the sign-up promise offered. Do not make a new subscriber wait for a guide, discount, confirmation, or next step that was described as immediate.

Brevo's current editor lets you create a message for the automation or synchronize an existing automation message. In the email step, review:

• subject line and preheader;
• sender name, sender address, and reply-to address;
• audience or consent-group restrictions;
• template content and mobile rendering;
• links, tracking, and destination pages;
• send-time and frequency-cap options available in the account;
• event variables, if the message depends on event data.

The official Send an email action guide documents the current configuration options.

Personalization without broken greetings

Use a contact attribute only when it is populated consistently and has a sensible fallback. Test at least two profiles:

• one with every expected field;
• one without a first name or optional attribute.

Hi {{ first name }} is not meaningful personalization when it produces an empty greeting. A natural generic opening is better than unreliable merge data.

A practical role for each welcome email

Give each message one primary job. A welcome email with five unrelated calls to action makes both conversion and diagnosis harder.

4. Add delays with intent

Add a time-delay rule after Email 1. Brevo supports fixed delays and other waiting logic, including waiting until an event in eligible configurations. Its current automation reference lists a one-minute minimum for a time delay.

For this first workflow, use simple fixed delays:

Email 1: immediately after entry
Wait: 1 day
Email 2: brand story and useful next step
Wait: 2 days
Email 3: proof or product guidance
Wait: 3 days
Email 4: objection handling and CTA

Confirm the account timezone and consider when the trigger usually fires. A fixed 24-hour wait preserves elapsed time, while a send-time window can change the local delivery hour. Choose deliberately and document it.

Do not optimize cadence from open rate alone. Apple Mail Privacy Protection and other privacy features can inflate or obscure opens. Evaluate clicks, replies, conversions, unsubscribes, complaints, and total message pressure as well.

5. Add a conditional customer branch

A conditional split sends contacts down different paths based on data or behavior. For a first production workflow, a customer-status decision is usually more durable than resending to everyone recorded as a non-opener.

Place the split before Email 3 and ask whether the contact has converted since entering. The exact condition depends on your implementation:

• a verified purchase event;
• an order-count attribute maintained by the integration;
• membership in a dynamic customer segment;
• a qualified-lead or booked-call status for a service business.

Route the two branches separately:

• Converted: stop prospect-oriented promotional messages, or send the contact to an appropriate customer path.
• Not converted: continue to Email 3 and Email 4.

Do not copy an event name or attribute from this tutorial into production without checking it in your account. Brevo integrations can expose different event names and payloads. The complete Brevo tutorial explains how to inspect ecommerce events before using them.

Should you resend Email 1 to non-openers?

A controlled resend can sometimes produce incremental clicks, but it also increases pressure and relies on an imperfect signal. If you test one:

1. wait long enough to avoid an immediate duplicate;
2. change the subject and preheader, not the promise;
3. suppress contacts who clicked or converted;
4. cap the experiment to a defined audience;
5. judge success on clicks, conversions, complaints, and unsubscribes, not opens alone.

Treat the resend as an experiment, not a required workflow block.

6. Set entry, exit, and restart conditions

Trigger logic answers how a contact starts. Audience settings determine who may remain and whether someone can return.

Open Settings and configure the entry, exit, and restart behavior for the workflow. Brevo's audience entry and exit documentation distinguishes workflows that should run once, such as a standard welcome, from recurring use cases such as cart recovery.

For this welcome workflow, consider exit conditions for:

• a completed purchase or the defined business conversion;
• removal of the required email permission;
• invalid or blocked email status;
• movement into a customer or excluded segment;
• an internal test or employee profile.

Use a conditional branch when the converted contact needs a different message. Use an exit condition when the contact should leave the workflow entirely. These are related controls, but they are not interchangeable.

Also decide what happens after the final email. The contact may become eligible for regular newsletters, enter a longer nurture sequence, or remain inactive until another relevant trigger occurs. Avoid automatically stacking workflows without a contact-pressure policy.

7. Verify consent before allowing entry

The Workflow Builder does not create permission to send. The form, import, CRM, and integration paths must provide contacts who are eligible for the intended message and market.

Requirements differ by country, audience, channel, and message type. Double opt-in can improve list quality and provide additional confirmation evidence, but it is not universally required in every jurisdiction. Confirm the applicable rules with qualified counsel.

If you use double opt-in, test the complete path:

Form submitted
  -> confirmation email sent
  -> confirmation link clicked
  -> contact added to the confirmed list
  -> welcome workflow starts once

Check that an unconfirmed address cannot enter through a second integration or direct list import. Also retain the acquisition source and available consent evidence. Brevo's GDPR form guidelines explain its form and confirmation options, but your implementation still needs jurisdiction-specific review.

8. Test every route before launch

Use the editor's Test function before activating the automation. A preview email is not enough because it does not prove that the trigger, branch, wait, or exit behaves correctly.

Create controlled QA profiles for at least these cases:

For each message, verify:

• From name, From address, and reply handling;
• subject, preheader, and personalization fallbacks;
• desktop and mobile layout;
• every link and tagged destination;
• required footer and preference controls;
• branch result and exit behavior;
• event variables with both complete and incomplete payloads.

Shorten delays in a separate QA copy if waiting several days would slow testing. Restore and independently review production delays before activation.

9. Avoid the four most common launch failures

Activating before a large import

If list membership is the trigger, an import can send an immediate welcome email to every imported contact. Keep the workflow off during migration, use a non-triggering staging list, or define a safe import procedure. Historical presence in another email platform does not by itself establish current eligibility.

Ignoring messages sent by other systems

Map transactional emails, ecommerce notifications, sales follow-ups, campaigns, and other automations. A contact can meet several triggers at once. The problem is not simply sending two emails on one day; it is sending messages with conflicting purpose, timing, or offers.

Using unverified purchase data for exits

A workflow can look correct on the canvas while its order event never arrives. Complete a test purchase and inspect the contact timeline or automation logs. Confirm the event name, timing, identity match, and payload before relying on it.

Launching every route without a controlled check

Review the readiness of every message, condition, and route before activating the workflow. For a higher-volume audience, begin with controlled entries and monitor activity before expanding exposure.

10. Monitor the first seven days

Open the workflow's Activity area and compare real behavior with the specification you wrote before building.

Do not react to a handful of opens after one day. First confirm that tracking, links, events, and audience logic are valid. Then evaluate message performance over a meaningful sample and business cycle.

A safe optimization order

Improve the workflow in this sequence:

1. Fix eligibility, consent, and exits.
2. Fix event and attribute reliability.
3. Fix broken links, rendering, and fallbacks.
4. Clarify the job and CTA of each message.
5. Test cadence, content, and offers one variable at a time.

Once the foundation is reliable, use a percentage split when available to test one meaningful hypothesis. Define the primary metric and decision threshold before starting. For example, compare two versions of Email 3 on qualified clicks or purchase conversion, while watching complaints and unsubscribes as guardrails.

When Brevo automation is the right fit

Brevo is a practical choice when your team wants email, automation, transactional messaging, SMS, contact management, and sales features in one platform, especially when pricing is driven more by sends than by active-profile count. As of July 16, 2026, Brevo's Free plan includes multichannel marketing automation for up to 2,000 contacts, subject to the plan's other limits. Verify current allowances in Brevo's official pricing plan guide.

Platform fit still depends on ecommerce depth, reporting needs, data quality, team capability, and total cost at your volume. If you are choosing between two common options, see Brevo vs Klaviyo in 2026.

FAQ

Is Brevo Automation available on the Free plan?

Yes, within plan limits. As of July 16, 2026, Brevo says its Free plan includes multichannel marketing automation for up to 2,000 contacts. The Free plan also has sending and feature limits, so confirm the current plan details before building a production workflow.

How many triggers can a Brevo automation have?

Brevo's new editor supports multiple triggers in one automation. A contact can enter when at least one configured trigger and its filters are satisfied. Keep the logic easy to audit. Separate workflows are often safer when triggers represent different promises, audiences, or exit rules.

Can a contact enter the same Brevo workflow more than once?

Yes, when restart or re-entry is enabled. A welcome sequence normally runs once, while a recurring cart or behavioral workflow may allow re-entry. Configure this explicitly and test the repeated event before launch.

Can Brevo wait for an event before continuing?

Brevo's current rule set includes waiting until an event happens, as well as fixed time delays. Confirm that the event actually reaches Brevo and define what should happen if it never arrives or arrives too late.

Should a welcome automation stop after a purchase?

Usually, prospect-oriented welcome promotions should stop or change once the contact converts. Use a verified purchase event, customer segment, or maintained status to route the contact. A customer may still need brand education, but the message and offer should reflect the new relationship.

How do I test a Brevo workflow without sending to customers?

Use Brevo's Test function and dedicated internal profiles. Test every branch, fallback, and exit. If needed, duplicate the workflow for QA and shorten delays, then restore and review production settings separately before launch.

Build the workflow with a second set of eyes

A canvas can be logically wrong while looking complete. Deliver can audit the trigger model, consent path, event data, customer exits, content sequence, and production QA before your automation reaches the full audience.

Discuss your Brevo automation with Deliver.

Charlotte Rodrigues, CRM Lead at Deliver.