A welcome automation helps contest entrants confirm their entry, learn about your brand, and engage right away. Without it, entrants may assume their submission didn’t go through. To avoid confusion, always set up an automation that sends a message to every contest entrant.
Before you begin: Make sure your contest has already been created.
Option 1: Create the automation right after your contest
Once you finish setting up your contest, a pop-up will prompt you to create a welcome automation.
Click Customize email automation. Hive will:
Set up a pre-built automation with the trigger selected.
Add a default email template.
Toggle the automation to Live.
Click the default follow-up email to edit the content.
When you’re happy, click Save automation in the upper-right corner.
Option 2: Create the automation from the Automations page
If you missed the pop-up, you can create the automation manually:
In the left sidebar, go to Automations > + New automation.
Choose Build your own automation
Name your automation (e.g., Winter Festival Contest Welcome).
Set the entry trigger:
Go to Other events > Enters contest.
Select the contest you want to link and click Save trigger.
Define global rules:
For most contest welcome automations, no extra rules are needed.
If none are required, just click Continue.
Add actions:
Click + to add an email, SMS, split, or time delay.
For the email:
Create a custom template, or
Use the default contest email template.
Be sure to customize the content to match your brand. Need help with the template builder? See this article.
(Optional) Click the + to add an action such as a time delay, split, email or SMS.
Save your automation:
If sending just one message, click Save automation.
Toggle from Paused to Live in the top-right corner.
Automation settings
To rename your automation, click the gear icon in the top-left corner.
By default, contacts cannot re-enter a “create from scratch” welcome automation for 30 days. Adjust this timeframe if needed.
That’s it! Every time someone enters your contest, they’ll automatically receive your welcome email (or series of messages), keeping them informed and engaged from day one.