Why aren't my Workflow messages sending?
Workflows are a great way to engage your subscribers with both automated content and targeted messages with numerous automations. With multiple options for starters and automations, you can create customized series that all work without needing daily oversight.
If you're in a situation where workflow messages are not being sent out, there could be a couple of simple reasons for that. In this article, we'll cover the most common reasons why a workflow isn't sending messages.
Workflow Status
A workflow needs to be turned "On" order for new subscribers or tagged individuals to start that workflow. If the workflow is off, it can easily be turned back on.
If the status is showing as "Draft," that would mean the Workflow hasn't been turned published and turned on yet.
A workflow that has been turned off will not let any new subscribers in and all current subscribers in within the automation would be paused at their current step. No messages will be sent until that workflow is turned back "On".
Workflow Starter
The starter for the workflow would be what actually causes the message to send. There are two kinds of starters for workflows and we'll cover both below.
Add as new subscribers who join my list
When using the "Add as new subscribers who join my list" starter for your workflows, only newly added subscribers are going to be able to receive that workflow. Anyone currently on the list, as they have already subscribed, would not start that workflow.
When specifying a certain starter for "Add as new subscribers who join my list", make sure it matches the method they're being added from. If using 'Source is API', any subscribers added through an integration will start the series. If subscribers join your list through an AWeber form or an import, they wouldn't start that same series. If you're setting up multiple filters for that workflow starter, make sure that they don't contradict each other as well.
For example, for subscription source, you wouldn't have a source as webform AND import, as they can only be added to the list through one method at a time.
Remember that if you want any subscriber added to that list to receive that wokflow, you don't have to designate a filter.
Only add subscribers who get a specific tag
Having the workflow starter, "Only add subscribers who get a specific tag", means the workflow will start only when a specific tag is applied to a subscriber. If that tag is applied to a subscriber before the workflow is activated, those subscribers will not receive it. The workflow has to be active so it can register the tag being applied to the subscriber.
If the tag was applied before the workflow was activated, you can still add those subscribers to the workflow. You would want to first change that starter to a different tag. Once you've done that and ensured the workflow is active, you can then apply that new tag to those subscribers.
Wait Action
On the topic of Wait actions, any subscriber that enters a wait action in your Workflow, that subscriber will wait the amount of time set in that action. How this can tie into messages not appearing to send would be if you reduced a Wait period down from where it was originally, as subscribers will wait the amount of time the action dictates when they first entered the Workflow. So if you change the wait time after the subscribers have joined that Workflow, then they are still going to wait the initial time. However, any new subscribers added to that Workflow would have the new wait intervals.
As an example, a subscriber enters your workflow where the first action is a wait of 6 days.
If a day after that subscriber joined, you adjusted that wait time to only 1 day, that subscriber is already in the original wait, so they will still have to wait that original 6 day interval to get that next action in the workflow. Any new subscribers added after the wait is updated will have the new wait time.