Send birthday wishes using the Automation Path Builder

Create an automation path to say "Happy Birthday" to your contacts, on or before their birthday, through an email or SMS message

Review your plan: Not able to access this feature? Upgrading your email plan and adding SMS marketing gives you full access to the Automation Path Builder. For more information, please see the Plans & Pricing page in your account.

A birthday is a great time to encourage engagement with your organization on a personal level. Use the Automation Path Builder to send an email or SMS message based on the birthdate you have on file for your contacts. Send a single message or customize a path by adding multiple messages to meet your needs.

• Create a birthday path to celebrate a birthday
• Customize the birthday trigger details
• Create your email or SMS message content
• (Optional) Build out your birthday path
• Activate your birthday communication

Did you know? In order to receive an automated birthday message, your contacts must have a birthdate on file in their contact records. Learn more.

Create a birthday path to celebrate a birthday

Once your birthday automation path is created and saved, you can find it on the Campaigns tab and on the Automation tab at the top of the page.

1. Click Marketing campaigns > Automations.
2. Click the Create an automation path button
   
   
    
3. Click the View all templates button.
   
   
    
4. Scroll down to the Calendar date section and select either:

• Birthday: SMS - Select this option to include both email and SMS marketing messages in your birthday path
• Birthday: Basic - Select this option to acknowledge birthdays through email-only communications.

5. Click Create path or Next button.
   
   
    

Customize the birthday trigger details

You have control over when your birthday communication is sent. Choose to send your message on the exact birthday or send it up to 14 days in advance.

1. Click the three dots on the Trigger step in your path, and select "Edit."
   
   
    
2. In the Starting point section, choose to send your message:

• On birthday - Choose this option to have your birthday communication sent on your contact's actual birthday.
• Before birthday - Choose this option to send your birthday communication between 1 - 14 days before your contact's birthday.
  Note: A trigger check is performed daily at 6:00 a.m. based on the time zone you selected in My Account. If a contact meets the trigger requirements, the birthday email and SMS message are scheduled to send. Email messages are immediately queued, and SMS messages are scheduled to send after the end of the SMS quiet period.

3. In the On these lists section, choose:

• Any list - This option makes all of the contacts in your account eligible to receive your birthday message, as long as they have a birthdate on file in their contact record.
• One or more specific lists - This option lets you restrict your birthday message to only those contacts who are on your chosen lists, as long as they have a birthdate on file in their contact record. You can select a list from the drop-down menu or start typing the list name to select it.

4. Click Save to return to the Path builder.
   
   
    

Create your email or SMS message content

Your message content is fully customizable! It can be a simple "happy birthday" message, or send a gift by sharing coupons, exclusive content, or a special webpage. Emails provide enough space for the most content flexibility, and SMS messages have a higher likelihood to be read and engaged with.

1. Click the three dots on the Send an email or Send an SMS step in your path, and select "Edit."
   
   
    
2. Give your new email or SMS message a unique name. If you're editing an email, you can choose to start from scratch or copy an existing email to give you a jumpstart.
3. Click Continue.
   
   
    
4. Use the email or SMS message editor to customize your birthday message content:

• Email - First select a template, then use the email editor to customize your content. If you need help getting started, try using the AI Content Generator while you're editing your text. You also have the option to copy an existing email draft or sent email. Your message can include multiple images, links, and larger blocks of text. Learn more.
  
  
   
• SMS - Enter the content of your text message or use the AI Content Generator to help get you started. Your message can include a single URL, but doesn't allow for images. Longer messages are broken into individual text messages that impact your billing. Learn more.
  
  
   

5. Click Save and Close in the upper right-hand corner of the editor to return to the Path builder.

Repeat the steps for each email or SMS message in your path.

Be a better marketer: Not sure what to write? Check out our tips for How to Send an Automated Happy Birthday Email. If you're using SMS, make sure to try out our AI Content Generator within the SMS message editor too!

 (Optional) Build out your birthday path

The birthday templates provide you with a basic path that just needs the message content, but you also have the flexibility to make your path more complex with additional messages.

Use the Path builder to:

• Add email steps to a path.
• Add SMS message steps to a path.
• Add time delays between steps.
• Add conditional splits to a step in a path.
  
  
   

Activate your birthday communication

When you're ready, all that's left to do is activate your birthday path.

1. Click the Activate button in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
   
   
    

Once your birthday path is activated, you’re brought to the details page where you can review your performance and reporting information.

Questions?