EmailSchool

Email Automation

How to Use Tags, Triggers & Conditions in Email Automation

E

EmailSchool Team

June 28, 2024

"Automation is powerful—but intelligence is what makes it meaningful."

Tags are tiny labels you attach to your subscribers to describe who they are and what they do. Think of them as digital “sticky notes” that make your list smarter. Instead of one giant audience, you get micro-segments with different needs.

When you first hear email automation, it sounds like setting up a few scheduled emails and letting them run. But in truth, smart automation is built on three invisible pillars: tags, triggers, and conditions.

These are the tools that make automation personalized, contextual, and human-like. Without them, your emails are just messages on autopilot. With them, they become meaningful conversations that adapt to your subscribers’ behavior in real-time.

So today, we’ll dive deep into these three essential automation concepts. You’ll learn not just what they are, but how to use them—especially inside Brevo, Mailchimp, and other major platforms.

1. Tags — The Brains Behind Personalization

For example: “Downloaded eBook”, “Clicked Newsletter Link”, “Abandoned Cart”, “Attended Webinar”

In Brevo, tags live under each contact’s profile. You can apply them manually or automatically when someone takes an action.

Why Tags Matter

Because tags unlock personalization—which drives relevance. When your system knows someone’s interest, it can send content that feels handcrafted for them.

Key Tip: “Segment people by behavior, not by assumptions.” For example, instead of grouping users by gender or location, tag them based on actions: opened, clicked, purchased, or shared. This transforms your automation from broadcasting to conversing.

How to Set Up Smart Tagging in Brevo

  1. Go to Contacts → Settings → Manage Tags.
  2. Create tags for major behaviors: “Engaged,” “Inactive,” “Clicked Ebook,” “Customer,” etc.
  3. In your workflow, add the “Add Tag” action after a specific event (like clicking a link).
  4. Use those tags later to trigger personalized sequences.

By the end of the month, you’ll have an evolving ecosystem—where every subscriber is labeled and understood.

2. Triggers — The Spark That Starts Everything

If tags are the brains, triggers are the heartbeat of your automation. Triggers tell your system: “Hey, something just happened—start this workflow now!”

They are conditions that activate your automated series. Common triggers include: New signup, Form submission, Purchase completed, Link clicked, Tag added.

For example: If someone signs up for your newsletter → trigger a Welcome Sequence. If they click a product link → trigger a Product Interest Flow.

Example: Triggers in Brevo

Let’s say you run a small marketing agency and want to automate lead nurturing. Here’s how you’d do it:

  1. Trigger: “Contact added to list ‘Agency Leads’”
  2. Action: Send “Welcome to EmailSchool Agency!”
  3. Wait: 2 days
  4. Condition: If contact clicks link → Add Tag “Interested in Services”
  5. Action: Send case study email

This chain runs automatically—a perfect balance of automation and personalization.

The Power of Behavioral Triggers

When you build triggers around user actions instead of schedules, your automation becomes organic. People get messages right when they need them.

“Email timing is everything—automation just makes perfect timing scalable.”

Use triggers for: Abandoned carts, Content downloads, Webinar registrations, Product interest clicks, and Inactive user wake-up flows.

3. Conditions — The Rules That Make Automation Smart

If triggers start workflows, conditions control how they flow. Conditions are if-this-then-that rules. They help you customize paths inside a single automation.

For example: If subscriber opened last email → send advanced lesson. If not opened → resend with new subject line.

With conditions, one automation can serve different people in unique ways—without creating dozens of separate workflows.

Logic That Adapts to People

Here’s a simple rule of thumb:

  • Behavior: Clicked a link → Condition Logic: If “Clicked” → Send offer; If “Not Clicked” → Send reminder.
  • Behavior: Purchased → Condition Logic: If “Tag: Customer” → Stop nurture; Else → Continue to convert.
  • Behavior: Opened 3+ emails → Condition Logic: If “Engaged” → Move to VIP list; Else → Re-engage.

In Brevo, this is called a Conditional Split. In Mailchimp, it’s a Branch Rule. In ConvertKit, it’s a Conditional Path. Different names, same idea: teach your automation to think.

How to Use Conditions in Brevo

  1. Inside your workflow builder, click “Add Condition.”
  2. Choose a filter: “Email opened,” “Tag exists,” or “Purchase made.”
  3. Create two branches—“Yes” and “No.”
  4. Add custom emails, delays, or actions for each branch.

Example: If subscriber opened Email 1 → move to Email 2. If not → wait 3 days and resend. This gives your sequence flexibility—like a teacher adjusting lessons based on each student’s understanding.

Bringing It All Together

Let’s see how tags, triggers, and conditions work in harmony:

  1. Trigger: User signs up for “Email Tips” newsletter.
  2. Tag: Add tag “Interested in Learning”.
  3. Condition: If user clicks a lesson link → move to an advanced track.
  4. Automation: Send “Advanced Email Marketing” course automatically.

This interconnected system turns your static list into a living, breathing engine—one that learns and reacts.

Pro Tips from EmailSchool

  • Start Small, Then Expand: Don’t overcomplicate. Begin with one trigger and one tag. Once that works, add conditions.
  • Keep Tags Organized: Use consistent naming conventions like `[Action]-[Interest]` → e.g. `Clicked-Brevo`, `Opened-Webinar`.
  • Test Your Flows: Run every new automation using test contacts before publishing live.
  • Review Monthly: Automation isn’t “set and forget.” Audit every month to keep relevance high.
“The goal of automation is not to send more emails—it’s to send the right email.”
- EmailSchool Strategy Team

As your audience grows, your system becomes your second brain. Tags store memory, triggers give life, and conditions ensure intelligence. It’s how you scale authentically—communicating with thousands while sounding like one.

Final Takeaway

Smart automation isn’t about complexity—it’s about clarity. Each tag, trigger, and condition should serve one purpose: to deliver value at the perfect moment. When your system understands who people are, what they did, and what they need next, you’re not automating emails—you’re automating empathy.

That’s the EmailSchool difference: smarter marketing, made human. ✨

Key Tip: "Segment people by behavior, not by assumptions." Use tags to label actions like clicks and downloads.