Active Campaign Automations Vs Campaigns
4 things you should know about ActiveCampaign automations versus campaigns
ActiveCampaign automations and campaigns may appear to be very similar. They both have a start & end date, subject line, body copy and list of contacts involved. However there are some critical differences between ActiveCampaign automations and ActiveCampaign campaigns that deserve consideration before you make the choice of which one to use for your marketing automation needs. If you’re considering using ActiveCampaign for your marketing automation, here are 4 things you should know about ActiveCampaign automations versus campaigns.
1. ActiveCampaign automations do not save (draft)
This may seem like a trivial difference between an automation and campaign, but it’s actually one of the most important to note when dealing with marketing automation. By default, ActiveCampaign does not save a draft of campaigns before they’re sent out. This is the same behavior you see in most marketing platforms.
In contrast, ActiveCampaign automations do have a drafts folder where all automation work that has been saved will be stored. Whether it’s through clicking “Send Later” or scheduling an automation to run at a later date, all work in an automation draft folder will be saved before the automation is sent out.
This is important because it’s easy to forget that your campaign was still in process and accidentally send it on the wrong timing (such as during business hours). Also, if you do set up an automation for “Send Later” or scheduling it to run later, you’ll want to make sure all your work is saved before it runs.
2. ActiveCampaign automations do not have a contact limit
One of the biggest differences between ActiveCampaign campaigns and automations is that ActiveCampaign automations do not have a hard limit on the number of contacts involved. This can be both good and bad, depending on how many contacts you’re working with and what your goals are.
The contact limit is based off of plan level , so if you were (or plan to be) a small business user and had less than 100 contacts in your account, you’ll only get 50 contacts per automation run . If you were (or plan to be) a mid-market or enterprise user, you’ll get 500 contacts per run .
By comparison, ActiveCampaign campaigns have a monthly limit of 2,000 contacts. If your business needs are different from the average 2k/month contact limit in an ActiveCampaign campaign, then automations can be one way to handle that need.
3. ActiveCampaign automations are not limited by campaign step / timing
Since contact limits in ActiveCampaign automations do not exist, the only limit you’ll find is in how many automation steps and timings can be used . The more complex your marketing automation workflows need to be, the more steps and timing combinations you’ll need to use. This is a good reason to consider using ActiveCampaign campaigns instead of automations if your needs are fairly simple.
4. ActiveCampaign automations do not have list exclusions by default
One of the most common misconceptions with marketing automation is that all contacts need to be included in an automation for it to work properly. In reality, you often want the automation to run without being sent to certain contacts.
ActiveCampaign does offer list exclusions for ActiveCampaign campaigns, but not for automations by default. If you want an automation’s workflows to avoid sending to specific contacts based on their behavior, then you’ll need to set that up yourself in advance of the workflow running . This is another reason to consider using ActiveCampaign campaigns instead of automations if your needs are fairly simple.
As you can see, there are several differences between ActiveCampaign automations and campaigns that may affect your use case depending on what you need to accomplish with each marketing automation result. Talk with the Divas to make sure you’re using the right tool for the right job!
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