Build Your First Automation

Create a welcome email that sends automatically when someone joins—in under 5 minutes

Where to find this: Tools → Automations → Create Automation

By the end of this guide, every new member will automatically receive a welcome email with instructions to book their first session. You’ll also tag them as an “Active Member” so you can easily find them later.

No templates, no shortcuts—we’re building from scratch so you understand how it works.

What You’re Building

Trigger	Condition	Actions
Purchase Made	Is a subscription	1. Send welcome email with booking link
		2. Add “Active Member” tag

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Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Open the Automation Builder

   Go to Tools → Automations and click Create Automation.

   The builder is one long page with a section for each part of the automation—Details, Triggers, Data Sources, Conditions, Actions, Logs, and Settings—and a side menu that jumps between them. Nothing is saved until you click Create in the header. If a new automation opens with anything already filled in, replace or remove it as you follow the steps below.

   
2. Name It

   In Details, enter a label like New Member Welcome. This is the name you’ll see in the Automations list and in Execution Logs, so make it specific.

3. Choose Your Trigger

   In Triggers, choose Purchase Made.

   This trigger fires whenever someone buys any product—memberships, credit packs, camps, or one-time sessions. The buyer becomes the user that every later section refers to.

   
4. Add a Condition

   We only want this automation to run for new members, not every purchase. Let’s add a filter.

   In Conditions, click Add Condition to create your first rule group, then choose Is a subscription in the Field dropdown.

   Now this automation will only fire when someone purchases a subscription product—not one-time buys like camps or drop-in sessions.

   

   Conditions are optional, but they help you target the right people. Rules sit inside And/Or groups, so you can add several and choose whether all of them or any one of them must be true. Skip Data Sources for now—this automation doesn’t need extra information.

5. Add Your First Action — Send Email

   In Actions, click Add Action and select Send an Email.

   Fill in the fields:

   Field	What to Enter
   Target User	User from trigger (the default)
   Subject	Welcome to the team, {{field.user.firstName}}!
   Message	See template below

   Here’s a welcome email you can copy and paste. Replace the bracketed line with the booking link for your main training session:

   Hey {{field.user.firstName}},
   
   You're officially part of the team! 🎉
   
   Here's how to get started: book your first session here: [paste your session's booking link]
   If you have any questions, just reply to this email—I'm here to help.
   
   See you soon,
   [Your Name]
   

   Dynamic fields like {{field.user.firstName}} automatically insert each member’s actual name. Type @ in the subject or message to insert one from a list instead of typing it. Your email stays personal without extra work.

   
6. Add a Second Action — Add Tag

   Let’s also tag new members so you can target them with future automations.

   Click Add Action and select Add a Tag to a User.

   Field	What to Enter
   Target User	User from trigger
   Tag	Select “Active Member” (or create a new tag)

   Now every new subscriber automatically gets tagged, making it easy to send announcements or check engagement later.

   
7. Create, Test, Then Enable

   Click Create in the header to save the automation. It is saved with Enabled off, so nothing runs yet.

   Work through the test checklist below, then open Settings and switch Enabled on.

   That’s it! Your automation is now live. The next person who purchases a subscription will automatically receive your welcome email and get tagged as an Active Member.

Some screenshots on this page show an earlier layout of the builder with a blank canvas and a Select Trigger button. The steps above describe the current builder; the concepts are the same.

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Test Before You Enable

Message, SMS, booking, credit, and purchase actions have real effects the moment they run, so check your work before switching an automation on:

1. Build with Enabled off. A new automation starts disabled; leave it that way while you edit.
2. Use a test account. Make sure the email will land somewhere you can read it—your own test profile, not a real member.
3. Click Test Run in the header and read the filled-in email. Test Run really sends, so it will email whoever it targets.
4. Check Execution Logs to see which conditions passed and what each action returned.
5. Then switch Enabled on in Settings, deliberately, once you’re happy.

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Verify It’s Working

A few ways to confirm your automation is running:

• Check Execution Logs: Open the automation and scroll to Logs for a record of every run, who it was for, and what each action did
• Make a test purchase: Use a test account to subscribe and see if the email arrives
• Wait for your next signup: You’ll see it appear in the logs

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What You Just Learned

You now understand the building blocks of every automation:

• Triggers start automations when something happens (a purchase, booking, form submission, or a schedule)
• Conditions filter who it applies to (only subscriptions, only first-time buyers)
• Actions are what CoachIQ does automatically (send messages, add tags, manage credits)
• Data Sources (optional) fetch extra information, like a credit balance, for conditions and messages to use

Every automation in CoachIQ—no matter how complex—uses this same pattern.

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What’s Next?

Automation Playbook

Browse ready-to-use automations for trial conversions, member retention, credit reminders, and more.

Scheduled Automations

Learn how to run automations on a schedule—like weekly check-ins for inactive members or credit expiration alerts.

Related articles

Builder Reference

What each section of the builder does, including Test Run and Execution Logs

Triggers & Actions Reference

Every trigger, condition, data source, action, and dynamic field

Forms Overview

Build forms that trigger automations on submission

Creating Your First Scheduler

Set up the sessions your automations will reference

Inbox Overview

Where automated emails and in-app messages are delivered

Tags and Filters

Organize members with tags that automations can add or remove