Brevo Automation Workflow: How to Set Up Your First

Marketing automation sounds complicated, but Brevo makes it surprisingly approachable. With its visual workflow builder, you can create powerful email sequences without writing a single line of code.

This guide walks you through building your first automation workflow from scratch — from setting the trigger to activating the workflow.

What is a Brevo Automation Workflow?

A Brevo automation workflow is a series of automated actions that execute based on a specific trigger. Think of it as a decision tree: when X happens, do Y. If Z, then do W.

Common workflows include:

• Welcome series — triggered when someone subscribes to your list
• Lead nurture sequence — triggered when a contact downloads a lead magnet
• Re-engagement campaign — triggered when a contact hasn't opened an email in 90 days
• Cart abandonment — triggered when a contact adds items but doesn't purchase (requires e-commerce integration)

Step 1: Navigate to Automation

In your Brevo dashboard, click Automation in the left sidebar. You'll see any existing workflows and an option to create a new one.

Click Create a Workflow.

Step 2: Choose How to Start

Brevo gives you two options:

• Start from scratch — build your workflow from a blank canvas
• Use a template — choose from pre-built workflows for common use cases

For beginners, templates are a great starting point. Brevo offers ready-made templates for welcome emails, birthday messages, website visit follow-ups, and more.

For this guide, we'll start from scratch to understand every element.

Step 3: Set Your Entry Point (Trigger)

The entry point is the event that adds a contact to your workflow. Click the Entry Point block on the canvas to see your options.

Available triggers include:

• Contact is added to a specific list — most common for welcome sequences
• Contact submits a specific form — for lead magnet delivery
• Specific contact attribute changes — e.g., when a contact's "customer status" changes to "paid"
• Contact visits a page — requires Brevo tracking script on your website
• Contact clicks a link in a campaign — behavioural trigger

Choose "Contact is added to a list" and select your main subscriber list. This means every new subscriber will enter this workflow automatically.

Step 4: Add a Delay

Almost every workflow should include a delay before the first email — sending immediately the moment someone subscribes can feel aggressive and doesn't allow for the "welcome" email to feel intentional.

Click the + button below your entry point and select Delay.

Set a delay of 0 minutes if you want the welcome email to go out instantly, or 1 hour if you want a small buffer. For the first email in a welcome series, immediate or near-immediate delivery is usually best.

Step 5: Add Your First Email

Click + and select Send an Email. You'll need to either:

• Create a new email — opens the email editor directly within the workflow
• Use an existing campaign — repurpose a previously created email

Click Create a New Email and design your welcome message. Best practices for a welcome email:

• Subject line: "Welcome to [Brand Name] — here's where to start"
• Content: A warm greeting, what to expect from your emails, and one clear next step (read your best article, follow on social, visit your website)
• CTA: One button, one goal — don't overwhelm with multiple asks

Save the email and it will be linked to this step in your workflow.

Step 6: Add More Steps

For a simple welcome sequence, add two more emails:

Email 2 (send 2 days after Email 1): Deliver value immediately — share your best guide, a tip, or a resource that's genuinely useful.

Email 3 (send 3 days after Email 2): Social proof or a case study. Build trust before asking for anything.

Between each email, add a Delay block set to 2–3 days.

Step 7: Add a Condition (Optional)

Conditions make workflows intelligent. For example: after Email 2, check whether the contact opened it.

Click + and select Condition. Choose "Has opened an email?" and select Email 2.

Now your workflow branches:

• Yes (opened): Send a follow-up with deeper content
• No (didn't open): Send a re-send with a different subject line after 24 hours

This kind of conditional branching is what separates basic autoresponders from smart automation.

Step 8: Activate Your Workflow

Once you've built your sequence, click Activate Workflow in the top right corner.

Before activating:

• Send yourself a test email for each step
• Check that delays are correctly set
• Verify that the entry point list is the right one

After activation, any new subscriber who joins the specified list will automatically begin moving through the workflow.

Monitoring Your Workflow Performance

After your workflow is live, check its statistics regularly. Go to Automation → [Your Workflow] → Statistics to see:

• How many contacts have entered the workflow
• How many are at each step
• Open and click rates for each email in the sequence
• Exits and completions

Use this data to refine your sequence over time — adjust subject lines, change delays, or split-test email content.

Brevo Pricing at a Glance

All plans include unlimited contact storage. See full pricing on Brevo →