Advanced Autoresponder

The Advanced Autoresponder lets you create custom email flows: multi-step sequences with flexible triggers, audience targeting, and stop conditions. Use it when the pre-built Basic Autoresponder actions don’t cover your needs — for example, a tailored welcome sequence for a list of members signed up in person at an event, or a one-off win-back series for a specific tier. Go to Autoresponder → Advanced to manage custom flows.

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The Big Off/On Button

The Advanced Autoresponder has its own independent master toggle called “The Big Off/On Button.” This is separate from the Basic Autoresponder toggle — turning off one does not affect the other.

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Turning flows off with active members

When you switch off The Big Off/On Button — or disable an individual flow — and there are members currently moving through that flow, Outpost asks how to handle them with a “Members are in active flows” prompt. You get three choices:

• Keep Running — Cancel the change and leave the flow on.
• Finish Active Members, No New Ones — Turn the flow off so no new members enter it, but let everyone already in it finish the remaining steps.
• Stop All Immediately — Turn the flow off and stop every active member right away. They receive no further emails from that flow.

If no members are mid-flow, the toggle switches off without asking.

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Creating a flow

Click “Add Flow” at the bottom of the page. Each flow has:

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Flow name

A descriptive name for your reference (e.g., “30-Day Win-Back Sequence” or “VIP Member Welcome”).

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Start condition

What triggers the flow. Choose from: Timing options for day-based conditions: Immediately, 1–6 days, 1–10 weeks, or 1 month. (There’s no 7-, 8-, or 9-day option — the dropdown jumps from 6 days to 1 week, then 10 days, then 2 weeks and up.)

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End condition

What stops the flow early (before all steps are sent):

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Marketing email toggle

Toggle this on for marketing flows. Members who have opted out of marketing won’t receive emails from flows marked this way:

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Audience targeting

Choose which member types receive this flow:

• Free — Free subscribers
• Paid — Paid subscribers (with optional tier filtering)
• Complimentary — Members with complimentary subscriptions
• Group Subscriber — Members with group subscriptions
• Institutional Subscriber — Members with institutional subscriptions

When Paid or Complimentary is selected, you can further filter by specific Tiers.

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Autoresponder exclusions

Optionally exclude members who would go into a Basic Autoresponder sequence:

• Exclude from basic Welcome Free member flow
• Exclude from Welcome Paid member flow (e.g. thank you emails)
• Exclude from Welcome Complimentary flow

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Label filters

• Only Include Members Labeled — Only send to members with specific labels
• Exclude Members Labeled — Skip members with specific labels

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Flow actions (steps)

Each flow contains one or more action steps. Click “Add Action” to add a step. Steps execute in order, with each step’s timing counting from the previous step.

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Attaching offers to flow steps

Click the offer selector on any step to open the offer drawer. It has two tabs: Ghost Offers — Select any existing Ghost Offer from the dropdown, or create a new one on the spot. Routes members through Ghost Portal checkout. Outpost Offers — Select any existing Outpost Offer from the dropdown, organized by product, or create a new one on the spot. Routes members through a direct Stripe checkout and also supports trial periods and subscription schedules. Outpost automatically ensures any offer shown to a member is one they can use — you don’t need to worry about choosing the wrong type. See Ghost Offers vs Outpost Promotions for a full comparison.

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Example flows

Here are some common Advanced Autoresponder flows:

• 30-Day Win-Back — Start 30 days after cancellation, send 3 escalating offers to encourage resubscription. End condition: Member Upgrades to Paid.
• VIP Welcome — Start when the “VIP” label is added, send a personalized welcome with exclusive content links.
• Pre-Renewal Upsell — Start 14 days before renewal, offer an annual upgrade at a discount. End condition: Member Renews.
• Institutional Onboarding — Start when email matches your institutional pattern, send a multi-step guide to getting the most from the subscription.

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