The Basic Autoresponder contains 66 pre-built email actions that send the right email at the right time: welcoming new subscribers, reminding members before renewals, recovering cancelled subscriptions with offers, thanking donors, and more.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://documentation.outpost.pub/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
The Big Off/On Button
The Basic Autoresponder has a master toggle labeled “The Big Off/On Button.” When it’s off, every Basic action is disabled regardless of individual toggles. The Advanced Autoresponder and the Failed Payment Flow each have their own independent master toggles.Pre-built actions
The Basic Autoresponder contains 66 pre-built email actions organized across 6 tabs. Each action is pre-configured with a default email template, timing, and (where appropriate) a discount offer. You can change the wording, styling, timing, offer, or turn individual actions on or off.How email timing works
Most autoresponder emails are sent with a 2-minute delay after the triggering event. This handles the case where a member toggles a setting twice in quick succession — Outpost only sends once the dust has settled. Gift subscription and donation emails are the exceptions and send immediately.Duplicate prevention
Outpost includes two layers of duplicate prevention to avoid sending the same email more than once:- 60-minute deduplication: The same action won’t send the same template to the same member twice within 60 minutes. Important to know when testing — if you send a test and then trigger the action again within an hour, the second email will be silently skipped.
- One-month deduplication for scheduled actions: Actions that run on a schedule (such as card expiration reminders and cart-reminder nudge emails) check whether the same template was already sent to the member within the past calendar month. This prevents subscribers from receiving the same recurring reminder repeatedly.
How action rows work
Each action row has these controls:| Control | Description |
|---|---|
| Action | Description of what triggers this email (with info tooltip) |
| Timing | When to send: “Immediate,” “Auto-Spaced,” or a configurable delay (e.g., 3 Days, 1 Week) |
| Email Template | Which template to use. Click the eye icon to preview. Some actions show “Different Messages for Each Tier” with an Edit button for per-tier customization. |
| Offer | Optional discount offer to include in the email. Click to select from existing Ghost Offers or Outpost Offers, or create a new one. |
| Off/On | Toggle to enable or disable this specific action |
Selecting offers
Click the offer cell on any action to open the offer selector. It has two tabs:- Ghost Offers — existing Ghost Offers from your site, plus an option to create a new one.
- Outpost Offers — existing Outpost Offers organized by product, plus an option to create a new one.
Welcome Flow tab
These emails greet new members and encourage free subscribers to upgrade. If a free member converts to paid, the drip sequence automatically stops. Members can opt out of drip emails without unsubscribing from your Ghost newsletter.Paid section (1 action)
A combined welcome and thank-you for members who sign up directly as paid, skipping the free tier.| Action | Timing | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome someone who signs up as a paid subscriber without starting as a free member | Immediate | Supports per-tier messages |
Free section (5 actions — drip sequence)
A welcome drip series that progressively encourages free subscribers to upgrade. The single highest-impact lever for free-to-paid conversion. Spend time on these.| # | Action | Default Timing |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Welcome a new free subscriber and encourage them to pay | Immediate |
| 2 | Second encouragement to pay | 3 Days |
| 3 | Third encouragement to pay | 5 Days |
| 4 | Fourth encouragement to pay | 1 Week |
| 5 | Fifth encouragement to pay | 2 Weeks |
Trial section (3 actions)
| # | Action | Default Timing |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Send reminder to someone on a trial period | Immediate |
| 2 | Second trial reminder | Auto-Spaced |
| 3 | Third trial reminder | Auto-Spaced |
Group Subscriptions section (2 actions)
| Action | Timing |
|---|---|
| Welcome someone who bought a group subscription | Immediate |
| Welcome someone who accepted a group subscription invite | Immediate |
Institutional Subscription section (1 action)
| Action | Timing |
|---|---|
| Notify someone whose email matches an institutional subscription that they’ve been upgraded to paid | Immediate |
Gift Subscriptions tab
7 actions covering both the gift giver and the gift recipient. These cover the cycle from thank you, to acceptance, to letting the giver have the option to give again, and the getter to buy their own.| # | Action | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Notify gift recipient that they received a gift and who sent it | Immediate |
| 2 | Thank the gift giver for purchasing | Immediate |
| 3 | Notify gift giver that a scheduled gift was sent to the recipient | Immediate |
| 4 | Notify gift giver that the gift ends soon — encourage them to give another year (1st) | Immediate |
| 5 | Notify gift giver that the gift ends soon (2nd) | Immediate |
| 6 | Notify gift giver that the gift ends soon (3rd) | Immediate |
| 7 | Notify gift recipient that their subscription ends soon — encourage them to buy their own | Immediate |
Retention and Renewal tab
15 actions organized across 6 sections. This is the most critical tool for reducing voluntary churn.Renewal Thank You (1 action)
Thanks members who renewed for another year.| Action | Timing |
|---|---|
| Thank an annual member who renewed for another year | Immediate |
Renewal Reminders (3 actions)
Due to consumer protection laws in many jurisdictions, we strongly recommend sending renewal reminders at least 30 days and 7 days before a subscription renews. Surprise charges can lead to chargebacks, which are expensive and harmful to your Stripe account.
| # | Action | Default Timing |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Remind non-monthly subscriber that their subscription renews in 30 days | 1 Month |
| 2 | Remind non-monthly subscriber that their subscription renews in 7 days | 1 Week |
| 3 | Notify an annual subscriber who cancels auto-renewal more than 45 days before expiration | Immediate |
Handling Cancellations with Retention Offers (7 actions)
We recommend offering an annual upgrade discount to monthly subscribers who cancel. Different discount levels are worth testing.| # | Action | Default Timing |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ask an annual subscriber who cancels within 45 days of renewal to reconsider (per-tier messages) | Immediate |
| 2 | Send a note to a monthly subscriber who cancels with a special offer | Immediate |
| 3 | First reminder to cancelled subscriber that their access ends soon | 5 Days |
| 4 | Second reminder to cancelled subscriber | 2 Days |
| 5 | Third and final reminder to cancelled subscriber | 1 Day |
| 6 | Thank subscriber for using a retention offer (with prorate) | Immediate |
| 7 | Thank subscriber for using a retention offer (new subscription starts after current one ends) | Immediate |
Cancellation reminders 3, 4, and 5 are timed relative to the subscription end date, creating an escalating urgency sequence. Each can include a discount offer.
Unsubscribes (2 actions)
Historically Ghost didn’t distinguish clearly between unsubscribing from email and cancelling auto-renewal. These emails surface that difference and confirm a full unsubscribe when one happens.| Action | Timing |
|---|---|
| Tell a paid subscriber who unsubscribes from all emails that they’re still a paying customer | Immediate |
| Send a note to a free member who unsubscribes from all emails | Immediate |
Failed Payment Flow Thank You (1 action)
A short thank-you to a member who updated their card after a failed renewal.| Action | Timing |
|---|---|
| Thank a member who updated their payment method via the Failed Payment Flow | Immediate |
Card Reminders (1 action)
Stripe flags cards it predicts will fail at renewal. This action gives those members a chance to update before then. Stripe’s predictions aren’t always right — some flagged cards still work at renewal.| Action | Timing |
|---|---|
| Remind a subscriber that their payment card is expiring soon | 1 Week |
Other tab
Actions covering upgrades, donations, nudges, group subscription management, and integration notifications.Thank You for Upgrades (4 actions)
| # | Action | Timing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thank a free member who upgraded to monthly | Immediate | Per-tier messages |
| 2 | Thank a free member who upgraded to annual | Immediate | |
| 3 | Thank a monthly subscriber who upgraded to annual | Immediate | |
| 4 | Thank an annual subscriber who upgrades tiers | Immediate | Per-tier messages |
Donations (2 actions)
| Action | Timing | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Send a thank-you email after a Stripe donation | Immediate | |
| Show a thank-you message on the site after a donation | Immediate | Stripe only on Space Station Plan; Stripe and PayPal on Luna Plan |
Nudge (1 action)
An abandoned-cart message. Sent at most once every 30 days per subscriber.| Action | Default Timing |
|---|---|
| Send a reminder to someone who clicked an offer but didn’t complete checkout | 1 Hour |
Group Subscriptions (5 actions)
| Action | Timing |
|---|---|
| Send invite email from the group buyer | Immediate |
| Send invite reminder | 2 Days |
| Notify group buyer when an invite is accepted | Immediate |
| Notify group buyer about an unaccepted invite | 3 Days |
| Remind group buyer about remaining open seats | 1 Week |
Integrations (6 actions)
Some integrations rely on a notification email to confirm or reflect access changes.| Action | Timing | Default State |
|---|---|---|
| FeedPress: Welcome — notify of private RSS feed | Immediate | ON |
| FeedPress: Benefit removed — notify feed access revoked | Immediate | OFF |
| Supercast: Welcome — notify of paid podcast feed | Immediate | ON |
| Supercast: Welcome (invite-only) | Immediate | ON |
| Supercast: Benefit removed | Immediate | OFF |
| Transistor FM: Benefit removed | Immediate | OFF |
Events tab
6 actions tied to the Events feature. Events require specialized code in your theme and event emails must be enabled in Event Settings.| Action | Timing | Recipient |
|---|---|---|
| Send confirmation when a member registers for an event | Immediate | Registrant |
| Send first pre-event reminder | Configurable (default: 24 hours before) | Registered members |
| Send second pre-event reminder | Configurable (default: 2 hours before) | Registered members |
| Notify registrants when event details change | Immediate | Registered members |
| Notify registrants when an event is cancelled | Immediate | Registered members |
| Send post-event recap to publisher | After event ends | Staff/publisher |
Event confirmation emails are transactional and send regardless of a member’s email opt-out setting. Reminder emails respect the member’s preferences.
Complimentary tab
7 actions for managing complimentary (free gifted) subscriptions.Welcome (1 action)
| Action | Timing |
|---|---|
| Tell someone they received a complimentary subscription | Immediate |
Site Owner Notifications (2 actions)
| # | Action | Default Timing |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Notify site staff that a complimentary subscription is ending soon | 3 Weeks |
| 2 | Second reminder to site staff | 2 Weeks |
Expiring Subscription Upsell (3 actions)
| # | Action | Default Timing |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | First warning to comp subscriber encouraging them to become a paying member | 10 Days |
| 2 | Second warning | 3 Days |
| 3 | Third and final warning | 1 Day |
Renewed Complimentary Notification (1 action)
| Action | Timing |
|---|---|
| Tell a comp subscriber that their subscription was extended for another year | Immediate |
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between Basic and Advanced Autoresponder?
What's the difference between Basic and Advanced Autoresponder?
The Basic Autoresponder (this page) contains 66 pre-built email actions organized by category. They’re ready to use out of the box — just customize the templates and offers. The Advanced Autoresponder lets you create custom multi-step flows with flexible triggers, audience targeting, and stop conditions for scenarios the pre-built actions don’t cover.
If I turn off the Big Off/On Button, do queued emails still send?
If I turn off the Big Off/On Button, do queued emails still send?
Can I customize the pre-built email templates?
Can I customize the pre-built email templates?
Yes. Every pre-built action uses an email template you can fully customize. Click the pencil icon next to the template name to edit it, or select a different template from the dropdown. The eye icon previews the email.
What does 'Different Messages for Each Tier' mean?
What does 'Different Messages for Each Tier' mean?
Some actions (like the paid welcome email) let you send different content depending on which tier the subscriber chose. Click Edit to configure a unique template for each tier.
What does 'Auto-Spaced' timing mean?
What does 'Auto-Spaced' timing mean?
Auto-Spaced is used for trial reminder emails. Outpost distributes the emails evenly across the trial period, so the spacing depends on the trial length. With a 14-day trial and 3 reminders, they’re spaced roughly every 4–5 days.
What's the Nudge action?
What's the Nudge action?
The Nudge action detects when a member clicks an offer link but doesn’t complete checkout. After a configurable delay (default: 1 hour), it sends a follow-up email containing the same offer.
How do I see how well my autoresponder emails are performing?
How do I see how well my autoresponder emails are performing?
Many action rows show inline stats: emails sent, open rate, click rate, conversion rate, and revenue. The Failed Payment Flow has a dedicated statistics panel showing total save rate and revenue recovered.
Related features
Advanced Autoresponder
Create custom multi-step email flows with flexible triggers and audience targeting.
Failed Payment Flow
Automated dunning sequence for failed subscription renewals.
Email Templates
Create and customize the templates used by autoresponder actions
Offers & Discounts
Create the discount offers used in retention and upsell emails
Events
Event emails (confirmations, reminders, updates, cancellations) are managed here