Understanding and Configuring Time Delays in Arketa Automations
Time delays are a key feature in Arketa automations, allowing users to control the timing of actions within a workflow. This article explains how time delays work, how to configure them, and best practices for their use.
Overview of Time Delays in Arketa Automations
Time delays in Arketa automations are used to schedule actions, such as sending emails or texts, at specific intervals. These delays help ensure that communications are spaced out appropriately, preventing back-to-back messages and giving contacts time to engage with previous actions before moving to the next step.
Configuring Time Delays
Setting Time Delays
A single time delay step in Arketa automations is limited to 30 days. However, you can stack multiple delay steps back-to-back to create longer delays. For example, two 30-day delays can create a ~60-day delay, and three can create a ~90-day delay.
Scheduling Delays
Time delays are calculated from the previous action in the automation sequence, not from the original trigger event. For instance, if a welcome email is sent immediately, followed by a 6-hour delay, and then another email is scheduled 7 days later, the 7-day delay starts from the last email, not the initial trigger.
Practical Applications of Time Delays
Time delays can be strategically used to optimize engagement and prevent contacts from completing a lead-nurture automation too quickly. For example:
Adding multi-day delays between key steps spreads out communications, reducing the chance of clustered messages.
This approach gives contacts more time to engage with your content or make a purchase before reaching the goal and exiting the flow.
Testing and Best Practices for Time Delays
When testing an automation that includes time delays, it is important to note that the testing process will follow the exact automation flow you have built. This means that emails or texts will be sent according to the configured delays, and you will need to wait for these delays to complete during testing.
Best Practices
Plan your automation sequence carefully to ensure delays are appropriately timed for your audience.
Use delays to create a natural flow of communication, avoiding overwhelming your contacts with too many messages in a short period.
By understanding and effectively configuring time delays, you can create more engaging and efficient automation workflows in Arketa.