Available with the following plans:

Business

Copper's email automation feature allows you to automate follow-ups with your warm relationships. Customers on our Business plan can create email automations that send a series of up to three emails at designated intervals.

You can easily create an automation using one of our pre-configured options in the gallery:

Rekindle: Automatically email contacts I haven't heard from in a while
List: Automatically email contacts when they are added to a specific List (saved filter)

These options are available for both People and Leads. You must have Leads enabled to see the Leads options.

By default, only Admins and Account Owners can manage email automations. However, individual Users can be granted permission.

This article will walk you through creating a multi-step email automation, including:

Automating outreach to People
Automating outreach to Leads

👉 First, be sure you've reviewed the feature overview to understand the use cases and limitations.

Ok, ready to go? Great, let’s get started! Navigate to Automations > Email Automation. You’ll select from one of the pre-built options in the gallery and then set some fields to create your email automation.

All of our pre-built options have some fields in common, so you will see some steps duplicated below based on which option you are setting up.

💡 Tip

Want to "test it out" before sending automated emails to your contacts? Our Product Team has created a testing scenario for you here.

Automating outreach to People

Rekindle Option: Automatically email People I haven't heard from in a while

Keep your relationships in a constant state of warmth by automatically checking in with your contacts.

We recommend keeping your automated emails targeted and personal.

Segment your contacts using Contact Types and/or Saved Filters (Lists)
Tailor your email templates to these segments
Be mindful of reaching out to contacts that you haven't communicated with in a long period of time – those relationships may be more "cold" than "warm". For example, if you are creating a Rekindle automation to email All Contacts where the Last Contacted date is over 6 months, consider first segmenting your customers further using Contact Types and/or Saved Filters (Lists) so the communications can be more targeted

Follow these steps to create Step 1 of the Rekindle automation:

Give your automation a unique Name
If you plan to create multiple “Rekindle” automations, you’ll want to edit the pre-filled Name we’ve populated.
Give your email automation a Description
Select a People List (Saved Filter) or Contact Type
Choose the option that aligns with how you segment your customers so you can deliver tailored and targeted emails.
Set the time since the Last Contacted date
We’ve set a timeframe of 3 months, but you are welcome to edit this field.
Select which user the email should be sent from
You may select Contact Owner or a specific user.
If you select Contact Owner, any contacts who do not have an owner will receive the automated email from the Automation Owner (which is you).
Note the Sending Schedule
Automated emails will only be sent during these hours, which will adhere to the Company time zone set in Settings > Workflow Automation
Select the email template you would like to send or create a new one
Select a waiting period
We've set a period of 3 days for Step 1, but you can change it. This is how long Copper waits after sending an email. For a single email, it’s the time Copper waits to see if the activity defined in 'Stop sending if' occurs. In a multi-step series, it’s the delay before Copper sends the next email.

Adding Steps to your Rekindle automation

You can choose to send up to 3 emails as part of the automation.

You can only add or delete steps when creating an automation. Once the automation is saved and active, you cannot add or delete steps.

To add a step, click Send Email:

For each individual step, you can choose:

A different email template
A different waiting period
- The default for Step 2 is 7 days, but you can change it. The default for Step 3 is 10 days, but you can change it.

Once you've added your steps:

Select which 'Stop sending if' activity qualifies as a ‘successful’ exit from the automation
Contacts who meet this criteria appear in the Replied section of the automation details panel, while those who don’t remain in the Sent section when the automation ends.
Click Save & Activate.
When you save your automation for the first time, automated emails will start sending within minutes. Ongoing, contacts will receive the automated email within an hour of matching the criteria.

The stop sending if criterion applies to the entire automation. Contacts who meet this criterion appear in the Replied section of the automation details panel, while those who don’t remain in the Sent section when the automation ends.

List Option: Automatically email People when they are added to a specific List (saved filter)

You can satisfy many use cases and optimize your workflows with this flexible option!

💡 Tip

Replace a manual process, such as bulk email, by using the "Only new People added moving forward" option, as shown below. That way, the contacts on the list who already received your manual outreach will not receive the automated email.

Follow these steps to create Step 1 of the List automation:

Give your automation a unique Name
If you plan to create multiple “List” automations, you’ll want to edit the pre-filled Name we’ve populated.
Give your email automation a Description
Select the People - List (saved filter)
Choose which People on the list should receive the automated emails:
1. Only new People added moving forward will only send the automated email to the People who enter the list after the automation is saved and activated
2. All People already on the list plus any added moving forward will send the automated email to all People who are already on the list plus any People who enter the list moving forward
  ⚠️ If your list is large, Copper may not send all of the automated emails in one day. Please see the uses and limitations for more information.
Select which user the email should be sent from
You may select Contact Owner or a specific user.
If you select Contact Owner, any contacts who do not have an owner will receive the automated email from the Automation Owner (which is you).
Note the Sending Schedule
Automated emails will only be sent during these hours, which will adhere to the Company time zone set in Settings > Workflow Automation
Select the email template you would like to send or create a new one
Select a waiting period
We've set a period of 3 days for Step 1, but you can change it. This is how long Copper waits after sending an email. For a single email, it’s the time Copper waits to see if the activity defined in 'Stop sending if' occurs. In a multi-step series, it’s the delay before Copper sends the next email.

Adding Steps to your List automation

You can choose to send up to 3 emails as part of the automation.

You can only add or delete steps when creating an automation. Once the automation is saved and active, you cannot add or delete steps.

To add a step, click Send Email:

For each individual step, you can choose:

A different email template
A different waiting period
- The default for Step 2 is 7 days, but you can change it. The default for Step 3 is 10 days, but you can change it.

Once you've added your steps:

Select which 'Stop sending if' activity qualifies as a ‘successful’ exit from the automation
Contacts who meet this criteria appear in the Replied section of the automation details panel, while those who don’t remain in the Sent section when the automation ends.
Click Save & Activate.
When you save your automation for the first time, automated emails will start sending within minutes. Ongoing, contacts will receive the automated email within an hour of matching the criteria.

Automating outreach to Leads

Copper does not support automated outreach to cold Leads. If you automate emails to unqualified Leads, a Lead list you purchased, or any other recipient who is not expecting an email from you, your emails may be marked as spam, which could directly impact the deliverability of all emails you send from your Gmail account.

Rekindle Option: Automatically email Leads I haven't heard from in a while

Keep your relationships in a constant state of warmth by automatically checking in with your contacts.

We recommend keeping your automated emails targeted and personal.

Segment your leads using Saved Filters (Lists)
Tailor your email templates to these segments
Be mindful of reaching out to contacts that you haven't communicated with in a long period of time – those relationships may be more "cold" than "warm". For example, if you are creating a Rekindle automation to email All Leads where the Last Contacted date is over 6 months, consider first segmenting your contacts further using Saved Filters (Lists) so the communications can be more targeted

Follow these steps to create Step 1 of the Rekindle automation:

Give your automation a unique Name
If you plan to create multiple “Rekindle” automations, you’ll want to edit the pre-filled Name we’ve populated.
Give your email automation a Description
Select a Leads List (Saved Filter)
Be sure to create your own Lead Lists to segment your Leads. Copper does not recommend automating outreach to the "All Leads" list.
Set the time since the Last Contacted date
We’ve set a timeframe of 3 months, but you are welcome to edit this field.
Select which user the email should be sent from
You may select Contact Owner or a specific user.
If you select Contact Owner, any contacts who do not have an owner will receive the automated email from the Automation Owner (which is you).
Note the Sending Schedule
Automated emails will only be sent during these hours, which will adhere to the Company time zone set in Settings > Workflow Automation
Select the email template you would like to send or create a new one
Select a waiting period
We've set a period of 3 days for Step 1, but you can change it. This is how long Copper waits after sending an email. For a single email, it’s the time Copper waits to see if the activity defined in 'Stop sending if' occurs. In a multi-step series, it’s the delay before Copper sends the next email.

Adding Steps to your Rekindle automation

You can choose to send up to 3 emails as part of the automation.

You can only add or delete steps when creating an automation. Once the automation is saved and active, you cannot add or delete steps.

To add a step, click Send Email:

For each individual step, you can choose:

A different email template
A different waiting period
- The default for Step 2 is 7 days, but you can change it. The default for Step 3 is 10 days, but you can change it.

Once you've added your steps:

Select which 'Stop sending if' activity qualifies as a ‘successful’ exit from the automation
Contacts who meet this criteria appear in the Replied section of the automation details panel, while those who don’t remain in the Sent section when the automation ends.
Click Save & Activate.
When you save your automation for the first time, automated emails will start sending within minutes. Ongoing, contacts will receive the automated email within an hour of matching the criteria.

List Option: Automatically email Leads when they are added to a specific List (saved filter)

You can satisfy many use cases and optimize your workflows with this flexible option!

💡 Tip

Replace a manual process, such as bulk email, by using the "Only new Leads added moving forward" option, as shown below. That way, the contacts on the list who already received your manual outreach will not receive the automated email.

Follow these steps to create Step 1 of the List automation:

Give your automation a unique Name
If you plan to create multiple “List” automations, you’ll want to edit the pre-filled Name we’ve populated.
Give your email automation a Description
Select the Leads - List (saved filter)
Be sure to create your own Lead Lists to segment your Leads. Copper does not recommend automating outreach to the "All Leads" list.
Choose which Leads on the list should receive the automated emails:
1. Only new Leads added moving forward will only send the automated email to the leads who enter the list after the automation is saved and activated
2. All Leads already on the list plus any added moving forward will send the automated email to all leads who are already on the list plus any leads who enter the list moving forward
  ⚠️ If your list is large, Copper may not send all of the automated emails in one day. Please see the uses and limitations for more information.
Select which user the email should be sent from
You may select Contact Owner or a specific user.
If you select Contact Owner, any contacts who do not have an owner will receive the automated email from the Automation Owner (which is you).
Note the Sending Schedule
Automated emails will only be sent during these hours, which will adhere to the Company time zone set in Settings > Workflow Automation
Select the email template you would like to send or create a new one
Select a waiting period
We've set a period of 3 days for Step 1, but you can change it. This is how long Copper waits after sending an email. For a single email, it’s the time Copper waits to see if the activity defined in 'Stop sending if' occurs. In a multi-step series, it’s the delay before Copper sends the next email.

Adding Steps to your List automation

You can choose to send up to 3 emails as part of the automation.

You can only add or delete steps when creating an automation. Once the automation is saved and active, you cannot add or delete steps.

To add a step, click Send Email:

For each individual step, you can choose:

A different email template
A different waiting period
- The default for Step 2 is 7 days, but you can change it. The default for Step 3 is 10 days, but you can change it.

Once you've added your steps:

Select which 'Stop sending if' activity qualifies as a ‘successful’ exit from the automation
Contacts who meet this criteria appear in the Replied section of the automation details panel, while those who don’t remain in the Sent section when the automation ends.
Click Save & Activate.
When you save your automation for the first time, automated emails will start sending within minutes. Ongoing, contacts will receive the automated email within an hour of matching the criteria.

FAQs

When will the emails be sent?

Each hour we check to see if any contacts meet the criteria for the automations you’ve created and attempt to send the email(s).

What if I make a mistake?

Delete the automation as soon as possible. There is no ability to unsend an email once it has been sent.

Can I automate an email based on Pipeline stage?

Not yet 👀

Can I create my own email automation triggers?

Not yet. But we would love to hear what kind of email automations you are looking to create. Our goal is to continuously deliver more pre-built options with each release, and your feedback is crucial to helping us determine what those should be!

Have a question? Contact our Customer Success Team using the in-app chat 💬

Have a suggestion? Check out the Ideas board in our Community 👥

Overview: Email Automation

How to automate a single email

Viewing the status of contacts in your email automations

How to automate a follow-up and nudge for a response

How to automate pipeline emails