How to build a Mailchimp Customer Journey with triggers, branches, and actions

Mailchimp → Automations → Customer Journeys.

Click 'Create journey.' Choose 'Build from scratch' unless one of the pre-built maps (Welcome new contacts, Recover abandoned carts, Re-engage inactive) matches exactly what you want.

Name the journey clearly: 'Welcome Series — Newsletter v1' or 'Post-Purchase Thank You.' You'll have multiple journeys later and naming matters.

Save. You're now in the journey builder canvas.

In the canvas, click the "Starting point" block.

Choose the trigger type. Most common: "Signup" (someone joins your audience), "Tag added" (manual or automated tagging), "Made a purchase" (if Shopify/WooCommerce connected).

For a Welcome series: Starting point → 'Signup' → choose your audience → 'Anyone in this audience' (or restrict to a specific signup source if you have multiple).

For a Post-Purchase journey: Starting point → "Made a purchase" → choose your connected store.

For a Re-engagement: Starting point → "Tag added" → tag = "inactive-90d" (you'll need an automation to apply this tag).

Save the starting point.

On the starting point block → click "Edit audience filter."

Filter 1: Audience field → "Marketing permissions" → equals "Subscribed." Prevents sending to non-consented contacts.

Filter 2 (if running multiple journeys): "Is not in journey" → select your other active journeys. This prevents the same subscriber being in 3 journeys simultaneously and getting 6+ emails a week.

Filter 3: Exclude internal/test profiles by Tag (create a "test-account" tag for your team).

Save filters.

On the canvas, click the "+" below the starting point. Choose "Action" → "Send an email."

Time delay: 0 minutes (default). This is the welcome/confirmation email subscribers expect within seconds.

Click into the email block → Design email. Choose a template. Build the email with: hero image, 2-3 lines of intro copy, ONE prominent CTA, footer with brand assets.

Subject line: lead with value, not "Welcome" — "Your starter guide is inside" beats "Welcome to Brand!" by 15-20% open rate.

Save the email. Back on the canvas, the block should show your email subject as a label.

After Email 1 block → click "+" → choose "If/Else."

Configure the condition: "Has opened the previous email" or "Has clicked any link in previous email" (depending on what you want to track).

Wait period: 2 days (give them time to open before branching).

If YES branch: subscriber engaged → continue to next email with full content.

If NO branch: subscriber didn't engage → send a re-engagement email with a different subject line / different angle. This is the highest-leverage branch in any journey.

Note: Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) inflates open rates by 30-50% — branch on CLICKS rather than opens for accuracy. Clicks are real engagement; opens are noisy in 2026.

On the YES (engaged) branch → "+" → "Time Delay" → set 2 days.

Then Action → Send an email → build Email 2: social proof, customer testimonial, second CTA.

Then Time Delay → 3 days. Then Action → Send Email 3: objection handling (returns policy, shipping, sizing).

Then Time Delay → 4 days. Then Action → Send Email 4: soft urgency close (your welcome offer expires soon).

Save the canvas. Total journey for engaged path: 4 emails over ~9 days.

Top-right of the canvas → "Turn on" → confirm.

The journey is now live for new triggers (it does NOT retroactively enroll existing contacts).

Subscribe with a test email yourself to verify the timeline: Email 1 should arrive in 60 seconds, Email 2 in 2 days, etc.

After 14 days: Customer Journeys → click the journey → Analytics tab.

Healthy benchmarks: Email 1 open rate 35%+, click rate 5%+. Email 2 open rate 25%+. Drop-off at branches should be tracked — if 80%+ subscribers fall into the "didn't engage" branch, the Email 1 copy/subject needs work.

Tune one block at a time. Don't rebuild the whole journey at once.