Contact added trigger

Learn how to configure the Contact added trigger entry trigger and control which contacts can enter your journey.

What we'll cover

1 Concepts

The Contact added trigger starts contacts when a contact is added to the audience or becomes available for automation in that audience.

Use this trigger when the entry point for your journey should be based on this event type instead of a manual add or a different trigger source.

Note: This trigger is an entry trigger. It is placed at the top of the journey, and it controls how contacts begin the journey flow.

Here are the steps:

Open the journey, and click Add.
Add a New entry trigger.
Select Contact added trigger.
Enter a clear trigger Name.
Configure the trigger Settings for the event or conditions you want to use.
Set Apply to which contacts to All contacts or Only contacts that meet criteria.
Click Save.

Pro-tip: Use a trigger name that describes the business purpose, such as Start after form submit or Start on renewal date.

Most trigger editors include a Settings section and an Apply to which contacts section.

In Settings, choose the event details, source, or timing rules that should start the journey for this trigger.

In Apply to which contacts, choose whether the trigger applies to All contacts or only a filtered group.

All contacts is best when every qualifying event should start the journey
Only contacts that meet criteria is best when you want to limit entry to a specific segment

Note: Trigger settings control when the trigger can fire, but journey Settings still control whether the contact is allowed to enter again.

Use cases and business examples

New Subscriber Onboarding: A contact enters immediately after being added, and receives a welcome sequence.
Import Cleanup Follow-Up: Start a follow-up journey after a controlled import.
Partner Sync Intake: Enroll contacts added by an integration sync.

Common issues to check

Verify the trigger Settings are pointing to the correct event, source, or timing rule
Confirm the contact meets any Apply to which contacts criteria
Review journey Settings to see whether the journey allows re-entry
Make sure the journey is started

Warning: If you are troubleshooting a live journey, test changes with a small internal segment before applying them broadly.

If you enable double opt-in for the audience associated with your journey, the contact-added will be triggered when the contact is added, not when the contact confirms their subscription. We suggest using the "Contact event" trigger when using Double opt-in and listen for the "Confirmed subscription" event, so the contact is only added after their subscription is confirmed.
Journeys can still be used for pending contacts to add tags, wait for a subscription, then continue on. However, this is a more advanced option to consider.
Pending contacts added to a journey will skip "Send email" steps since they have not yet confirmed their subscription.
When using an integration, this will trigger for contacts added from another system, if included in the integration configuration.

What does the Contact added trigger listen for?

It starts contacts when a contact is added to the audience or becomes available for automation in that audience.

Can I limit which contacts are allowed to enter?

Yes. Use Apply to which contacts to choose All contacts or Only contacts that meet criteria.

Why did a contact not enter this trigger?

Check the trigger Settings, the contact data or event details, the Apply to which contacts criteria, and the journey Settings.

Can contacts enter this trigger more than once?

Yes, if the journey Settings allow multiple runs. If the journey is set to Run once per contact, repeat entry may be blocked.

If you need help configuring journey triggers, contact support. We’re happy to help!