The Workflow Builder lets you automate actions inside Gradual based on activity in your community. When a specific event occurs, the workflow can trigger a series of follow-up actions automatically. Each workflow can include up to 20 actions.
Reach out to [email protected] to discuss getting this feature enabled for your community.
Example Use Cases
When an event is published → send a message to the community
When a member completes a course → add them to a group → add them to a space
Every Tuesday at noon → assign members with “tech” in their title to the Tech space
Workflows help you streamline engagement, onboarding, and communication without manual effort.
Understanding the Workflow Builder
The Workflow Builder uses a flowchart-style layout. Automations start at the top (the trigger) and move downward through actions, logic, and timing steps.
Each workflow is made up of:
Triggers – What starts the workflow
Actions – What happens after it starts
Logic/Paths – Conditional rules that control different paths
Timing – Delays between steps
Triggers
A trigger determines when the automation begins. This can be based on member activity, event activity, content activity, or a schedule. Each workflow can have one trigger.
Current Trigger Options
On a schedule (specific day/time, workflow status is completed when finished running)
Event published
Event started
Event finished
Content published
Member signup
Member first login
Member onboarded
Member updated profile
Member registered for an event
Member cancelled event registration
Member joined an event
Member checked into event
Member enrolled in a course
Member completed a course
Member published a post
Member commented on a post
Member joined a club
Member removed from club
Member earned a badge
Member received contribution points
Member redeemed a reward
Member added to space
Member removed from space
Member added to segment
Member removed from segment
The trigger is always the starting point of your workflow.
Actions
Actions define what happens after a workflow is triggered.
Available Actions
Add member to club
Remove member from clubs
Add member to space
Remove member from space
Add contribution
Register for event
Send a message
Callout: Messages cannot be sent and received from the same email address. If you are an admin testing with the same email as your member login, messages will not send.
Send an email
Add member to segments
Remove member from segments
You can add multiple actions to create multi-step automations and sequences.
Logic/Paths
Logic and Paths allows you to create conditional paths within a workflow. This ensures different members experience different outcomes based on defined criteria.
If/Else Logic
Use If/Else conditions to evaluate:
Member properties
Event properties
Forum post properties
If the defined condition is met, the workflow follows one path. If not, it follows another.
Example:
If a forum post contains the word “help” → send a message alerting the member it was seen.
All other posts → Updates Group Assignment
You can configure logic to look for partial matches or exact matches.
Path Logic
The Path feature lets you split traffic by percentage using a slider.
This is useful for:
A/B testing messages
Splitting audiences between different communication strategies
Timing
Delay
The Delay feature allows you to pause the workflow before the next step executes. Max delay is 90 days.
This is helpful when:
Sending a series of messages over time
Spacing out communications
Preventing all actions from happening immediately after the trigger
Creating a Workflow
Go to the Workflow tab.
View your existing workflows, or search/filter to find a specific one.
Click Create New Workflow in the top-right corner.
Choose from available templates (optional) to get started faster.
Editing a Workflow
Inside a workflow:
Edit the title in the top-left corner using the pencil icon.
In the top-right Actions dropdown, you can:
Activate (Publish) the workflow
Clone it
View the activity log
Archive it
Setting or Editing a Trigger
When creating a new workflow, you’ll be prompted to select a trigger on the right-hand side.
To edit an existing trigger, click the trigger at the top of the workflow to open its settings.
Adding Steps
Click the + (plus) icons in the automation to add:
An action
Logic/Path
Time Delays
Click any existing step to open and edit its settings on the right-hand panel.
Activity Logs
Activity and Change Logs provide visibility into:
Workflow activity (shows if the workflow was complete, when, and any errors)
Changes made to the workflow
For example, if a registration action cannot be completed, the activity log will show the failure so you can review and troubleshoot it.
This helps you monitor performance and troubleshoot issues.
Workflow Action Usage
An action is counted each time a workflow action runs successfully for a member. For example, if one workflow action applies to 10 members, that counts as 10 actions. When your community reaches its monthly action limit, new workflow executions will not start. Workflows that are already in progress can still finish.
Your workflow list also shows how many workflow actions have been used in the current billing cycle.