In this post I’ll show you how to easily make a Flodesk workflow open-ended so you can keep adding steps that include current subscribers!
I’ll also show you how to allow subscribers to complete (exit) a workflow and view which subscribers have completed.
And BONUS, I’ll explain how to seamlessly move a subscriber from one workflow sequence to another once the first is complete (for example, move from a welcome sequence to a sales sequence)!
*This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a referral commission (or “store credit”) if you make a purchase.
If you’re here because you want to know how to make your Flodesk workflows open-ended (so you can keep adding to them without current subscribers being excluded from the updates), I’ll get to that shortly!
First, I need to explain how the new Exit step works, but feel free to use the TOC links below to jump ahead!
New Flodesk Exit Step Explained
The exit step in Flodesk workflows may seem a little redundant to new users, but it’s actually a helpful option because it gives us an easy way to allow subscribers to “complete” (i.e. exit) a workflow, or, to remain “on hold” until new steps are added by simply excluding this step.
Previously… subscribers that came to the end of a Flodesk workflow would automatically be marked as “completed,” and any subsequent steps that were added to the workflow would not be sent to the subscribers who’d already completed the workflow. While this may be what’s desired in some cases, many Flodesk users wanted to be able to continually add to a single workflow and have the current subscribers of that workflow receive the updates.
A manual workaround for this was to add a long time delay (say 1000 days) and a placeholder/dummy email at the end of the workflow, so that it would be highly unlikely that anyone would actually reach the workflow before a new step was added.
It was a little tedious to have to manually set this up, especially for workflows with lots of branching, as a new time delay and dummy email would have to be set up for each branch (I did this and it was kind of a pain). PLUS, it was a little tricky, because you’d have to make sure to add a NEW [shorter] time delay BEFORE the old [1000 day] time delay, publish the workflow, then DELETE the old time delay and publish again to make sure current subs would be included in any new steps…
To say the least, the exit step option (or rather excluding it) will make it much simpler to keep a workflow open-ended!
Using the Flodesk Exit Step in Workflows
To use the Exit step in a workflow, simply add it as the last step in the workflow. Then, anyone who reaches that step will be marked as having completed the workflow, and they won’t be included in any steps you may add to the workflow in the future.
Should You Include/Exclude the Exit Step for Each Branch in a Workflow?
You should include or exclude the exit step at the end of each branch in a workflow where you want you want subscribers to be marked as completed for that particular workflow.
You might not have any branches if you have no conditions, or one set of yes/no.
Note, you can add the exit step to some branches but not others!
In other words, say you want to keep a “yes” branch (subscribers who meet a certain condition or set of conditions) open-ended, but want anyone in the “no” branch (subscribers who did not meet the condition) to simply exit the workflow.
How to Create an Open-Ended Flodesk Workflow You Can Keep Adding Steps To
To make a workflow open-ended, simply exclude the Exit step from the end of the workflow (or from any branches you want to keep open, if you have multiple branches).
If the exit step has been automatically added, you can remove it to make the workflow / branches open-ended.
Now, any subscribers who reach the end of that workflow (or the branches of the workflow where you’ve excluded the Exit step) will be “on hold” inside the workflow until you decide to add a new step.
When Will “On Hold” Flodesk Workflow Subscribers Receive a New Workflow Step?
Assuming you DIDN’T include the Exit step at the end of your workflow (and therefore there are subscribers “On Hold” at the end of the workflow), and that you didn’t add a time delay before a adding a new step, current “on hold” workflow subscribers should be added to any new steps right away (within minutes) after you publish the workflow.
So, if you add a new email and no time delay before it, current workflow subscribers should receive it almost immediately (I tested this and received the new email right away).
If you add a time delay before the new email, the time delay should start when you publish the workflow, and current subscribers should receive the new email after the time delay.
How Will the Exit Step Work with Already-Published (Legacy) Flodesk Workflows?
The exit step will likely have been automatically added to any workflows you created previously, since that was the default behavior before.
So, if you want any legacy workflows to be open-ended in the future, you’ll want to edit the workflow and click the X on any exit steps you want to remove.
*Remember to re-publish any active workflows!
Will subscribers who completed a [legacy] Flodesk workflow previously be included in new workflow steps?
Unfortunately, it looks like subscribers who were previously marked as “Completed” for a workflow won’t be included in new workflow steps, even if you remove the exit step and re-publish.
Any new subscribers, or subscribers currently in the workflow that haven’t completed will be included in new steps you add.
Does the Exit Step Allow Flodesk Subscribers to Remove Themselves from an Email Sequence or Topic?
The Exit step has nothing to do with allowing subscribers to manually exit a workflow, nor with automatically removing a subscriber from a workflow mid-way.
It is for your behind-the-scenes eyes only, and is simply an (optional) way to mark subscribers who’ve reached the end of a workflow as “complete,” and exclude them from any future additions that may be added to the workflow.
If you want to allow subscribers to opt out of a topic or sequence mid-way, the best way to do so is to add the workflow segment as an option in the subscriber preferences page. Then, when a subscriber de-selects that option, they should stop getting emails for that workflow immediately. Just be aware that you are limited to 6 total options for this form.
Alternatively, you could potentially create a custom “unsubscribe” form and workflow for a particular topic or sequence.
NOTE: While “link triggers” can be used in Flodesk workflow emails, they are based around specific timeframes (times delays) so they are NOT the best option for allowing subscribers to remove themselves from a sequence. This is because they either won’t be removed right away (until the time delay ends), or, they won’t be removed at all if they click the link after the time delay.
Keep reading to learn how you can automatically move subscribers who reach the end of one workflow to another workflow!
BONUS: How to Automatically Move Completed Flodesk Subscribers from One Workflow to Another
Say you send all new subscribers a welcome sequence, but you want them to automatically be moved to a sales sequence once they’ve completed the welcome sequence.
To do this, you’ll just want to make sure you add an “Add to Segment” step at the end of the welcome workflow, and choose the TRIGGER segment for the second workflow.
- Optionally, you can add a condition step BEFORE the Add to Segment step, if you only want to add certain subscribers to the sales sequence, such as those who selected a specific checkbox on your form.
- You can also optionally create a “Completed Welcome Workflow” segment and add it as a step in the workflow, to be able to view + include/exclude subscribers who’ve completed the workflow (for instance, you could select this segment as a condition in another workflow, or include/exclude the segment in a 1-off email).
Then, if you want anyone to be marked as “complete” for the first workflow (and NOT be included in any future steps for that workflow), you’d add the Exit step AFTER all the other steps — at the VERY end of the workflow.
So, when the subscriber reaches the end of the welcome workflow, they will automatically be added to the subsequent workflow, and optionally marked / segmented as having completed the welcome workflow.