Understanding Intelligent Links: Turn Email Clicks into Automated Actions
Overview
Intelligent Links are clickable links in your emails that automatically trigger workflows when recipients click them. Instead of just directing people to a webpage, these smart links can update contact records, start email sequences, add notes, assign tags, and notify you instantly - all based on what your contacts click.
Think of Intelligent Links as your email automation superpower. When someone clicks a link showing interest in a specific service, product, or topic, the system automatically updates their information and begins appropriate follow-up actions. This helps you prioritize leads, track engagement, and provide personalized responses without manual work.
Every link in your email can trigger a different workflow with unlimited steps and actions. You can gather valuable data about what interests your contacts most while providing them with relevant follow-up communications automatically.
Intelligent Links: Video
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Set Up Your Workflow First
Navigate to Automation in your main menu to create the actions you want to happen when someone clicks your link. This is called an Workflow and determines what the system will do when the link is clicked.
Your workflows can include actions like adding tags, creating notes, starting email sequences, sending notifications, or updating contact information.
2. Create Your Email Template
Navigate to the email template section and write your email content as you normally would. Include the text you want to turn into clickable links - these will become your Intelligent Links.
3. Add Hyperlinks to Your Text
Important: You must create regular hyperlinks first before they can become Intelligent Links.
Highlight the text you want to make clickable, then click the hyperlink icon in your email editor. Enter the destination URL where you want people to go when they click the link.
Note: Only text that has been set up as a hyperlink will be available for Intelligent Link configuration. Regular text cannot be converted directly into an Intelligent Link.
4. Configure the Hyperlink Destination
Set up where you want the link to direct your contacts when clicked. This could be your website, a landing page, a specific product page, or any relevant URL.
Click Apply to save your hyperlink settings.
5. Enable Intelligent Link Functionality
Click the Intelligent Links box in your email template editor. This opens the configuration panel where you can assign workflows to your links.
6. Add Intelligent Link Actions
Click Add Intelligent Link to begin connecting your hyperlinks to workflows.
7. Connect Links to Workflows
Select the specific link you want to make intelligent from the dropdown menu, then choose the Action Set or Workflow you want to trigger when that link is clicked. Click Save to confirm the connection.
8. Configure Additional Links
If your email template has multiple links, repeat the process to add Intelligent Link functionality to each one. You can assign different workflows to different links based on what action you want each click to trigger.
When finished configuring all your Intelligent Links, close the configuration panel.
9. Test Your Intelligent Links
Critical Step: Always test your Intelligent Links before sending to your contact list.
Send a test email to yourself from a contact record, then click each link to verify the workflows trigger correctly. Check the contact record afterward to confirm all actions (tags, notes, email sequences, etc.) were applied as expected.
10. Review the Results
After clicking your test links, return to the contact record to verify all the actions from your workflow were completed. Look for new tags, notes, and any autoresponder sequences that should have started.
Important Details About Intelligent Links
Single Trigger Rule: Each link only triggers its workflow once per contact. If the same person clicks the same link multiple times, the workflow will not run again.
Multiple Link Capability: Contacts can click different Intelligent Links in the same email, and each will trigger its own separate workflow.
Processing Time: After a link is clicked, it may take a few minutes for all workflow actions to complete in the system.
Email Identification: Email templates containing Intelligent Links are marked with a special link icon in your template list for easy identification.
Intelligent Links: Questions and Answers
Q: What types of actions can Intelligent Links trigger?
A: Intelligent Links can trigger any action available in your workflow system, including adding tags and notes, starting autoresponder sequences, updating contact information, sending notifications to team members, and moving contacts to different databases or categories.
Q: Can I use multiple Intelligent Links in the same email?
A: Yes, you can add as many Intelligent Links as needed in a single email. Each link can trigger a completely different workflow, allowing you to track various interests and respond accordingly.
Q: What happens if someone clicks the same link multiple times?
A: The workflow will only trigger once per contact, regardless of how many times they click the same link. This prevents duplicate actions and maintains clean contact records.
Q: How long does it take for Intelligent Link actions to process?
A: Most actions happen within a few minutes of the link being clicked. The system processes the click notification and then executes each step of the assigned workflow in sequence.
Q: Can I see which links my contacts have clicked?
A: Yes, the actions from your workflows (such as tags and notes) will appear on the contact's record, showing you which links they engaged with and when.
Q: Do I need to create the hyperlink before making it intelligent?
A: Yes, you must first create a regular hyperlink using the email editor's hyperlink tool. Only existing hyperlinks can be converted to Intelligent Links - you cannot skip the hyperlink creation step.
Q: What if I want to change the workflow after setting up an Intelligent Link?
A: You can modify the Workflow in your automation settings, and the changes will apply to future clicks. You can also edit the Intelligent Link configuration to assign a different workflow to any link.
Video Transcript
You are sending out emails to your Prospects and Customers with links in them.
Wouldn’t it be great to know which link was clicked and when it was clicked?
Wouldn’t it even be better, if someone clicking a link, would automatically update their information in the database, start a Workflow or Autoresponder, and send you an instant notification?
Intelligent Link Tracking will do all of this and much more.
Pam has a Bakery and Catering business. She has a list of companies who will be putting on an event sometime in the near future.
She wants to prioritize her list, and really focus on her hottest prospects.
Here’s her email with three different links. Depending on which link is clicked, a different Workflow will be triggered.
If they click the first link, indicating they are going to have an event in the next 60 days, these are Hot Prospects, and Pam wants to treat them as such.
A special Hot Prospect Tag will be added to their account.
Any active Autoresponders will be replaced by a new autoresponder sequence for Hot Prospects.
A Note will be added to the Contact Record, and Pam will receive an email notification, notifying her that she has a new hot prospect.
If they clicked on the second or third link, a completely different workflow would be triggered: a different tag, a different autoresponder, and Pam would not receive an email notification.
Let's build some intelligent links.
First, write your email here in the email template section.
Create your links as you normally would.
If you want to make this text a link, highlight it, click on the chain link icon, and put in your URL.
After you're done creating or editing your email, you can turn that link into an intelligent link.
Click here on ‘intelligent links’, select the link you want to make intelligent, then assign the workflow you want the system to run when someone clicks on that link.
And that's it!
Your intelligent links are set up and ready to go.
As a reminder, you build your workflows here, under Automation.