By default, a contact can only complete an Automated Program one time. In some cases you may want contacts to repeat the program, such as sending a birthday message every year or processing renewals on an annual cycle.
Allowing contacts to re-enter a program is an optional controlled feature. Incorrect program logic can cause contacts to loop indefinitely, which may result in performance issues and duplicate emails being sent.
This feature also affects reporting accuracy. Metrics that count unique contacts will not count the same contact more than once, even if they re-enter the program multiple times.
If you have a valid use case that requires re-entry, follow the steps in this article to configure your program safely.
Quick Reference (Advanced Users) – Click to Expand
- Status: Controlled feature; must be enabled by Support
- Where: Program Settings → Options → Allow contacts to re-enter
- When used: Birthdays, renewals, recurring alerts, repeat submissions
- Risks: Looping, repeated emails, inaccurate unique-contact metrics
- Protection: Use Wait steps and behavioral segments to control entry
Contact Support to Enable Re-Entry
Re-entry is disabled by default. To enable it:
Contact Support with:
- A brief description of your use case and why re-entry is required
- An example list you plan to use in the program
- An example program you have created for testing re-entry behavior
Use Cases
Re-entry can be useful when contacts need to repeat a process on a schedule or based on a recurring action.
- Timing: Consider when a contact should re-enter the program, such as an annual or periodic event.
- Variance: Each re-entry should reflect something different, such as updated behavior, new information, or a status change.
Examples
- Yearly renewal or birthday programs
- Application processing based on repeated form submissions
- Behavior-based alerts sent to Sales teams when milestones are reached
- Transactional messages requiring additional context not collected via forms
- Order confirmations using an alternate unique identifier
- Weekly job alert emails that use Dynamic Content
Best Practices
Before enabling re-entry, review the Automated Program Basics and Best Practices. Keep these additional guidelines in mind:
- Use behavioral segments to control when a contact can re-enter
- Insert Wait steps to ensure contacts progress through the program as intended
- Check that no logic allows non-transactional emails to repeat unintentionally
- Avoid looping paths via Go To steps; use Exit steps where appropriate
Add Re-Entry to a Program
To allow contacts to re-enter an Automated Program:
- Go to Automation → Automated Programs and select the edit icon for your program.
- The program must be paused to edit settings.
- Open the Settings tab.
- Select Allow contacts to re-enter in the Options section and save your program.
When you restart the program after enabling re-entry, you will be asked whether you want to enter new contacts. Since re-entry is active, the entire source list should enter the program again.