Workflows are one of the most powerful features in Heartbeat. They let you automate actions based on member behavior — whether it’s welcoming new users, promoting an upcoming event, or sending emails after a course is completed.

Workflows are like an automation layer that runs across your entire community. You can trigger them based on nearly any member interaction: joining the community, RSVPing to an event, completing a course, or even matching a filter in your member list.

Overview Video

Where to find Workflows

To access workflows:

1. Click your gear icon in the top-right corner of Heartbeat.

2. Navigate to Settings > Workflows.

From here, you can manage all your existing workflows or create new ones.

Workflow types

There are two kinds of workflows:

• 🔄 Automated Workflows: Triggered every time a member takes a specific action (e.g. joins your community).
• ⚡️ Bulk Action Workflows: One-time actions you can schedule or run immediately for a filtered group of members.

Use automated workflows for key points in your member journey — like onboarding, course completion, or event RSVPs. Use bulk workflows for announcements, win-back messages, or special offers.

Available triggers

Triggers kick off your workflow. Here’s what you can currently trigger from:

• On community join (triggers when someone joins your community)
• On group join (triggers when someone joins a group of your choosing)
• On event RSVP (can trigger for RSVPs on all events, events for a specific group, or specific events. You can also choose between running actions for all RSVP'd guests, internal members only, or external members only.)
• On course completed (triggers when someone completes specified courses)
• On lesson completed (triggers when someone completes a specified lesson or assignment)
• On sign up email captured (triggers when a potential member submits their email address on an invitation link. Once the member makes a purchase or joins the community, any actions that have not yet run will automatically be cancelled.)

Each trigger can start a sequence of actions — customized to match your flow.

Here are some ideas for creating automated workflows:

• Send a welcome email sequence to new members
• Show a popup or DM to new members
• Show the next course on course completion
• Send an email to external RSVPs for an event
• Send a notification when someone joins a group
• Send a DM to members that RSVP to an event
• Congratulate a member for completing a course
• Send a confirmation when a member joins a paid group

Available actions

Once a workflow is triggered, you can chain together any of these actions:

• 🖼️ Show popup (Display a custom pop-up with a CTA button, optional image or GIF, and even celebratory confetti or fireworks)
• 💬 Send DM (Personalize your message with merge tags like {{member.name}}, {{community.name}}, and more)
• 💌 Send Email (Craft a welcome or reminder email, use merge tags, and send test emails to preview)
• 🔔 Send Notification (Show a banner-style notification to selected users)
• ➕ Add to group
• ❌ Remove from group

If you don't see an action that you'd like added to workflows, upvote it here or add it as a new request.

Use delays to space out actions — for example, send a DM immediately, then an email one day later.

Bulk Actions and Filters

Bulk workflows don’t use triggers — they just run once for a selected audience.

When creating a bulk workflow, you’ll:

1. Choose a filter (e.g. members who joined in the last 30 days).

2. Select actions (DM, email, notification, or pop-up).

3. Decide whether to run it immediately or schedule it for later.

Learn more about how to use filters: How filters work in Heartbeat

Here are some ideas for creating bulk action workflows:

• Boost RSVPs for an upcoming event with a popup
• Send a bulk DM to members
• Announce an event to members in a specific location
• Announce a new product in the community
• Bulk add members to a group

Where else workflows appear

You’ll also find workflow triggers baked into other parts of the platform:

• Event RSVPs → Trigger a DM or email to attendees.
• Courses → Trigger actions on course or lesson completion.
• Onboarding → Trigger actions (like a popup) when a new member joins the community.
• Groups → Trigger actions when someone joins an access group.

• Manage Members → Run bulk actions from your manage members

  table.

All of these use the same workflow system — just more context-aware.

What's next

Workflows are just the beginning. You can start with a template, build your own from scratch, or check out our recipes:

• Reward Top Contributors with a Badge

• Engage members to complete your Course

Need help or want to brainstorm automation ideas? Reach out to our support team — we’re happy to help you get creative.