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:
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Click your gear icon in the top-right corner of Heartbeat.
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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:
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🔄 Automated Workflows: Triggered every time a member takes a specific action (e.g. joins your community).
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⚡️ 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:
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On community join (triggers when someone joins your community)
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On group join (triggers when someone joins a group of your choosing)
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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.)
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On course completed (triggers when someone completes specified courses)
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On lesson completed (triggers when someone completes a specified lesson or assignment)
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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:
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Send a welcome email sequence to new members
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Show a popup or DM to new members
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Show the next course on course completion
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Send an email to external RSVPs for an event
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Send a notification when someone joins a group
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Send a DM to members that RSVP to an event
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Congratulate a member for completing a course
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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:
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🖼️ Show popup (Display a custom pop-up with a CTA button, optional image or GIF, and even celebratory confetti or fireworks)
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💬 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)
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🔔 Send Notification (Show a banner-style notification to selected users)
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➕ Add to group
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❌ 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:
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Choose a filter (e.g. members who joined in the last 30 days).
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Select actions (DM, email, notification, or pop-up).
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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:
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Boost RSVPs for an upcoming event with a popup
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Send a bulk DM to members
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Announce an event to members in a specific location
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Announce a new product in the community
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Bulk add members to a group
Where else workflows appear
You’ll also find workflow triggers baked into other parts of the platform:
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Event RSVPs → Trigger a DM or email to attendees.
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Courses → Trigger actions on course or lesson completion.
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Onboarding → Trigger actions (like a popup) when a new member joins the community.
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Groups → Trigger actions when someone joins an access group.
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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:
Need help or want to brainstorm automation ideas? Reach out to our support team — we’re happy to help you get creative.