Pay attention to imports
Imports can inadvertently add contacts to programs that start with a New contact or Data change entry point, if they contain new registrations or a field defined in a Data change node.
Large-scale imports
If you import more than 250,000 contacts and you have programs with these entry nodes:
- On auto-import
Please note that this limitation only applies to programs starting with the On auto-import node that were created before September 13, 2021. For more information, see On auto-import.
- New contact
- Data change
…plus a Send email node, the program might cause performance issues and trigger a fail-safe.
If you wish to send more than 250,000 contacts through the Automation Center (for example: importing 1M contacts on new contact creation) then split the volume up to 250,000 chunks, and let each chunk be processed fully before starting the other.
Small is beautiful
It is tempting to create one huge, complex program to cover an entire marketing strategy, but this really brings no benefits. If you create a number of smaller, less complex programs instead you can more easily identify where your strategy can be optimized and make your changes without affecting the other programs. Contacts can easily be passed from one program to another.
A simple way to see if your program is getting too complex is to watch how long your browser takes to open it. The more assets it has, the longer this will take, and a delay of more than a few seconds is a sign that you should consider splitting it up.
One contact, one path
Contacts should only ever proceed along one path of a program. If you split paths, it is up to you to ensure that the filter logic excludes the possibility of a contact proceeding along more than one path.
If you rejoin paths after a split, we will not check for duplicates when the contacts reach the junction. It is therefore possible for a contact to appear twice on the same path, and receive the same messages twice.
Consider your account activity as a whole
Remember that an automated program must use the same account resources as your other segments and emails, as well as the other programs.
- Avoid scheduling Wait nodes for high traffic hours when you are sending large email campaigns.
- Avoid scheduling Wait nodes for the same fixed time across multiple programs.
- Avoid scheduling many Recurring filters for the same fixed time.
- If possible, consider breaking your complex program into 2-3 smaller programs. For more information, see Connecting programs.
Naming conventions
An issue to be aware of with all programs that spawn duplicate campaign names differentiated only by # numbers.
Campaigns with the same name can be found under analysis, because the naming convention creates a time stamp for campaigns without a second counter, and the system needs to differentiate with a hashtag and number. The resulting ambiguity can cause user confusion.
Solve this by placing a Wait node on one of the paths causing the naming differentiation.