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# What is an automation?

> Automatically send one or more emails based on the behaviour or characteristics of your subscribers.

With a regular newsletter, you as the sender decide when everyone receives it at the same time. That is not always the best moment for every recipient. With an automation, you automatically send one or more emails based on the behaviour or characteristics of an individual subscriber: a subscription, an opened email, a click, a modified field, or a date being reached.

Common examples include:

* A welcome email after subscribing to a list. Delivery then depends on the moment of subscribing.
* Sending an e-book or a confirmation for an event.
* A series of emails in which you showcase different aspects of your organisation. Without an automation, it is difficult to offer new subscribers the same series as your existing subscriber base. With an automation, each subscriber starts at their own moment and automatically receives the emails according to the planned schedule.

## What else can you do with an automation?

In addition to sending emails, an automation also allows you to:

* create a split, so that subscribers who open an email or click a specific link follow a different path
* add subscribers to or delete them from lists
* edit specific fields.

You determine when an automation begins using [a starting point](/de-startmomenten-van-een-automation). You then set up the subsequent steps using actions. You can read how to set this up in [Start your first automation](/hoe-maak-ik-een-automation).

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