Automate follow-up that knows when to speak, and when to stop
Shape’s Drip Campaigns automate follow-up across the whole customer lifecycle with a sequence of timed messages and CRM actions. A campaign can send emails, texts, and MMS messages, create tasks, update statuses, reassign records, trigger webhooks, and more.
You control:
- Which records enter the campaign, and what starts it
- Which records are eligible
- What actions happen, and when each step happens
- What days and times communications can run
- What stops the campaign, including whether an inbound text or inbound call stops it right away
With Time Zone Protect, every text a drip sends goes out during the lead’s own local calling hours, automatically. Use drips for new-lead nurture, long-term follow-up, customer education, re-engagement, renewals, and internal workflows.
Quick start: build your first drip in 5 minutes
- Go to Settings › Drip Campaigns and select Add Drip Campaign.
- Name it, choose the record types, and pick the Initiation Status that should enroll records (for example, New Lead).
- Choose how it stops: End Statuses, Stop Upon Text Response, Stop Upon Inbound Call, or any combination.
- Optional: narrow who enters with Advanced Conditions (tags, sources, users, teams) and set a Run Schedule.
- Select Save & Continue, then add your steps (email, text, task, status change, and more) with a delay for each.
- Walk a test record through the campaign, then turn it Active.
Text steps automatically wait for each lead’s Time Zone Protect calling window, so you don’t need separate campaigns by time zone. The sections below cover each step in detail.
What is drip campaign automation?
A drip campaign is a sequence of automated actions that run over time after a record meets your enrollment criteria. For example, a new-lead workflow might:
- Send a welcome email right away.
- Send a text the next morning, during the lead’s local calling window.
- Create a follow-up task for the assigned user.
- Send another email several days later.
- Stop automatically if the customer replies by text, calls in, or reaches a set status.
Instead of relying on users to remember every follow-up, Shape runs the sequence by your rules.
Why use drip campaigns?
Drips create consistent follow-up without manual effort. The goal isn’t to send more messages. It’s a repeatable process that adapts as each customer moves through your workflow. Common uses include:
- New lead nurture and long-term prospect follow-up
- Appointment reminders
- Past customer outreach and re-engagement
- Renewal campaigns
- Referral partner communication
- Customer onboarding
- Recruiting workflows
- Internal task creation, status progression, and assignment
- Integration workflows using webhooks
Managing your drip campaigns
Go to Settings › Drip Campaigns. From there you can activate, edit, duplicate, and delete campaigns, organize them into folders, and turn several campaigns on or off at once.
Duplicate an existing campaign
If a campaign is close to what you need, duplicating it is faster than starting over. Select Duplicate next to the campaign. The copy has “copy” in its title so it’s easy to find. Before activating it, review:
- Initiation Status and End Statuses
- Stop Upon Text Response and Stop Upon Inbound Call
- Advanced Conditions and Run Schedule
- Templates
- Assignment logic
- Step timing
Create a new campaign
Select Add Drip Campaign. Setup has two parts:
- Define who enters the campaign and what stops it.
- Build the sequence of actions.
How to set up a drip campaign
Name and organize it
Give the campaign a descriptive name, such as New Lead Nurture, 90-Day Follow-Up, Past Customer Re-Engagement, Appointment Reminder, Referral Partner Welcome, or Renewal Outreach. Add it to a folder to keep larger libraries organized.
Turn it on or off
Use the status toggle to control whether the campaign is active.
- Off: no records enroll.
- Active: eligible records enroll when they meet the initiation criteria.
Turning a campaign on doesn’t enroll records already sitting in the initiation status. Records generally need to reach the initiation status while the campaign is active.
Choose record types
Select the record type or types the campaign applies to. Options depend on your Shape industry template and setup. This lets you run different drip strategies for different record types.
Choose the Initiation Status
Drips are started by status. Pick the one Initiation Status that enrolls a record. When an eligible record reaches that status while the campaign is active, it enters the drip. For example, when a record moves into New Lead, the campaign begins.
Decide how the campaign stops
Every good drip needs a clear stopping strategy. Shape has three independent ways to stop a campaign for a record, and the campaign stops on whichever happens first:
- End Statuses
- Stop Upon Text Response
- Stop Upon Inbound Call
End Statuses
Pick one or more statuses that should end the campaign, such as Contacted, Appointment Booked, Application Started, Closed, or Not Interested. When a record reaches one, its remaining steps stop.
Stop Upon Text Response
When this toggle is on, any inbound text from the contact stops the campaign for that record, and no remaining steps run. It’s ideal for conversational nurture, where the whole point is to get a reply. For example:
- Send an introductory text.
- Send a follow-up email.
- Plan another text two days later.
- The customer replies after the first text.
- Shape stops the remaining steps for that contact.
It’s off by default, so existing campaigns keep their current behavior unless an admin turns it on.
Stop Upon Inbound Call
This works like Stop Upon Text Response, but for phone calls. When it’s on, an inbound call from the contact stops the campaign for that record, and no remaining steps run. When a customer calls you, automated nurture should step aside so your team can take it from there. For example:
- Send an introductory text.
- Send a follow-up email the next day.
- The customer calls your office.
- Shape stops the remaining steps for that contact.
Like Stop Upon Text Response, it’s set per campaign and works independently of your other stop conditions.
Use them together
You don’t have to choose. A campaign can stop when the record reaches Contacted, reaches Appointment Booked, the customer texts back, or the customer calls in, whichever happens first.
When should a campaign stop on a text or call?
| Turn it on for | Consider leaving it off for |
|---|---|
| Speed-to-lead text nurture | Long-term educational campaigns |
| Appointment-setting campaigns | Customer onboarding |
| New lead follow-up | Renewal reminders |
| Re-engagement campaigns | Scheduled informational sequences |
| Campaigns where a user takes over after a reply | Campaigns where a reply doesn’t mean the workflow is done |
| Short-term conversational nurture |
Add Advanced Conditions
The Initiation Status is the main enrollment event. Advanced Conditions narrow which records qualify. This helps when several groups share a status but only some should get this campaign. Conditions can include tags, sources, users, teams, departments, other supported record fields, and run schedules.
- Tags: include only records with (or without) a tag. The tag must already be on the record when it reaches the initiation status. For example, with an Initiation Status of Nurture and a Required Tag of Realtor Campaign, only records meeting both enter.
- Sources: include or exclude lead or marketing sources, such as Include: Website Leads or Exclude: Purchased Leads.
- Users, teams, and departments: apply the campaign to everyone (the default) or narrow it to specific users, teams, or departments with their own follow-up strategy.
Run schedules
Run schedules set the days and times a campaign’s communications can process. If a step falls outside the schedule, it waits for the next open window. Use them to keep messages from going out overnight, on weekends, outside business hours, or at other restricted times.
Run schedules use the lead’s time zone when it’s available, with your company time zone as a fallback. They’re different from step timing: the run schedule decides when the campaign may operate, while step timing decides when an action is due.
Run schedules work alongside Time Zone Protect. Text and MMS steps must fall inside both your run schedule and the lead’s Time Zone Protect calling window to send.
Records can re-enter and overlap
A record can enter the same campaign again if it later returns to the initiation status and meets the criteria. It can also be in more than one campaign at a time. Review your setup carefully when several campaigns use overlapping statuses.
Do duplicate merges re-enroll records?
When an incoming lead merges automatically with an existing record, it only re-enrolls if the merge changes the record’s status. An automatic duplicate merge doesn’t count as returning to a status.
- Status stays the same: no drip campaigns are evaluated. A record already in Closed won’t restart a campaign that starts on Closed.
- Status changes: if your duplicate rule uses Change Status Upon Merge, campaigns are evaluated for the new status as usual.
To have returning leads re-enter a campaign, set Change Status Upon Merge to that campaign’s Initiation Status. See Duplicate Record Management.
How to build the drip workflow
After your settings are in place, select Save & Continue to build the sequence. Each step type has its own options.
| Step type | What it does | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Sends an automated email from a template or custom content | Welcome messages, education, reminders, updates, long-term nurture, re-engagement | |
| Text | Sends an automated SMS during the lead’s Time Zone Protect window | Time-sensitive or conversational follow-up |
| MMS | Sends a multimedia message during the lead’s Time Zone Protect window | Messages that benefit from an image or other media |
| Task | Creates follow-up work for a user, such as a Day 3 task for the assigned user | Pairing automation with human follow-up |
| Change Status | Updates the record’s status | Moving records along, such as New Lead to Long-Term Nurture |
| Assign | Changes who owns the record | Escalation, specialist follow-up, internal routing |
| Webhook | Sends data to an external workflow or integration | Triggering activity outside Shape |
| MailChimp | Connects with MailChimp, where available | Email marketing workflows |
A few things to keep in mind:
- If Stop Upon Text Response is on, a reply to any text step stops the rest of the campaign for that contact.
- Status changes can kick off other automations, reports, or workflows.
- If a Change Status step moves the record into one of the campaign’s End Statuses, the campaign stops.
Templates in drip steps keep their own copy
When you add an email template to a drip step, the step keeps its own editable copy. Editing the original in your Email Templates settings doesn’t update drip steps that already use it.
To change what a drip sends, edit the step inside the drip campaign. If you update a template you use across several drips, update each drip step too.
This is different from Automated Actions (triggers), which use the underlying template directly.
Step timing, time zones, and Time Zone Protect
Delays are sequential
Each step has its own delay, such as immediately, after minutes, after days, after weeks, or a custom number of hours or days. Delays count from the previous step, not from enrollment.
Example: Step 1 sends an email immediately, Step 2 sends a text after 1 day, and Step 3 creates a task after 2 days. The task happens about two days after the text, not two days after enrollment.
Custom delays
If none of the preset delays fit, choose Custom at the bottom of the step’s delay dropdown. Enter a number, then choose Hours or Days.
| Unit | Range |
|---|---|
| Hours | 1 to 168 hours (up to one week) |
| Days | 1 to 365 days (up to one year) |
Custom delays use whole hours or days. For delays in minutes, use one of the preset options.
Example: To send a check-in text 36 hours after a welcome email, choose Custom, enter 36, and select Hours. To follow up 45 days after the previous step, enter 45 and select Days.
Timeframes
For day-based delays, you can also choose a preferred sending timeframe: Morning, Afternoon, Evening, or Night. That gives you more control than “send one day later.” Timeframes aren’t used with immediate or short minute-based delays.
Whose time zone is used?
Drip timing uses the lead’s time zone when Shape has their location. When it doesn’t, it uses your company time zone from Company Settings.
Time Zone Protect for text and MMS steps
On top of your step timing and run schedule, every text and MMS step follows Time Zone Protect. It’s always on for texting and can’t be turned off. A text step only sends during the lead’s local calling window:
- Default window: 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM, every day, in the lead’s local time.
- State-specific windows: some states have their own hours, weekend limits, or holiday restrictions. See the Time Zone Protect guide for the full table.
- Location first: Shape checks the Present, Mailing, and Property address on the record the drip is running on (ZIP code first, then state). It uses the phone number’s area code only as a last resort. If the time zone can’t be confirmed, it uses the most restrictive window. Other records that share the phone number don’t affect it, even if they’re in a different time zone.
- Daylight saving time is handled automatically.
If a text step becomes due outside the lead’s window, it waits and sends when the window opens. Nothing is skipped, and the campaign continues from there.
Example: A text step is due at 7:00 AM Eastern on a Sunday for a lead in Texas. Texas’s Sunday window starts at 12:00 PM, so the text waits and goes out at noon Central.
When does a step actually send?
Every step first waits for its delay and your run schedule. Text and MMS steps then also wait for the lead’s Time Zone Protect window. Emails and other step types send once they’re inside the run schedule.
| Step type | Must satisfy |
|---|---|
| Text and MMS | Step timing, run schedule, and the lead’s Time Zone Protect window |
| Step timing and run schedule | |
| Task, Change Status, Assign, Webhook | Step timing and run schedule, where it applies |
| AI calls started by a drip | The lead’s Time Zone Protect window (AI always waits; it can’t override), and the AI agent being free from any other call |
When exact send times matter, review your run schedule, step timing, and Time Zone Protect together.
Reorder, edit, and update live campaigns
As you build, you can add, edit, preview, and delete steps, and drag and drop them to reorder. Review the full sequence before activating, since changes to timing or order can noticeably change the customer experience.
What happens when you edit a live campaign?
Changes to steps apply to records already in the campaign, for the steps they haven’t reached yet.
Example: A record is on Step 2. You add a new Step 5 and change the delay on Step 3. When that record reaches Step 3, it uses the new delay, and it gets Step 5 too. Steps 1 and 2 aren’t re-sent.
Changes to enrollment criteria only affect future enrollments. If you change the Initiation Status or Advanced Conditions, records already in the campaign aren’t removed, even if they no longer match. To take a record out, use an End Status or another stop condition.
| You change | Records already in the campaign |
|---|---|
| Add, remove, or edit future steps | Get the changes when they reach those steps |
| Steps they’ve already passed | Not affected; nothing is re-sent |
| Initiation Status or Advanced Conditions | Stay in the campaign; only new enrollments follow the new rules |
Opt-outs, unsubscribes, and imports
SMS opt-outs
Shape handles supported opt-out keywords, including STOP, STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, and QUIT. When one comes in, Shape records the text opt-out and blocks future texts to that number. Keywords such as START, YES, or UNSTOP can restore texting eligibility where supported.
Stop Upon Text Response vs. SMS opt-out
These aren’t the same thing.
| Stop Upon Text Response | SMS opt-out | |
|---|---|---|
| Triggered by | Any inbound text, such as “Yes,” “Call me tomorrow,” or “I’m interested” (when the toggle is on) | A supported opt-out keyword, such as STOP |
| What it affects | That record’s drip campaign only | The contact’s texting eligibility going forward |
| Changes texting preferences? | No | Yes |
A normal reply can stop a campaign without opting the contact out. An opt-out affects texting eligibility and also stops applicable future communication.
Email unsubscribes
Shape automatically includes unsubscribe options in applicable emails. When someone unsubscribes, their email address is blocked from future applicable emails. Campaign logic never overrides email unsubscribes or text opt-outs.
Starting drips during an import
You can enroll records in drips as part of an import. During the import step, turn on Initiate Drip Campaigns? Records imported with an initiation status for an active campaign can then enroll. Review your campaign before using this on a large import. Text steps still wait for each lead’s Time Zone Protect window.
Drip campaign best practices
- ✓Define the goal first. If the goal is “get a reply,” consider Stop Upon Text Response and Stop Upon Inbound Call. If it’s “educate over 30 days,” the campaign may need to continue after a text.
- ✓Set stop conditions before writing messages. Think about status changes, text replies, the end of the sequence, and whether another workflow takes over.
- ✓Stop sales messages after engagement. For conversational nurture, once someone replies, human follow-up usually works better than more automation.
- ✓Keep campaigns purpose-built. Smaller, focused workflows are easier to maintain, troubleshoot, and report on.
- ✓Use Advanced Conditions to prevent over-enrollment. Build source, user, or audience limits into the campaign instead of relying on users to remember.
- ✓Review overlapping campaigns. Make sure statuses and conditions don’t send conflicting messages.
- ✓Plan how duplicate merges should re-enroll records. An automatic merge only starts a campaign when it changes the record’s status. Use Change Status Upon Merge in your duplicate rules if returning leads should re-enter a campaign.
- ✓Use run schedules. Keep messages from going out at times your organization doesn’t want to contact customers.
- ✓Keep lead addresses complete. Time Zone Protect uses ZIP code and state first, so accurate addresses mean better-timed texts.
- ✓Plan text steps around calling windows. A text due late in the evening may wait until the next morning, so build timing with that in mind.
- ✓Test before scaling. Walk a test record through enrollment, step order, templates, timing, run schedule, Time Zone Protect, End Statuses, Stop Upon Text Response, Stop Upon Inbound Call, assignment, status changes, and webhooks.
Troubleshooting drip campaigns
Why didn’t my record enter the campaign?
Check whether:
- The campaign was Active when the record reached the initiation status (the most common cause)
- The record actually reached the correct Initiation Status
- It meets the Advanced Conditions, including required tags
- The assigned user is eligible for the campaign
- The record was imported without Initiate Drip Campaigns turned on
- The record came in as a duplicate and merged automatically without a status change (see below)
Why did a merged record enter (or not enter) my campaign?
An automatic duplicate merge only starts drip campaigns when it changes the record’s status.
- It didn’t enter: the merge probably left the record in its current status. To enroll returning leads, set Change Status Upon Merge in your duplicate rule to the campaign’s Initiation Status.
- It entered: the duplicate rule changed the record’s status during the merge, and the new status is this campaign’s Initiation Status. Review Change Status Upon Merge in Settings › Duplicate Management.
Why didn’t my email or text send when expected?
Review:
- The campaign’s run schedule
- The step delay and selected timeframe
- For texts: whether the lead was outside their Time Zone Protect calling window, including state weekend or holiday restrictions
- The lead’s address, since a missing or outdated ZIP code can change which window applies
- The template’s recipient settings
- Communication opt-outs
- Whether the campaign was stopped by an End Status, Stop Upon Text Response, or Stop Upon Inbound Call
A step that becomes due outside the run schedule or the lead’s calling window waits for the next allowed time.
Why did my campaign suddenly stop?
Check whether the record reached an End Status, the contact texted back with Stop Upon Text Response on, the contact called in with Stop Upon Inbound Call on, the campaign finished its last step, or a Change Status step moved the record into an End Status.
The customer replied by text. Why are they still getting the drip?
Stop Upon Text Response is probably off for that campaign. It’s off by default, so replies don’t stop campaigns unless an admin turns it on.
The customer called in. Why are they still getting the drip?
Check whether Stop Upon Inbound Call is on for that campaign. If it’s off, inbound calls don’t stop the campaign.
Does an email reply stop the campaign?
No. Campaigns can stop on inbound texts and inbound calls, but not email replies. Use End Statuses when other customer activity should stop the workflow.
Frequently asked questions
What starts a drip campaign?+
A record enters when it reaches the campaign’s Initiation Status while the campaign is active and meets the Advanced Conditions.
How many Initiation Statuses can a campaign have?+
One.
Can a campaign have more than one End Status?+
Yes. Choose as many statuses as should stop the campaign.
What is Stop Upon Text Response?+
An optional setting that stops the remaining steps for a record when Shape receives an inbound text from that contact.
Is Stop Upon Text Response on automatically?+
No. It’s off by default so existing campaigns don’t change.
Does a text reply or inbound call opt the person out?+
No. Both only stop that campaign for that record. Opting out of texting is separate and happens when the contact sends a keyword such as STOP.
Can an inbound call stop a drip campaign?+
Yes. Turn on Stop Upon Inbound Call, and an inbound call from the contact stops the remaining steps for that record.
Can I stop a campaign on both texts and calls?+
Yes. Stop Upon Text Response and Stop Upon Inbound Call work independently, alongside End Statuses. The campaign stops on whichever happens first.
What happens when a campaign runs out of steps?+
The drip is complete for that record.
Can a record enter the same drip campaign again?+
Yes, if it returns to the Initiation Status and meets the requirements. An automatic duplicate merge that leaves the status unchanged doesn’t re-enroll the record.
Does merging a duplicate record start a drip campaign?+
When an incoming lead merges automatically, only if the merge changes the record’s status. If your duplicate rule uses Change Status Upon Merge and the new status is a campaign’s Initiation Status, the record can enroll. If the status stays the same, no campaigns are evaluated.
Can a record be in multiple drip campaigns?+
Yes, if it meets the conditions for more than one active campaign.
Can I start drip campaigns during an import?+
Yes. Turn on Initiate Drip Campaigns? during the import.
Do run schedules use the customer’s time zone?+
Yes, when it’s available, with your company time zone as a fallback.
Do drip texts follow Time Zone Protect?+
Yes, always. Text and MMS steps only send during the lead’s local calling window: 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM by default, with state-specific hours and holiday restrictions where configured. Time Zone Protect can’t be turned off for texting.
What happens if a text step is due outside the lead’s calling window?+
It waits and sends once the window opens. The campaign then continues from there.
Does Time Zone Protect apply to email steps?+
No. Time Zone Protect covers calls and texts. Email steps follow your step timing and run schedule.
Can I create templates without leaving the drip builder?+
Yes. You can create email and text content inside the drip campaign setup.
Can I set a custom delay between steps?+
Yes. Choose Custom at the bottom of the step’s delay dropdown, enter a number, and select Hours (1 to 168) or Days (1 to 365). For delays in minutes, use a preset option.
What happens if several AI calls from drips are due at the same time?+
An AI agent can only be on one call at a time. If several drip campaigns queue a call for the same AI agent at once, such as right when a run schedule opens at 9:00 AM, the first call goes out and the others wait in the queue. Each one goes out as soon as the agent is free, and the drip then moves on to its next step as usual. When many calls are due together, some may go out a few minutes later than scheduled.
Why did a drip step run later than scheduled?+
A few things can delay a step:
- The step came due outside the campaign’s run schedule, so it waited for the next open window.
- For texts and AI calls, the lead was outside their Time Zone Protect calling window.
- For AI calls, the AI agent was on another call, so the call waited until the agent was free.
- Shape was in a short scheduled maintenance window. Steps that come due during maintenance run as soon as it ends.
In every case, the step still runs and the campaign continues from there.
If I edit a live campaign, do records already in it get the changes?+
Yes, for steps they haven’t reached yet. Steps they’ve already passed aren’t re-sent. Changes to enrollment criteria only affect new enrollments; records already in the campaign aren’t removed.
If I edit an email template, do my drips update?+
No. Each drip step keeps its own copy of the template. Edit the step inside the drip campaign to change what it sends.
Build automation that knows when to stop
The best drip campaigns aren’t just long sequences of messages. They respond to what’s happening with the customer.
Status-based enrollment and End Statuses keep campaigns aligned with your pipeline. Stop Upon Text Response and Stop Upon Inbound Call step aside as soon as a real conversation starts. Run schedules and Time Zone Protect make sure every text lands at a reasonable hour in the lead’s own time zone. Together with Advanced Conditions, multiple step types, and flexible timing, drips can automate much of your follow-up while still treating each customer as an individual.
Need help? Email help@setshape.com, call Support at (888) 718-6344, or visit setshape.com/support.
Related guides: Time Zone Protect · Bulk Texting · Texting in Shape · Company Settings · Manage Triggers · Merge Tokens · AI Calling & Texting · Duplicate Record Management