The 5 Most Common Email Automation Flows
Before choosing a tool, understand the flow. Most email-related automations fall into these five patterns:
1. Form submission → Add to email list
Someone fills out a form (Typeform, Tally, website form) and gets added to your email platform with a specific tag.
2. Purchase → Tag subscriber
Customer buys a product (Stripe, Gumroad, Shopify) and gets tagged in your email platform to trigger a post-purchase sequence.
3. Cart abandon → Email sequence
Customer adds items to cart but does not complete purchase. Trigger an abandonment email series.
4. Webinar registration → Email nurture
Someone registers for a webinar and enters a pre-event email sequence with reminders and post-event follow-ups.
5. CRM deal stage change → Email notification
Deal moves to "Proposal Sent" in your CRM, triggering an automated email to the prospect with the proposal link.
Native vs Middleware: What You Need for Each Flow
| Flow | Mailchimp | Kit | beehiiv | ActiveCampaign | Brevo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Form → List | Native (Free) | Native (Free) | Native (Free) | Native ($15) | Native (Free) |
| Purchase → Tag | Zapier/Make | Native ($39)* | Zapier/Make | Native ($15) | Zapier/Make |
| Cart abandon | Native ($20)** | Zapier/Make | Zapier/Make | Native ($49) | Zapier/Make |
| Webinar → Nurture | Zapier/Make | Zapier/Make ($39+) | Zapier/Make | Zapier/Make ($15+) | Zapier/Make |
| CRM → Email | Zapier/Make | Zapier/Make ($39+) | Zapier/Make | Native ($49)*** | Native ($18)**** |
*Kit has Stripe integration for digital product purchases on Creator ($39/mo).
**Mailchimp has Shopify/WooCommerce cart abandonment on Standard ($20/mo).
***ActiveCampaign has built-in CRM on Plus ($49/mo), so CRM → email is native.
****Brevo has built-in CRM on Free tier; automation triggers require Standard ($18/mo).
Cost of Using Middleware
When native integration is not available, you need Zapier or Make. Here is what that costs:
| Scenario | Zapier Cost | Make Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1 simple flow (100 triggers/mo) | Free (100 tasks/mo, two-step only) | Free (1,000 ops/mo) |
| 3 multi-step flows (~500 triggers/mo) | Professional $29.99/mo (750 tasks) | Core $10.59/mo (10,000 ops) |
| 10 flows (~2,000 triggers/mo) | Team $103.50/mo (2,000 tasks) | Core $10.59/mo (10,000 ops) |
Key difference: A 3-step Zapier workflow consumes 3 tasks per trigger. The same flow in Make consumes 3 operations. But Zapier gives you 750 tasks on Professional ($29.99/mo) while Make gives you 10,000 operations on Core ($10.59/mo). For email marketing flows, Make is typically 60–80% cheaper.
When Native Automation Is Better
Use native automation when:
- The trigger and action are both within the same platform (e.g., form submit → welcome sequence on Kit)
- You need conditional branching within an email sequence (ActiveCampaign and Kit do this natively)
- You need e-commerce integrations that are built into the platform (Mailchimp + Shopify)
- You want to avoid extra costs and maintenance of a separate automation tool
Use Zapier/Make when:
- You need to connect two separate systems (e.g., Typeform → beehiiv)
- Your email platform does not support the trigger (e.g., Stripe purchase → beehiiv)
- You need to transform data between systems (e.g., parse form fields before adding to CRM)
- You are connecting 3+ tools in a single workflow
The Best Combo for Each Budget
$0/month: beehiiv Launch + Make Free
beehiiv Launch (free, 2,500 subs) for newsletter. Make Free (1,000 ops/mo) for connecting external forms or tools. Limited to 2 active scenarios on Make.
$50–60/month: beehiiv Scale + Make Core
beehiiv Scale ($49/mo, unlimited subs) + Make Core ($10.59/mo, 10,000 ops). Handles most newsletter + automation needs for growing creators.
$50–65/month: ActiveCampaign Plus (no middleware needed)
ActiveCampaign Plus ($49/mo, 1,000 contacts) includes CRM, automation, email, and 900+ native integrations. If your contact list is under 1,000 and you need advanced automation, this is the all-in-one option. Cost scales with contacts.