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Moving in2 min read

Keep ActiveCampaign up to date with my students while I move to bernard

Moving from ActiveCampaign rarely happens in one day. Your students may already learn in bernard while an automation or two still runs in ActiveCampaign, started by a tag such as “completed level 3”. Once the course lives here, ActiveCampaign stops hearing about progress, and those tags stop going on.

The prompt

“I still run some automations in ActiveCampaign. Connect [my site] through Zapier so that when a student [enrols / finishes a module / completes the course], ActiveCampaign adds the tag [tag name].”

Signed in, Get my prompt fills in your site for you. Otherwise press Copy and fill in the [bracketed] parts. First time? Connect your AI to bernard once: Use your own AI (opens in a new tab).

This page is a worked example of closing that gap for the weeks both run. The general feature is in Tell another tool when a student finishes a lesson, a course or joins my list; the move itself is Move my mailing list from ActiveCampaign.

The shape

bernard notices a student finish a module, and sends the news to Zapier, which adds a tag in ActiveCampaign. One Zap for each tag you need.

Step by step

  1. In Zapier, make a new Zap. For the trigger, choose Webhooks by Zapier and the Catch Hook event. Zapier shows you a webhook address; copy it. (Zapier’s help calls this “Trigger Zaps from webhooks”.)
  2. In bernard’s Workshop, ask: “When a student finishes a module, tell this address: [paste it].” Bernard shows you exactly which personal data will go to Zapier, and waits for your yes. Only the account owner can approve it.
  3. Ask Bernard to send a test. It sends a made-up sample student, never a real one. Back in Zapier, test the trigger: the sample appears, with fields such as the contact’s email, the course title and the module title.
  4. Add the action in Zapier: choose ActiveCampaign and its action that adds a tag to a contact. Map the email from the sample, and type the tag your automation starts from.
  5. Switch the Zap on. From now on, each student who finishes a module gets the tag in ActiveCampaign within a few minutes.

Want a different tag for each module or course? Add a filter step in Zapier on the module or course title, or make one Zap for each.

Things to know

  • Only things that happen after you connect it are sent. Students who finished earlier are not sent again.
  • If Zapier is down, bernard tries again a few times. Many failures in a row switch the connection off, with a note in your activity log.
  • bernard does not hear back from ActiveCampaign. Tags added there stay there.

When no ActiveCampaign automation depends on those tags any more, switch the connection off. What does bernard have for each thing I use in ActiveCampaign? lists what bernard has for everything else you used there.

Questions people ask

Why would I need this?
While you move, some automations may still run in ActiveCampaign and start from a tag. Your students now learn in bernard, so ActiveCampaign no longer hears about their progress. This sends the news across, so those tags keep going on at the right moment until you switch ActiveCampaign off.
Does bernard connect to ActiveCampaign directly?
No. bernard tells Zapier, and Zapier updates ActiveCampaign. We do not build a direct ActiveCampaign connection, because it only matters during a move.
Do I need a paid Zapier plan?
Zapier’s own help says its webhook step, Webhooks by Zapier, is not on its free plan. Check Zapier’s current plans before you start.
What personal data goes to Zapier?
The student’s email address and name, and which course and module or lesson. Bernard shows you the exact sentence and waits for your approval before anything is connected, and only the account owner can approve it.
When should I switch it off?
When no ActiveCampaign automation starts from those tags any more. Ask Bernard to switch the connection off or delete it; it shows you first and waits for your approval.

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