How to Fix and Resend Failed Automation Messages
When automation messages fail to send, they show up as red indicators on your dashboard. This guide explains what those failure indicators mean and how to use bulk operations to tag affected leads, manage their subscriptions, and resend the failed messages.
Fixing Failed Automation Messages Tutorial
The Problem This Solves
Previously, when automation messages failed to send, you could only export leads or export messages from the failed list. There was no way to retry sending the failed messages or manage the leads who did not receive your automations.
The enhanced bulk operations for failed automation messages change that. You can now tag customers, manage their automation subscriptions, and resend failed messages directly from the failed messages list, giving you full control to recover from automation failures without losing customer engagement.
Understanding Failed Automation Indicators
- When automation messages fail to send, you will see a red number indicator on your dashboard.
- Click the red button to view the list of messages that previously failed to send.
- Color coding: Red = failed to send, Green = successfully sent.
Using the Enhanced Bulk Operations
Step 1: Access Failed Messages
- Click the red indicator to open the list of failed automation messages.
- You will see all the leads who did not receive the automation.
- Red messages indicate they failed to send to customers.
Step 2: Select Leads
- Click to select the names of the leads you want to manage.
- You can select individual leads or select all at once.
Step 3: Use the Bulk Operations
After selecting the leads, click Bulk Operations. You will see these options:
- Tag your customers: Add tags to organize and categorize these leads.
- Subscribe automations: Add leads to specific automation sequences.
- Unsubscribe automations: Remove leads from specific automation sequences.
- Export lead: Export the selected lead data.
- Export messages: Export the message history.
How to Resend Failed Automation Messages
To resend a failed message, use a two-step process: unsubscribe, then re-subscribe.
- Unsubscribe from the automation: Select all the leads who did not receive the message, click Bulk Operations, select Unsubscribe automations, choose the automation that failed, and click Save.
- Deselect the names: After the unsubscribe action completes, deselect the names. This prepares the system for the next action.
- Re-subscribe to the automation: Select the same leads again, click Bulk Operations, select Subscribe automations, choose the same automation, and click Save. You will see a "Request accepted" confirmation message.
- Verify the messages were sent: Go back to your Automations page and click Refresh. The red indicator (failed) should now be replaced with green (success), which means the message was resent to your customers.
Best Practices
- Bulk action: Select multiple leads at once to resend failed messages to many customers in one go.
- Tagging: Use the tagging feature to mark leads who experienced delivery issues for follow-up.
- Regular checks: Review your automation dashboard for red indicators to catch and fix failed messages early.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do automation messages fail to send?
Messages can fail for various reasons, such as the customer blocking your number, WhatsApp restrictions, invalid phone numbers, or messaging window limitations. See WhatsApp Template Message Errors for the specific error codes.
Will re-subscribing send the exact same message again?
Yes. When you unsubscribe and then re-subscribe a lead to an automation, the automation restarts and sends the message again.
Can I tag leads while they are still in the failed messages list?
Yes. The enhanced bulk operations let you tag customers directly from the failed messages list without navigating to their individual profiles.
What happens if I just subscribe without unsubscribing first?
If the lead is already in the automation, simply subscribing them again may not trigger the message to resend. The unsubscribe-then-resubscribe process ensures a clean restart.
Can I export the list of failed messages for record-keeping?
Yes. You can still use the Export lead or Export messages options in the bulk operations menu.