## Video guide

Learn how to start building powerful automated customer journeys using Bird's visual builder. In this guide you'll learn:

- How to start with templates or build from scratch
- Setting up trigger events like checkout abandonment
- Adding WhatsApp messages with template variables
- Creating backup communication paths across channels
- Configuring journey end logic

## Step by step guide

Journeys are automated, personalized flows that guide your customers through the buying process and encourage them to take action. While you can choose from a variety of templates (like abandoned cart recovery), let’s walk through how to build one from scratch.

## 1. Start from the Journeys dashboard

- Go to Marketing > Journeys.
- Click Create in the top right corner.
- Choose Start from scratch.

## 2. Name your journey and add a trigger

- Give your journey a descriptive name.
- Choose a trigger event that starts the journey.
- For this example, select Checkout Abandonment.
- Select the relevant connector (e.g. Shopify) and choose the correct instance.
- Click Save.

## 3. Add a wait step

- Add a Wait action to allow some time before sending the next message.
- Set the wait time to 1 hour using the dropdown options (minutes, hours, or days).
- Click Save.

## 4. Add a WhatsApp message step

- Add a Send Message action block.
- Select WhatsApp as the channel.
- Choose a template from your pre-approved template library.
- Fill in any template variables using Shopify data (e.g. product name or abandoned cart details).
- For default values, you can enter placeholders like “there”.
- Click Save.

## 5. Add a condition for unopened WhatsApp messages

- Add a Condition block.
- Select “If an event did or didn’t happen”.
- Set the event type to WhatsApp events, then choose Opened message.
- Use the condition Does not equal 1 since the journey started.
- Click Save.

## 6. Add an email fallback message

- Under the “No” path of the condition block, add another Send Message action.
- Select Email as the channel.
- Choose a sender email address and sender name.
- Select a previously created email template, or choose from the template library.
- Customize the message as needed.
- Click Save.

## 7. End the journey

- Drag in the End Journey action and place it at the end of your flow.
- This marks the completion of the journey and ensures it finishes cleanly.

## 8. Publish your journey

- Once everything looks good, click Publish to activate your journey.

Congrats! Your first journey is now live.