Opening Problem Statement
Meet Nathan, a small business owner who manages his email marketing campaigns through e-goi, a popular marketing automation platform. Nathan spends countless hours manually adding new subscribers, updating their information, and verifying subscriber details. This repetitive task slows down his marketing efforts and increases the chance of human errors, leading to wasted time and potential loss of customers.
Nathan’s main pain points are the constant manual updates to his subscriber lists, inconsistent subscriber data, and the risk of missing out on important contact updates. Each mistake or delay directly impacts his ability to engage efficiently with his audience and grow his business.
What This Automation Does
This custom n8n workflow addresses Nathan’s challenges by automating the entire subscriber management process using the e-goi node. When executed, it:
- Creates a new subscriber in a specified e-goi list with initial contact details.
- Automatically updates the subscriber information to fix or enrich data.
- Retrieves the updated subscriber details to confirm accuracy.
- Ensures seamless flow of subscriber data within the e-goi platform without manual intervention.
- Saves Nathan several hours each week by eliminating manual subscriber data entry and verification.
Prerequisites ⚙️
- n8n account (cloud or self-hosted) 🔌
- e-goi account with API access 🔑
- Configured e-goi credentials inside n8n for API authentication 🔐
- Basic familiarity with n8n’s interface to set credentials and execute workflows ⏱️
Step-by-Step Guide
1. Start with a Manual Trigger
Navigate to your n8n editor, then click Add Node and select the Manual Trigger node from the core node list. This node allows you to execute the workflow manually for testing.
You’ll see a simple trigger labeled “On clicking ‘execute'”. It doesn’t require any configuration. This is where the workflow begins.
Common mistake: Forgetting to connect this trigger to the next node, which will result in the workflow not running.
2. Add the e-goi Node to Create a Subscriber
Click Add Node, search for the e-goi node, and place it after the manual trigger. Configure it to perform the “create” operation by filling in these fields:
- Set List to the relevant e-goi list ID, e.g.
1. - Specify the subscriber’s Email, e.g.,
[email protected]. - Under Additional Fields, add subscriber details like
first_nameset to “Nathan”.
Make sure your e-goi credentials are connected correctly (API key or OAuth token). Save and connect it to the Manual Trigger node.
Once executed, this node will create a new subscriber and output the subscriber’s contact ID, critical for further updates.
3. Add Another e-goi Node to Update Subscriber Details
Add a second e-goi node to the workflow. This time, configure it for the “update” operation:
- Use an expression to pull the
listfrom the previous node:{{$node["e-goi"].parameter["list"]}}. - Set
contactIddynamically from the previous node’s output:{{$node["e-goi"].json["base"]["contact_id"]}}. - Under Update Fields, change the
first_nameto “Nat” to simulate updating subscriber information.
Connect this update node to the create node’s output to ensure data flows directly.
At this stage, the subscriber’s first name in the list is modified automatically.
4. Retrieve Updated Subscriber Info with a Third e-goi Node
Add a third e-goi node configured for the “get” operation. This node fetches the subscriber’s updated details to confirm the update:
- Set the
listparameter dynamically like before. - Use the updated subscriber
contactIdfrom the previous update node’s output:{{$node["e-goi1"].json["base"]["contact_id"]}}.
Connect this retrieval node to the update node.
When executed, you can check the output data to verify the subscriber’s information was successfully updated.
5. Execute and Observe the Workflow
Click the Execute Workflow button in n8n’s editor. The flow will run from manual trigger to creation, update, and retrieval of subscriber data in e-goi.
Watch the node outputs to confirm each step completed as expected with no errors.
Customizations ✏️
- Change subscriber fields: In the second e-goi node’s updateFields, modify or add fields like
last_name,phone, ortagsto suit your contact data needs. - Add error handling: Include conditional nodes or error workflows to handle API failures or invalid data gracefully.
- Integrate with other marketing tools: Add nodes to sync subscriber data to CRMs or messaging platforms like Mailchimp or Slack for broader communication.
Troubleshooting 🔧
Problem: “API authentication failed”
Cause: Incorrect or missing e-goi API credentials.
Solution: Go to Credentials in n8n, verify your e-goi API key, and re-authenticate by updating the credentials.
Problem: “Contact ID not found” when updating or retrieving subscriber.
Cause: The create node failed or output didn’t pass correctly.
Solution: Confirm the create node executed successfully and that expressions referencing contact_id are accurate.
Pre-Production Checklist ✅
- Verify e-goi API credentials are valid and have the right permissions.
- Test each node independently using n8n’s manual execution.
- Confirm expressions for dynamic fields like
contactIdwork and pull correct data. - Check that the e-goi list ID used matches your actual subscriber list.
- Create backups of your subscriber list before running mass updates.
Deployment Guide
Once tested, enable the workflow by switching it to “Active” in n8n. You can manually trigger or schedule this workflow depending on your use case.
Monitor executions in n8n’s dashboard for success or errors. Logs will help you troubleshoot if updates fail.
FAQs
Q: Can I use this workflow with other email marketing platforms?
A: This workflow uses the e-goi node specifically. For other platforms, you’d need corresponding nodes or API integrations.
Q: Does executing this workflow consume API credits?
A: Yes, each API call to e-goi counts toward your quota based on your plan.
Q: Is subscriber data secure?
A: n8n encrypts credentials and secures data transfers. Always keep credentials private.
Conclusion
By implementing this n8n e-goi subscriber automation, Nathan has eliminated manual data entry and reduced errors in his contact list management. This workflow saves hours each week, ensuring subscriber updates are seamless and accurate.
Next, consider expanding this automation to segment subscribers based on behavior or integrate e-goi with your CRM for unified marketing efforts. With this foundation, you’re ready to boost your email marketing efficiency confidently.