How to Use the Drip Workflow Action in Sparkforge

The Drip action releases contacts through a workflow in controlled batches at intervals you define. It is built for high-volume sends where firing every contact at once would damage deliverability or break rate limits.

What the Drip action does

Instead of executing the next step on every contact at the same moment, Drip queues contacts and releases a fixed batch on each tick of the interval. Common uses include bulk email or SMS broadcasts, lead-list nurtures, and any workflow that hits a downstream rate limit.

Why pace the workflow

• Controlled execution: avoid system spikes and stay inside API and send-rate caps.
• Better deliverability: spreading sends out reduces spam-filter triggers and keeps engagement steady.
• Schedule transparency: a live preview shows exactly when each batch will run before you publish.
• Pacing protection: if you move the workflow to Draft, Drip pauses; when you publish again, it resumes its original pace instead of bursting queued contacts.

Configure the Drip action

1. Open the workflow builder. Go to Automation > Workflows and create or edit a workflow.
2. Add the action. Click +, search for Drip, and select it.
3. Name it. Use a label that explains the pacing decision (e.g., "Throttle 100/30min").
4. Set batch size. Pick any number from 1 to 10,000. That many contacts move forward each interval.
5. Set the interval. Choose minutes (1-60), hours (1-24), or days (1-7).
6. Save and publish. Run a small test contact through and watch the workflow history to confirm batches fire on schedule.

If you change the batch size on a workflow that already has contacts queued in Drip, queued contacts keep the old batch size and only new arrivals use the updated value.

Read the schedule preview

While configuring a Drip action, the inline preview lists up to 10 upcoming batches with their scheduled send times. If a Workflow Time Window is active (for example, 8 AM-7 PM Mon-Fri), the preview flags batches that will shift into the next allowed slot and links straight to the time-window setting.

The preview is shown during first-time setup. When you edit a Drip action that already has contacts in it, the preview is hidden so you can focus on the change.

Statistics and batch insights

Click the statistics icon on the Drip action to open the detail view. You will see:

• Summary cards for contacts in the drip, the next batch, and ETAs.
• A full batch schedule table with active constraints (such as time-window shifts) called out per row.
• A direct link to the Workflow Time Window setting.
• Per-contact controls to advance, delete, or jump to the contact record.

If you change Drip settings while contacts are queued, the statistics view warns you and shows how many contacts run on the old settings versus the new settings.

Draft and publish behavior

Moving a published workflow with queued Drip contacts back to Draft pauses those contacts for as long as the workflow stays in Draft. When you publish again, Drip resumes from where it left off rather than dumping the queue at once. This is what keeps the pacing intact and protects sender reputation.