Using the podcast episode published automation trigger
paid plans
The Podcast episode published trigger lets you automatically enroll subscribers into an automation journey whenever a new podcast episode goes live. Use it to notify your audience of new episodes, deliver bonus content, or kick off any sequence tied to your publishing cadence, without any manual sends.
For a general introduction to automations, see Automations overview: Triggers, actions, and builder features.
Setting up the podcast episode published trigger
- From the left panel, go to Automations and open an existing automation or create a new one.
- In the New Automation workflow, select Podcast episode published as your trigger.
- Under Show, choose which episodes should fire the trigger:
- Any show: The automation runs whenever an episode is published across any of your shows.
-
Specific show: The automation only runs for episodes published to the show you select.
- Build out your automation steps, then publish the automation.
Once published, the trigger fires each time a matching episode transitions to published, whether you publish manually or on a schedule.
Subscribers who are already active in a running journey for this automation will not be enrolled again until that journey completes.
Choosing between ‘Any show’ and a specific show
| Any show | Specific show | |
| Best for | Single-show publications | Multi-show publications |
| Who gets enrolled | All active subscribers, on every publish | All active subscribers, only when that show publishes |
If your publication has multiple shows with different audiences, using Any show will email all active subscribers every time any episode is published across all your shows. For multi-show publications, we recommend setting up a separate automation per show using the Specific show option.
How enrollment works
When an episode is published, beehiiv finds all active subscriptions for the publication and batches them into the automation journey. The triggering episode's details are passed along with each enrollment so the email render pipeline can resolve the correct episode dynamically at send time.
Subscribers are excluded from enrollment if they are already active in a running journey triggered by a previous episode of the same automation. They will be eligible again once that journey completes.
Frequently asked questions about podcast episode published automation trigger
Does this trigger fire for scheduled episodes?
Yes. The trigger fires when the episode transitions to published, whether that happens immediately or at a scheduled future time.
Do I need a specific beehiiv plan to use this trigger?
Yes. Automations are available on paid beehiiv plans. Podcasts must also be enabled on your publication. See Automations overview: Triggers, actions, and builder features for a full list of automation requirements.
Can I use this trigger alongside other triggers in the same automation?
Yes. beehiiv supports up to 3 triggers per automation, and multiple triggers create an OR relationship: a subscriber only needs to meet one to enter. See Automations overview: Triggers, actions, and builder features for details.
What if I don't use a dynamic embed? Can I still use this trigger?
Yes. The trigger works independently of how you build your email. A dynamic episode embed is optional. You can use the trigger to fire any automation sequence, including emails with manually curated content.
Does the episode embed always match the show/episode that triggered the automation?
Yes, as long as the dynamic option is selected. The embed resolves the episode automatically at send time based on what triggered that specific automation run.
Can I notify subscribers about multiple shows in a single automation email?
Not currently. Each automation using this trigger is built around a single triggering event (one show, or any show), so if you want distinct messaging per show, set up a separate automation for each.