Marketer's Space - Get effortless subscription management for CRM-synced contacts using Journeys

Marketer's Space - Get effortless subscription management for CRM-synced contacts using Journeys


Hello, marketers! Welcome to another post in the CRM Integration Series in Marketers’ Space. We’ve been exploring how integrating Zoho CRM with Zoho Marketing Automation (ZMA) can enhance your marketing efforts, especially via the Journeys feature. This week, we’ll focus on how you can automate subscription management for contacts synced from Zoho CRM using Journeys.

Why automate subscription management?

Both your team and your customers can update subscription preferences. To stay compliant and ensure your communications are relevant, it’s crucial to manage these updates efficiently. You can:
  • Manually update subscription lists.
  • Automate subscription updates using Journeys.
Let’s see how Zoho Marketing Automation’s Journeys make this process effortless.

Sync CRM contacts with a targeted list

Since we're working with contacts synced from Zoho CRM, start by adding them to a specific list during the sync.
This enables you to target them later using Journey triggers like the following:
  • “Added to list” trigger: Starts a journey when a contact is added to a list. 
  • “Criteria match” trigger: Targets contacts based on their list memberships and other criteria.

   

Capture customer interests in Zoho CRM

Your sales team can capture customer interests in a custom field in Zoho CRM. For instance, they could create a text field called “Interests,” which sales reps can update with values like “sale” and “new product launch.”

Add topics in Zoho Marketing Automation

In ZMA, you can create topics to categorize your campaigns:
Go to Contacts > Topics and click on Add Topic.
Group topics under relevant categories, such as:
  • Newsletters
  • New product launches
  • Exclusive member content
  • Sale announcements

Create an automated subscription journey

1. Set up the trigger

  • Create a new journey and add the “Added to list” trigger. Then select the list where your CRM contacts are synced. This ensures that only relevant contacts enter the Journey.
  • Alternatively, you can use the “Criteria match” trigger and set list membership as a condition to filter contacts. For even more precision, refine the entry criteria further based on additional conditions or custom CRM fields.


2. Segment based on interests

  • Add a multi-way split component and configure it by setting criteria: “Interests”.
  • Create branches for each interest, like “Sale” or “New Product Launch.”
  • Add “No Interests” for the “Else" branch.

3. Automate subscription updates

  • Under each branch, add the “Subscription Management” action.
  • Configure it to subscribe contacts to a relevant topic.
  • For the “Sale” branch, select “Add Subscription to Marketing Topics” and select the topic “Sale Announcements”.
  • Repeat for other branches.
  • For the “No Interests” branch, select “Unsubscribe From All Topics” to avoid sending irrelevant emails.


If your business runs exclusive member campaigns, you can also do this by adding a “Customer Type” field in Zoho CRM (e.g., Members and Non-Members). With this segmentation, you can create a separate Journey that automatically assigns “Members Only” topics to eligible contacts, which ensures exclusive content reaches the right audience while keeping non-members in a separate communication flow.
Idea

Handling Multiple Topic Subscriptions

If a customer wants to subscribe to multiple topics instead of just one, use the “contains” modifier instead of “is” when setting up conditions. This ensures that contacts interested in more than one topic are correctly identified and subscribed to all relevant categories, allowing them to receive communication related to multiple topics without restrictions.

Automate subscription management with the “Added to Segment” trigger

You can also achieve the same automation using the “Added to Segment” trigger. If you prefer not to sync CRM contacts into a list, you can set up a segment instead and define the criteria to be matched.

Once the segment is created, you can build a new Journey using the “Added to Segment” trigger and configure the appropriate subscription management actions for that segment.

This ensures the following:
  • The segment is automatically updated whenever a contact meets the defined criteria.
  • Any new contact entering the segment is immediately enrolled in the Journey, which triggers the relevant subscription updates without the need for manual intervention.
With Journeys in Zoho Marketing Automation, your subscription management can be completely automated and dynamic. No more manual updates or guesswork—just seamless, automated audience segmentation. Try it out, and let us know how it works for you. See you next week with more ways to supercharge the Zoho CRM + ZMA integration. Until then, happy marketing!

Regards,
Pearlin Nitika
User education | Zoho Marketing Automation

    • Recent Topics

    • CUSTOM FUNCTION GIVE ERROR #EVAL!

      CUSTEM FUNCTION CREATE KYA ZOHOSHEET ME US FUNCTION KO USE KIYA LEKIN DATA TO SAHI HAI LAKIN DATA SHEET ME NAHI LAG LAHA HAI KRUPYA SOLVE KARE MY CODE IS float ADDTWO_TWO(float NO1, float NO2) { ADD = NO1 + NO2; return ADD; }

    • Samsung Keyboard Issues with Notebook

      Dear Users, We're sorry to inform you that some of our users are experiencing certain issues like scrolling, delay/lag, cursor placement especially within the text notes. This occurs mainly due to Samsung Keyboard compatibility with Android 13 and some

    • Zoho Books | Product updates | October 2025

      Hello users, We’ve rolled out new features and enhancements in Zoho Books. From iOS 26 updates to viewing reports as charts, explore the updates designed to enhance your bookkeeping experience. Zoho Books Updates for Apple Devices At WWDC 2025, Apple

    • Zoho Books | Product updates | September 2025

      Hello users, We’ve rolled out new features and enhancements in Zoho Books. From PayNow payment method to applying journal credits to invoices and bills in other locations, explore the updates designed to enhance your bookkeeping experience. Integrate

    • Zoho Workdrive for Office, "vsto runtime not found"

      Hi all, I have been trying to get ZohoWorkdrive_MS-addin_1.4.exe installed, but I keep getting the error "VSTO Runtime Not Found!" - even though I have installed it ... Anyone else hear had problems with the MS addin?  FYI, I am using O365 on A Dell laptop running Win 10 Home - fully patched and up-to-date.  I have tried compatibility modes and running explicitly as Administrator - the usual steps. Any advice would be appreciated.

    • Can no longer export as pdf

      In NOTEBOOK I am no longer able to export notes to pdfs as I used to be able to. When I hit that command it asks where I want to send it, but no matter what I chose there is no pdf attachment that shows up in order to send. Nothing happens.

    • Emails are going to notification folder and not in inbox

      emails are going to notification folder and not into inbox

    • How can I prevent the Zoho Vault extension from automatically logging me out?

      Hi, I want the Zoho Vault Chrome extension to never log out. How can I do this? It only allows me to log out for 1 week, and the same applies to the Android app.

    • Zoho CRM App - Links

      Hi  Is there are plan for making Custom Links available in the Zoho CRM Android App? I can't see them being added? Thanks Gene

    • Templates

      Trying to sort out / get rid of unwanted invoice templates, the error msgs are not at all helpful. Surely it's easy to amend the error msg by including a list of the names of the customers / vendors that use it, denying deletion or making it inactive

    • Contacts limit in basic vs standard - what counts? Are customers contacts?

      I’ve been using books for a number years for my small business. I only ever work with 20 clients at any given time. I do purchase services from a number of vendors to run my business, so there are some comtacts there too. I used to use the basic package,

    • Finding missing records

      I have a challenge and I am not really sure where to start with it. I can't find any similar threads on here, can anyone help: I have two forms, FormA and FormB. Both forms have records that contain a field called Job_Number. What I am trying to achieve

    • Prevent Unapproved Quotes from Exporting to Zoho CRM Finance Module

      Is it possible to prevent unapproved quotes in Zoho Books from being exported from Zoho Finance module inside Zoho CRM?

    • Updates for Zoho Campaigns: Merge tag, footer, and autoresponder migration

      Hello everyone, We'd like to inform you of some upcoming changes with regard to Zoho Campaigns. We understand that change can be difficult, but we're dedicated to ensuring a smooth transition while keeping you all informed and engaged throughout the process.

    • What's New in Zoho Inventory | August – October 2025

      Hello customers, The last quarter has been incredibly productive! We've released a powerful slate of new features and enhancements in Zoho Inventory designed to give you better control, greater efficiency, and expanded functionality across your inventory

    • Let's Talk Recruit: Meet Zia, your all-in-one AI assistant (Part-2)

      Welcome back to Let’s Talk Recruit series. In Part 1, we introduced Zia and how AI is reshaping the way recruiters work. This time, we’re taking a closer look at how far Zia has come and how each update continues to simplify your everyday tasks. When

    • Zoho Developer - Feature Request Platform

      Zoho Developer is one of the most underatted platform in zoho ecosystem, however, it may just be what zoho needs to welcome more people to use Zoho Services. The more developers you have creating zoho creator applications and zoho extensions the more

    • Last/Previous month in relative date filter

      In the relative date filter, what is the difference between "Last 2 months" and "Previous 2 months"? So, if we are on 25-July, then is my understanding correct of the following: Last 2 months :=:      25-May~24 July Previous 2 months :=:     01-May~30-June Thanks.

    • Tags get removed from notes on mobile

      I don't know why this keeps happening even after all these app updates but if you log out and log back into the app or you reinstall it, all the tags you assigned to your notes get taken off, but if you go on the desktop version the tags are still there.

    • How to fetch custom fields for time entries in Zoho Project API v3

      In the previous Zoho Projects REST API, we were able to retrieve custom field details for time entries, including picklist options, using the endpoint: GET /restapi/portal/[PORTAL_ID]/timesheetcustomfields In the new Zoho Projects API v3, we tried using

    • VAT rates - exempt and out of scope

      Good Evening, UK based company here. I am a bit confused in respect of setting up VAT rates for exempt goods and services; at present I am simply leaving the VAT rate blank in the transactions in order to prevent any VAT appearing in the VAT return. When

    • Introducing Lead Capture: Empower exhibitors to capture leads effortlessly

      Events provide a great opportunity for exhibitors to generate awareness and engage with potential customers. Efficiently distributing attendee information to exhibitors through a seamless and secure way is of paramount importance. Introducing Lead Capture

    • Work Order Creation Issue

      Dear Team, I would like to inquire about the daily limit for Work Order creation in Zoho FSM. Yesterday (02/05/2025) at around 6:30 PM GST, I attempted to create a Work Order, but I have been unable to do so since then. Please find the attached image

    • URGENT: ChatGPT Extension Failing With “gpt-3 Access Error” (Priority Support)

      Appreciate support reviewing this urgently. I am a Priority Support member and need immediate clarification on a recurring issue involving the ChatGPT extensions inside Zoho Desk. Both extensions — including the version created and published by Zoho —

    • Zoho Desk iOS update: Custom buttons, follow/ unfollow option on tickets

      Hello everyone! In the most recent Zoho Desk iOS app update, we have brought in support to access the custom buttons configured on web app(desk.zoho.com). Using custom buttons you can seamlessly execute predefined actions directly from their mobile devices,

    • Zoho pdf suit

      Pl. design products with following feature: 1. Please add all features given in Ilovepdf website to work on pdf files. It is mandatory to use pdf in court work. 2. Courts have prescribed New Times Roman, pl. add this font as well 3. Indexing, signature

    • Zoho Not Working

      Today Zoho not wokring

    • Dynamically autofill fields with URL parameters

      I have a zoho form embedded in my organization's WP website. Our users find their account with a search tool, and then can select to open this page with the embedded form. The URL of the page holds the parameter that I need, but I cannot figure out how

    • User Automation: User based workflow rules & webhooks

      User management is an undeniable part of project management and requires adequate monitoring. As teams grow and projects multiply, manual coordination for updating users & permissions becomes difficult and can give way to errors. User automation in Zoho

    • Integrate Projects for Desk KB article release tasks

      Could you please look into the possibility of integrating project tasks for Zoho Desk article release processes? We are looking for an internal integration between Zoho Projects and Zoho Desk's KB article drafting, reviewing and releasing tasks. We could

    • Issue in Annual Leave

      We created a policy to credit 21 days at the Start of the Year An employee has taken 16 days of leaves thought the year, so we expect to see 5 Leaves remaining right? But Zoho People is Showing 12 Days of Leave Balance Available If we check the Leave

    • Use the searchBy parameter to find user by email address

      I'm trying to find a user is Zoho Desk via the Api. In the documentation I see that there is the possibility to add a searchBy parameter in the request. But I can't find how the search values should be formatted. I've tried multiple things and get either

    • Zoho CRM Community Digest - September 2025 | Part 2

      Hello Everyone! Mid-September vibes: fresh tips, smart hacks, and practical Zoho CRM updates all in one place. Let’s dive in. Product Updates: The All-New Address Field! The new Address field type makes it easier to capture complete addresses in one structured

    • Zoho Vault API: Create new Secrets

      Hello, I attempt to Post Secrets to the vault, since the encrypted entries are almost impossible to decrypt, since there is no documentation on how to decrypt them. Like with the lack of documentation on how to descrypt, there are missing information regarding on how to create new secrets/post secrets. Source: https://www.zoho.com/vault/api/#create-a-new-secret When I try to send JSON Informationen as a POST-Request I only receive the error message: {     "operation": {         "result": {             "error_code": "",

    • CRM and Finance Tab - Add Invoice "Subject " Column

      When On a contact in CRM, and you click the Zoho Finace tab, how can I put in the invoice subject line? Or even a custom field for this.  We need to see what that invoice is for, without opening it.   If we have tons of invoices we need a way to quick

    • Collections Management: #4 Before, During & After Payment Processing

      "Mark, I think the payment link isn't working. Can you send it again?" Staring at a message, Mark got on his phone. This was the third time the same customer had asked him that week. A few minutes later, another message came, "Hey, the invoice total seems

    • Account name not populating when importing contacts

      When importing a csv file to add contacts the account name is blank? Every other filed gets mapped and imported correctly, i.e contact name, phone number. However not the account name which I have mapped to "company" field in my csv file

    • Suggestion to improve zoho writer

      I am using your product, I believe it is very useful, however, i was writing a note and I needed to draw an arrow in different angles to explain a point and I couldn't. it would be helpful, to add draw functions to the zoho writer. thanks

    • webhook basic authentication

      II want to use a webhook to send out a SMS. Unfortunately Twilio does not use an authToken but basic authentication. I created the webhook as POST and get this url: https://{username}:{password}@api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/{account}/Messages?body=<BODY>&to=+155555555&from=+1555555555

    • Custom function return type

      Hi, How do I create a custom deluge function in Zoho CRM that returns a string? e.g. Setup->Workflow->Custom Functions->Configure->Write own During create or edit of the function I don't see a way to change the default 'void' to anything else. Adding

    • Next Page