Resources · Make integration

ActiveTrail Make integrationAutomate ActiveTrail with Make.

Can Make keep your ActiveTrail lists in sync without anyone copying contacts by hand? The ActiveTrail Make integration gives you 21 modules, including 3 instant triggers. This page shows marketers how to link the account, build a first scenario and pick the right module.

Try the ActiveTrail integration on MakeSee the 21 modules

Verified Trustpilot reviews · AI, automation & growth agency

What you can automate

What does the ActiveTrail Make integration do?

The ActiveTrail Make integration links your ActiveTrail account to Make, a no-code tool where you build a scenario: an automation made of modules that pass data along. Contacts, groups, SMS and operational emails in ActiveTrail can then react to what happens in your other apps, and the other way around.

A welcome text the moment someone joins a list. Watch for Contact added to a group fires as soon as the contact lands in the group, and Send SMS texts that person right away. Useful for a retail brand that collects sign-ups at the counter.

A clean suppression list in your other tools. Watch for Contact unsubscribed tells Make when someone opts out. From there, the scenario can update the record in your CRM or spreadsheet, so sales stops writing to people who said no.

Contacts from your own system, matched by their ID. The ExternalID modules (Update Contact, Remove Contact from Group, Import Contact Contacts) work with the identifier your shop or database already uses, which avoids duplicate records.

What Make does not offer here: there is no Make an API Call module for ActiveTrail, so anything outside the 21 modules is out of reach from this app. The same app often has an n8n node too; the n8n vs Make comparison helps you choose, and the Make pricing page explains how operations are counted. If a scenario fails, start with Make troubleshooting.

Connect

How do you connect ActiveTrail to Make?

  1. 01

    Generate an API key in ActiveTrail

    Log in to ActiveTrail, open the account settings panel and click the API app tab. Click New, give the app a name and a description, then Save. Copy the API key shown on screen: Make will ask for it.

  2. 02

    Add an ActiveTrail module in Make

    In your scenario, add any ActiveTrail module and click Create a connection. A connection is your ActiveTrail account linked to Make once, then reused by every ActiveTrail module. The Connection name field is optional.

  3. 03

    Paste the key and save

    Enter the credentials you copied from ActiveTrail, or follow the on-screen instructions, and confirm. Make can now read your contacts and groups, so the next fields offer lists to pick from instead of blank boxes.

First scenario

Your first scenario: text every new group member

GoalWhen a contact is added to a group in ActiveTrail, Make sends that contact an SMS.

  1. 01

    Create the scenario

    From the Scenarios page, create a new scenario and click the big +. Search for ActiveTrail and choose Watch for Contact added to a group as your first module.

  2. 02

    Create the webhook and connection

    Click Create a webhook, then Create a connection with your API key. This trigger is instant: ActiveTrail calls Make through the webhook as soon as a contact joins a group.

  3. 03

    Add Send SMS

    Click the + on the right of the trigger, pick ActiveTrail again and choose Send SMS. Map the contact coming from the trigger into the module, then write the text of your welcome message.

  4. 04

    Test with Run once

    Click Run once, then add a test contact to the group in ActiveTrail. Open each module to read the bundle it received, meaning the single contact that travelled through the scenario.

  5. 05

    Switch it on

    Once the test text arrives, switch the scenario on. Each contact that joins the group now gets the SMS, and every module run counts as one operation on your Make plan.

Triggers

Which ActiveTrail events can start a scenario?

4 modules start a scenario when something happens in ActiveTrail. A scheduled trigger is checked by Make on the scenario's schedule; an instant one is called by ActiveTrail as soon as it happens.

ActiveTrail1Watch campaigns

Watch campaigns

Scheduled trigger

In Make“Trigger an operation once a new campaign is added to the account”

This trigger spots campaigns newly added to your ActiveTrail account and hands each one to the rest of the scenario, so your team hears about a campaign without logging in to check.

How it fires
scheduled. Make checks ActiveTrail on the scenario's schedule, every 15 minutes by default, and never more often than every 15 minutes on the Free plan.
When to use it
post a note in your team chat or log the campaign in a planning sheet whenever a colleague creates one.
Watch out
it is the only ActiveTrail trigger that polls, so a campaign can wait until the next check before Make sees it.
ActiveTrail2Watch for Automation step

Watch for Automation step

Instant trigger

In Make“Triggers when a contact moves a step inside an automation.”

Your ActiveTrail automations can hand work to Make: this trigger starts a scenario each time a contact moves from one step of an automation to the next.

How it fires
instant. ActiveTrail calls Make through a webhook as soon as the contact moves, so no schedule is involved.
When to use it
a lead reaches the last step of a nurture sequence and you want a task created in your CRM for a salesperson.
Watch out
click Create a webhook before Create a connection, or the setup stays incomplete.
ActiveTrail3Watch for Contact added to a group

Watch for Contact added to a group

Instant trigger

In Make“Triggers when a Contact is added to a group.”

Every new member of an ActiveTrail group can set off a follow-up. The trigger passes the contact to the next module the moment it joins the group.

How it fires
instant. ActiveTrail notifies Make through a webhook as soon as the contact is added.
When to use it
send a welcome SMS, copy the member to a spreadsheet, or alert the account manager for a VIP group.
Watch out
if your scenario adds contacts to the group it watches, expect it to set itself off again; keep those two groups separate.
ActiveTrail4Watch for Contact unsubscribed

Watch for Contact unsubscribed

Instant trigger

In Make“Triggers when a Contact unsubscribes.”

Opt-outs stop living only in ActiveTrail: this trigger tells Make about each contact who unsubscribes, so your other tools respect the choice too.

How it fires
instant. ActiveTrail sends the event to Make through a webhook as soon as the person unsubscribes.
When to use it
flag the contact in your CRM or remove them from a sales call list the moment they leave your emails.
Watch out
the webhook must exist before the connection, so click Create a webhook first when you add this module.
Modules

What can each ActiveTrail module do?

ActiveTrail gives you 17 modules. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

ActiveTrail1

Add a member to a group

Action

In Make“Update a member or create a new member in a group and send a campaign if provided.”

Puts a contact in an ActiveTrail group, creating the member if it does not exist yet, and can send a campaign at the same time if you provide one.

When to use it
a customer buys a product and should join the matching group and get its welcome campaign in one move.
Watch out
an existing member gets updated, so check which details the module will overwrite.
ActiveTrail2

Add Contact to Mailing List (ExternalID)

Action

In Make“Adds one or more contacts to a specific group using externalId and externalName. Limited to 1000 contacts.”

Drops one contact or a whole batch into a specific group, matched by the externalId and externalName your own system uses.

When to use it
your shop database already has customer IDs and you want ActiveTrail groups to follow them without duplicates.
Watch out
one run accepts up to 1000 contacts, so split bigger lists across several bundles.
ActiveTrail3

Create/Update contact

Action

In Make“Creates a new contact or updates an existing contact.”

Saves a contact in ActiveTrail: it creates the record when the person is new and updates it when they already exist, so you need no lookup first.

When to use it
a form on your website sends details that should always land in ActiveTrail, whether the visitor is known or not.
Watch out
on a known contact it updates the record, so run it once on a test contact and check what changed.
ActiveTrail4

Delete a contact

Action

In Make“Removes a contact.”

Removes a contact from your ActiveTrail account entirely, which is what you need when someone asks for their data to be erased.

When to use it
a deletion request arrives through your support tool and must be applied in ActiveTrail as well.
Watch out
the contact leaves your account, not just a group; test it with Run once on a dummy contact before you switch the scenario on.
ActiveTrail5

Get a contact

Action

In Make“Gets a contact.”

Reads one ActiveTrail contact and returns its details, so later modules can reuse the name, email or phone without asking you again.

When to use it
a trigger gives you only a contact reference and the next step needs the full record, for example to personalize a message.
Watch out
it fetches a single known contact; to browse or filter, List contacts fits better.
ActiveTrail6

Get Contact (ExternalID)

Action

In Make“Creates a new contact in ActiveTrail using the POST /external/import endpoint.”

Despite its name, the directory describes this module as creating a new contact in ActiveTrail through the external import endpoint, tied to your own external ID.

When to use it
a new customer appears in your back office and should exist in ActiveTrail under the same identifier.
Watch out
the label and the description disagree, so run it once on a test record and check what it actually did.
ActiveTrail7

Import Contact Contacts (ExternalID)

Action

In Make“Import up to 1000 contacts into a group (and optionally mailing list)”

Loads a batch of contacts into a group in one go, and into a mailing list too if you choose, using the IDs from your own system.

When to use it
after an event, a spreadsheet of attendees needs to reach ActiveTrail as one import rather than one contact at a time.
Watch out
the ceiling is 1000 contacts per import; larger files need several runs.
ActiveTrail8

Remove a member from a group

Action

In Make“Removes a member from a group.”

Takes a contact out of one ActiveTrail group while the contact itself stays in your account, ready for other groups.

When to use it
a trial user becomes a paying customer and should leave the trial group without losing their history.
Watch out
this is not an unsubscribe; the person can still receive mail sent to their other groups.
ActiveTrail9

Remove Contact from Group (ExternalID)

Action

In Make“Removes one or more contacts from a specific group using externalId and externalName.”

Pulls one or several contacts out of a given group, identified by the externalId and externalName of your own database.

When to use it
a subscription is cancelled in your billing tool and the customer must leave the members group in ActiveTrail.
Watch out
contacts are found by externalId and externalName, so send the same values your system used when it added them.
ActiveTrail10

Send Operational Email (ExternalID)

Action

In Make“Creates and sends an operational email to a list of external contacts using dynamic key-value placeholders.”

Builds and sends a transactional email to a list of external contacts, filling each copy with key and value placeholders you pass from earlier modules.

When to use it
an order ships and the buyer should get a message with their own tracking details.
Watch out
map a value for every placeholder, then send a test with Run once and read the email before going live.
ActiveTrail11

Send Operational SMS (ExternalID)

Action

In Make“Creates and sends an operational SMS campaign to external contacts.”

Creates and sends an operational SMS campaign to contacts identified by your external IDs, for messages that are about a service rather than marketing.

When to use it
an appointment is confirmed in your booking tool and the client should get a short reminder text.
Watch out
it targets external contacts; for a contact you only know inside ActiveTrail, Send SMS is simpler.
ActiveTrail12

Send SMS

Action

In Make“Send a text message (SMS) to a contact.”

Sends one text message to one ActiveTrail contact, the quickest way to reach a person on the phone from inside a scenario.

When to use it
a new member joins a group and a short welcome by text beats another email.
Watch out
each text is one operation in Make, so a scenario fed by a large group counts fast; test with Run once first.
ActiveTrail13

Update Contact (ExternalID)

Action

In Make“Update an existing contact by externalId and externalName.”

Changes the details of an existing ActiveTrail contact found by its externalId and externalName, keeping both systems aligned on one record.

When to use it
a customer edits their phone number in your account area and ActiveTrail should follow.
Watch out
it only updates; if the contact might not exist yet, look it up first and branch the scenario.
ActiveTrail14

Add Contact to Group (ExternalID)

Search

In Make“Get a contact by external ID and external name. Returns empty response if not found.”

The name talks about groups, but the directory says this search finds one contact by external ID and external name, and returns an empty response when there is no match.

When to use it
before an update, check whether your customer already exists in ActiveTrail.
Watch out
an empty result is not an error, so add a filter that stops the scenario when nothing comes back.
ActiveTrail15

Get Contact by Email/SMS (ExternalID)

Search

In Make“Get contacts filtered by Email and/or SMS”

Searches your contacts by email address, phone number or both, which helps when the email or phone is all you have to go on.

When to use it
a reply comes in from an address and you need the matching ActiveTrail record.
Watch out
a search can return zero, one or several contacts, each as its own bundle, so plan for duplicates.
ActiveTrail16

List contacts

Search

In Make“Gets a list of contacts.”

Returns a list of your ActiveTrail contacts, one bundle per contact, so the modules after it can process each person in turn.

When to use it
copy your audience into a spreadsheet, or check each contact against another tool.
Watch out
every contact returned makes the next modules run once, and each run is an operation; narrow the list when you can.
ActiveTrail17

List groups

Search

In Make“Select a specific group in your account”

Finds the groups in your ActiveTrail account so you can select one and pass its reference to the modules that add or remove members.

When to use it
the target group depends on the data, for example a product name that matches a group name.
Watch out
like any search it may return several groups; keep only the one you need before the next step.
Need help

Need help automating ActiveTrail with Make?

A person reads every message.

FAQ

ActiveTrail and Make: common questions

01Is the ActiveTrail Make integration free?
Yes, on the Make side. ActiveTrail is a standard app, available from the Free plan. That plan allows 2 active scenarios, a minimum of 15 minutes between scheduled runs, 5 minutes per execution, files up to 5 MB and 512 MB of data transfer. Paid plans (Core, Pro, Teams and Enterprise) lower the interval to 1 minute and count usage in credits per month. You still need an active ActiveTrail account, which is billed by ActiveTrail itself.
02What do you need to connect ActiveTrail to Make?
An active ActiveTrail account and an API key. You create the key in ActiveTrail: account settings, API app tab, New, then a name and description, Save, and copy the key shown. In Make, add an ActiveTrail module, click Create a connection and paste the key. The connection name is optional. For the three instant triggers, click Create a webhook before creating the connection, otherwise the setup is not complete. Once saved, the same connection serves every ActiveTrail module you add later.
03Does the ActiveTrail Make integration react in real time?
It depends on the trigger. Three of the four are instant: Watch for Automation step, Watch for Contact added to a group and Watch for Contact unsubscribed receive the event through a webhook as soon as it happens. Watch campaigns is scheduled: Make checks ActiveTrail on the scenario's schedule, every 15 minutes by default, and no faster than 15 minutes on the Free plan. Paid plans can go down to 1 minute.
04What if an ActiveTrail module is missing in Make?
No workaround inside this app. ActiveTrail has no Make an API Call module, so you cannot reach an endpoint that the 21 modules do not cover. Check first whether a nearby module already does the job, since several ExternalID modules overlap. Otherwise, handle that step in another app of your stack, or ask the team for help designing the scenario. Keep in mind that the ActiveTrail documentation in Make is marked as AI-generated and may contain mistakes.
05Should you use Make or n8n for ActiveTrail?
It depends on your criteria rather than on the app. Make offers ActiveTrail with 21 modules, including 3 instant triggers, and a visual editor with a Free plan to test on. The same app often has an n8n node as well. Compare which ActiveTrail operations each tool actually exposes for your use case, how your team prefers to build, and how usage is billed, then build a small test scenario in the tool that fits before committing.
Same platform

Other docs you might need on this stack.

Browse all integrations