How to Exclude Subscribers from a Workflow in Flodesk

Flodesk makes it easy to exclude subscribers from entering—or continuing in—a workflow based on their segment membership or workflow activity.

This is especially helpful when you want to:

• Stop subscribers from receiving duplicate content

• Prevent purchasers from continuing through a sales funnel

• Remove subscribers who’ve already gone through a similar automation

You can exclude subscribers in two ways:

• By segment (e.g., those in a “Purchased” segment)

• By workflow (e.g., those currently active in another automation)

This exclusion applies both when the subscriber enters the workflow and if they qualify for exclusion while in progress—they’ll be automatically removed.

You can only edit exclusions in a draft or paused workflow. If your workflow is live, click Pause to make changes.

Click the Settings button in the top-right corner of the workflow editor.

You’ll see a settings popup.

Under the Exclude subscribers section, you can exclude:

Specific segments

Use the dropdown to select one or more segments you want to exclude.

Example: Exclude the “Purchased – Spring Offer” segment so those subscribers don’t receive follow-up sales emails.

Important: Never exclude the same segment that triggers the workflow. Doing so will block everyone from entering.

Other workflows

Select one or more workflows that should prevent subscribers from entering or continuing in this one.

Example: You have an onboarding sequence and a separate nurture series. To avoid duplication, exclude anyone who’s currently in the onboarding workflow from receiving the nurture workflow at the same time.

Note: If a subscriber enters an excluded workflow after already entering this one, they’ll automatically be removed.

• If you exclude multiple segments or workflows, the logic is OR based.

  → Subscribers are excluded if they match any exclusion.

Once your exclusions are set:

1. Finish editing your workflow.

2. Click Publish when you’re ready to activate it.

Use case: You’re running a sales promotion workflow.

• Trigger: “Promo Interest” segment

• Exclusion: “Purchased” segment

This setup ensures:

• Subscribers who buy during the promo will be excluded mid-workflow

• New buyers added to the “Purchased” segment won’t enter the workflow in the future

You can exclude subscribers from a workflow using:

• One or more segments

• One or more workflows

Subscribers matching an exclusion will:

• Not enter the workflow

• Automatically exit if they meet the criteria mid-way

This keeps your automations clean, relevant, and tailored—without needing complex conditional logic.