Circle setup

Connect your Circle community so buyers get in without you lifting a finger. When someone pays, a sequence can find or create their Circle member and add them to the spaces their purchase includes. A new member joining Circle can also start a Plandalf sequence.

Warning. Adding access only The Circle steps add members and spaces. There is no step to remove someone from a space, and Plandalf has no refund or cancellation trigger yet, so access is not taken away automatically when a buyer refunds or cancels. Remove it in Circle.

Before you start

• A Circle community on a plan that includes the Admin API. Circle offers it on its Business plan and above.
• Admin access to that community, to create an API token.
• The spaces you want buyers added to, already created in Circle.

Get your Circle API token

1. Open the token page

   In your Circle community, open Developers → Tokens. Only community admins can see this page.

2. Create an Admin V1 token

   Create a new token, give it a name such as “Plandalf”, and choose Admin V1 as the type. Plandalf uses Circle’s Admin API v1.

3. Copy the token

   Copy the token and keep it safe until you paste it into Plandalf.

Connect Circle to Plandalf

1. Find Circle in the Marketplace

   In Plandalf, open Automation in the sidebar and choose the Marketplace tab. Find Circle under Available now and click Connect.

2. Paste the token

   In the Connect Circle window, keep or change the Integration name, paste your token into API Key, then click Connect.

3. Check the result

   Plandalf checks the token with Circle straight away. When you see Circle connected, choose Build an automation or Not now.

Steps you can add

Find or Create Member

Finds a member of your community by email, or creates one.

• Email Address (required), usually {{trigger.customer_email}}.
• Name, First Name and Last Name, used when the member is created.

The step returns the member’s member_id, which the next two steps need. Circle can send new members an invitation email when they are added, so test with your own address first.

Add Member to Space

Adds an existing member to a space.

• Member ID (required): pick member_id from the Find or Create Member step in the variable menu.
• Space (required): pick a space from your community.

Update Member Fields

Updates profile fields on an existing member.

• Member ID (required).
• Fields (required): pairs of a Circle field name and a value, such as headline or first_name. At least one is needed.

Start a sequence when someone joins Circle

The Member Created trigger starts a sequence when a new member joins your community. Pick a Space to fire only for members of that space, or leave it blank for any new member.

Circle has no API for webhooks, so you connect this one by hand:

1. Copy the URL from Plandalf

   Save the trigger in Plandalf. On its 2. Config tab, under Webhook, the box Send Circle events to this URL shows the address. Click Copy.

2. Create a Circle workflow

   In Circle, open Workflows and create an automation workflow. Choose the trigger for a member joining your community.

3. Send it to Plandalf

   Add the Send to webhook action and paste the URL as its endpoint. Circle includes this action on its Enterprise plan. On other plans, send the same request from a Zapier or Make step instead.

4. Turn it on and test

   Turn the workflow on, add a test member, then come back to the trigger’s 3. Test tab to see the event.

The trigger gives later steps the member’s member_id, email, name, first_name, last_name, headline and spaces.

Example: buyers join your members space

1. Create the sequence

   Go to Automation → My Sequences and create a sequence called “Course buyers to Circle”.

2. Set the trigger

   Choose Plandalf and Checkout Completed. Under Offer, pick the checkout that includes community access. On 3. Test, pick a recent checkout as the sample record.

3. Find or create the member

   Click Add a step, choose Circle and Find or Create Member, and pick your Circle account. Set Email Address to {{trigger.customer_email}} and Name to {{trigger.customer_name}}. Run its test so the next step can use its output.

4. Add them to the space

   Add a second step: Circle, Add Member to Space. For Member ID, pick member_id from the Find or Create Member step. Pick the members-only Space.

5. Test and turn it on

   Testing adds a real member to the space, so use your own email. Then turn the sequence On.

To try it with a test card, switch on Run on test purchases in the sequence’s Settings first. Test purchases skip automations by default.

Common errors

Related guides

• Automations overview
• Circle with Plandalf checkout
• Plandalf with Circle