The API Guys had a farm, E-I-E-I-Oh…

And on that farm there was a Tag, E-I-E-I-Oh…

Here a Tag, There a Tag, Everywhere a Tag-Tag…

…Yes, I am singing to the tune of Old McDonald!

Lately there has been a ton of discussion surrounding the topic of Tags in the Infusionsphere, so we decided it’s high-time to weigh-in on the conversation and give you a glimpse of The API Guys Tag-Life.

Let’s start with an important stipulation:

As much as we want it to, our method may not work for you and that’s OK!

Having said that, we are confident that our approach to Tags works extremely well and we really hope you can borrow it!

So, without further adieu, here is a quick snapshot of our Infusionsoft Tag Logic:

How The API Guys Define Tags:

There are 2 types of tags:
1. Data tags

Those that store information

2. Process tags
Those that drive an action with Campaign Builder. These are split into two special-case process tag categories:

a. Test tags
Process tags that are only used for testing—These are deleted when testing is complete

b. Kill tags
One Kill Tag per-campaign which acts as an “Emergency Shut-Off” switch—Unlike Cancel/Refund, Kill Tags, the Kill Tag never triggers another action within the Campaign

Best Practices for Organizing Tags

• Populate the Infusionsoft description field for ALL Tags and Categories
• Put all Tags in Categories with names that are descriptive
• In the Tag description field, put the name of the Infusionsoft Campaign the tag is used in
• Add your name and the date to the description field if you have multi-people working in your account
• Only create tags that you will use and need—do not be wasteful in Infusionsoft!
• Don’t tag just to tag!—Unnecessary tags kill speed and cause your Infusionsoft system to lag
• Never leave a Process Tag applied to a contact record
• Remove Test Tags from Infusionsoft Campaigns once testing is complete

How to “Delete” A Tag without Messing Up Your Infusionsoft Campaigns

• Create a unique Category like “z_Tag Trash Bin”
• Search for contacts with the tag you want to delete
• Remove the tag from all contacts
• Add the previous Category to the name of the tag (e.g. Mail Preferences)
• Change the Category on the tag to “z_Tag Trash Bin”

This will quickly eliminate the risk of deleting a Tag with a goal, action or Zap attached to it!

So there you have it, our two-cents on Tags.

Now, we do have a whole lot more to say on the subject of Infusionsoft Tags in our Art of Campaign Building Foundations Course, but we wanted to get our basic Tag logic out into the Infusionsphere in hopes of benefiting you, The API Guys Tribe and anyone else looking for guidance on Infusionsoft Tags.