What is a trigger? 

"Trigger" in an automation context is the event that kicks off an automated process. It signals that the email/SMS should be sent out.

Examples of triggers include when a subscriber makes a purchase, subscribes to your service, or opens your email.

Why isn't my automation triggering when I test it?

It is only when subscribers come through the API (not mass import) and from the form that an automation campaign is activated.

Automation campaigns are not triggered by manual subscriber imports. So no automated campaigns will be sent out if you manually add yourself to a tag/filter.

Why can't I find my campaign under automations and vice versa?

It may be because you have created individual mailings under Campaigns and automated mailings are created under Automation.

1. Rule is built to distinguish between campaigns, whether it's a newsletter or transactional messages. Therefore, individual newsletters are created under the Campaigns tab and automated mailings such as order confirmations, automated welcome messages, etc. are created under the Automation tab.
2. The email builder has the same appearance in both cases.
3. Note also that the templates for both cases are created under different tabs/sections. You cannot create a campaign under "Campaigns" and then choose it to be an Automation.