Email sequences · automatic nurturing per recipient

A sequence sends a series of emails over time to a list of recipients, with a wait between each step, an A/B test on the subject, a communication category and content per language. Use it when the content is email and sending can be automatic; for human tasks use Activity cadences, and for several channels in one journey use Flow campaigns.

An email sequence is automatic nurturing: you write it once, set the interval between messages and the system sends the next email due on each enrollment, every day, with nobody pressing anything. It works per recipient rather than per CRM record, so it serves leads and a plain email list alike.

When to use this one and when to use another

• Use an email sequence when the channel is email only and the content is the same for many people: welcome, nurturing, re-engagement.
• Use Activity cadences when the touch has to be human, such as calling or visiting. See the article on activity cadences.
• Use Flow campaigns when you need several channels, conditions and branches in the same journey. See the article on multichannel prospecting.

Creating the sequence

1. Open Marketing, Sequences, and create a sequence with a name.
2. Add the steps. On each one set the wait days, the subject and the email body. For the first step, the wait counts from enrollment; for the others, from the previous send.
3. If you want, attach files from the library to the step, up to 10 per step.
4. Save. Then, under Enroll recipients, pick the sequence and a marketing list and click Enroll.

A sequence takes 1 to 20 steps and each wait runs from 0 to 365 days. Anyone who unsubscribed is skipped automatically.

Automatic enrollment

• From the sequence itself: turn automatic enrollment on and choose the trigger. It can be when a record is created, choosing the object, when the record enters a segment, or when someone fires a marketing event of a specific type, such as webinar attended or demo requested.
• Through an automation: in Settings, Automations, use the enroll in sequence action to enroll a contact or lead as soon as an event happens, for example when the lead changes stage.
• Re-enrollment: by default each record enters a sequence only once. Turn Allow re-enrollment on so that someone who completed or left can come back in when they match the criteria again.

Fine tuning the send

• Business days only: check it so the wait days count only on business days. A step that would land on a Saturday is pushed to the next business day.
• A/B test on the subject: fill in the variant B subject on a step and the system alternates between the two subjects across recipients, showing which one gets more opens.
• Communication category: give the sequence a category and anyone who switched that category off in the preference center does not receive it. The chain still advances, but the send is skipped for that person.
• Each contact language: choose the primary language, which is the fallback, and edit the subject and body per language. With the send in each contact language option on, every person gets it in their own language, following the contact language field, then the linked user language, and finally English. If the step has no variant, it falls back to the primary language.
• Sender: you can set a sender of your own for the sequence.

Common questions

• The contact replied, now what? Automatic stop on reply belongs to flow campaigns. In a sequence, remove the person from the enrollment whenever you want to stop.
• Does editing a step affect people who already received it? No. The new text applies to later sends.
• Does deleting the sequence erase the send history? The email marketing send history stays available, but enrollments in progress stop advancing.

Open this article inside the system →