Sequences

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Plan Availability

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What are Sequences?

Sequences are automated, multi-step messaging journeys that send the right message at the right time based on a contact’s behavior — not sent all at once, but dripped out over minutes, hours, or days. A Sequence is triggered automatically when a contact meets a condition (e.g., “submitted a form”, “was tagged ‘Hot Lead’”, “booked a demo”). From that moment, the contact moves through your defined steps — receiving messages, waiting, and progressing to the next step — until a stop condition is met. Unlike Broadcasts (which are sent to a segment on demand), Sequences are event-driven — they start when something happens, not when you click send.

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How Sequences Work

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The Three Building Blocks

1. Triggers — When does the Sequence start? A contact enters a Sequence when a trigger condition is met. Triggers are based on contact events: For example: when a contact’s tag changes to “Demo Requested”, a Sequence is triggered. 2. Steps — What messages are sent? A Sequence can have up to 10 steps. Each step is a template message sent to the contact, configured with:

• A delay — send immediately, or wait a set number of minutes, hours, or days after the previous step
• Step conditions (optional) — filters based on contact data that decide whether this step is sent to a given contact
• A time preference (optional) — restrict sending to specific days of the week or a time window

3. Stop Conditions — When does the Sequence end? A contact exits the Sequence when a stop condition is met:

• Success — the contact reached the desired outcome (e.g., “Demo Booked”, “Purchase Made”)
• Failure — the contact met a failure condition (e.g., “Unsubscribed”, “Bounced”)

When a contact stops, they stop receiving further steps. If no stop condition is met, the contact goes through all steps until the sequence ends.

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Sequences vs Broadcasts — When to Use Each

Sequences and Broadcasts differ in when they send and how contacts enter them: Think of it this way:

• Broadcast = “I want to message everyone in this segment right now”
• Sequence = “When a contact does X, send them this automated journey”

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Common Mistakes

• Using Broadcast for onboarding — sending one “Welcome to our product!” message to all new contacts is fine. But if you want to send step 2 two days later, step 3 five days later, and step 4 only if they opened step 2 — that’s a Sequence.
• Using Sequence for promotions — if you want to announce a flash sale to everyone in your “Customers” segment, that’s a Broadcast. A Sequence would send to each contact at different times based on when they were created, which isn’t what you want.

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Example

Scenario: You run a SaaS product and want to onboard new trial users with a 7-day WhatsApp sequence that guides them to their first activation milestone. Here’s how you’d set it up:

1. Trigger: Contact tag changes to “Trial User” (this happens automatically when someone starts a free trial).
2. Step 1 (Day 0): Send a welcome message — “Hi {{contact.first_name}}, welcome to Acme! Here’s how to get started in 60 seconds: [video link].”
3. Delay: Wait 2 days.
4. Step 2 (Day 2): Send a tip message — “Did you know you can connect your tools in 2 clicks? Here’s how: [guide link].”
5. Delay: Wait 3 days.
6. Step 3 (Day 5): Ask for feedback — “How’s your first week going? Reply with any questions — we’re here to help!”
7. Stop Conditions:
   • Success: Contact books a demo call (tag changes to “Demo Booked”) → Sequence stops, contact exits.
   • Failure: Contact remains after all steps → Sequence ends without success.

Now every new trial user automatically receives this journey — without you sending anything manually. Contacts who book a demo exit early and stop receiving steps.

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Sequence Analytics

Track how your Sequences are performing: For a detailed breakdown, see Sequence Analytics.

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Best Practices

• Start with one clear goal — each Sequence should have one desired outcome (book a demo, complete onboarding, make a purchase). Don’t try to do everything in one Sequence.
• Use step conditions to personalize — step conditions let you send a step only to contacts matching certain data (industry, plan, tag). Use them to make messages feel relevant, not generic.
• Set realistic delays — waiting 5 minutes between steps feels spammy. Give contacts time to act between messages. 1–3 days between steps is standard for nurture Sequences.
• Define success and failure clearly — a Sequence without stop conditions will run all steps for every contact, regardless of outcome. Set success and failure conditions so high-intent contacts exit early and uninterested contacts don’t get spammed.
• Test with a small group first — before running a Sequence on your full audience, test it on a small contact list to verify the timing and content feel right.

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FAQs

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Related Articles

• Create a Sequence — Step-by-step setup: trigger, steps, delays, and settings