The Sequences screen
Follow-up steps spread over days: building a sequence, step timing, the stop-on-reply rule, and how people enter and leave a sequence.
Last updated: September 30, 2026
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Follow-up steps spread over days: building a sequence, step timing, the stop-on-reply rule, and how people enter and leave a sequence.
Last updated: September 30, 2026
A customer showed interest but did not buy. Someone signed up but never opened the product. One message is not enough in those cases; you need a follow-up spread over a few days. The Sequences tab builds exactly that: follow-up messages, step by step, day by day. This guide covers every field on the screen and the rules a sequence runs by.
💡 A sequence is not a flow: a flow answers when someone writes, a sequence moves forward by itself even if nobody writes. A sequence asks no questions, has no branches and waits for no buttons; it simply sends the message, or starts an automation, when its time comes.
From the tabs on the Automations screen, switch to Sequences. The heading reads Sequences, with its description underneath: "Follow-up steps spread over days. Each step sends a message and/or starts an automation."
With no sequences it reads No sequences yet. A new one is built in the New sequence section at the bottom of the page. Building and editing sequences needs edit rights.
Every sequence sits on its own card. Its top line carries:
The body of the card is the sequence's edit form; you do not go to a separate page.
Add step adds a row. A sequence can hold at least 1 and at most 20 steps. Each step carries three fields:
A step can do both: send a message and start an automation. Remove step deletes the row.
💡 The wait counts from the previous step, not from entry. In a three-step sequence with 1440, 2880 and 4320, the messages go out on day 1, day 3 and day 6.
A checkbox at the bottom of the form, on by default. While it is on, the moment the person writes you a message their sequence stops and the remaining steps are not sent.
The protection is deliberate: automated follow-ups raining down while the customer is writing to you looks strange and derails the conversation. Turning it off only makes sense in very specific cases (a course series unrelated to the chat, for instance).
A stopped enrolment counts in the stopped column on the card.
The hint at the bottom of the form says it plainly: if the person has not written in the last 24 hours the message is not sent. This is not a preference but the channel's rule.
The consequence: someone wrote to you, you added them to a three-day sequence and they never wrote again. Day one's message may go out (if the window is still open), but day two's and day three's do not. The log records the reason as 24-hour window closed.
So sequences are most useful in two situations:
For details: The 24-hour messaging window.
There is no "add contact" button on the sequences screen. People enter in two ways:
Leaving happens the same two ways, with the Remove from a sequence action. Beyond that, an enrolment stops by itself when:
You can see which sequences a person is in from their contact card.
⚠️ Note: Adding to and removing from a sequence inside a flow is a plan feature. If your plan does not cover it, the step can be added but the session stops there; the editor warns you with a lock icon.
A sequence arrives on. But nobody enters by themselves: you have to build a flow or a rule that puts people into it.
An online course seller wants to follow up people who signed up for a free trial but did not buy:
60. Message: "Hi {{contact.first_name}}, did you manage to open the first lesson? Write to us if anything is unclear."1440. Message: "The second lesson opened today. You can carry on where you left off."2880. Leave Message empty and set Start an automation to the "Discount offer" flow.Was this article helpful?