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How to create a follow-up sequence

Sequences need an explicit start, send each step only when it comes due, and stop on a reply or a Lost outcome.

Applies to Ins Autopilot 3.22 and later · Updated 2026-10-18

What this helps you do

The Relationships panel with Smart Pending shown against contact rows, including a follow-up suggested state.12
Figure 1A sequence only exists in the context of a contact you already messaged. Relationships is where you see which contacts have follow-up work waiting.
  • 1 Relationships, where follow-up state shows against each contact.
  • 2 The pending column: contacts with something worth following up.

One message rarely gets a reply. A follow-up sequence is how you send a small, bounded number of follow-ups to the same contact without having to remember where you left off.

A sequence is a schedule attached to a contact, not a broadcast. You start it explicitly, each step waits its turn, and the sequence ends on its own as soon as the person replies.

How a sequence is shaped

  • A sequence has at most 3 steps: the initial message plus two follow-ups (Initial + FU1 + FU2).
  • Step one is the message that opens the conversation. Steps two and three are the follow-ups.
  • Each step has its own content and its own delay, so you decide how much space to leave between touches.
  • A sequence is attached to a contact. It is not a list you fire at many people at once — that is what Bulk DM Queue is for.
1 Step 1 — the initial message A follow-up sequence starts from a message you already sent. 2 Step 2 — first follow-up Sent only if the earlier step was confirmed and no reply has been read. 3 Step 3 — final follow-up Three steps is the ceiling: the initial message plus two follow-ups.
Figure 2Three steps is the whole shape. There is no branching, no condition builder and no fourth step.

Three steps is the ceiling, not a target. Two well-spaced steps usually beat three you did not think about.

Step by step

  1. Write the sequence — give it a name and write up to three steps. Step one is the initial message; the next two are follow-ups. In this version the content is yours — there is no automatic drafting here.
  2. Attach it to a contact — from a contact in Relationships, or as part of setting up your outreach, choose the sequence this person should receive.
  3. Press Start — nothing sends before this. Creating the sequence sends nothing, and attaching it to a contact sends nothing. Start is what makes the timetable live.
  4. Let each step come due — the initial message goes first; then each follow-up waits its own delay. Steps are not sent back to back.
  5. Watch each step's status — every step passes through its own delivery decision and ends in sent, blocked, failed, skipped or unknown.
  6. Pause, resume or stop — use Pause to hold the sequence where it is, Start again to continue, or Stop to end it for that contact. Stopping is final for that sequence.

What stops a sequence early

  • A reply is detected — the remaining steps are cancelled immediately, without waiting for their due time. See How Stop on Reply works.
  • The contact is recorded as Lost — a manual end state on the relationship, which also ends the sequence.
  • The reply state cannot be read — the due step is held rather than sent. This is covered in the next section.
1 A reply is read The sequence stops before its next step — see Stop on Reply. 2 The contact is recorded as Lost A human end state stops related follow-up work. 3 You stop it yourself Stopping does not erase what was already sent. 4 Delivery was never confirmed A step that did not confirm does not silently advance the sequence.
Figure 3Every stop condition is about not sending the next message. None of them send anything on your behalf.

Every step is judged on its own

Each step is a separate send and passes through the same delivery decision as a message you typed by hand. A step that comes back failed does not advance the sequence. The next step is scheduled only after the previous delivery is confirmed, and a reply or a Lost outcome stops it.

unknown is the exception. A step the extension cannot confirm is held for review and is never retried automatically, because retrying could deliver the same message twice. While that question is open, the sequence waits for a human decision instead of continuing on an uncertain record.

Waiting The previous step was confirmed The delay has not elapsed yet No reply has been read Due The previous step was confirmed The delay has elapsed Nothing has stopped the sequence It appears in Today under its own reason
Figure 4A step becomes due only when the step before it was confirmed. A step that failed does not advance the sequence.

A failed step costs you a message. An unknown step costs you a pause — and that is the safer trade.

Limits and important behavior

  • A sequence does not bypass your DM allowance. Steps it sends are counted exactly like messages you send by hand: 30 per day on Monthly Pro and 50 per day on Annual. Free accounts have no DM allowance.
  • Follow-up sequences are Pro. On Free there is neither the feature nor the allowance.
  • If the daily allowance is used up, the next step is blocked rather than queued indefinitely.
  • Every step produces its own status record, so History shows three separate attempts for a three-step sequence.
  • Detecting a reply stops the sequence; it does not delete the contact, its timeline or the messages that were already sent.

Sequences are not a way to send more than your plan allows. They spread a small number of touches over time — that is the whole point.

Troubleshooting

I created a sequence but nothing sent.
A sequence needs an explicit start. Creating it, or attaching it to a contact, does not send anything on its own. Press Start on the contact you want it to run for.
Only the first step went out.
The later steps have their own delays and wait until they are due. If a reply was detected, or the contact was recorded as Lost, the remaining steps are cancelled.
The sequence paused with no reply.
A step likely came back unknown, which is held for review and never retried automatically. The sequence waits until that is resolved. See Sent, blocked, unknown and Needs Review explained.
Can I add a fourth step?
No. Three steps is the maximum in this version: the initial message plus two follow-ups.
Does a second message to the same person cost a Trial contact?
It is not covered by the Trial — a Trial contact is used once per person. Follow-up sequences are a Pro capability.

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