Overview
An email sequence (also known as a drip campaign) is a series of emails sent automatically over time. When a contact is enrolled in a sequence, they receive each email at predefined intervals -- for example, a welcome email immediately, a follow-up after 1 day, and another after 3 days. Manage sequences from Email > Sequences in the admin dashboard.
Sequences are ideal for onboarding new subscribers, nurturing leads, delivering a multi-part course by email, or following up after a purchase.
Creating a Sequence
- Navigate to Email > Sequences in the admin sidebar.
- Click New Sequence.
- Enter the sequence name and optional description.
- Configure the trigger settings.
- Add your email steps with delays.
Sequence Settings
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | A descriptive name for the sequence (e.g., "Onboarding Series"). |
| Description | An optional note about what the sequence does. |
| Trigger | How contacts enter the sequence (manual or event-based). |
| Trigger Event | When the trigger is event-based, the event that starts the sequence (e.g., email.subscribed). |
| Status | The current state of the sequence: draft, active, or paused. |
Sequence Triggers
There are two ways contacts can be enrolled in a sequence:
Manual Enrollment
With the trigger set to Manual, contacts are enrolled by an admin from the dashboard or through the API. This gives you full control over who enters the sequence and when.
Event-Based Enrollment
With the trigger set to Event, contacts are enrolled automatically when a specific event occurs. The most common trigger event is email.subscribed, which starts the sequence when someone joins an email list. This is the recommended approach for automated onboarding and nurture flows.
Sequence Steps
Each step in a sequence represents one email that will be sent to the enrolled contact after a specified delay.
Adding a Step
- Open the sequence and click Add Step.
- Set the Subject line for the email.
- Write the HTML Content and Text Content, or select an existing template.
- Set the Delay in days and hours relative to the previous step (or enrollment, for the first step).
- Set the Sort Order to control the position of the step in the sequence.
Step Timing
Delays are configured using two fields:
- Delay Days -- The number of days to wait before sending this step.
- Delay Hours -- Additional hours to add on top of the day delay.
For example, a step with a delay of 1 day and 6 hours will be sent 30 hours after the previous step. The first step's delay is measured from the time the contact is enrolled.
Example Sequence
Here is a typical 5-step onboarding sequence:
| Step | Delay | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 days | Welcome to the community! |
| 2 | 1 day | Here's how to get started |
| 3 | 3 days | Tips to get the most out of your account |
| 4 | 7 days | Have questions? We're here to help |
| 5 | 14 days | Check out what's new |
Sequence Status
| Status | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Draft | The sequence is being built. No emails are sent and no new enrollments are processed. |
| Active | The sequence is live. Enrolled contacts receive emails on schedule, and new contacts can be enrolled. |
| Paused | The sequence is temporarily stopped. No emails are sent, but existing enrollments are preserved and will resume when the sequence is reactivated. |
Set a sequence to Active only after you have added all of your steps and tested the content.
Enrollment Tracking
GritCMS tracks each contact's progress through a sequence with an enrollment record:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Status | Active, completed, or cancelled. |
| Current Step | The step the contact is currently on. |
| Next Send At | The date and time the next email will be sent. |
| Enrolled At | When the contact entered the sequence. |
| Completed At | When the contact finished all steps (if applicable). |
You can cancel an individual enrollment from the sequence detail page if you need to stop a specific contact from receiving further emails.
Best Practices
- Start simple. A 3 to 5 step sequence is enough for most onboarding flows. You can always add more steps later.
- Space out your emails. Sending too frequently can lead to unsubscribes. Give subscribers time to read each email before sending the next.
- Write for the reader. Each step should provide standalone value. Do not assume the reader remembers every previous email.
- Test the full sequence. Enroll yourself as a test contact and verify that each step arrives with the correct content and timing.
- Monitor enrollment status. Check for cancelled or stalled enrollments to identify issues with your sequence configuration.