Sequence cadence starter

A cadence is a short series of follow-up emails with waits in between, such as a welcome email, a check-in two days later and a final note after that. This planning sheet helps you decide what each email is for and how long to wait, before you build it. It's for marketers, sales teams and business owners who follow up by email.

Download sequence-cadence.csv

step,type,relative_timing,purpose,required_review,stop_check
1,Send Email,Day 0,Deliver the promised resource,Sender identity links personalization and suppression,Before send
2,Wait,2 business days,Allow time for reply,Timezone business days and holidays,After wait
3,Send Email,Day 2,Ask one useful follow-up question,Thread context claims and opt-out,Before send
4,Wait,3 business days,Avoid excessive frequency,Other campaigns and manual contact,After wait
5,Send Email,Day 5,Close the loop without pressure,Final accuracy and opt-out,Before send

This file is for planning only. You can't import it. You build the real thing in Email → Automations.

Before you begin

• Role: Editor or higher.
• A connected sender: set up in Email → Senders & domains. Emails come from this address.
• Your emails written and saved as templates in Email → Templates. An email step can only use a published template.
• Permission to email the people you'll add, and an unsubscribe link in every email.
• A test contact: your own email address, clearly labelled.

What each column means

Worked example: after a free guide download

Each email has one job. The last one ends the series politely.

Build it in Spacebrain

1. Go to Email → Automations and select New automation (or Browse recipes to start from a template).
2. Choose the trigger that starts it, for example a form submission or a contact joining an audience.
3. Add an email step and choose the template for email 1.
4. Add a Wait step and set the time (for example, 2 days).
5. Add the next email step, and repeat for each row of your plan.
6. Optionally, add a condition so people who Replied or clicked your booking link don't get the later emails.
7. Save. The builder shows Draft · not sending emails until you publish.

What you should see: a flow on the canvas that matches your plan, and Ready to publish once every step is complete.

Test it on yourself

1. Temporarily shorten the waits (for example, to a few minutes) so you can test quickly.
2. Select Publish, then add only your test contact.
3. Check each email arrives, looks right on your phone, has working links and shows the right name.
4. Reply to one email and check the later emails stop, if you set that up.
5. Change the waits back to the real timing and publish again before adding real contacts.

Adapt the plan before you use it

• Pick timing that suits your customers. Business days and time zones matter.
• Check your other campaigns so nobody gets too many emails in one week.
• Decide what stops the series: a reply, a booking, a purchase, an unsubscribe.
• Start with a small group of real contacts and watch the results before adding more.

If something goes wrong

FAQ

How many emails should a cadence have?

Usually three is plenty. More emails can annoy people and hurt your delivery rates.

Can I change the emails after it's live?

Yes. Edit the email step or its template, then publish the automation again. Test on yourself before relying on the change.

Why did my test email land in spam?

New senders and domains often start there. Check that your domain is set up in Email → Senders & domains, keep the email simple, and see templates and deliverability.

Next step

Read the Email guide and templates and deliverability.