How to create a new sequence

Overview

Front allows you to mail merge and send automated sequences to a list of email addresses. Read Understanding Sequences to learn more about how they work and how to use the feature.

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Instructions

Step 1

Click the three dots in the bottom left corner, and select Sequences.

 

Step 2

Decide whether you want to create an Individual or Team sequence. Front will select Team by default. You can switch it to Individual in the first pane.

Step 3

Select New Sequence.

Step 4

Give it a name, choose the From inbox (email inboxes only), add a CC or BCC if desired, provide a Sender name, and click Create.

Step 5

Click Upload .csv file to import contacts or manually enter email addresses (enter/return will add another line). The first column must be email. Check out Understanding sequences for more information about the .csv file.

Step 6

Click Next: Stage 1 to start building your sequence.

Step 7

Choose a date and time to send Stage 1, and draft your email. The top line will be the subject. Below is the body. To automatically insert names and other information from the fields in your .csv file (like a mail merge), type {{ to trigger a variable dropdown (check out Understanding sequences for more information about variables in sequences). Important note: To pull from .csv uploaded contacts, use the variables starting with {{sequence...}} and not {{recipient...}}.

Don’t forget to add a signature because your signatures saved in Front are not yet supported in sequences.

If the time you select passes by the time Stage 1 is sent, then it will be sent immediately.

Step 8

To test this email, click Send a test email. To add another stage to this sequence, click Add stage. If you only want this sequence to consist of Stage 1, click Start sequence to send. You will need to confirm one more time before sending.

Step 9

For this example, let’s add another stage. Click Add stage, and choose when you want Stage 2 to send. Then, draft Stage 2 of the sequence.

Step 10

Now, let’s send the sequence. Click Start sequence, and double confirm by clicking Start sequence again. 

Stage 11

Once it’s sent, you will start to see who has opened what stage, and if and at what stage they replied.

At this point, you can also edit a sequence by adding recipients or editing the existing stage. To do that, go into the sequence, and select Add recipients or click a stage to Edit Stage. You cannot add another stage after the sequence has been started.

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FAQs

How do I delete a stage in a sequence that has already been started?

You cannot delete a stage in a sequence on that sequence has started; you will need to stop the sequence and recreate the sequence without the stage.

How do I remove recipients from a sequence in progress?

1. Once the sequence has begun, click the edit recipients button
   
2. Check the box next to the name of the recipient you'd like to remove from the sequence
3. Click the Stop sequence for 1 recipient button that appears just under the "Upload .csv file" button as shown below
   
4. A delete recipients window will pop up. Confirm the deletion of this recipient from the sequence
   
5. Click the Send to new recipients button to save your changes
   
6. Another window will appear that confirms you want to send the sequence to 0 new recipients. Click the Add recipients button to confirm.
   
7. Your sequence should be updated and will no longer show the deleted recipient on the recipients list

Sending multiple Sequences at once

We advise against sending more than one Sequence at a time using a single email channel. If you need to send to more than 200 recipients, please start the second Sequence after the first has finished, or consider using a dedicated bulk-mailing tool like Hubspot, Mailchimp or Marketo, and handling the responses to your mail in Front.

Can I reuse the same sequence more than once? 

Sequences have a sending limit of 200 recipients. As long as you have not hit the limit of 200 recipients on a given sequence, you can continue to add recipients to that sequence. Once you click Send to new recipients, it will process them anew, running them through each stage as though the sequence was just created. 
If the sequence has already sent to 200 recipients, you will need to create a new sequence.