What is a sequence and when do you use one?
The difference between a one-off campaign and an automatic email series.
A sequence is a series of emails that send automatically, one after another, after a contact joins it — for example a 4-email welcome series spread over a week. Unlike a campaign (which you send once, to whoever is on your list at that moment), a sequence runs continuously: each new person who enters starts at email 1 and moves through on their own schedule.
Campaign vs Sequence
| Campaign | Sequence | |
|---|---|---|
| Sends | Once, now or scheduled | Automatically, over time |
| Who gets it | Everyone you pick, at send time | Each person, starting when they join |
| Best for | Newsletters, announcements | Welcome series, onboarding, nurture |
How a sequence is built
Every sequence has:
- A trigger — what makes someone enter it (a signup, a tag being added, joining a list, or a manual enroll).
- One or more steps — the emails, each with a delay ("immediately", "wait 2 days", etc.).
So a welcome sequence might be: Trigger: joins Newsletter list → Email 1 immediately → wait 2 days → Email 2 → wait 3 days → Email 3.
When to use one
Reach for a sequence whenever you want the same series of emails to greet every new person without you lifting a finger:
- A welcome series for new subscribers.
- An onboarding series for new customers.
- A nurture series that builds trust before a pitch.
For anything that's "send this specific email to my list this week," use a campaign instead. For branching "if this, then that" logic, use an automation.
Next: Build a welcome sequence