Email sequencing
A sequence is an automated journey a contact moves through, one stage at a time. Contacts join a sequence by being on its mailing list. Sequences are built at Marketing → Email Sequencing.
Open in Clockwork CRMEnter your Clockwork CRM address at the top of the page to open this in your Clockwork CRM.
The sequence list
The line under the heading shows the email credits and automation credits you have left, with any top-up credits in brackets. Hover over a count to see when credits are next added.
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Name | The sequence's name |
| Status | Active or Paused |
| Active Contacts | How many contacts are part way through the sequence |
| Created | When the sequence was created, and by whom |
| Last Updated | When the sequence was last saved, and by whom |
The ⋮ menu on each sequence has:
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Edit | Opens the sequence builder |
| Statistics | Opens the sequence's statistics |
| Copy | Makes a copy called "(Copy)", paused, and opens it |
| Delete | Deletes the sequence |
To delete several sequences at once, tick them and select Bulk Delete. The search box filters the list. You only see the sequences you have permission to see.
How a sequence works
- The Entry Point names a mailing list. Clockwork CRM checks the list regularly, and each contact on it who is not already in the sequence starts at the entry point.
- The contact follows the connections from stage to stage. Each stage does its job, such as sending an email or waiting, then passes the contact on.
- When a stage has several connections out of it, the contact follows every connection whose rules they meet. A connection with no rules is always followed. If the contact meets more than one, they go down each of those routes.
- The journey ends when the contact reaches a stage with no connection they can follow, or a Remove from Mailing List stage.
A contact who leaves the mailing list part way through is dropped from the sequence. Contacts in the sequence are only processed while it is active.
Only people and companies can have tags, fields, SMS messages and contact conditions. An imported email address that is not a contact skips Add Tag, Remove Tag, Set Field and SMS stages.
Credits
Every stage after the entry point uses one automation action credit when it runs. A Wait Until stage uses one credit when it finishes waiting, however many times its conditions are checked. Each email sent by an Email stage also uses one email send credit.
A contact waits at a stage while you have no credits, and carries on once credits are added. See Subscription information.
Building a sequence
New Sequence opens the sequence builder. A new sequence starts with three stages already in place: an Entry Point, a Delay of one day, and a Send Marketing Email stage.
- Select the Entry Point and choose the mailing list.
- Select Sequence Settings and add the stages you need from Stages.
- Connect the stages. Drag from the bottom of one stage to the top of the next.
- Select each stage and fill in its settings.
- Turn on Sequence Active and select Save.
The canvas can be dragged around and zoomed, and the map in the bottom left corner shows where you are. The bar at the top names what is selected.
A stage that is missing a required setting is outlined and cannot be saved. Save tells you how many stages and conditions are incomplete.
The toolbar
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Sequence Active / Sequence Paused | Turns the sequence on or off. While it is paused, contacts stay where they are and nothing is sent |
| View Statistics | Opens the statistics. Shown once the sequence has been saved |
| Sequence Settings | Opens the sequence settings |
| Save | Saves the sequence |
Sequence settings
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Sequence Name | The sequence's name. Required |
| Stages | Buttons that add each type of stage to the canvas |
| Allow contacts to re-enter after ending | Lets a contact start again after finishing, as long as they are still on the mailing list. Off by default |
| Re-enter after and Unit | How long after finishing a contact can start again, in Minutes, Hours, Days or Weeks. At least 1 |
| Permissions | The Users and Teams who can see the sequence. A new sequence starts with you and the Everyone team |
With re-entry on, a contact who finishes starts again once the delay has passed, and repeats this each time they finish.
Stage types
Select a stage to open its settings. Every stage has a Stage Name. Remove Stage deletes the stage and its connections. The entry point cannot be removed.
Stage Active / Stage Paused turns one stage on or off. Contacts that reach a paused stage wait there, and nothing is sent or charged, until the stage is turned back on. A paused Delay keeps counting, and its contacts move on once the stage is turned back on. A paused stage shows a pause badge on the canvas.
| Stage | What it does |
|---|---|
| Entry Point | Names the mailing list contacts join from |
| Delay | Waits for a set time before continuing |
| Wait Until | Holds the contact until conditions are met, up to a maximum wait |
| Sends an email | |
| SMS | Sends a text message |
| Webhook | Sends a web request to another system |
| Add Tag and Remove Tag | Change the tags on the contact |
| Set Field | Writes values to fields on the contact |
| Calendar Entry | Creates a calendar entry |
| Add Opportunity | Creates an opportunity |
| Remove from Mailing List | Takes the contact off the mailing list and ends their journey |
Entry point
Search for and choose the mailing list the sequence uses. Contacts added to the list later start the sequence too. A list built from search criteria adds and removes contacts as their details change. See Mailing lists.
Delay
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Delay Type | Wait for a duration or Wait until time of day |
| Delay Value and Delay Unit | For a duration: how long to wait, in Seconds, Minutes, Hours, Days or Weeks |
| Day of Week (optional) | For a time of day: a day to wait for, or Any day (next occurrence) |
| Time of Day (UTC) | For a time of day: the time to continue at, in UTC |
With Any day (next occurrence), the contact continues at the next time the clock reaches that time. If it has already passed today, that is tomorrow.
Wait Until
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Continue when | All of the conditions are met or Any one of the conditions is met |
| Conditions | Add Condition adds a condition to wait for. At least one is required |
| Maximum wait and Unit | How long to wait before giving up, in Minutes, Hours, Days or Weeks. The default is 7 days |
A contact who already meets the conditions on arrival continues straight away. Conditions are checked again while the contact waits, from every few minutes for short waits to hourly for long ones.
Contacts continue when the conditions are met or when the maximum wait runs out. To send the two groups different ways, give the connections out of the stage the rules Wait Condition Was Met and Wait Timed Out.
Conditions about things that cannot change while a contact waits, such as whether they are a person or company, cannot be used in a wait.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Template | Search for and choose a marketing template or email stencil |
| Send from... | The sending address. Only addresses on verified sender domains are listed |
Emails are sent in the same way as a bulk email shot, including unsubscribe handling and tracking. See Bulk email shots. Once the stage has sent, it shows how many emails it has sent and a statistics button. When contacts have been through the stage more than once, the button lists each send, Send #1, Send #2 and so on.
SMS
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Send From | The phone number to send from |
| Message | The text of the message. The merge field picker inserts merge fields |
The message is sent to the contact's phone number. A contact with no phone number skips the stage. Add SMS is only available when you have a phone number that can send SMS. See Communication services.
Webhook
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| HTTP Method | GET, POST, PUT, PATCH or DELETE. The default is POST |
| URL | The address to send the request to. It can contain merge fields |
| Payload (JSON) | The body of the request, for POST, PUT and PATCH. It can contain merge fields |
| Headers | Add Header adds a Key and Value sent with the request |
A request that fails because of a temporary error is retried.
Add Tag and Remove Tag
Tick the tags to add or remove. Search Tags filters the list. Tags are grouped into Person, Company and Any. At least one tag is required.
Set Field
Tick the fields to set under Available Properties, grouped into Person and Company. Then enter a value for each under Set Field Values. Text fields can contain merge fields.
Calendar Entry
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Title | The entry's title. Required. It can contain merge fields |
| Description and Location | Optional. They can contain merge fields |
| Type | The type of calendar entry |
| Assign to | The users the entry is for. The first user is the organiser. Leave it empty to assign it to the sequence owner |
| Schedule | When the entry is: In an offset from when this stage runs, On the next day of the week, or On a fixed date |
| In and Unit | For an offset: how many minutes, hours, days or weeks after the stage runs. The default is 1 day |
| At (UTC) or Time (UTC) | The time of the entry, in UTC. For an offset, shown when the unit is days or weeks |
| On the next | For the next day of the week: the day. If the stage runs on that day and the time is still ahead, the entry is that day. Otherwise it is the following week |
| Date | For a fixed date: the date |
| All day | Makes it an all-day entry |
| Duration (minutes) | How long the entry lasts. The default is 30 |
| Link the contact to this entry | Adds the contact to the entry. On by default |
Add Opportunity
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Name | The opportunity's name. It can contain merge fields. Left empty, the stage name is used |
| Description | Optional. It can contain merge fields |
| Value | A number, or a merge field that gives one. Left empty, the value is zero |
| Pipeline and Status | Where the opportunity goes. Required |
| Pipeline fields | The custom fields of the chosen pipeline and status. Required fields must be filled in |
| Who should own it? | The owner. Left empty, the sequence owner owns it |
| Importance | 1 - Lowest to 5 - Highest. The default is 3 - Medium |
| Likelihood (%) | From 0 to 100. The default is 50 |
| Estimated close date | No estimated close date, In an offset from when the stage runs (enter In (days)), or On a fixed date (enter Date) |
| Link the contact to this opportunity | Adds the contact to the opportunity. On by default |
See Opportunities.
Remove from Mailing List
Takes the contact off the sequence's mailing list and ends their journey. Only contacts added to the list by hand or by import are removed. A contact who is on the list because of its search criteria is added back while they still match.
Connection rules
Selecting a connection opens Connection Rules. Add Condition adds a rule, and a contact only follows the connection when they meet every rule on it. Remove Connection deletes the connection.
A connection with rules shows a summary of them on the canvas. Hover over it to see them in full.
Each rule starts with Where:
| Where | What it checks |
|---|---|
| Has Phone Number / Does Not Have Phone Number | Whether the contact has a phone number |
| Is Tagged With / Is Not Tagged With | Whether the contact has a tag |
| Has Viewed Landing Page / Has Not Viewed Landing Page | Whether the contact has viewed one of your landing pages |
| Has Submitted Form / Has Not Submitted Form | Whether the contact has submitted one of your forms |
| Has Clicked Landing Page Link / Has Not Clicked Landing Page Link | Whether the contact has clicked a particular link on a landing page. Choose the page, then the Link |
| Has Opened Email / Has Not Opened Email | Whether the contact opened the email sent by an Email Stage in this sequence |
| Has Clicked Email Link / Has Not Clicked Email Link | Whether the contact clicked a link in the email sent by an Email Stage in this sequence |
| Added To Mailing List Date | When the contact was added to the mailing list: Before, After or On a date |
| Person Matches / Person Does Not Match | Whether the person meets a set of search criteria |
| Company Matches / Company Does Not Match | Whether the company meets a set of search criteria |
| Is a Person / Is Not a Person | Whether the contact is a person |
| Is a Company / Is Not a Company | Whether the contact is a company |
| Is a Contact / Is Not a Contact | Whether the recipient is a person or company, rather than an imported email address |
| Wait Condition Was Met / Wait Timed Out | How a Wait Until stage ended. Only on connections out of a Wait Until stage |
An imported email address has no contact details, so rules that check for something fail and rules that check for its absence pass. Use Is Not a Contact to pick out imported addresses.
The search criteria for Person Matches and Company Matches include Blacklisted, which matches contacts with an email address on the blacklist.
Contacts at a stage
When contacts are at a stage, the stage shows how many. Select the count to see them.
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Contact | The person, company or email address |
| Entered | When the contact arrived at the stage |
| Time in stage | How long they have been there |
| Exits in | For a delay: when the contact moves on |
| Next check | For a Wait Until: when the conditions are next checked |
Statistics
Statistics has three views: Overview, Contacts and Email Campaigns. Edit Sequence returns to the builder.
Overview
| Figure | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Unique Contacts | How many different contacts have entered the sequence, with the total number of routes taken |
| Currently Active | Contacts in progress now |
| Completed | Routes that reached the end |
| Failed | Routes that stopped because of an error |
| Dropped | Routes stopped because the contact left the mailing list |
| Completion Rate | Completed routes as a percentage of all routes. Green at 50% or more, red under 25% |
A contact who goes down two routes, or re-enters, counts once in Unique Contacts and once per route in the other figures.
| Chart or table | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Activity Over Time | Entries and completions by day |
| Stage Volume | The number of contacts processed at each stage |
| Contact Status | Routes by their current state |
| Stage Breakdown | Each stage with its Type, Active Now (contacts waiting there) and Total Processed (contacts that have passed through) |
Contacts
Sequence Contacts lists every contact that has entered the sequence, with their Current Stage, Status, when they Entered and when they were Last Updated. Filter by shows All, Active, Completed, Failed or Dropped. The ... menu opens the person or company record.
Email Campaigns
Email Campaigns lists the emails the sequence's email stages have sent, one row per send, with the template Name, Status, Opens, Clicks and the date. Double-click a row to open the statistics for that send, which are the same as for a bulk email shot. See Bulk email shots.
Related
- Mailing lists, the contacts a sequence draws on
- Bulk email shots, sending in one go instead
- Automations, rules that act on changes to your records
Last updated