Glossary Writing and sequences
What is an email sequence in sales outreach?
Also called Cadence, drip
An email sequence is a planned series of messages to one person, a first email followed by timed follow-ups, that stops automatically when the person replies or opts out.
Sequences exist because most replies do not come from the first email. A short, polite follow-up with a new reason to reply often gets the answer the first one did not.
Long sequences of eight or more emails tend to annoy more than they help. Two or three messages, each adding something, is a sensible default for cold outreach.
Why it matters
- Follow-ups catch people who were busy, not uninterested.
- Stopping on reply is essential: a follow-up after someone answered looks careless.
- A fixed plan keeps outreach consistent without manual tracking.
How Reach Crew handles it
Every Reach Crew sequence is three emails at most: the first, then follow-ups on day 3 and day 7, each with a new reason to reply. Approving the first email approves its follow-ups. A reply or an opt-out stops the rest at once.
Related terms
- Follow-up cadence. Follow-up cadence is the number of follow-up emails you send after a first email and the spacing between them...
- Cold email. A cold email is a first email sent to someone you have no existing relationship with, written to start a...
- Reply rate. Reply rate is the percentage of people you emailed who wrote back, counted per person rather than per email...
- Out-of-office reply. An out-of-office reply is an automatic response a person sets up while away, usually stating when they will be...
- Guide: How many follow-ups to send, and when
- Template: A follow-up email after no reply that adds something new