Build an email sequence
Create a multi-step cold email cadence from your own mailbox — approval mode, the step timeline, audiences, per-sequence policy — and activate it safely.
A sequence is a multi-step cold email cadence sent from your own Gmail or Microsoft 365 mailbox, with waits between steps and a policy that decides who gets sent to and how fast. Unlike a one-time email, a sequence keeps running until someone replies or the steps run out.
Before you start
Sequences have to be activated for your workspace by Zyan — there is no self-serve switch, and until it is on you see a card explaining that. You also need a connected mailbox with Outreach sending switched on, and a physical mailing address saved under OutboundSettingsAutomation controls.
The sequences area has three sub-views: Sequences, the list you work from; Queue, every pending send and why it is held; and Analytics. The old Audiences and Mailboxes views were retired — their editors now live under OutboundSettings.
Create the sequence
Connect a mailbox
SettingsIntegrationsGmail — or Microsoft 365.
Turn outreach sending on
OutboundSettingsEmail — open that mailbox's Settings… sheet and switch Outreach sending on. See mailboxes and deliverability.
Create it
OutboundSequencesNew sequence — name it, pick a Channel and Goal, and attach audiences if you have them.
Choose the first-touch approval mode
This decides how much of the first email you see before it leaves.
Create sequence
You land on the sequence detail page, which is where the real work is.
First-touch approval modes
| Mode | What happens to a first email |
|---|---|
| Always review | Every first touch waits for you |
| Review first few | The first n wait — you set Review sample size between 1 and 20 — then the rest flow |
| Review risky only | Only sends the system flags as risky wait |
| Fully automatic | Nothing waits |
Review first few is the sensible default for a new sequence: you see enough to catch a bad opening line without hand-approving 400 emails.
Build the steps
Add the first step
Subject and body. Step 1's wait is forced to 0 — it is the first touch.
Add follow-ups
Each later step has Wait days before it fires.
Attach at least one audience
Under Recipients. A sequence with no audience can be saved but cannot be activated.
Set the sequence policy
Approval, priority and fit floors, the daily budget and personalisation.
Save steps, then Activate
Activation is always a human click. Nothing starts sending on its own.
The first attached audience is load-bearing
Lead Manager's Add to sequence enrolls leads into audience position 1. If you detach the first audience on an active sequence, that enrolment path breaks — Zyan warns you before letting you do it.
Settings reference
| Setting | What it changes | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Name | The sequence name in the campaigns hub. | — |
| Goal | Book meeting, Get a reply, Drive signup, Book demo or Share info. It shapes how the assistant writes and how replies are triaged. | — |
| First-touch approval | Always review, Review first few, Review risky only, or Fully automatic. | — |
| Review sample size | How many first sends to review in Review first few mode, from 1 to 20. | — |
| Subject / body per step | The email each step sends. Tokens such as the company token are filled per recipient. | — |
| Wait days | The delay before this step fires. Step 1 is forced to 0. | 0 on step 1 |
| Min priority / Min fit | Floors a prospect has to clear before the sequence will send to them. | — |
| Require business email for autonomous sends | Blocks free-mail addresses from sending without review. | — |
| Auto-pause on reply | Stops the remaining follow-ups for anyone who replies. | On |
| First-touch budget | Adaptive share, Fixed cap, or No sequence cap. Adaptive share splits the workspace budget across active sequences. | — |
| First-touch emails per day | This sequence's own ceiling on new cold emails per day, inside the workspace cap. | — |
| Personalization A/B | Off, Short vs standard, or Standard vs detailed. Splits sends between two personalisation depths so you can compare. | — |
Leave Auto-pause on reply switched on
Following up on someone who already answered is the fastest way to turn a warm reply cold. The only reason to switch it off is a sequence where a reply is not the outcome you want.
Activate and pause
Activation requires three things: at least one step, at least one attached audience, and a saved physical mailing address. Missing any of them and Activate stays shut.
Sequences owned by a campaign or a workflow are engine-managed. They appear here but are not editable — change them where they were created.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| There is no Sequences area, only a card about activation | Outreach is not activated for your workspace | Ask Zyan to activate it; there is no tenant-facing switch |
| Activate will not engage | Missing steps, missing audience, or no physical mailing address | Add a step, attach an audience under Recipients, and fill the address in Settings → Automation controls |
| Emails stay queued and never send | Master pause is on, the dispatcher stage is off, no mailbox has outreach sending on, the send window has not opened, or the daily cap is spent | Work down the queue page in that order |
| The sequence sends far less than its daily number | The workspace cap or the mailbox's effective cap is lower | Check both — the smallest ceiling wins |
| You cannot edit a sequence | It is owned by a campaign or workflow | Edit it where it was created |
| A detached audience broke lead enrolment | Lead Manager enrolls into audience position 1 | Re-attach that audience first |