Adding Steps to Your Sequence

A sequence is made up of a series of steps. You can combine different step types and create as many steps as you need. The available step types are Auto Email, Auto Text, and Task.

To add steps to your sequence, follow these steps:

1. Click Sequences on the main menu.

2. Click the view icon next to the sequence name. This will take you to the Sequence Overview tab. If you have not yet created a sequence, refer to the article titled Creating a Sequence.

3. Click the green +Start button.

4. In the pop-up menu, select the type of step you would like to add. The available options are:

a) Auto Email
b) Auto Text Message
c) Task

a) Auto Email: Emails are sent automatically based on your selected day interval and time.

When you choose Auto Email, an email pop-up will appear. In the subject field, enter your subject line, then compose your message in the message field below.

(Optional) Click Ask AI to access helpful features that can assist you in writing your message.

You can use placeholders to dynamically populate text in your emails when they are sent. For example, using the First Name placeholder in a salutation like "Dear {{first_name}}" will allow Vuepak to insert the recipient's first name in every email.

The Placeholder icon looks like this: {}. You will find it in the bottom right corner under the message field.

You can also use templates. To do so, click the Insert Template dropdown. When you select a template, both the subject and message fields will be automatically populated with the template content. For more information on creating templates, refer to the article titled How to Create Templates.

To add a signature to your email, check the Add Signature box. If you've entered your information on the My Account page, your signature will appear in the following order:

a) Your First and Last Name
b) Your Job Title
c) Your Phone Number

Note: A direct number takes priority. If no direct number is entered, the company number and extension will be used instead.

d) Your Company Logo

For details on updating your information, refer to the article titled Introduction to My Account.

If you want to include a package, click Add Package. This will open a side panel where you can select your desired package. Click "Add Package" again to close the panel. If you have many packages, use the search field to quickly locate the one you need. To learn more about what a presentation package is, please refer to the article titled What is a Package?.

Select one or more packages using the checkbox.

Optionally, you can set an Expiration Date if you want to prevent recipients from accessing the package after a certain date. This is useful for scenarios like running a limited-time promotion or promoting an event that ends on a specific date.

Important Note: If you have enabled threading in the sequence settings, the text from the previous message will carry over to the next step, but the package will not. You must add the package to each step if you want it included with the message.

To close the package tab, click Add Package again.

5. Click Save. Your auto email step will now be visible.

In the email step header section, you’ll see a + sign. Clicking it will open another email pop-up. By completing and adding this, you can set up A/B testing for this step. A/B testing helps determine which message performs best based on metrics such as email opens, package views, and replies. When contacts go through this step, they will alternate between the two messages. For example, if you have 10 contacts, 5 will receive the first message, and the other 5 will receive the second.

(Optional) Click Ask AI to access helpful features that can assist you in writing your A/B testing message, including having AI write the message for you.

To have AI write your B message, click Ask AI, then select Add Variant Message from the dropdown.

Important Note: To have AI write your message, you must have already completed your first message.

To edit a message, click the pencil icon.

To delete a message, click the trash icon.

Note: You can activate or deactivate messages by toggling the on/off slider on the left.

To delete an email sequence step, click the Trash icon in the step header.

b) Auto Text: Text messages are sent automatically based on your selected day interval and time.

When you choose Auto Text, a pop-up will appear. Enter your message in the Message field.

(Optional) Click Ask AI to access helpful features that can assist you in writing your message.

You can use placeholders to dynamically populate text when the messages are sent. For example, you could use the First Name placeholder in a salutation like "Dear {{first_name}}" to ensure Vuepak populates the recipient's first name in every text message sent.

The placeholders icon looks like this: {}. You’ll find it in the bottom right corner under the message field.

Important Note: A phone number is required in order to send text messages. To learn how to purchase a number, please see the article titled SMS Settings.

Another option is to click the Insert Template dropdown to insert one of your saved templates. For more information on creating templates, refer to the article titled How to Create Templates.

If you want to include a package, click Add Package. This will open a side panel where you can select your package. If you have many packages, use the Search field to quickly find the one you need.

Select one or more packages using the checkbox.

Optionally, you can set an Expiration Date to prevent recipients from accessing the package after a specific date. This is useful for scenarios like running a limited-time promotion or promoting an event that ends on a particular date.

Click Save. Your Auto Text step will now appear.

In the text step header section, you will see a + sign. Clicking it will open another text message pop-up. By completing and adding it, you can set up A/B testing for this step. This type of testing helps determine which message performs best, based on metrics like package opens and replies.

When contacts go through this step, they will alternate between the two messages. For example, if you have 10 contacts, 5 will receive the first message, and the other 5 will receive the second.

(Optional) Click Ask AI to access helpful features that can assist you in writing your A/B testing message, including having AI write the message for you.

To have AI write your B message, click Ask AI, then select Add Variant Message from the dropdown.

Important Note: To have AI write your message, you must have already completed your first message.

To edit a message, click the pencil icon.

To delete a message, click the trash icon.

Note: You can activate or deactivate messages by toggling the on/off slider on the left.

To delete a text sequence step, click the trash icon in the step header.

c) Task: A manual task will pause the sequence until you mark it as completed.

When you add a task, a pop-up will appear. Select the task type from the dropdown. This can be a Call Task or any other Task type. Choosing the correct type is important because a Call Task will require you to select an outcome when running the sequence, which will provide you with additional analytic results.

Important Note: You can use placeholders such as {{first_name}} in your tasks to personalize them to your needs. This is helpful in cases when the call task includes the call message you want to deliver and address the prospect by name. The placeholders icon looks like this: {}. You’ll find it in the bottom right corner under the fields.

Tip: Helpful examples of Tasks include sending a social media connection request, a LinkedIn InMail, and more.

(Optional) Click Ask AI to access helpful features that can assist you in creating your task. For example, you can click Ask AI, select Custom, and write the following: "Suggest a social media task for a sequence step used for reaching out to prospects."

Enter your Task Title in the title field, then provide a Task Description or relevant details in the description field.

Click Save. Your task step will now appear.

To edit a task, click the pencil icon.

To delete a task, click the trash icon.

Note: You can activate or deactivate Tasks by toggling the on/off slider on the left.

Note: On the right side of the header for each sequence step, you will see up and down arrows. These allow you to change the order of your steps.

6. To add additional sequence steps, click the +Add button to insert a new step after a specific step, or click the +End button to add a step at the end of the sequence.

7. On the left side of each sequence step header, select the interval in days between steps.

8. On the right side of each sequence step header, select the delivery time.

Note: Don’t worry about time zones, weekends, and holidays—there are options to manage these in the sequence settings.

Important Note: Before activating your sequence, it's a good idea to review your settings by clicking the Settings tab to ensure everything matches your needs. Most settings cannot be changed after activation.

9. To activate your sequence, toggle the Slider Bar next to the Overview tab.

Important Note: Once a sequence is activated, certain changes will no longer be possible. These include adding steps, changing day intervals, adjusting the order of steps, and modifying delivery times. However, you can still add A/B testing messages, edit, and delete existing messages. You will also have the option to clone an existing sequence and use it as a starting point for creating a new one.

Note: The three boxes at the top of the Overview tab display the total number of steps in the sequence, the number of days it spans, and the percentage of the sequence that is automated.

Next, learn about Sequence Settings.