# Sequences

> Sequences send a series of emails over time as subscribers progress through the steps — ideal for onboarding, nurture campaigns, and educational content that should unfold over days or weeks.

- Human page: https://mailrith.com/docs/sequences
- Category: Automation
- Reading time: 12 min read

## What this guide covers
Build timed email series with individual delays, per-email subscriber filters, draft and publish controls, and step-level engagement analytics.

## Sections
- Sequence Structure
- Connection and Sending Rules
- Drafts, Publishing, and Tests
- Analytics and Enrollment

## Visual Reference
![Mailrith sequences page showing the sequence list and email steps within a sequence.](https://mailrith.com/docs/screenshots/sequences.png)

Each sequence shows its enrolled subscriber count and the emails within it. Open Sequence Statistics to see where subscribers open, click, or disengage as they progress through the series.

## Sequence Structure

A sequence is a planned series of emails that subscribers receive over time. Unlike a broadcast, which sends once, a sequence sends step by step as each subscriber progresses through it.

Use sequences for onboarding, courses, welcome series, sales nurture, product education, trial follow-up, event preparation, or any message path where timing matters.

Each email step has its own subject, preview text, body, delay, draft or published state, and optional subscriber filter. Sequence-level settings control the shared sender, tracking, and sending rules for the whole series.

The most important planning question is: what experience do you want subscribers to have from beginning to end? Write the sequence outline before building the individual emails so the timing and message progression feel intentional.

1. Click **Sequences** in the left sidebar to open the Sequences page for the current workspace.
2. Click **Create Sequence** in the page header.
3. In the **Select Email Template** drawer, choose the starting template for the first email.
4. In **Sequence Name**, name the sequence after the journey, such as "New Customer Onboarding" or "Webinar Follow-Up".
5. Write the purpose of the sequence before adding email steps.
6. Select the first email in the left pane and fill in its **Subject**, optional preview text, and **Body**.
7. Click the **Email Settings** icon for the email and set the send delay. Use **0** when you want the first email to send as soon as the subscriber enters the sequence.
8. Click **Add Email** to add later steps in the order you want subscribers to receive them.
9. Use the [Email Editor](https://mailrith.com/docs/email-editor.md) to write and test each message, then use **Publish** when that email step is ready to send.
10. Keep later steps in draft until they are complete and reviewed.

## Connection and Sending Rules

Sequence settings decide how the series sends. Review them before enrolling subscribers because they affect every email in the sequence.

- **Email delivery connection:** the sender used by the sequence. The connection must be enabled and assigned to the current workspace.
- **Reply-to address:** where replies go if different from the From address.
- **Open and click tracking:** whether Mailrith records engagement for sequence emails.
- **Sending days:** the days of the week when sequence emails may be delivered. Use this to avoid weekends, holidays, or low-response days if that matters for your subscribers.

Delays are set on each email step. For example, the first email might send immediately, the second after two days, and the third after one week. Think from the subscriber's point of view: sending too quickly can feel overwhelming, while waiting too long can make the message feel disconnected.

Optional per-email filters let you decide whether a subscriber receives a particular step based on their current data. This is useful when a sequence needs to skip a promotional email for people who already purchased or skip an introductory lesson for people who already completed onboarding.

1. Open the sequence and click **Sequence Settings** in the header before enrolling subscribers.
2. In the **Sequence Settings** drawer, choose the enabled [Email Delivery Connection](https://mailrith.com/docs/email-delivery-connections.md) you want Mailrith to use for every step.
3. Fill **Reply To Email** if you want replies to go somewhere other than the sender address.
4. Use **Default Email Template for New Emails** if you want new steps to start from a specific saved template.
5. Under **Email Schedule**, choose the **Weekdays** when Mailrith may send sequence emails.
6. Use **Exclude Subscribers** only when some people must never enter or continue through this sequence.
7. Review **Restart Sequence for Completed Subscribers** and **Send New Emails to Completed Subscribers** before changing them, because they affect people who already finished the sequence.
8. Confirm **Track Opens**, **Track Link Clicks**, and any UTM fields, then click **Save**.
9. Open each email step's **Email Settings** drawer, set the delay, add per-email exclusions only when you want that step to skip certain subscribers, and send a test before publishing.

## Drafts, Publishing, and Tests

Sequence emails can be drafted and published one at a time. Draft emails are not sent to subscribers. Published emails can send when subscribers reach that step and meet any filters.

This lets you build a sequence gradually. You can publish the first few emails while later steps remain in draft, but do this only when you are confident you will finish the remaining steps before subscribers reach them.

Send a test email for every sequence step before publishing it. Check subject, preview text, personalization, links, buttons, images, mobile layout, and whether the message makes sense in the context of the previous step.

1. Open the sequence and click the first draft email in the left pane.
2. Preview desktop and mobile layout.
3. Click the email's **Email Settings** icon and send a test email to yourself or reviewers.
4. Fix copy, links, images, timing, or personalization issues.
5. Click **Publish** for the step only when the test is correct.
6. Repeat for every step in the sequence.
7. Enroll a small internal test subscriber before adding a large subscriber group.

Editing a published step affects subscribers who have not yet received that step. It does not change what was already delivered to subscribers who passed that point earlier.

## Analytics and Enrollment

Subscribers can enter a sequence in several ways:

- Manually from an individual subscriber profile.
- In bulk from the subscriber directory.
- During a CSV import.
- After clicking a magic link configured to enroll them.
- Through an automation action step.
- Through a form or landing page workflow when configured to do so.

Sequence analytics show how the series is performing. Review total enrollment, active subscribers, completed subscribers, removed subscribers, and step-level engagement such as sends, opens, clicks, unsubscribes, bounces, and complaints.

1. Click **Sequences** in the left sidebar.
2. Find the sequence you want to review.
3. Click the bar chart **Sequence Statistics** button in that sequence's row.
4. Review the total results first, then use the email rows to compare sends, opens, clicks, unsubscribes, bounces, and complaints by step.

Use step-level analytics to find weak points. If many people open the first email but few click the second, review the second email's subject, timing, and offer. If bounces or complaints rise, check list source, expectations, sender identity, and content relevance.

Before adding many subscribers to a sequence, test with internal contacts first. Confirm the timing, sending days, content, and filters behave the way you expect.

## Related Guides
- [Automations](https://mailrith.com/docs/automations.md): Automations turn subscriber events into a series of automatic responses — a trigger starts the flow and every branch can send emails, update tags, fire webhooks, or enroll in sequences without manual intervention.
- [Email Editor](https://mailrith.com/docs/email-editor.md): The email editor is shared across broadcasts, sequences, templates, automations, notifications, and confirmation emails. This guide explains how to build reliable email content and review it before it reaches subscribers.
- [AI Writing](https://mailrith.com/docs/ai-writing.md): AI writing helps create drafts, not final sends. This guide explains where AI appears, how to brief it, how to preview generated content, when replacement confirmations appear, and how to repair provider failures.