# Sequences Build a linear automation step by step: choose a trigger event, write a series of messages with waits between them, set the audience and senders, and activate. This is the main guide for the automation builder. **Language:** en **Audience:** platform **Translation key:** platform.automations.sequences **Search keywords:** sequence, sequences, create a sequence, new sequence, automation builder, trigger event, activation event, cancellation event, cancel event, data source, platform events, connected data source, message, messages, wait, waits, delay, send frequency, exclusion window, segment, template, templates, welcome, abandoned cart, post purchase, activate sequence, sms fallback **Related pages:** /platform/es/automations/sequences, /platform/en/automations, /platform/en/automations/managing, /platform/en/automations/analytics, /platform/en/audience/segments, /platform/en/data-sources/managing, /platform/en/audience/attributes-events, /platform/en/project-settings/senders **Docs index (every page):** https://docs.instasent.com/llms.txt **This zone's index:** https://docs.instasent.com/platform/en/llms.txt **This page:** https://docs.instasent.com/platform/en/automations/sequences/ (HTML) · https://docs.instasent.com/platform/en/automations/sequences.md (Markdown) **Other language (es):** https://docs.instasent.com/platform/es/automations/sequences.md A sequence is a linear automation: you prepare a series of messages that send themselves when something happens. A trigger event enrols a contact, who then receives one to five messages, each after a wait you set. An optional cancellation event can stop it early. In short, it's the "if this happens, send this and then this" of your contacts, running on autopilot. You build a sequence in a dedicated editor and activate it when it's ready. This guide walks through creating one, the builder's three tabs, and a few worked examples. To start, open **Automations** and click **New sequence**. ## Create a sequence The **New sequence** dialog sets up the basics — *"Set up the basics — we'll open the builder next."* — before opening the builder: | Field | What you set | | ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Name** | A name for your own reference. Not shown to recipients. | | **Channel** | The channel the sequence sends over — **SMS** or **RCS**. | | **Sender** | The sender the messages go out from. | | **Consent policy** | Who the sequence is allowed to reach. {/* VERIFY: default consent policy on creation — confirm it follows the channel's compliance defaults */} | The dialog only sets up these basics and spawns the draft — the **trigger** (the data source and event that enrol a contact) is **not** chosen here. You define it afterwards, in the builder. Click **Continue** and Instasent opens the builder on your new sequence (still a **Draft**), with the conditions panel focused so you can set the trigger straight away. ![The New sequence dialog, with fields for the name, channel, SMS sender and consent policy](/platform/en/automations/images/sequences--1-new-sequence-dialog.png) *The New sequence dialog: set the name, channel and sender before the builder opens.* You can also start from a **template**. The creation screen offers a marketplace of ready-made sequences — welcome, abandoned cart, post-purchase and more, grouped into categories (**Welcome**, **Abandoned cart**, **Abandoned browse**, **Post purchase**, **Winback**, **Review request**, **Birthday**, **Subscription/Unsubscribe**, **Other**) — each of which pre-fills the trigger and messages so you only have to adjust them. ## The builder The builder is organised into tabs. The main one is **Sequence**, where you lay out the trigger and messages; **Audience** sets who's enrolled and how often; **Settings** holds the name and senders. **Insights** appears once the sequence has been activated. | Tab | What it's for | | ------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Sequence** | The trigger, the messages and their waits, and the cancellation — the timeline of the automation. | | **Audience** | The segment that can be enrolled, the send frequency and the exclusion window. | | **Settings** | The name, the channel (read-only) and the senders. | | **Insights** | Per-automation metrics — available once the automation has been activated (it stays visible even if you later pause or archive it). See [Analytics](/platform/en/automations/analytics). | ### Sequence — the anatomy The **Sequence** tab reads top to bottom as a timeline, from **Start** to **End**. ![A complete active sequence: the Customer created / updated trigger, an immediate welcome SMS, a one-day wait, and a follow-up SMS](/platform/en/automations/images/sequences--4-full-sequence.png) *A complete sequence, top to bottom — the trigger event, then messages spaced by the waits you set, all in one canvas.* #### The trigger At the top sits the conditions card. It holds two things: - **Activate when** — the data source and event that enrol a contact. Click it to open the conditions panel and choose, from **Platform events** (Instasent's own events) or one of your connected **Data sources** (for example, a Shopify *order created* or a Klaviyo *abandoned cart*). The picker shows each event's volume — *"events in the last 90 days"* — so you can gauge how often it fires. - **Cancel when** — an optional **cancellation event** that stops the sequence early for a contact (often the opposite event — they completed the purchase, so drop them from the cart reminder). Leave it unset to never cancel. You can also narrow the trigger with **Filter by event data** — only enrol contacts whose event matches extra conditions. ![The conditions card and the Conditions panel, showing the Activate when trigger and the data source and event that enrol a contact](/platform/en/automations/images/sequences--2-conditions-card.png) *The conditions card: the trigger event, its volume, and the optional cancellation.* #### The messages Below the trigger come the message cards, one to five of them. Each card has: - A **wait** before it, shown on the connector above the card. The first message's wait is measured **from the trigger** (it can be **Immediate**, or 5–45 minutes, 1–20 hours, or 1–90 days); later messages wait **from the previous message**. - The **message content**, written inline. Collapsed, the card shows a preview; expanded, it opens the composer — the same editor used across the dashboard, with personalization, links and per-language versions. - A toggle to **Activate** or **Deactivate** the message (a deactivated message is **Inactive** and skipped), and actions to **delete** it or insert another before or after. Use **Add message** to add a step, up to the maximum of five. ![The sequence timeline, with the trigger, the first wait, two SMS message cards and the wait between them](/platform/en/automations/images/sequences--3-message-timeline.png) *The message timeline: each message card with the wait before it.* > **Note**: A sequence sends over one channel — **SMS** or **RCS**, fixed at creation. On an > RCS sequence, each message can carry an optional SMS fallback, the same way > [campaigns](/platform/en/campaigns) do; you turn it on when you create the > automation. ### Audience — who's enrolled and how often The **Audience** tab controls enrolment and pacing: - `Audience` The segment whose contacts can be enrolled. Only contacts in this segment enter the automation, and if an enrolled contact leaves the segment while the sequence is running, it stops for them automatically. A badge shows the current contact count. Segments are defined in [Segments](/platform/en/audience/segments). - `Send frequency` The minimum time before the same contact can be reached by **this** automation again — from **Unlimited - Always trigger** through fixed intervals up to **Once per year** and **Only once - Never trigger again**. - `Exclusion window` Skips contacts already reached by **another** automation within the window — a guard against over-messaging across all your automations. {/* VERIFY: exact overlap semantics between send frequency (this automation) and exclusion window (any automation) */} - `Consent policy` Who the automation is allowed to reach, based on each contact's consent — the same policies used across the platform. It's set here in the Audience tab. ### Settings — name and senders The **Settings** tab holds the **Automation Name**, the **channel** (read-only — it was fixed at creation), and the **sender** the messages go out from. On an RCS automation, the optional **SMS fallback** and its fallback sender are chosen when you create the automation, not here. Senders are managed in [Senders](/platform/en/project-settings/senders). ## Activate the sequence A sequence stays a **Draft** until you activate it. Before it can go live, Instasent checks that it's complete — the **Activate sequence** button surfaces any issues under *"Resolve these issues before activating:"*: | Requirement | Message if missing | | ----------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- | | A trigger event is chosen | **Choose a trigger event** | | At least one message exists | **Add at least one message** | | At least one message is active (not skipped) | **Activate at least one message** | | Every active message has content | **Message N has empty content** | | Every active message is within its length limit | **Message N is too long. Please shorten it.** | When the checks pass, **Activate sequence** moves it to **Active** and it starts listening for the trigger event. Changes aren't saved automatically — a banner prompts you to save or discard pending changes before you leave. Managing a sequence after activation — pausing, archiving, cloning — is covered in [Managing automations](/platform/en/automations/managing). ## Worked examples A few common sequences and how they're shaped. Timings are starting points — adjust them to your audience. ### Welcome Greet new contacts the moment they join. - **Trigger:** a contact is added (for example, joins a list or subscribes). - **Message 1:** **Immediate** — a welcome, often with a first-purchase incentive. - **Cancellation:** usually none. ### Abandoned cart Recover checkouts that didn't complete. - **Trigger:** *cart abandoned* / *checkout started* from your store's data source. - **Message 1:** a wait of around **30 minutes** — a nudge with the cart. - **Message 2:** a wait of around **24 hours** — a reminder, sometimes with an incentive. - **Cancellation:** *order created* — a contact who buys leaves the sequence. ### Post-purchase Follow up after a sale. - **Trigger:** *order created* from your store's data source. - **Message 1:** a wait of **15–30 minutes** — a thank-you. - **Message 2 (optional):** a later wait — a review request or a cross-sell. - **Cancellation:** optional, depending on the follow-up. Ready to see how an active sequence is run and adjusted? Continue to [Managing automations](/platform/en/automations/managing). --- This is one page of the Instasent documentation. For the complete machine-readable index of every guide and API reference, fetch https://docs.instasent.com/llms.txt — start there for full context.