Sequences

A sequence is a set of rules that tells ORCA who to email, when to email them, and which template to use. Each sequence can have multiple steps, each with its own template and delay.

Go to Automations > Sequences and click New sequence to get started.

Triggers

Every sequence needs a trigger - the condition that pulls a contact into the sequence.

Time elapsed since last contact includes anyone who matches the sequence's status criteria but hasn't had a communication logged in the last N days. You set the number of days. Good for re-engagement and keeping warm contacts from going cold.

Status changed to fires when a contact's picklist field changes to one of the values you've selected. Pick a section, then a picklist field within it, then tick the specific values that should trigger the sequence.

Number field matches value fires when a number field on a record meets a condition you set. Pick a section, then a number field, then a condition (equals, at least, more than, at most, fewer than) and a value. Useful for things like "nobody has called this lead yet" (calls equals 0) or "deal value over £50,000".

Escalation clock watches records against a date field and acts on the record itself rather than emailing a contact. It works differently enough to have its own page: see Record Automations. The option only appears if the escalation clock has been enabled for your account.

Manual only means the sequence never runs on its own. You kick it off by hand from the sequence list. Useful for one-off campaigns or testing.

Steps

Most steps send one email from a template, after a delay you specify. Sequences using the escalation clock trigger can also update a field or raise a to-do instead, covered in Record Automations.

Add as many steps as you like. A typical re-engagement sequence might have one step (a single follow-up email, 3 days after the trigger). A longer nurture sequence might have three or four, spaced a week apart.

The delay is measured from the trigger, not from the previous step - so step 1 at "3 days" and step 2 at "10 days" means the second email goes out 10 days after the trigger, not 13.

When the delay is set to Days, a send time field appears alongside it. This pins the time of day the email goes out - the default is 09:00. So a step with a 3-day delay and a 10:00 send time will fire at 10am on day 3. Steps using an Hours delay are unaffected: they fire relative to the trigger time.

Active and Inactive

Sequences don't run until you activate them. The toggle on the sequence list switches a sequence on or off without deleting it - handy for pausing something during a quiet period or while you're still refining it.

Running a Sequence Manually

Even if a sequence uses an automatic trigger, you can run it manually at any time from the sequence list. ORCA will evaluate the current audience and push the resulting sends into the Review Queue.

Sequences with a Manual only trigger work the same way - they just don't run on any schedule.

Related

• Overview & Templates for email templates, merge tags, the Review Queue, and send pacing
• Record Automations for the escalation clock, field updates, and automatic to-dos