LESSONS FROM

1000 SEQUENCES
SEQUENCES FOR THE UNINITIATED

A sequence is a set of emails sent via sequencer, or email automation software.

They're designed to make your life easier by automating follow-ups.

Manually sending an email as a follow-up can be part of one, too.

That's it.

Email still rules the world, with 42X ROI.

I've written and deployed thousands of sequences.

Here is what I've learned.

BREVITY // CURIOUSITY // OUTCOMES

Bonus points for short and direct messaging.

Even more bonus points for being even more direct, so getting right to the good parts about
outcomes and social proof - sooner the better.

Think about which customers to mention to whom and specific relatable stories in order to pique
curiousty and establish relevance.

Avoid trendy phrases like "revolutionary" and other self-praise by focusing on outcomes. This can
trigger a defensive reaction from the reader. Believe it or not, not even mentioning the product or
company in the initial messaging has shown improvement in response rate.
" FACE TO THE NAME CONNECTION "

LinkedIn connection: The important part is that we're linking this to the email outreach
("face to the name” )

Remarkably, due to the post COVID-19 influx of Linkedln prospecting, the

connect-and-pitch performs worse than a blank connection request and more casual greeting
post-acceptance.

For this reason, I'm sending emails on Day 1 and a blank or minimal ("Sent you an email to johndoe@acme.com,
wanted to connect here too!" or similarly pointing to the email) connection request alongside it
REMINDER EMAILS

In order to get the most out of each message (average cold outbound email open rates are around 30%) and
improve its chances of getting consumed, I want to "bump" the inbox with short messages that refer back to
the original.

For example: "Any thoughts on this, Jeff?"

Or simply, "Thoughts?"

A secondary "reminder" might include a visual or customer quote, lacking a call to action (CTA), implying the
original CTA from the orginal message

Overall - I am trying to get the most from each message and give myself plenty of material to extend
outreach for up to 30 days. However, the highest response rates come within the first 72 hours.

The first 3-5 touch points should all refer to the same core message. Similarly, the next core message or
"cluster" should be saturated within its own set of touch points.

Spreading these persona-differentiated clusters across contacts at one company and reading signals like
opens/profile views yields best results.

Bulleted or numbered lists have shown a decrease in response/opens - however - I would recommend A/B
testing anything that is currently working well.