Creating email sequences

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Adding your first message

• Click Add first message to start from a blank template
• Alternatively, click the ✨ icon next to the button and choose between three AI-generated sequence styles:
  • Friendly
  • Professional
  • Concise

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Structuring your sequence

• For each follow-up, specify the delay in days after the previous message
• For the very first message, you can define when it should be sent after a contact enters the campaign audience (e.g., immediately, after 2 days). This is useful if contacts are added via integrations like a sign-up form and you want to delay outreach

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Personalizing content with variables

Hi {first name}, I came across {company name} and noticed you're working on {describe what the company is working on and why it matters}.

• View and edit the variable name
• Add example values to guide the AI (e.g., “scaling global logistics”)
• Select the expected length of the output:
  • Very short (2–3 words)
  • Short (4–5 words)
  • Medium (1 short sentence)
  • Long (1–2 sentences)
  • Auto (let the AI determine)

• Public data the platform automatically collects (e.g., LinkedIn bios, Crunchbase descriptions)
• Properties enriched through AI or manually added (see the “Adding custom properties” section)
• Knowledge added via fine-tuning (see the “Adding knowledge” section)

Tip: Always ensure the content you want to reference in your variable is available in one of these sources. If not, add a property or create a fine-tuning rule to feed the AI the context it needs.

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Adding knowledge

1. Scroll down to the Knowledge section in the right-side context panel while editing your sequence.
2. Click Add knowledge to open a modal.
3. In the modal:
   • Define a topic—this is a label for internal use (e.g., “Pricing”, “Use cases”, “Customer success stories”)
   • In the Knowledge field, write out detailed background information that you’d like the AI to reference. This can be anything from pricing breakdowns, competitive differentiators, case studies, customer references, or internal positioning notes
   • This content is treated as factual and instructive, so make sure it is accurate and clearly written

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Where and how the knowledge is used

{mention a pricing detail relevant to startups}

If your knowledge content includes a list (e.g., of companies you’ve worked with, or common objections), the AI can pick the best-matching items depending on the contact’s context (like industry or job title).

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Knowledge scope

Tip: The more structured and specific your knowledge content is, the more reliably the AI can use it in context. Use bullets, examples, and segment-specific notes wherever possible.

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Adding custom properties

1. Scroll to the Properties section in the right panel
2. Click Add property
3. Choose whether the property applies to a Contact or Company
4. Set the type (e.g., Text, Checkbox, Multi-select)
5. Choose how to enrich the property:
   • Use AI (e.g., Perplexity)
   • Use your internal data

{if it’s a YC company tell them that they get 50% off otherwise say nothing}

Note: A separate helpdesk article explains how to configure and manage properties in full detail. Refer to it if you’re unsure how to define or enrich properties effectively.

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Creating A/B test variants

• Click A/B testing at the top right
• Select a predefined AI tone (Friendly, Professional, Concise), or choose Custom to write your own
• Each variant will be distributed evenly to your campaign audience
• View analytics later to see which variant performs best and disable the rest

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Previewing your sequence

• Use the Next button to cycle through different contacts in the audience
• Click the three-dot menu next to the contact preview to search for and select a specific contact
• Preview how the message will render for each team member by switching the sender using the dropdown in the top-right. This is especially useful if you’ve enabled dynamic variables or sender-specific content

• If the AI is missing any variable context (e.g., a property is not enriched), you’ll see the variable unresolved or blank
• If knowledge or fine-tunings are involved, the preview will show how the AI interpreted that input

• Iterate on your variable instructions (curly bracket prompts) if the results aren’t consistent
• Adjust knowledge or property inputs if the data pulled is too vague or too generic

Tip: This preview not only helps avoid embarrassing mistakes, but it’s also the best way to test AI behavior under real conditions before your campaign goes live.

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Optional settings

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Autopilot

• By default, Autopilot is disabled, meaning all outbound messages generated from your campaign will first be listed in your Action List for review and approval
• If you enable Autopilot, a sub-setting called “Disable for contacts with existing conversation history” is automatically turned on. This means:
  • Sequences will not be automatically sent to contacts who have prior email history with anyone in your team—instead, they will be added to your Action List for manual review and approval
  • This helps prevent awkward situations, such as sending a cold email to someone you already had a relationship with
  • You can disable this sub-setting if you’re confident the sequence is appropriate even for known contacts

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Contextual adjustment

• Instead of saying “I just came across your company,” the AI might rewrite it to say, “It’s been a while since we last connected,” if there’s past communication
• This setting ensures your messages feel relevant and human, especially when your campaign includes a mix of new and previously engaged contacts

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Open tracking

• To protect email deliverability, the tracking pixel is injected into only about 10% of emails
• FirstQuadrant then uses this small sample to extrapolate overall open rates
• These open rates can be viewed inside the Campaign Analytics dashboard for each campaign
• This avoids spam filters that penalize campaigns with excessive tracking and helps you maintain sender reputation

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Finalizing the campaign

1. Click the X in the top left to close the editor
2. Return to the campaign overview
3. Toggle the campaign on in the top-left corner