This skill designs the touches that come after a first outbound email. Many replies arrive after the second or later message, so the follow-ups often matter more than the opener. The rule throughout: every touch must give the reader a new reason to respond.
When to use
- A first-touch email exists and the sequence behind it needs writing.
- The current sequence is "just bumping this" repeated four times.
- The team wants to add calls, LinkedIn or video to an email-only cadence.
- Reply rates fall off sharply after step one.
What you need
Ask for these before drafting:
- The first email (or its angle, problem and proof).
- Audience: role, seniority, segment, and how cold they are (no prior contact, engaged with content, past opportunity).
- Assets available: case studies, short guides, benchmarks, a relevant webinar, a calculator, customer quotes.
- Channels allowed: email only, or also phone, LinkedIn, video messages, direct mail.
- Sequence length and volume: how many prospects, how many touches the team can realistically execute by hand versus automate.
- Goal: reply, meeting, or referral to the right person.
Process
- Choose length and window. Heuristic: 4 to 7 touches over 3 to 4 weeks for cold prospects; shorter for warm ones. More touches only make sense if each one adds something.
- Widen the spacing. Put early touches closer together and later ones further apart, for example day 1, 3, 7, 12, 19, 26. This keeps momentum without feeling relentless.
- Assign a job to each touch. Rotate through distinct jobs so no two messages repeat:
- New angle: a different pain the same persona feels.
- Proof: a short customer story or result relevant to their segment.
- Value asset: something useful even if they never buy (a benchmark, a checklist, a short teardown).
- Social or peer touch: a LinkedIn connection or comment on their content, without pitching.
- Direct question: a simple yes/no about whether the problem is a priority.
- Referral: ask who owns the problem if it is not them.
- Close the loop: a final note that you will stop, with an open door.
- Mix channels on purpose. If phone and LinkedIn are allowed, place them where they add context: a call after a proof email lets the rep reference it; a LinkedIn touch early builds name recognition. Keep manual steps to what the team can actually execute.
- Write each email to stand alone. Readers rarely remember earlier emails. Each touch should make sense on its own in under 80 words. Threading replies under the original subject is fine for the first one or two follow-ups; start a new subject when the angle changes.
- Write the closing email well. Acknowledge timing may be wrong, summarize the offer in a line, and leave a simple way back. No guilt, no passive aggression.
- Set exit rules. Any reply, meeting booked, bounce, out-of-office with a return date, or unsubscribe should pause or end the sequence. Positive replies go to a human immediately.
- Define what to measure. Reply rate per step, positive reply rate, meetings booked, and unsubscribes. A step with high unsubscribes and no replies should be rewritten first.
Output format
SEQUENCE: [name] Audience: [segment] Length: [n touches / n days]
Overview
| Step | Day | Channel | Job | Subject / hook |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Email | First touch | ... |
| 2 | 3 | Email (reply in thread) | New angle | ... |
| 3 | 5 | LinkedIn | Peer touch | ... |
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
Full copy
Step 2, Day 3, Email
Subject: ...
Body: ...
[repeat for each step; call steps get a 3-line talk track and a voicemail script]
Exit rules: ...
Metrics to watch: ...Quality checklist
- No two touches share the same job or angle.
- No message relies on the reader remembering a previous one.
- Spacing widens as the sequence progresses.
- At least one touch offers value with no ask attached.
- Manual steps (calls, social) are realistic for the team's volume.
- The final email closes the loop without guilt-tripping.
- Exit rules cover replies, bounces, out-of-office and unsubscribes.
Common mistakes
- Bumping without substance. "Just following up" or "Floating this to the top of your inbox" gives no reason to reply and trains the reader to ignore you.
- Same pitch, reworded. Repeating the first email in new words is still repetition. Change the angle, proof or format.
- Too many automated touches too fast. Daily emails to a cold prospect increase spam complaints, which hurts deliverability for the whole domain.
- Guilt-trip breakups. "I guess you're not interested" or "Should I close your file?" can feel manipulative and harm the brand.
- Ignoring signals mid-sequence. If a prospect visits the pricing page or replies "not now", the sequence should change, not continue blindly.
- No per-step data. Without reply rates by step, teams cannot tell which touch is working.
Example prompts
- "Here's my first cold email. Write a 6-step follow-up sequence over 3 weeks."
- "Build a multichannel sequence with email, calls and LinkedIn for heads of finance."
- "Our step 2 to 5 emails all say 'just checking in'. Rewrite them with distinct angles."
- "Write a polite closing email for prospects who never replied."
- "Design a shorter sequence for inbound leads who downloaded our guide but didn't book."
Ver SKILL.md sin formato
---
name: follow-up-sequence
description: "Use when building the follow-up touches after a first cold email, or fixing a sequence where replies die after step one. Designs a multi-step, multi-channel cadence where every touch adds a new angle or asset, spacing widens over time, each message stands alone, and the final touch closes the loop politely."
license: MIT
metadata:
title: "Follow-Up Sequence"
category: "outbound"
author: "carolina"
summary: "Design outbound follow-ups where every touch adds something new, spacing widens, channels mix, and the last email closes the loop."
tags: "follow-up, sequence, cadence, outbound, multichannel"
version: "1.0"
updated: "2026-10-19"
---
# Follow-Up Sequence
This skill designs the touches that come after a first outbound email. Many replies arrive after the second or later message, so the follow-ups often matter more than the opener. The rule throughout: every touch must give the reader a new reason to respond.
## When to use
- A first-touch email exists and the sequence behind it needs writing.
- The current sequence is "just bumping this" repeated four times.
- The team wants to add calls, LinkedIn or video to an email-only cadence.
- Reply rates fall off sharply after step one.
## What you need
Ask for these before drafting:
1. **The first email** (or its angle, problem and proof).
2. **Audience:** role, seniority, segment, and how cold they are (no prior contact, engaged with content, past opportunity).
3. **Assets available:** case studies, short guides, benchmarks, a relevant webinar, a calculator, customer quotes.
4. **Channels allowed:** email only, or also phone, LinkedIn, video messages, direct mail.
5. **Sequence length and volume:** how many prospects, how many touches the team can realistically execute by hand versus automate.
6. **Goal:** reply, meeting, or referral to the right person.
## Process
1. **Choose length and window.** Heuristic: 4 to 7 touches over 3 to 4 weeks for cold prospects; shorter for warm ones. More touches only make sense if each one adds something.
2. **Widen the spacing.** Put early touches closer together and later ones further apart, for example day 1, 3, 7, 12, 19, 26. This keeps momentum without feeling relentless.
3. **Assign a job to each touch.** Rotate through distinct jobs so no two messages repeat:
- *New angle:* a different pain the same persona feels.
- *Proof:* a short customer story or result relevant to their segment.
- *Value asset:* something useful even if they never buy (a benchmark, a checklist, a short teardown).
- *Social or peer touch:* a LinkedIn connection or comment on their content, without pitching.
- *Direct question:* a simple yes/no about whether the problem is a priority.
- *Referral:* ask who owns the problem if it is not them.
- *Close the loop:* a final note that you will stop, with an open door.
4. **Mix channels on purpose.** If phone and LinkedIn are allowed, place them where they add context: a call after a proof email lets the rep reference it; a LinkedIn touch early builds name recognition. Keep manual steps to what the team can actually execute.
5. **Write each email to stand alone.** Readers rarely remember earlier emails. Each touch should make sense on its own in under 80 words. Threading replies under the original subject is fine for the first one or two follow-ups; start a new subject when the angle changes.
6. **Write the closing email well.** Acknowledge timing may be wrong, summarize the offer in a line, and leave a simple way back. No guilt, no passive aggression.
7. **Set exit rules.** Any reply, meeting booked, bounce, out-of-office with a return date, or unsubscribe should pause or end the sequence. Positive replies go to a human immediately.
8. **Define what to measure.** Reply rate per step, positive reply rate, meetings booked, and unsubscribes. A step with high unsubscribes and no replies should be rewritten first.
## Output format
```
SEQUENCE: [name] Audience: [segment] Length: [n touches / n days]
Overview
| Step | Day | Channel | Job | Subject / hook |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Email | First touch | ... |
| 2 | 3 | Email (reply in thread) | New angle | ... |
| 3 | 5 | LinkedIn | Peer touch | ... |
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
Full copy
Step 2, Day 3, Email
Subject: ...
Body: ...
[repeat for each step; call steps get a 3-line talk track and a voicemail script]
Exit rules: ...
Metrics to watch: ...
```
## Quality checklist
- No two touches share the same job or angle.
- No message relies on the reader remembering a previous one.
- Spacing widens as the sequence progresses.
- At least one touch offers value with no ask attached.
- Manual steps (calls, social) are realistic for the team's volume.
- The final email closes the loop without guilt-tripping.
- Exit rules cover replies, bounces, out-of-office and unsubscribes.
## Common mistakes
- **Bumping without substance.** "Just following up" or "Floating this to the top of your inbox" gives no reason to reply and trains the reader to ignore you.
- **Same pitch, reworded.** Repeating the first email in new words is still repetition. Change the angle, proof or format.
- **Too many automated touches too fast.** Daily emails to a cold prospect increase spam complaints, which hurts deliverability for the whole domain.
- **Guilt-trip breakups.** "I guess you're not interested" or "Should I close your file?" can feel manipulative and harm the brand.
- **Ignoring signals mid-sequence.** If a prospect visits the pricing page or replies "not now", the sequence should change, not continue blindly.
- **No per-step data.** Without reply rates by step, teams cannot tell which touch is working.
## Example prompts
- "Here's my first cold email. Write a 6-step follow-up sequence over 3 weeks."
- "Build a multichannel sequence with email, calls and LinkedIn for heads of finance."
- "Our step 2 to 5 emails all say 'just checking in'. Rewrite them with distinct angles."
- "Write a polite closing email for prospects who never replied."
- "Design a shorter sequence for inbound leads who downloaded our guide but didn't book."
