What Is An Email Sequence?

An email sequence is a string of emails sent to a specific group of people with a specific goal in mind. Email sequences can be time-based or trigger-based.

Time-based email sequences send emails at predetermined dates and times. Trigger-based email sequences send emails based on something a user does, like clicking on a button on a website or getting to a particular stage in an interactive demo.

What Is An Email Sequence For?

The goal of an email sequence is to prompt recipients to take action, whether that action is making a purchase, signing up for a demo, downloading an ebook, or scheduling time to speak with a recruiter. That means that both the email content and the structure of a sequence have to be designed to convince readers to follow through on the desired action.

In a recruiting context, email sequences are meant to build relationships between potential candidates and recruiters. And eventually, they can be used to encourage candidates who are a good fit for an open role to apply.

It’s critical that recruiters don’t send too many emails and overwhelm candidates. You want each message to be personalized, relevant, and valuable so that candidates will keep opening them.

Personalized cold outreach is still one of the best approaches to candidate outreach.

That’s because no other form of outbound recruitment has the same results as cold emailing一when done right.

Many recruiters have become over-reliant on LinkedIn InMail. A recent survey indicated over 40% of LinkedIn users have InMail muted. And if you think about the purpose of outreach recruiting like InMail, you will realize that it is just for solicitations.No wonder most of those LinkedIn messages get ignored!

Why Should You Use An Email Sequence?

Tracking the success of your email sequence is key to brainstorming new ways to drive conversions (aka getting recipients to do what you want them to do). Some metrics to consider are bounce rate, open rate, click-through rate, and unsubscribe rate.

Bounce rate matters because it shows you how accurate your email list is. Bounces occur if someone no longer uses an email address or if an email address is typed incorrectly. Cleaning your lists can ensure your emails reach intended recipients.

Open rates can depend on your cadence of emails or the catchiness of your subject lines. Sending your emails at different times of the day or a higher or lower frequency can reveal a sweet spot. Many companies also A/B test different subject lines to determine which ones work best.

Click-through and unsubscribe rates also depend on timing and other factors, but email content is a significant one. Experimenting with your copy, adding emojis or gifs, and the length of your content can help boost click-through rates and decrease unsubscriptions. Monitoring and optimizing each of these KPIs can move the needle on conversion rate.

Now that you know the basics of what an email sequence is and why you should use it, it’s time to get started! If you want some help, check out our blog: 5 Cold Recruitment Email Templates To Win Engineering Candidates.