If you talk to prospects, you already know: following up is half the battle. But who wants to spend their days chasing cold leads, sending the same “Just checking in!” email over and over? This guide is for anyone using Introw who’s tired of letting deals slip through the cracks, wants to save time, and isn’t looking for hand-wavy “AI magic.” We’ll walk through exactly how to automate your follow up emails in Introw—what works, what doesn’t, and a few things most people get wrong.
Why Automate Follow Ups in the First Place?
Let’s be honest: most salespeople (and founders, and recruiters...) spend way too much time on tasks a robot could do. Following up is important, but it’s not where you bring the most value. Automating your follow ups frees you up for the stuff that needs a human touch—like actually building a relationship when someone replies.
But automation only helps if it’s set up right. Bad follow up automation can make you sound like a robot, or worse, get your emails flagged as spam. Good automation is invisible: you look organized, persistent, and human, even when you’re not at the keyboard.
Step 1: Get Your Foundation in Place
Before you tinker with automations, make sure you’ve got the basics sorted.
- Clean up your prospect list. If you’re emailing garbage data, you’ll get garbage results (bounces, angry replies, etc.). Make sure your contact info is up to date.
- Draft your email templates. You’ll need a first-touch email and at least one or two polite follow ups. Don’t overcomplicate—short and relevant works best.
- Connect your email account to Introw. Introw needs access to send emails as you. If you haven’t already, go to your Introw settings and hook up your Gmail, Outlook, or whatever you use.
Pro Tip: Don’t try to automate everything at once. Get one sequence working, then improve from there.
Step 2: Create Your Follow Up Sequence in Introw
Here’s where most people get tripped up: they either make their follow ups too aggressive (instant unsubscribe) or too generic (instant delete). In Introw, you can build a sequence that drips out emails at just the right pace.
How to build your sequence:
- Log in to Introw and go to the Sequences section.
- Click “New Sequence.” Name it something obvious, like “Outbound Demo Requests.”
- Add your first email. This is your opener—keep it short, relevant, and personal if possible.
- Add your follow up steps. Here’s a simple, proven structure:
- Day 0: Initial outreach
- Day 3: First follow up (“Just checking if you saw my last note…”)
- Day 7: Second follow up (maybe add a bit of value, like a link or case study)
- Day 14: Final nudge (“Happy to close the loop if not a fit”)
- Customize the timing. Introw lets you set how many days to wait between each step. Don’t be a pest; 2–4 days between emails is usually safe.
- Personalize your templates. Use Introw’s merge fields like
{First Name}or{Company}—but double check your data so you don’t send “Hi {First Name}!”
What to ignore: Don’t waste time on fancy HTML templates or embedded images. Plain text works better for deliverability and feels more personal.
Step 3: Add Prospects to Your Sequence
You’ve got a sequence—now you need people to send it to.
- Bulk upload your prospects. You can import a CSV or add people one by one.
- Map your fields. Make sure names, emails, and company info line up with your template variables.
- Assign them to the right sequence. You can drop prospects into your follow up sequence directly from the contact list.
Heads up: Double-check your list before launching. A single mis-mapped field can make you look sloppy (“Hi {First Name}”).
Step 4: Set Rules and Triggers
Automation is only smart if it stops when it should. You don’t want to keep pestering someone who replied three days ago.
- Set auto-stop rules. In Introw, you can set the sequence to pause or stop if someone replies, clicks a link, or books a meeting.
- Review your triggers. Make sure replies and unsubscribes are handled right. Your system should never send another email to someone who asked you to stop.
What doesn’t work: Don’t rely on “AI sentiment” to detect replies. These filters miss things all the time. When in doubt, check your inbox yourself, especially at first.
Step 5: Test Everything (Seriously)
It’s tempting to hit launch and hope for the best. Don’t. A broken automation can burn bridges fast.
- Send test emails to yourself and a colleague. Make sure the merge fields work, the timing feels right, and nothing lands in spam.
- Check your links. Broken links = lost trust.
- Read your emails out loud. If you sound like a robot, rewrite it.
Pro Tip: Ask a friend who’s not in your business to read your follow up sequence. If they’d delete it, so will your prospects.
Step 6: Launch and Monitor
Once everything checks out, start your sequence. But keep an eye on things—automation isn’t “set it and forget it.”
- Watch your open and reply rates. If nobody’s opening, your subject lines need work. If nobody’s replying, your message needs tweaking.
- Check for angry replies or unsubscribes. If you’re getting a lot, dial back the frequency or rewrite your follow ups.
- Keep your list clean. Remove bounced emails and unsubscribes right away.
What to skip: Don’t obsess over “AI-powered” optimization features. Most are just A/B tests in disguise. Focus on sending clear, useful emails.
Step 7: Iterate—Don’t Overengineer
The best follow up automation is simple and easy to tweak. Once you’ve run your first batch, look at what actually worked:
- Which email got the most replies?
- When did people stop opening?
- Did anyone complain about the frequency?
Tweak your sequence based on real feedback, not hunches or marketing claims.
Common Pitfalls (And How to Dodge Them)
- Over-automating. If your whole process is on autopilot, people can tell. Use automation to cover the basics, but jump in manually when someone replies.
- Using stale templates. If you sound like everyone else (“Just circling back...”), your emails will get ignored. Mix it up.
- Ignoring deliverability. Too many images, links, or weird formatting = spam folder. Keep it simple.
- Not following up at all. The only thing worse than annoying follow ups is none at all. Most deals need at least one nudge.
Wrapping Up
Automating your follow up emails in Introw isn’t about tricking people into replying—it’s about freeing up your time so you can focus on the real work. Start with one simple sequence, keep it personal where it counts, and don’t get distracted by shiny features. The best results come from iterating on what actually works, not what the product page promises. Stay human, keep it simple, and let the robots handle the boring stuff.