If you’re actually sending nurture emails—real ones, not just “blasting the list”—you know it’s less about fancy tools and more about getting the basics right. This guide is for marketers, founders, and anyone who wants practical steps to build multi-step nurture sequences in Arti. Whether you’re switching from another tool or starting from scratch, I’ll show you what works, what to skip, and where people get tripped up.
Why bother with multi-step nurture sequences?
Let’s be honest—most people don’t buy or sign up after one email. Multi-step nurture sequences let you:
- Build trust gradually (without spamming)
- Educate, nudge, and convert over time
- Save yourself from manually following up (and forgetting)
But don’t get sucked into creating 12-step epics. Most of the time, 3–5 emails is plenty. Focus on quality, not just motion.
Step 1: Map Out Your Sequence Before Touching Arti
Yes, you want to jump into the tool. Don’t. Take 15 minutes with a Google Doc or whiteboard first.
What to do: - Define your goal. Be specific (e.g. “Get trial users to activate feature X”). - Sketch the steps. What does each email do? Educate, remind, offer help, etc. - Decide triggers. When should each email go out? After sign-up, after no activity, after a reply? - Write rough drafts for each email. Don’t worry about perfection—just the gist.
Pro tip: If you can’t explain the sequence to a coworker in 60 seconds, it’s too complicated.
Step 2: Get Your Contacts Ready
Arti’s sequences are only as good as your list. Garbage in, garbage out.
What to prep: - Clean your email list. Remove obvious junk, duplicates, unsubscribes. - Add key data fields you’ll want to personalize (First Name, Company, Signup Date, etc). - Segment your audience. Don’t send the same stuff to everyone—use tags or fields to group by interest, behavior, or lifecycle stage.
If you’re importing from another platform, double-check field mapping. It’s easy to end up with “First Name: UNKNOWN” if you rush.
Step 3: Build Your Sequence in Arti
Now you can open Arti and start building. Here’s how:
1. Create a New Sequence
- Go to the Sequences (or “Automations”—Arti changes this terminology sometimes) section.
- Click “New Sequence” or the plus button.
- Name it something clear (e.g. “Trial User Onboarding—May 2024”).
2. Add Steps (Emails, Delays, and Actions)
For each step:
- Choose the action: Usually “Send Email,” but you can also add delays (“Wait 3 days”) or conditional steps.
- Write or paste your email content: Personalize with fields (e.g. {{First Name}}). Don’t overdo it—one or two merge fields is plenty.
- Set timing: Decide when each email goes out. For nurture, spacing is key—1–3 days apart is a safe bet.
Conditional logic: Arti lets you add basic “if/then” branches (e.g. “If user clicked last email, send Email B, else send Email C”). Use this sparingly. Overcomplicating logic is the #1 way nurture sequences break.
Pro tip: Preview every step. Send test emails to yourself. You’ll catch embarrassing typos and broken links.
Step 4: Set Entry and Exit Criteria
You don’t want everyone dumped into every sequence.
Entry triggers: This is the “who gets added and when” part. In Arti, you can trigger a sequence based on: - Signup date - Tag added - Form submission - Custom event (if you’ve set up tracking)
Pick one. Don’t stack triggers unless you’re sure you need them.
Exit rules: When should someone stop getting these emails? Common reasons: - They reply - They buy, upgrade, or take your desired action - They unsubscribe or bounce
Arti lets you set “exit on reply” or “exit on tag change.” Use these. Nothing’s worse than a customer getting a “Why haven’t you tried us yet?” email after they already paid.
Step 5: Turn On (and Actually Monitor) Your Sequence
Here’s where a lot of folks mess up: they launch and walk away. Don’t.
- Double-check everything: recipients, timing, content, links.
- Set it live—but watch the first few sends like a hawk.
- Monitor for bounces, weird formatting, or angry replies.
Pro tip: Schedule a recurring calendar reminder to check stats weekly. Even the best sequence can get stale, and lists decay faster than you think.
Step 6: Analyze and Tweak
Don’t trust dashboard “open rates” as gospel—they’re rough at best. Look for: - Replies and positive responses (real engagement) - Clicks on key links - The actual business outcome (did more people convert, or just open emails?)
If you see a massive drop-off after Email #2, fix that one. If nobody clicks, try a different call to action. Don’t just add more emails—make the ones you have better.
What to ignore:
- Vanity metrics (“Our open rate is 58%!” means little if nobody replies or buys)
- Endless A/B testing for minor word changes. Big picture first, tweaks later.
What Works (and What Doesn’t)
Works: - Simple, clear sequences (3–5 steps) - Personalization, but not fake “Hi {{First Name}}, how are you?” nonsense - Clear exit criteria—so people don’t get irrelevant stuff
Doesn’t: - Over-automating. If your sequences look like a subway map, you’ve gone too far. - Sending too frequently. Annoyed people unsubscribe fast. - Ignoring replies. If people write back, that’s gold—respond promptly.
Pro Tips and Common Pitfalls
- Preview with real data: Use actual contact records to see how the emails look.
- Keep your sender name consistent: “Arti Team” one day and “Sally from Acme” the next confuses people.
- Test on mobile: Half your audience reads on their phone.
- Don’t panic if you get a few unsubscribes: That’s normal. It’s when unsubscribes spike that you need to worry.
Mistake to avoid:
Forgetting to set “exit on reply.” Nothing kills trust faster than getting a canned follow-up after you’ve already responded.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Multi-step nurture sequences in Arti aren’t rocket science, but they do take a bit of upfront work. The key is to start simple, get real feedback, and improve as you go. Don’t chase perfection or get lost in features you don’t need.
Set it up, keep an eye on it, and tweak based on what actually works. You’ll save time, avoid embarrassing mistakes, and—most importantly—move more people from “not sure” to “ready to act.”