Email automation sounds great on paper: “just set it and forget it.” But if you’ve ever opened an email platform and stared at all the triggers, templates, and settings, you know it’s easy to get overwhelmed. This guide is for anyone who’s new to Theirstack and wants to set up their first real automated email sequence for lead nurturing—without getting lost in the weeds or falling for the usual marketing hype.
What You Need Before You Start
Before you even log in, let’s get the basics sorted. Here’s what you should have ready:
- A clear idea of your goal. Are you trying to warm up new sign-ups? Bring in demo requests? Don’t skip this—otherwise, you’ll just blast emails with no point.
- A simple lead capture form or list. You need a way people are getting added to your funnel.
- Some email copy. Don’t overthink it. Three to five emails is plenty to start.
If you’re missing any of these, take half an hour to jot down your goal and rough out your first few emails. You can polish them later (and you probably will).
Step 1: Get Familiar with Theirstack’s Automation Tools
If you’re brand new to Theirstack, spend a few minutes clicking around the dashboard. Go to the “Automations” or “Sequences” section. Look for these basics:
- Triggers — What starts your sequence? (e.g., new sign-up, tag added)
- Actions — What do you want to happen? (e.g., send email, wait, tag contact)
- Email editor — Where you’ll write or paste your emails.
Pro tip: Ignore advanced options like A/B testing, webhooks, or conditional splits for now. You can always come back to those once you’ve got the basics running.
Step 2: Map Out Your Sequence (On Paper First)
Don’t build inside the software yet. Sketch out a simple flow first:
- Trigger: What event starts things? (e.g., “Contact fills out lead form”)
- Emails: List your messages and when they’ll send (e.g., “Day 0: Welcome, Day 2: Value, Day 5: Soft pitch”)
- Exit: When does the sequence stop? (After last email? If they reply?)
A basic example:
- Trigger: New lead fills out form
- Email 1: Immediate welcome
- Wait 2 days
- Email 2: Share a useful resource
- Wait 3 days
- Email 3: Invite to a call/demo
You don’t need a whiteboard. A sticky note or Google Doc is fine. The point is to avoid building something you have to redo later.
Step 3: Create Your Audience (Segment or List)
Inside Theirstack, you need a group of contacts to send these emails to. Usually, this means creating a segment or list.
- Go to your “Contacts” or “Audience” area.
- Create a new list, or set up a filter/segment (e.g., “Leads who filled out the main form”).
- Give it a clear name, like “New Leads July 2024.”
Caution: Don’t mix up your real customers with new leads. It’s easy to accidentally send nurturing emails to people who already bought from you. Double-check your filters.
Step 4: Build the Sequence in Theirstack
Time to actually set up your sequence:
1. Create a New Automation
- In the Automations/Sequences section, hit “New Automation” or similar.
- Pick your trigger (“When contact added to list” or “After form submission”).
- Save.
2. Add Your Emails
- For each step, add an “action” to send an email.
- Paste in your subject and body. Don’t fuss over design—plain text works fine (and often gets better results).
- Set the delay between each email (“Wait 2 days,” etc.).
3. Optional: Add a Tag or Goal
- If you want to track people who finish the sequence, add a tag (“Nurtured Lead”).
- You can also set up a goal (e.g., “If they click the demo link, exit the sequence”).
4. Review and Test
- Double-check the order of steps.
- Make sure your triggers and delays make sense.
- Send yourself a test email. It’s wild how often a typo or broken link sneaks in.
Pro tip: Resist the urge to add fancy branches or “if/then” logic right now. Keep it linear and simple until you see how folks respond.
Step 5: Activate and Monitor
Once you’re happy with your setup:
- Hit “Activate” or “Turn On.”
- Watch as new leads trickle into the sequence.
- Check the analytics after a few days—open rates, clicks, replies.
What Metrics Actually Matter?
- Open rate: Decent to know, but not the whole story (Apple’s privacy stuff inflated these).
- Replies: Gold. If people reply, you’re doing something right.
- Clicks: Only matters if you’re sending them somewhere important (like a demo page).
Ignore “industry benchmarks” for now. Your own numbers are the ones to beat.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
What Works
- Short, personal emails. Plain text, like a real human wrote it. Don’t use a crazy template unless you’re a designer.
- Clear calls to action. Make it obvious what you want them to do next.
- Spacing emails out. Two to three days between messages is usually enough.
What Doesn’t
- Too many emails. Five emails over two weeks is plenty. More than that, and you’ll see unsubscribes.
- Overcomplicated logic. If you’re spending hours in flowcharts, you’re doing too much.
What to Ignore
- Hype about “AI-powered personalization” (unless you have thousands of leads—you probably don’t).
- Endless split-testing. Until you have a few hundred leads a month, just get the basics right.
Troubleshooting and Common Mistakes
Even simple automations can trip you up. Here’s what to watch for:
- Wrong trigger: Double-check that your automation starts when you expect.
- Contacts not entering: If nobody’s getting emails, your segment/filter might be off.
- Emails in spam: Send yourself a test. Avoid lots of images or “salesy” words.
- Broken links: Always click every link in your test emails.
If you get stuck, Theirstack’s built-in help docs are decent, and their support is responsive (but be specific in your question).
Keep It Simple—Iterate Later
Setting up your first automated sequence in Theirstack isn’t rocket science, but it’s easy to overcomplicate things. Keep your setup dead simple: one trigger, a few emails, and a clear call to action. Watch what happens for a couple of weeks. Then tweak your copy or timing if you need to.
Most importantly: don’t wait for perfect. The best way to make your sequence better is to start sending it and see what real people do.