If you’re tired of manually chasing leads or keeping up with cold outreach, you’re not alone. Automating your follow-up saves time, makes sure nobody slips through the cracks, and—if you set it up right—feels less robotic than you’d think. This guide is for anyone new to automated sequences or folks who want to actually get value from their Handwrite account (instead of paying for one more tool that collects dust).
Let’s keep it practical. You’ll walk away knowing how to set up a real-world sequence that actually works—and what to skip.
What Are Automated Follow-Up Sequences—And When Should You Bother?
Automated follow-up sequences are a series of scheduled messages (like emails, texts, or even handwritten notes) that go out automatically after a trigger. The most common use cases:
- Following up with leads who didn’t respond the first time
- Nurturing prospects who need a nudge
- Re-engaging cold contacts
If you’re sending the same “Just checking in…” email more than twice a week, or if leads keep going cold mid-conversation, you’re the ideal candidate for automation.
What doesn’t work: Setting up a fancy sequence before you’ve actually written a follow-up that gets replies. Don’t automate spam.
Step 1: Map Out Your Sequence Before Touching the Software
Before you even log in, spend 10 minutes sketching out what you want to say and when. This will save you an hour of fiddling later.
- Decide on your goal. Are you booking a call, getting a reply, or just keeping your company top-of-mind?
- Draft each message. Write 2–4 follow-ups max. (Any more and you’re annoying, not persistent.)
- Choose your timing. Typical gaps: 2–3 days after the first message, then about a week between later ones.
- Pick your channels. Handwrite can send emails, SMS, and yes, even real handwritten notes. Don’t use all three unless you have a good reason.
Pro tip: Don’t overcomplicate it. Start with email only. You can always add more steps later.
Step 2: Get Your Contacts Ready in Handwrite
Your sequence is only as good as your contact list. Garbage in, garbage out.
- Clean your list. Remove obvious duds—bounced emails, duplicates, people who never opted in.
- Import contacts into Handwrite. Most folks use a CSV import. Label or segment them if you want to send different sequences to different types of leads.
- Double-check fields. Make sure every contact has the right name, email, and any merge fields you’ll want for personalization.
What to ignore: Don’t waste time obsessing over every single contact detail. If you’re missing a company name here or there, just skip the merge field for that one.
Step 3: Build the Sequence in Handwrite
Now, finally, jump into Handwrite and set up your sequence.
- Create a new sequence/campaign.
- Name it something obvious, like “Q2 Lead Follow-Up.”
- Add your steps.
- For each message, paste your draft, choose the channel (email, SMS, handwritten note), and set the delay (e.g., “2 days after previous”).
- Use merge fields for personalization, but don’t get carried away. “Hi {FirstName}” is usually enough.
- Set sending windows.
- Nobody wants to get a sales pitch at 3am. Use business hours unless you have a reason not to.
- Preview each step.
- Send a test to yourself. Check for weird formatting, broken links, or missing names.
- Set exit conditions.
- Most sequences let you stop messages if someone replies or takes an action. Use this! Nothing kills goodwill faster than replying “I’m interested” and then getting 3 more canned emails.
Pro tip: Resist the urge to make sequences too long or complicated. Most replies come in the first or second follow-up anyway.
Step 4: Personalization—The Good, The Bad, and The Unreadable
Personalization is why some automated emails get replies and others end up in the trash.
- Good: Using someone’s first name, mentioning their company, referencing a recent event or product.
- Bad: Overly generic merge fields (“I noticed your company, {CompanyName}, is in the {Industry} sector!”) that scream automation.
- Ugly: Merge fields that don’t populate right—“Hi ,”.
Keep it simple: A sentence or two of real personalization in the first step works better than a dozen “personalized” merge fields that look fake.
Step 5: Test Your Sequence (Don’t Skip This)
Testing is boring but crucial. You’ll catch mistakes that would otherwise make you look like a spammer.
- Send every step to yourself. Check on desktop and mobile.
- Reply to your test message and make sure the rest of the sequence stops as it should.
- Check timing. Make sure delays are set correctly.
- Look for typos or weird formatting.
What to ignore: You don’t need to obsess over every possible combination. Focus on the big stuff: does it look human, and does it work?
Step 6: Turn It On—But Start Small
When you’re happy with your sequence, go live…but don’t blast your entire list at once.
- Start with a small group. 10–20 contacts is plenty for a first run.
- Watch what happens. Are you getting replies? Are people unsubscribing or complaining?
- Tweak as needed. If you get crickets, your message or timing needs work. If everyone unsubscribes, you’re probably too aggressive.
Pro tip: Don’t chase “perfect.” The best feedback comes from real people, not endless tweaking in a vacuum.
Step 7: Review, Iterate, and Don’t Get Lazy
Automation isn’t “set it and forget it.” What works now might flop in a few months.
- Check your results. Open rates, reply rates, and unsubscribe rates tell you what’s working (or not).
- Tweak your copy and timing. If step 3 always gets ignored, cut it or rewrite it.
- Update your contact list. Don’t keep sending to dead emails or people who’ve opted out.
- Add new steps or channels only if you need to. If your email is working, you probably don’t need to send a handwritten postcard just yet.
A Few Real-World Tips (From Someone Who’s Sent Too Many Sequences)
- Don’t overthink timing. 2–3 days between steps is fine. A week between later touches is safe.
- Cut the corporate speak. If you wouldn’t say it on the phone, don’t write it.
- Less is more. Most folks don’t need more than 3–4 touches.
- Pay attention to replies. If your sequence is working, you’ll get actual conversations—not just opens or clicks.
- Be ready to jump in manually. If someone replies, don’t wait for automation—respond yourself.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate Fast
Automated follow-up in Handwrite can save you hours and make your outreach actually work—if you keep things simple and pay attention to what’s working. Don’t get hung up on bells and whistles. Launch with a basic sequence, watch what happens, and adjust. Most importantly, set aside time every couple weeks to review and tweak. That’s how you get better results without turning into a robot.
Now go automate something boring—and free up time for the stuff that matters.