Once you've planned what you want your Sequence to accomplish, you can build the flow, decide how contacts enter it, and configure what happens as they progress.
If you're not sure whether a Sequence is the right way to communicate with your contacts, see Intro to Sequences first.
Create a Sequence
Go to Marketing > Sequences.
Click + Sequence.
Enter a Name for internal reference.
Add a Public Description. This description can be seen by your contacts on the subscription management page.
Create the Sequence to open the Sequence builder.
The Sequence builder uses a drag-and-drop canvas where you can add and connect the steps that make up your flow.
Before adding contacts, it's a good idea to build and review the complete path you want them to follow.
Choose how contacts enter the Sequence
Contacts need to be subscribed in order to progress through a Sequence. You can subscribe contacts automatically or manually.
Subscribe contacts automatically
Use automatic subscription when contacts should enter the Sequence after a particular event or action.
You can do this using:
Starting rules within the Sequence.
Starting rules can subscribe contacts based on events such as opting in through a form, receiving a tag, subscribing to a list, purchasing a product, visiting a page, or entering another Sequence.
When possible, use the Sequence's starting rules for actions that directly determine when a contact should enter the Sequence.
For example, if three different opt-in forms should each start a different Sequence, you can configure the corresponding form submission as the starting rule for each Sequence.
Starting rules aren't retroactive. If you create a starting rule based on assigning a tag, contacts who already have that tag aren't automatically subscribed. The rule applies when the qualifying event occurs after the rule is configured.
Automation rules elsewhere in Kartra.
Automation rules can also subscribe contacts from other areas of Kartra when configured conditions are met. They are generally better suited to workflows where subscribing the contact is part of a broader automation.
Best practice
Avoid configuring multiple rules that subscribe contacts to the same Sequence for the same event. For example, if assigning a particular tag is already a starting rule, don't create a separate automation that subscribes the contact when that same tag is assigned.
Subscribe contacts manually
You can also subscribe contacts from All contacts.
To subscribe multiple contacts:
Select the contacts you want to add.
Click the three dots above the contacts table.
Select Sequences > Subscribe.
Choose the Sequence and the step where the contacts should enter.
Click Subscribe.
Individual Sequence subscriptions
To manage one contact's Sequence subscriptions, open their contact profile and select Sequences.
Here you can review their current and previous Sequence subscriptions, including their current step and subscription history. You can also subscribe, unsubscribe, or resubscribe the contact.
Subscribe a contact to the same Sequence again
A contact can be subscribed to the same Sequence multiple times. Each time they are subscribed, you can choose the step where they should enter the Sequence, and they will continue from that point according to the Sequence settings.
To help prevent accidental loops and excessive emailing, Kartra limits how frequently the same contact can be subscribed to the same Sequence. If a contact is subscribed to the same Sequence for a third time within a 30-day period, they will not be subscribed again.
This safeguard helps prevent automation mistakes that could repeatedly add contacts to the same Sequence and potentially affect email deliverability.
Add and configure Sequence steps
In the Sequence builder, drag the step you want to use from the sidebar onto the canvas.
Depending on the step, you can configure settings such as:
The action the step should perform
Timing
Conditions that determine whether the action applies to a contact
Email or SMS content
For example, an email step can send a follow-up message after a specified delay, while a True/False split can direct contacts down different paths based on whether they meet a condition.
See Intro to Sequences for an overview of the available step types.
Connect and activate your steps
Adding a step to the canvas isn't enough for it to run. Each step needs to be configured, connected, and activated to the Sequence path.
Connect your steps
Connect the steps in the order you want contacts to follow them.
Click the connection node under one step and drag it to the corresponding node at the top of the next step.
An arrow between them shows the path contacts will follow.
Make sure the first step is also connected to the Starting rules module. Steps that aren't connected to the Sequence path aren't executed.
Set the timing for your steps
Timing controls when a step executes after a contact reaches it. To modify timing, edit your step’s settings.
Each step has two timing settings:
Delay: How long the contact should wait before the step can run.
Day & Time: The days, dates, or times when the step is allowed to run.
The delay is completed first. Kartra then checks whether the configured date and time conditions allow the step to execute.
Example
If an Email step has:
A delay of 1 day.
An allowed sending window of Monday between 12 PM and 3 PM.
If a contact reaches the step on Saturday at 4 PM, the one-day delay ends on Sunday at 4 PM. Because the allowed sending window isn't open, the contact waits until Monday's available window before the email is sent.
Delay options
Depending on how you want the step to behave, you can:
Run it right after the previous step.
Wait a specified number of days or hours.
Wait until a specific date.
You can also use a separate Wait step when you want the waiting period to appear as its own step in the Sequence.
A Wait step can make longer pauses easier to see in the Sequence and its analytics, while a delay configured directly on another step keeps the flow more compact.
Activate a step
After configuring and saving a step:
Click the three dots on the step.
Select Activate.
You can return to the same menu and select Deactivate if you need to stop that individual step later.
Inactive steps are skipped when contacts progress through the Sequence.
End the Sequence
When building your flow, consider what should happen when a contact reaches the end.
You can finish their progression using Complete or remove them using Unsubscribe. These actions have different results.
Complete the Sequence
For most flows, use a Complete step at the intended end of the Sequence.
Add the Complete step to the canvas, connect it to the preceding step, then activate it.
When a contact reaches it:
Kartra records that the contact completed the Sequence.
Their contact log is updated.
Automations based on completing the Sequence can run.
The contact can be identified using filters or conditions based on Sequence completion.
The contact remains subscribed to the Sequence but stops progressing through it.
Use Complete when reaching the end of the flow represents a successful completion that you may want to track or use elsewhere in Kartra.
Unsubscribe a contact from the Sequence
Unsubscribing removes the contact from the Sequence rather than recording that they completed it. This is useful when the contact should leave the flow before reaching its intended end.
For example, you might remove someone from a promotional follow-up Sequence once they purchase the product being promoted.
Use Complete when you want to record that the contact finished the intended journey. Use Unsubscribe when you want to remove them from that journey.
Manage Sequences
You can find and manage your existing Sequences from Marketing > Sequences.
Find and filter your Sequences
Use the available sorting and filtering options to find the Sequence you want to manage. Sequences can be filtered by the Campaign they are associated with.
Unlike Emails, Sequences do not use categories. If you need to organize or find Sequences, use Campaigns rather than Email categories.
Edit a Sequence
Open the Sequence you want to manage to view its steps and settings. From here, you can add new steps or edit existing ones, including their content, timing, conditions, and automations.
Be careful when making significant changes to a live Sequence. Contacts may already be at different points in the Sequence, so changes can affect what happens next for currently subscribed contacts.
Pause or resume a Sequence
If you need to temporarily stop the entire Sequence:
Go to Marketing > Sequences.
Locate the Sequence.
Click the pause icon in the Actions column.
What happens after:
Pausing stops activity throughout the Sequence. Contacts who are already subscribed stop progressing until the Sequence is resumed.
New contacts can still become subscribed while the Sequence is paused, but they won't progress through it.
If you also want to prevent new automatic subscriptions, remove or disable the starting rules and automation rules that add contacts to the Sequence.
Important: If contacts are currently waiting in a timed delay when you pause the Sequence, those delays are reset. When you resume the Sequence, their waiting periods begin again.
Delete a Sequence
Delete a Sequence when you no longer need it and don't need to preserve its history in your account.
Go to Marketing > Sequences.
Locate the Sequence.
Click the delete icon in the Actions column.
Deleting a Sequence removes references to it throughout your account, including its analytics, contact Sequence history, contact log events, and associated automation rules.
Deleted Sequences can be restored from the recycle bin for 30 days. After that, they're permanently deleted.
If you only need to temporarily stop a Sequence, pause it instead of deleting it so you can preserve its existing information.