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Sequences Best Practices

Best practices for creating high-quality, effective outreach sequences in Sequence Studio.

Content Quality

Section titled “Content Quality”

Truth-Only Policy

Section titled “Truth-Only Policy”
Golden Rule

Every sentence must be verifiably true.

Implementation:

  • ✅ “Our platform integrates with HubSpot” (if it does)
  • ❌ “You’ll love our platform” (subjective, unverifiable)
  • ✅ “We work with 500+ B2B companies” (if true)
  • ❌ “You’re probably looking for a solution like ours” (assumption)

Benefits:

  • Builds trust
  • Reduces legal risk
  • Improves brand reputation
  • Higher response quality

Evidence Hierarchy

Section titled “Evidence Hierarchy”

Prioritize data sources:

1. Ground Facts (highest trust)

  • Provided in prompt explicitly
  • From verified data sources
  • Company-approved messaging

2. Derived Facts (medium trust)

  • Calculated from ground facts
  • Logical inferences with evidence
  • Industry-standard assumptions

3. Metadata (context only)

  • LinkedIn activity hints
  • Behavioral signals
  • Industry trends

Never use:

  • Speculation without evidence
  • Assumptions about individual needs
  • Fabricated details

Omit When Missing

Section titled “Omit When Missing”

Philosophy: Prefer omission to invention.

Examples:

Good:

"I noticed you recently joined [Company]."
// Only if employment data is fresh and verified

Better:

"As [Job Title] at [Company]..."
// Uses confirmed data, doesn't make assumptions about timeline

Best:

"[Company] recently raised Series B funding."
// Only mention if this data exists in sources

Instead of guessing:

❌ "You're probably interested in improving your sales process"
✅ Omit entirely if no evidence of pain point

Personalization

Section titled “Personalization”

Invisible Personalization

Section titled “Invisible Personalization”

Make personalization feel serendipitous, not obvious.

Bad (Obvious):

"I saw your recent post about AI in sales..."
"Based on your profile, I think..."
"Considering your background in marketing..."

Good (Invisible):

Uses LinkedIn activity to inform tone,
but doesn't explicitly reference it.


Mentions industry trends relevant to their sector,
without saying "I researched your industry."

Benefits:

  • Feels more genuine
  • Less “salesy”
  • Higher response rates
  • Better relationship building

Data-Driven Context

Section titled “Data-Driven Context”

Use enrichment data as background context:

Available Data:

  • LinkedIn recent activity
  • Company news
  • Funding events
  • Job changes

How to Use:

  • Inform message tone
  • Guide value prop selection
  • Influence examples used
  • Shape call-to-action

How NOT to Use:

  • Don’t quote their posts
  • Don’t reference specific activities
  • Don’t mention you “researched” them

Generic When Appropriate

Section titled “Generic When Appropriate”

Philosophy: Generic is better than fake personalized.

When to be generic:

  • Insufficient data for authentic personalization
  • Risk of assumptions being wrong
  • Data quality questionable
  • High-volume campaigns

Examples:

Generic (Good):

"As a [Job Title] at a [Size] [Industry] company,
you might be interested in..."

Fake Personalized (Bad):

"Based on your interest in AI..." // No evidence of interest
"You're probably facing challenges with..." // Pure assumption

Tone & Style

Section titled “Tone & Style”

Casual-Professional

Section titled “Casual-Professional”

Balance professionalism with approachability:

Too Formal:

"Dear Mr. Smith,


I hope this correspondence finds you well. I am writing to..."

Too Casual:

"Hey!


OMG our product is amazing and you NEED to check it out!"

Just Right:

"Hi Sarah,


Quick note about [specific value prop].


[Brief context]


[Single CTA]


Best,
John"

Length Guidelines

Section titled “Length Guidelines”

Email length: 30-80 words ideal

Why short works:

  • Busy prospects scan
  • Mobile-friendly
  • Focuses message
  • Increases read rate

Structure:

1-2 sentences: Context/Hook
1-2 sentences: Value proposition
1 sentence: Call to action


Total: 4-5 sentences maximum

Single CTA

Section titled “Single CTA”

One call-to-action per email:

Good:

"Would 15 minutes next week work to discuss?"

Bad:

"Would you like a demo? Or we could schedule a call?
Or I could send you a case study? Let me know what works!"

Why single CTA:

  • Reduces decision fatigue
  • Clearer ask
  • Higher conversion
  • Easier to track

Technical Guidelines

Section titled “Technical Guidelines”
Section titled “No Links Policy”

Recommendation: No links in cold emails

Reasons:

  • Spam filters
  • Looks less sales-y
  • Forces response to engage
  • Better deliverability

Exceptions:

  • Follow-ups after response
  • Post-meeting follow-up
  • Requested materials

Instead of links:

❌ "Check out our website: [link]"
❌ "Book time here: [calendar link]"


✅ "Happy to send our case study if helpful"
✅ "Would next Tuesday work for a quick call?"

HTML Formatting

Section titled “HTML Formatting”

Use:

  • Paragraphs (<p>)
  • Line breaks (<br>)
  • Basic formatting

Avoid:

  • Images
  • Complex layouts
  • Colored text
  • Fancy fonts
  • Tables

Why:

  • Better deliverability
  • Looks like personal email
  • Mobile-friendly
  • Accessible

Subject Lines

Section titled “Subject Lines”

Best practices:

Sentence case:

✅ "Quick question about TechCorp"
❌ "QUICK QUESTION ABOUT TECHCORP"
❌ "Quick Question About TechCorp"

Length: 30-50 characters

Avoid:

  • “RE:” or “FW:” tricks
  • Excessive punctuation!!!
  • ALL CAPS
  • Misleading subjects

Effective patterns:

"[Mutual connection] suggested I reach out"
"Quick question about [specific pain point]"
"Thoughts on [relevant industry trend]"
"[Their company] + [Your company]"

Data Sources

Section titled “Data Sources”

Be Selective

Section titled “Be Selective”

Don’t enable all sources by default.

Always Enable:

  • HubSpot Contact (baseline data)
  • HubSpot Company (company context)
  • Previous Communication (avoid duplicates)

Selectively Enable:

  • LinkedIn Profile (if personalization needed)
  • Company News (for timely relevance)
  • Deals (for account context)

Rarely Enable:

  • LinkedIn Posts (expensive, often unhelpful)
  • Company Posts (adds noise)
  • Financing Events (niche use case)

Cost vs. Value

Section titled “Cost vs. Value”

High Value, Low Cost:

  • ✅ Contact baseline data
  • ✅ Previous communication
  • ✅ Company basics

High Value, High Cost:

  • ⚠️ LinkedIn profile (use selectively)
  • ⚠️ Company news (recent only)

Low Value, High Cost:

  • ❌ LinkedIn posts (rarely useful)
  • ❌ Website summary (generic)

Testing Strategy

Section titled “Testing Strategy”

Sample Size

Section titled “Sample Size”

Initial test: 10-20 contacts

Review:

  • Read every generated email
  • Check facts
  • Verify personalization
  • Assess tone

If good: Expand to 50-100

If issues: Fix and re-test with 10-20

What to Test

Section titled “What to Test”

Content Quality:

  • All facts verifiable?
  • Personalization appropriate?
  • Tone consistent?
  • Length appropriate?

Technical:

  • Links working? (if any)
  • Formatting correct?
  • Subject lines compelling?
  • Sender info correct?

Compliance:

  • No false claims?
  • CAN-SPAM compliant?
  • GDPR/privacy respected?
  • Brand guidelines followed?

A/B Testing

Section titled “A/B Testing”

Test one variable at a time:

Good tests:

  • Subject line A vs B
  • Opening line variation
  • CTA wording
  • Email length

Bad tests:

  • Changing everything at once
  • Too many variables
  • Insufficient sample size

Minimum sample: 100 contacts per variation

Performance Optimization

Section titled “Performance Optimization”

Reply Rate Benchmarks

Section titled “Reply Rate Benchmarks”

Cold email benchmarks:

  • 1-3% reply rate = Good
  • 3-5% reply rate = Excellent

  • 5% reply rate = Outstanding

If below 1%:

  • Review messaging relevance
  • Check target audience fit
  • Verify deliverability
  • Test different value props

Improving Response Rates

Section titled “Improving Response Rates”

Tactics:

Better Targeting:

  • Tighter audience definition
  • More relevant value props
  • Stronger pain point alignment

Content Optimization:

  • Shorter emails
  • Clearer value prop
  • Stronger CTA
  • Better subject lines

Timing:

  • Test send times
  • Avoid weekends
  • Consider time zones
  • Space out touches

Deliverability

Section titled “Deliverability”

Maintain good sender reputation:

Do:

  • ✅ Warm up email domain
  • ✅ Authenticate (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
  • ✅ Monitor bounce rates
  • ✅ Clean lists regularly

Don’t:

  • ❌ Send to invalid emails
  • ❌ Use spam trigger words
  • ❌ Send too high volume initially
  • ❌ Ignore unsubscribes

Common Mistakes

Section titled “Common Mistakes”

Over-Personalization

Section titled “Over-Personalization”

Problem: Mentioning too much research

Example:

"I saw your post about AI on January 15th at 3pm,
and noticed you've worked at 3 previous companies,
and your LinkedIn shows you're interested in..."

Fix: Use data to inform, not to show off research

False Assumptions

Section titled “False Assumptions”

Problem: Guessing about prospects

Example:

"You're probably struggling with [problem]"
"I imagine you're looking for [solution]"
"You must be frustrated with [situation]"

Fix: Either verify assumptions or omit them

Generic Templates

Section titled “Generic Templates”

Problem: Obviously mass-sent

Example:

"Dear [First Name],


I help companies like [Company Name] with [Generic Problem]..."

Fix: Write for a specific persona, not a template

Too Much Product

Section titled “Too Much Product”

Problem: Feature dump

Example:

"Our platform has:
- Feature 1
- Feature 2
- Feature 3
- Feature 4
- Feature 5


Want a demo?"

Fix: One value prop, one CTA

Compliance

Section titled “Compliance”
Section titled “Legal Requirements”

CAN-SPAM (US):

  • ✅ Accurate sender info
  • ✅ Clear unsubscribe
  • ✅ Honor opt-outs within 10 days
  • ✅ Physical address included

GDPR (EU):

  • ✅ Legitimate interest documented
  • ✅ Easy opt-out
  • ✅ Data processing disclosed
  • ✅ Privacy policy available

CASL (Canada):

  • ✅ Implied or express consent
  • ✅ Clear sender identification
  • ✅ Unsubscribe mechanism

Brand Guidelines

Section titled “Brand Guidelines”

Follow company standards:

  • Approved messaging
  • Brand voice
  • Legal disclaimers
  • Trademark usage

Review with:

  • Legal team
  • Marketing team
  • Compliance team
  • Leadership

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”