Purpose:
The purpose of this article is to provide information to Outreach Users regarding sequence schedules.
Sequence Schedules are a series of time blocks configured on various calendar days that reflect time frames in which emails can be delivered from a Sequence and Tasks can be created. Sequence Schedules ensure that Tasks are processed during reasonable times and days when recipients are likely to be available and responsive.
Intended Audience:
- Outreach Users
Sequence Schedule Overview:
How Schedules Work
In a sequence with steps by day interval, steps are scheduled to start at a set interval time (15 mins, 2 hours, 5 days, etc.). Intervals will then correspond with the schedule, looking at schedule time blocks, to decide whether it should or should not initiate that step.
If a step lands outside of an available time block, Outreach will wait until the next available window to initiate that step. As that step moves forward, the rest of the schedule will move forward so the following steps do not play 'catch up'.
For more information on schedule intervals, refer to the Sequence Overview article.
An example of this in action would look like:
- Step 1 email goes out on day 1.
- Step 2 email is scheduled to be delivered 3 days later.
- 3 days later, step 2 lands on a Sunday.
- Since there are no available time blocks on Sunday, per the schedule owner's customization, step 2 will not send until the next available time block.
- The next available time block is Monday from 7 AM - 4 PM, so it waits until 7 AM on Monday to send step 2.
- Step 3, which was scheduled for 3 days after step 2, will now send 3 days after Monday instead of 3 days after Sunday
Sequence Schedule Settings:
How To Access Sequence Schedules:
- Access the Outreach Platform.
- Click the user's initials in the bottom left corner of the navigation sidebar.
- Click Schedules under the System Config section in the Settings panel.
- Either click an existing schedule or click Add to open a new schedule.
For more information regarding creating a sequence schedule, refer to the How To Create a Sequence Schedule article.
A sequence schedule can be configured based on the information described in the table below:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Schedule Name | Identifies the name of the schedule. |
| Owner | Identifies the owner of the schedule. |
| Scheduling Options |
Identifies when an email or task should process. |
| Time blocks |
Identifies the timeframes in which tasks can process. For more information in adding time blocks, refer to the How To Create a Sequence Schedule article. |
Scheduling Options: Time zones
Outreach provides users with the opportunity to configure a specific timezone for sequences as described in the table below:
| Scheduling Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Use prospect's timezone as default | Scheduled emails and tasks process based on the timezone listed for each individual Prospect. |
| Use sender's timezone if prospect timezone is unavailable | Scheduled emails and tasks process based on the sequencer's default timezone as established by the user's calendar settings instead of the schedule's default timezone. |
| Default timezone | Scheduled emails and tasks process based on the selected timezone when either prospect or sender timezone option is unavailable. |
| Holidays by country |
Emails and tasks will be processed on the next available schedule block after a holiday. |
International Holiday Schedules:
Under schedules you will now see a section labeled Holidays by Country. Here you can select the country whose holidays should be applied to the schedule.
Note: You are only able to apply one country per schedule.
When enabled, emails and tasks that are scheduled to be delivered on a holiday will be rescheduled for the next available schedule block after the holiday. On scheduled holidays, a UI banner will appear. The banner will notify Users their that their tasks and automated emails may not be sent due to holiday observance. The banner will be presented to all Users, if a schedule is enabled that respects a regional or US holiday (regardless of whether or not Prospects are in a sequence using that regional holiday schedule).
A Note about Pausing Sequences for Holidays:
Many Sales Reps will be out-of-office for additional time beyond just the holidays, if you would like to pause Outreach campaigns for additional time, here are Outreach's two recommended methods:
For sequences with a heavy amount of automated emails, the easiest way is to simply pause your sequence.
This can be done either by disabling each sequence (which will impact all Prospect within that sequence), sequence steps, or you can pause specific Prospects. We recommend tagging these sequences, so after the holidays you know the specific ones to turn back on.
Note: This is very easy to manage, but be advised that scheduled emails with manual customization will be lost when a sequence is turned off. This includes any personalization that was added to a scheduled email.
For sequences that heavily utilize manual emails, manually re-schedule all 'scheduled emails' from your Outreach outbox.
From the Outreach outbox or "emails" tab in the sequence view:
- Set the date to the beginning of first 'no-delivery-day' and filter the emails based on scheduled date.
- Bulk re-schedule them to the day after 'no-delivery-dates'
Note: This method will ensure any customization of email content is not lost. However, emails will pile up on the first day of the scheduled delivery date, which means there is potential to reach your daily email limit. As a result, it is possible that some scheduled emails will be postponed for a few days. You will also want to keep in mind that large email deliveries to the same domain can have an impact on your email deliverability.
Additional Resources:
Outreach University - Rulesets and Schedules
How To Create a Sequence Schedule
Strategy Spotlight: Sequences - Creating the Engine for Your Playbook (Part 1 of 3)
© 2022 Outreach.io