> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.brilo.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Build a sequence

> Build a multi step Brilo campaign that calls, then texts the people who did not answer, then emails, so your follow up runs itself instead of relying on somebody remembering.

One call is a phone call. A sequence is a campaign. The difference in results is not small: most of what
a campaign gets you comes from steps two and three, because the people who answer the first call were
always going to answer, and everybody else is where the work is.

You build the sequence on the campaign's **Overview** tab.

## Before you start

* A campaign with one call step that you have already tested on five contacts. See
  [Start a calling campaign](/campaigns/start-a-calling-campaign).
* Fifteen minutes.
* For text steps, a number with texting switched on. For email steps, Pro or above.
* A decision about what you want the sequence to achieve. A sequence with no goal becomes four ways of
  saying the same thing.

## Steps

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Overview tab">
    Open the campaign and go to **Overview**. Your existing steps are laid out in order, and this is
    where you add, reorder, and remove them.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add the second step">
    Add a step and choose its type: **Phone call**, **SMS**, or **Email**. For a first sequence, make step
    two a text to the people who did not answer step one.

    See [Add a text message step](/campaigns/text-message-step).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set when it runs, and on what">
    Every step has a trigger and a delay. Set the trigger to run only after a call that went to
    voicemail or could not be connected, and give it a delay so the text does not arrive while the
    caller's phone is still ringing.

    This is the part that makes a sequence intelligent rather than repetitive. See
    [Choose when each step runs](/campaigns/choose-when-each-step-runs).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add the third step">
    An email a few days later, or a second call attempt at a different time of day. Different time of day
    matters: somebody who does not answer at 10 AM twice may answer at 6 PM once.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Order the steps">
    Drag steps to reorder them, and use insert to drop a step between two existing ones rather than
    adding at the end and rebuilding the delays.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Run it on five contacts">
    A sequence has more ways to be wrong than a single step, and most of them only show up when a real
    contact walks the whole path. Watch one contact go all the way through. See
    [Track a contact through a campaign](/campaigns/track-a-contact).
  </Step>
</Steps>

## You will know it worked when

You can watch one test contact take the branch you expected: answered on step one and stopped, or missed
on step one, texted on step two, emailed on step three.

## Sequences that work

**The one everybody should start with.** Call, then text the no answers, then stop.

| Step | Type       | Runs when                                                 | Delay       |
| ---- | ---------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- |
| 1    | Phone call | Contact is added                                          | Immediately |
| 2    | SMS        | Previous call went to voicemail or could not be connected | 1 hour      |
| 3    | Phone call | Previous call went to voicemail or could not be connected | 2 days      |

**Appointment reminder.** Short, and it should stop the moment it succeeds.

| Step | Type       | Runs when                       | Delay       |
| ---- | ---------- | ------------------------------- | ----------- |
| 1    | SMS        | Contact is added                | Immediately |
| 2    | Phone call | Message sent                    | 1 day       |
| 3    | SMS        | Previous call went to voicemail | 2 hours     |

**Invoice chase.** The text carries the payment link, which is the whole point.

| Step | Type       | Runs when                            | Delay       |
| ---- | ---------- | ------------------------------------ | ----------- |
| 1    | Phone call | Contact is added                     | Immediately |
| 2    | SMS        | Reached a person                     | 5 minutes   |
| 3    | Email      | Previous call could not be connected | 1 day       |
| 4    | Phone call | Previous call could not be connected | 3 days      |

Notice step two runs when a person answered. Somebody who agreed to pay on the phone still needs the
link, and sending it five minutes later while the conversation is fresh is the highest converting
message in the sequence.

## How long a sequence should be

Three or four steps. Beyond that you are not following up, you are pestering, and the marginal contact
you reach on step seven costs you the goodwill of everybody who got six messages and did not want any.

Two rules worth holding to:

* **Every sequence needs an end.** Either it runs out of steps, or an exit rule stops it. See
  [Stop calling a contact](/campaigns/stop-calling-a-contact).
* **Mix the channels.** Three calls is worse than a call, a text, and an email, because the person who
  ignores calls may read a text.

## What else you can do here

* Branch differently on what was actually said, not just whether the call connected. See
  [Choose when each step runs](/campaigns/choose-when-each-step-runs).
* Personalise every step with details from the contact record. See
  [Add your own contact fields](/contacts/add-your-own-contact-fields).
* Set the pace so a long sequence across a big list does not consume your minutes. See
  [Control how fast a campaign dials](/campaigns/control-how-fast-it-dials).
* Follow a fully worked sequence for a specific job. See
  [Set up outbound follow up](/recipes/outbound-follow-up).

## If it did not work

**Step two never runs.** Its trigger does not match. If step two runs only after voicemail, contacts
whose call was answered never take that branch, which is correct. Check what outcome your contacts
actually got. See [Track a contact through a campaign](/campaigns/track-a-contact).

**Steps ran in the wrong order.** Delays overlap. A step with a one hour delay can overtake a step with a
two day delay, because delays run from the previous step, not from a fixed timetable.

**A text arrived while the phone was still ringing.** The delay on step two is too short. An hour is a
sensible floor for a follow up text.

**Everybody gets every step.** Your triggers are set to run unconditionally. Add outcome conditions so
each step only reaches the people it is for.

**Contacts pile up on one step.** That step is not firing. Filter the contacts list by step to confirm,
then check its trigger and delay.

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can a Brilo campaign call, then text, then email automatically?">
    Yes, and that is the point of a sequence. Add a step per channel on the **Overview** tab, give each
    one a trigger and a delay, and Brilo runs the whole thing without anybody driving it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How many steps should a campaign have?">
    Three or four. Most of the value is in steps two and three, and past step four you annoy more people
    than you reach. Every sequence should also have an exit rule so it ends for people who are not
    interested.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I text only the people who did not answer?">
    Yes. Set the text step to run only when the previous call went to voicemail or could not be
    connected. The people who answered skip it. See
    [Choose when each step runs](/campaigns/choose-when-each-step-runs).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I reorder campaign steps after contacts have started?">
    Yes. Drag to reorder, or insert a step between two existing ones. Contacts partway through continue
    on the updated sequence, so check the delays still make sense after a reorder.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How long should the delay between steps be?">
    At least an hour between a call and a follow up message, and one to three days between attempts to
    reach somebody again. Delays run from the previous step rather than from a fixed schedule.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Should I call the same person twice?">
    Once more, at a different time of day, is worth it. A third and fourth call at the same time of day
    is not, and it is what gets numbers reported. Cap it with **Max call attempts**.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related

* [Choose when each step runs](/campaigns/choose-when-each-step-runs) for triggers and delays
* [Add a call step](/campaigns/call-step) for the call itself
* [Add a text message step](/campaigns/text-message-step) for the follow up that gets read
* [Add an email step](/campaigns/email-step) for the longer message
* [Stop calling a contact](/campaigns/stop-calling-a-contact) so the sequence ends properly