Configure a Sequence Sending Schedule

Overview

Sequences are outreach campaigns that you can use to reach out to contacts over a planned period of time with sequential touchpoints like phone calls, emails, social media engagement, and other tasks.

Use sequence schedules to control the day and time that you send out sequence emails. You can configure multiple sending schedules for different sequences, dependent on audience timezones or contact expectations. Sending schedules help optimize the possibility of positive interactions.

Check out the following sections to create and edit sequence schedules.

Create a Sequence Schedule

To create a sequence schedule:

1. Launch Apollo and navigate to Settings > Team email & sequences > Sequences > Schedules.
2. Click + New Schedule.

3. Enter a name, and choose a timezone on which to base your schedule.

4. (Recommended) Check to enable the use of a contact's local time zone if location data is available.
5. By default, Apollo doesn't send messages on certain US holidays (Labor Day, Independence Day, Memorial Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day), but you can deactivate this setting if needed. To skip additional holidays or dates, pause the sequence manually.
6. Click Create.
7. Next, click Add Time Block for each day that you want to send sequence emails.

8. Select a time range, then click Add Time Block.

9. Repeat this process for each day that you want to send emails.
10. When finished, click Save.

You have now configured a sequence sending schedule, and you can apply the schedule to a sequence.

Apply a Sending Schedule to a Sequence

To apply a sending schedule to a sequence:

1. Launch Apollo and click Sequences.
2. Select your sequence.
3. Click Settings.

4. Under schedule, select the schedule you want to use.

5. Click Save Changes.

You have now applied a sending schedule to a sequence. You're ready to add contacts and engage with people in the sequence.

Contact Prioritization in Sequences

Apollo determines when upcoming automated emails are eligible to send based on your sending schedule, the wait time between steps, and your team’s email sending limits.

If multiple emails are eligible to send at the same time, Apollo prioritizes them in two ways:

Within a sequence

Apollo prioritizes prospects with higher scores first. This helps your most promising prospects move through the sequence sooner.

Across sequences

Your team’s email priority settings determine which queued sequence emails send first across all active sequences. To update your team's email priority settings: Launch Apollo and go to Settings > Team email & sequences > Sequences. Click Priority settings. Choose how Apollo prioritizes queued sequence emails: Scheduled date (default): Apollo sends emails in the order they were scheduled. Emails scheduled first send first. Sequence with the highest interested rate: Apollo prioritizes emails from the sequence with the highest interested rate across all prospects in that sequence. Use this option to prioritize the best-performing sequence overall. Step within a sequence with the highest interested rate: Apollo prioritizes emails from the sequence step with the highest interested rate. Use this option to prioritize the best-performing step. (Optional) If you select Sequence with the highest interested rate or Step within a sequence with the highest interested rate: Select a sequence. Enter the allocation percentage per mailbox. This is the percentage of the daily email limit reserved for a specific sequence during testing. For example, if the daily email limit is 50 and you allocate 20%, Apollo reserves 10 emails for that sequence. Click Save. You have now updated your team’s email priority settings.

To check which contacts are up next and review their status in the sequence:

1. Launch Apollo and go to Sequences.
2. Open your sequence, then click Contacts.
3. Review the contacts list and check the following:
• Status: The contact's status in the sequence. For example, Active or Paused.
• Current step: The step the contact is currently on. For example, Step 1.
• Filters: Use filters to narrow your list. For example, filter Sequence Status to Active.

Next Steps

Once you’ve set a sequence sending schedule, follow these next steps to maintain your sequence volume, protect deliverability, and keep timing predictable.