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How to automate a series of emails
How to automate a series of emails

All the 411 on automating follow-ups (and the follow-up to the follow-up) to your warm Contacts

Product at Copper avatar
Written by Product at Copper
Updated over a week ago

Available with the following plans:

Business

Copper's email automation feature allows you to automate follow-ups with your warm relationships. Customers on our Business plan can create email automations that send a series of up to three emails at designated intervals.

You can easily create an automation using one of our pre-configured options in the gallery:

  • Rekindle: Automatically email contacts I haven't heard from in a while

  • List: Automatically email contacts when they are added to a specific List (saved filter)

These options are available for both People and Leads. You must have Leads enabled to see the Leads options.

Gallery of Email Automations

By default, only Admins and Account Owners can manage email automations. However, individual Users can be granted permission.

This article will walk you through creating a multi-step email automation, including:

👉 First, be sure you've reviewed the feature overview to understand the use cases and limitations.

Ok, ready to go? Great, let’s get started! Navigate to Automations > Email Automation. You’ll select from one of the pre-built options in the gallery and then set some fields to create your email automation.

All of our pre-built options have some fields in common, so you will see some steps duplicated below based on which option you are setting up.


💡 Tip

Want to "test it out" before sending automated emails to your contacts? Our Product Team has created a testing scenario for you here.


Automating outreach to People

Email automation options for People

Rekindle Option: Automatically email People I haven't heard from in a while

Keep your relationships in a constant state of warmth by automatically checking in with your contacts.

We recommend keeping your automated emails targeted and personal.

  • Segment your contacts using Contact Types and/or Saved Filters (Lists)

  • Tailor your email templates to these segments

  • Be mindful of reaching out to contacts that you haven't communicated with in a long period of time – those relationships may be more "cold" than "warm". For example, if you are creating a Rekindle automation to email All Contacts where the Last Contacted date is over 6 months, consider first segmenting your customers further using Contact Types and/or Saved Filters (Lists) so the communications can be more targeted

Rekindle Automation for People

Follow these steps to create Step 1 of the Rekindle automation:

  1. Give your automation a unique Name
    If you plan to create multiple “Rekindle” automations, you’ll want to edit the pre-filled Name we’ve populated.

  2. Give your email automation a Description

  3. Select a People List (Saved Filter) or Contact Type
    Choose the option that aligns with how you segment your customers so you can deliver tailored and targeted emails.

  4. Set the time since the Last Contacted date
    We’ve set a timeframe of 3 months, but you are welcome to edit this field.

  5. Select which user the email should be sent from
    You may select either the Automation Owner (which is you) or the Contact Owner.
    Any contacts who do not have an owner will receive the automated email from the Automation Owner (which is you).

  6. Note the Sending Schedule

    Automated emails will only be sent during these hours, which will adhere to the Company time zone set in Settings > Workflow Automation

  7. Select the email template you would like to send, or create a new email template

  8. Select a waiting period
    We've set a period of 3 days for Step 1, but you can change it. If there is new email or calendar activity from the contact during this wait period, we will consider the automation "successful" and display this contact in the Replied section of the automations details panel

  9. Click Save & Activate.
    Your emails will start sending within the hour

A new email or calendar activity from the Contact within the defined waiting period will successfully exit the contact from all email automations they are in. Copper will display the contact in the Replied panel when viewing the automation details.

Adding Steps to your Rekindle automation

You can choose to send up to 3 emails as part of the automation. The entire series is sent on behalf of the same User – the Automation Owner (which is you) or the Contact's Owner. Any contacts who do not have an owner will receive the automated email from the Automation Owner (which is you).

You can only add or delete steps when creating an automation. Once the automation is saved and active, you cannot add or delete steps.

To add a step, click Send Email:

Add a step

For each individual step, you can choose:

  • A different email template

  • A different waiting period

    • The default for Step 2 is 7 days, but you can change it. The default for Step 3 is 10 days, but you can change it.

Adding steps to a Rekindle automation

When you add steps to your automation, Copper will:

  • Wait for the designated period of time before sending the following email

  • Automatically exit any contacts with new email or calendar activity from the series so they do not receive subsequent automated emails

A new email or calendar activity from the Contact within the defined waiting period will successfully exit the contact from all email automations they are in. Copper will display the contact in the Replied panel when viewing the automation details.


List Option: Automatically email People when they are added to a specific List (saved filter)

You can satisfy many use cases and optimize your workflows with this flexible option!


💡 Tip

Replace a manual process, such as bulk email, by using the "Only new People added moving forward" option, as shown below. That way, the contacts on the list who already received your manual outreach will not receive the automated email.


Saved Filter Automation for People

Follow these steps to create Step 1 of the List automation:

  1. Give your automation a unique Name
    If you plan to create multiple “List” automations, you’ll want to edit the pre-filled Name we’ve populated.

  2. Give your email automation a Description

  3. Select the People - List (saved filter)

  4. Choose which People on the list should receive the automated emails:

    1. Only new People added moving forward will only send the automated email to the People who enter the list after the automation is saved and activated

    2. All People already on the list plus any added moving forward will send the automated email to all People who are already on the list plus any People who enter the list moving forward
      ⚠️ If your list is large, Copper may not send all of the automated emails in one day. Please see the uses and limitations for more information.

  5. Select which user the email should be sent from
    You may select either the Automation Owner (which is you) or the Contact Owner.
    Any contacts who do not have an owner will receive the automated email from the Automation Owner (which is you).

  6. Note the Sending Schedule

    Automated emails will only be sent during these hours, which will adhere to the Company time zone set in Settings > Workflow Automation

  7. Select the email template you would like to send, or create a new email template

  8. Select a waiting period
    We've set a period of 3 days for Step 1, but you can change it. If there is new email or calendar activity from the contact during this wait period, we will consider the automation "successful" and display this contact in the Replied section of the automations details panel

  9. Click Save & Activate.
    Your emails will start sending within the hour

A new email or calendar activity from the Contact within the defined waiting period will successfully exit the contact from all email automations they are in. Copper will display the contact in the Replied panel when viewing the automation details.

Adding Steps to your List automation

You can choose to send up to 3 emails as part of the automation. The entire series is sent on behalf of the same User – the Automation Owner (which is you) or the Contact's Owner. Any contacts who do not have an owner will receive the automated email from the Automation Owner (which is you).

You can only add or delete steps when creating an automation. Once the automation is saved and active, you cannot add or delete steps.

To add a step, click Send Email:

Add a step

For each individual step, you can choose:

  • A different email template

  • A different waiting period

    • The default for Step 2 is 7 days, but you can change it. The default for Step 3 is 10 days, but you can change it.

Adding steps

When you add steps to your automation, Copper will:

  • Wait for the designated period of time before sending the following email

  • Automatically exit any contacts with new email or calendar activity from the series so they do not receive subsequent automated emails

A new email or calendar activity from the Contact within the defined waiting period will successfully exit the contact from all email automations they are in. Copper will display the contact in the Replied panel when viewing the automation details.


Automating outreach to Leads

Copper does not support automated outreach to cold Leads. If you automate emails to unqualified Leads, a Lead list you purchased, or any other recipient who is not expecting an email from you, your emails may be marked as spam, which could directly impact the deliverability of all emails you send from your Gmail account.

Email automation options for Leads

Rekindle Option: Automatically email Leads I haven't heard from in a while

Keep your relationships in a constant state of warmth by automatically checking in with your contacts.

We recommend keeping your automated emails targeted and personal.

  • Segment your leads using Saved Filters (Lists)

  • Tailor your email templates to these segments

  • Be mindful of reaching out to contacts that you haven't communicated with in a long period of time – those relationships may be more "cold" than "warm". For example, if you are creating a Rekindle automation to email All Leads where the Last Contacted date is over 6 months, consider first segmenting your contacts further using Saved Filters (Lists) so the communications can be more targeted

Rekindle Automation for Leads

Follow these steps to create Step 1 of the Rekindle automation:

  1. Give your automation a unique Name
    If you plan to create multiple “Rekindle” automations, you’ll want to edit the pre-filled Name we’ve populated.

  2. Give your email automation a Description

  3. Select a Leads List (Saved Filter)
    Be sure to create your own Lead Lists to segment your Leads. Copper does not recommend automating outreach to the "All Leads" list.

  4. Set the time since the Last Contacted date
    We’ve set a timeframe of 3 months, but you are welcome to edit this field.

  5. Select which user the email should be sent from
    You may select either the Automation Owner (which is you) or the Contact Owner.
    Any contacts who do not have an owner will receive the automated email from the Automation Owner (which is you).

  6. Note the Sending Schedule

    Automated emails will only be sent during these hours, which will adhere to the Company time zone set in Settings > Workflow Automation

  7. Select the email template you would like to send, or create a new email template

  8. Select a waiting period
    We've set a period of 3 days for Step 1, but you can change it. If there is new inbound email activity from the contact during this wait period, we will consider the automation "successful" and display this contact in the Replied section of the automations details panel

  9. Click Save & Activate.
    Your emails will start sending within the hour

A new email or calendar activity from the Contact within the defined waiting period will successfully exit the contact from all email automations they are in. Copper will display the contact in the Replied panel when viewing the automation details.

Adding Steps to your Rekindle automation

You can choose to send up to 3 emails as part of the automation. The entire series is sent on behalf of the same User – the Automation Owner (which is you) or the Contact's Owner. Any contacts who do not have an owner will receive the automated email from the Automation Owner (which is you).

You can only add or delete steps when creating an automation. Once the automation is saved and active, you cannot add or delete steps.

To add a step, click Send Email:

Add a step

For each individual step, you can choose:

  • A different email template

  • A different waiting period

    • The default for Step 2 is 7 days, but you can change it. The default for Step 3 is 10 days, but you can change it.

Adding steps to a Rekindle automation

When you add steps to your automation, Copper will:

  • Wait for the designated period of time before sending the following email

  • Automatically exit any contacts with new email or calendar activity from the series so they do not receive subsequent automated emails

A new email or calendar activity from the Contact within the defined waiting period will successfully exit the contact from all email automations they are in. Copper will display the contact in the Replied panel when viewing the automation details.


List Option: Automatically email Leads when they are added to a specific List (saved filter)

You can satisfy many use cases and optimize your workflows with this flexible option!


💡 Tip

Replace a manual process, such as bulk email, by using the "Only new People added moving forward" option, as shown below. That way, the contacts on the list who already received your manual outreach will not receive the automated email.


Saved Filter Automation for Leads

Follow these steps to create Step 1 of the List automation:

  1. Give your automation a unique Name
    If you plan to create multiple “List” automations, you’ll want to edit the pre-filled Name we’ve populated.

  2. Give your email automation a Description

  3. Select the Leads - List (saved filter)
    Be sure to create your own Lead Lists to segment your Leads. Copper does not recommend automating outreach to the "All Leads" list.

  4. Choose which Leads on the list should receive the automated emails:

    1. Only new Leads added moving forward will only send the automated email to the leads who enter the list after the automation is saved and activated

    2. All Leads already on the list plus any added moving forward will send the automated email to all leads who are already on the list plus any leads who enter the list moving forward
      ⚠️ If your list is large, Copper may not send all of the automated emails in one day. Please see the uses and limitations for more information.

  5. Select which user the email should be sent from
    You may select either the Automation Owner (which is you) or the Contact Owner.
    Any contacts who do not have an owner will receive the automated email from the Automation Owner (which is you).

  6. Note the Sending Schedule

    Automated emails will only be sent during these hours, which will adhere to the Company time zone set in Settings > Workflow Automation

  7. Select the email template you would like to send, or create a new email template

  8. Select a waiting period
    We've set a period of 3 days for Step 1, but you can change it. If there is new inbound email activity from the Contact during this wait period, we will consider the automation "successful" and display this Contact in the Replied section of the automations details panel

  9. Click Save & Activate.
    Your emails will start sending within the hour

A new email or calendar activity from the Contact within the defined waiting period will successfully exit the contact from all email automations they are in. Copper will display the contact in the Replied panel when viewing the automation details.

Adding Steps to your List automation

You can choose to send up to 3 emails as part of the automation. The entire series is sent on behalf of the same User – the Automation Owner (which is you) or the Contact's Owner. Any contacts who do not have an owner will receive the automated email from the Automation Owner (which is you).

You can only add or delete steps when creating an automation. Once the automation is saved and active, you cannot add or delete steps.

To add a step, click Send Email:

Add a step

For each individual step, you can choose:

  • A different email template

  • A different waiting period

    • The default for Step 2 is 7 days, but you can change it. The default for Step 3 is 10 days, but you can change it.

Adding steps to a List automation

When you add steps to your automation, Copper will:

  • Wait for the designated period of time before sending the following email

  • Automatically exit any contacts with new email or calendar activity from the series so they do not receive subsequent automated emails

A new email or calendar activity from the Contact within the defined waiting period will successfully exit the contact from all email automations they are in. Copper will display the contact in the Replied panel when viewing the automation details.


Common Questions

When will the emails be sent?

Each hour we check to see if any contacts meet the criteria for the automations you’ve created and attempt to send the email(s).

What if I make a mistake?

Delete the automation as soon as possible. There is no ability to unsend an email once it has been sent.

Can I automate an email based on Pipeline stage?

Not yet 👀

Can I create my own email automation triggers?

Not yet. But we would love to hear what kind of email automations you are looking to create. Our goal is to continuously deliver more pre-built options with each release, and your feedback is crucial to helping us determine what those should be!


Have a question? Contact our Customer Success Team using the in-app chat 💬

Have a suggestion? Check out the Ideas board in our Community 👥

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