# How to Build a Cold Email Sequence in a Visual Campaign Builder

> A step-by-step walkthrough of planning, building and testing a branching follow-up flow, so each prospect gets the next email that fits what they did.

Your first cold email went out. Now what? Some people opened it, some clicked your link, most did nothing. Sending all of them the same follow-up wastes the signal you already have.

This guide walks you through building one today, from a blank canvas to a tested sequence.

## What the builder actually does

A visual builder shows your campaign as connected blocks. Each block is either an email or a wait. Between them sit branches that check what the recipient did with the previous email.

- **Email steps**, written in a plain or boxed layout
- **Delays** set in days, hours and minutes

Branches are yes or no. They check whether something happened, not how many times. Plan around that: "opened at least once" is the question you can ask.

## Step 1: Sketch the flow on paper first

Before touching the builder, write down three things:

1. **The one action you want.** A reply, a call booked, a visit to a page.
2. **How many touches you will send.** A rule of thumb many senders use is three to five emails total. More than that starts to feel like pestering.
3. **What changes based on behavior.** Someone who clicked your pricing link needs a different nudge than someone who never opened.

A simple starting shape:

| Step | Wait | Condition | Email |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | none | everyone | Intro |
| 2 | 3 days | If NOT Opened | Short resend, new subject |
| 3 | 4 days | If NOT Clicked | Final short note |

Keep the first version small. You can add branches once you see how people respond.

## Step 2: Get a clean list into the campaign

The flow is only as good as the addresses in it. Bounces hurt your sender reputation and skew your open data.

- Pull leads from a source that fits your niche. Our [Google Maps scraper guide](https://getclient.pro/resources/google-maps-scraper-guide) covers searching by keyword and city.
- Run email verification before sending.
- Remove duplicates, generic addresses you do not want, and businesses outside your service area. The [lead list cleaning checklist](https://getclient.pro/resources/lead-list-cleaning-checklist) walks through this.

In GetClient your saved leads sit in My Leads folders, and you can import a CSV from anywhere with custom fields. Because the list and campaign live in the same tool, you pick the folder directly instead of exporting and re-uploading.

## Step 3: Write the emails with working merge tags

Personalization makes a cold email read like it was meant for one business. Use merge tags written exactly like this:

- `{{params.name}}` for the business name
- `{{params.firstname}}` for the contact's first name
- `{{params.website}}`
- `{{params.city}}`
- `{{params.category}}`

Only this exact form gets filled in when sending. A tag like `{name}` or `{{firstname}}` will show up literally in someone's inbox.

Tips for each email:

- **Intro:** one observation about their business, one sentence on what you do, one easy question.
- **Resend to non-openers:** same core message, new subject line. They likely never saw the first.
- **Follow-up to openers:** add something new, like a quick idea for their {{params.category}} business in {{params.city}}.
- **Clicked branch:** they showed interest. Be direct and suggest a short call.

If you want ready-made wording, the [cold email templates for restaurants](https://getclient.pro/resources/cold-email-templates-restaurants) are easy to adapt to other local niches.

## Step 4: Set delays and sending rules

Delays sit between steps. Days work for most follow-ups. Hours and minutes help when you are testing or want a quick second touch.

Then set the guardrails:

- **Send-day limits by weekday.** Cap how many emails go out each day per account, and skip weekends if your prospects do not work them.
- **Scheduling.** Send during your prospects' working hours. If your list spans regions, read [time zones in cold email](https://getclient.pro/blog/time-zones-in-cold-email).
- **Sending accounts.** Connect your own Gmail accounts or any SMTP account. Spreading volume across accounts keeps each one at a modest daily pace.

## Step 5: Preview every step before launch

Use the per-step preview to check each email as a real recipient will see it. Look for:

- Merge tags filled with real values, not blanks
- Leads missing a first name: write a fallback greeting that still reads well, or filter those leads out
- Links that work
- The unsubscribe link present

Sender rules and privacy laws differ by country, so check what applies to you. This is not legal advice.

## Step 6: Launch, watch, then adjust

Start with a small batch. After a few days, open the campaign analytics and ask:

- Are opens low? Test subject lines on the resend branch.
- Opens fine but no clicks or replies? The body or offer needs work.
- Replies coming in? Answer them fast. The Inbox collects replies from connected accounts in one place; see [managing replies in one inbox](https://getclient.pro/blog/manage-replies-in-one-inbox).

A note on open tracking: some email apps load images automatically or block them, so open data is approximate.

Change one thing at a time so you know what made the difference. When the flow works, duplicate it for the next niche or city.

You can try this with the 100 free credits new accounts get, no card needed. Plans are on the [pricing page](https://getclient.pro/pricing).

## Frequently asked questions

### What happens to a lead who replies mid-sequence?

Read and answer the reply in the Inbox. Before launching, decide how you will handle repliers so they do not receive follow-ups that ignore the conversation, and check the campaign before each later step.

### Do I need a separate sending tool for the builder?

No. You connect your own Gmail accounts or any SMTP account and send directly from the campaign. If you already use Instantly or GoHighLevel, you can export leads there instead.

### Can I use leads I already have instead of scraping new ones?

Yes. Import a CSV into My Leads, map custom fields, and select that folder when building the campaign. Run verification on it first if it has not been checked recently.

Source: https://getclient.pro/blog/visual-campaign-builder-explained