Who this is for: self-serve plans (Free, Starter, Pro, Enterprise). If you bought a Cleanlist AppSumo lifetime deal, Sequences are not part of your deal. See the AppSumo documentation. Support agent: confirm whether the user is self-serve or AppSumo before giving plan-specific advice.
TL;DR: A sequence is a series of Email, Call task, Manual task and LinkedIn steps, separated by waits counted in business days, sent from your own Gmail or Outlook address. Email replies land in Inbox and stop the lead by default; calls and to-dos land in Tasks. Email and call sequences are on Starter and above, LinkedIn steps on Pro and above. Sending costs no credits.
Sequences
Sequences are Cleanlist's built-in outreach tool. You write the steps once, add leads and launch. Cleanlist then sends each email from your own mailbox on your schedule, takes LinkedIn actions from your LinkedIn account, and creates call and to-do tasks for your reps, until the lead replies or reaches the end.
For a step-by-step walkthrough, see Build and launch a sequence.
Where to find it
| Where | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Sequences (sidebar) | Every sequence in your workspace. New sequence starts one. |
| Inbox (sidebar) | Email replies from leads in your sequences. See Inbox and Tasks. |
| Tasks (sidebar) | The call, manual and reply tasks your sequences create. |
| Settings → Sequencing → Senders | Connect email addresses and LinkedIn accounts; signatures; daily limits. |
| Settings → Sequencing → Schedule | Your workspace's standard sending schedule (admins edit it). |
| Settings → Sequencing → Call statuses | The outcomes reps pick after a call (admins edit them). |
Inbox, Sequences and Tasks are default sidebar tiles for new users. If your plan doesn't include Sequences, the Sequences tile shows a lock with the tooltip "Choose a plan with Sequences", Inbox and Tasks are hidden, and the Sequencing group is missing from Settings. Opening Sequences then shows "Run your outreach from Cleanlist." with an upgrade button.
Every member of the workspace can see and edit every sequence. Favorites (the star) are personal.
Plans
| Free | Starter | Pro | Enterprise | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Build and launch sequences with Email, Call task and Manual task steps | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| LinkedIn steps | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Connected email addresses | None | 1 per seat | 1 per seat | Set by your contract |
| Connected LinkedIn accounts | None | None | 1 per seat | Set by your contract |
- Pro trial. You can build sequences, including LinkedIn steps, but not launch them. The Launch sequence button shows "Choose a paid plan to launch this sequence", and your draft stays saved until you upgrade. See Pro trial.
- Free. Sequences are locked. During signup you can connect one inbox in your workspace's first 14 days, but nothing sends until you're on Starter or Pro.
- Starter. The LinkedIn section under Settings → Sequencing → Senders shows a Soon badge, and the step library has no LinkedIn steps. LinkedIn steps are on Pro.
- AppSumo. A workspace with only an AppSumo license sees "Sequences aren't available on your AppSumo plan." Adding a paid Cleanlist plan unlocks them.
- Legacy plans. A workspace on a plan from before the current pricing keeps Sequences only if it already had access. Otherwise, switch to Starter or Pro on the Plans page. See Legacy plans.
Sender limits count connected addresses across the whole workspace. If you try to connect more than your seats allow, Cleanlist refuses with "Your plan allows N connected email senders." If a sequence's sender ends up over the limit, its leads wait with Paused: sender exceeds paid seats. Add a seat or disconnect another sender.
How a sequence works
A sequence is an ordered list of steps. Each lead you add starts at step 1 and moves down the list on its own.
| Step | What it does | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Sends a Subject and Message from the sequence's sender address. Only the first email needs a subject: a later email with no subject is sent as a reply in the same thread, with "Re:" in front of the first subject. | Starter and above | |
| Call task | Creates a call task in Tasks with your Call script. The lead waits on this step until the task is marked done. | Starter and above |
| Manual task | Creates a to-do in Tasks with your Instructions (for example, "Comment on their latest post"). The lead waits on this step until the task is marked done. | Starter and above |
| Visit profile | Views the lead's LinkedIn profile from your LinkedIn account, so LinkedIn shows them you viewed it. | Pro and above |
| Send invitation | Sends a LinkedIn connection request with an optional note of up to 200 characters. Skipped if you're already connected or already invited. | Pro and above |
| Send message | Sends a LinkedIn message of up to 2,000 characters. Only reaches your 1st-degree connections; anyone else skips this step and moves on. | Pro and above |
Waits. Every step after the first starts with Wait for 1 business day. Click it to set 1 to 30 business days, or Remove wait. Business days are Monday to Friday, whatever days your schedule sends on. The first step reads Starts right away.
Call and manual tasks are assigned to the sequence's owner and are due the day the lead reaches the step. There are no branching or conditional steps: every lead follows the same path. LinkedIn steps are covered in detail in LinkedIn steps.
Personalization variables
Click Insert variable in a step's editor (search "Find a variable...") to add a variable. Cleanlist fills it in for each lead when the step runs. Variables work in subjects, messages, call scripts, task instructions, and LinkedIn notes and messages.
| Group | Variable | Fills in |
|---|---|---|
| Lead | {{lead.first_name}} | First name |
| Lead | {{lead.last_name}} | Last name |
| Lead | {{lead.full_name}} | Full name |
| Lead | {{lead.job_title}} | Job title |
| Lead | {{lead.email}} | |
| Lead | {{lead.linkedin_url}} | LinkedIn URL |
| Lead | {{lead.location}} | Location |
| Company | {{company.name}} | Company name |
| Company | {{company.website}} | Website |
| Company | {{company.industry}} | Industry |
| Company | {{company.employee_count}} | Employee count |
| Company | {{company.hq_location}} | HQ location |
| Sender | {{sender.first_name}} | Sender first name |
| Sender | {{sender.full_name}} | Sender full name |
| Sender | {{sender.email}} | Sender email |
| Sender | {{sender.signature}} | Signature (also added by Insert signature) |
{{unsubscribe_link}} | An "Unsubscribe" link (an email's message only) | |
| Play | {{play.first_line}} and other play values | Text an agent's Add to sequence step wrote for that person |
- Missing values are left blank. If a lead has no job title,
{{lead.job_title}}becomes empty text. Enrich the list first, or write sentences that still read well without the value. - The signature is not added automatically. It only appears where you put
{{sender.signature}}. It uses the address's custom signature if it has one, otherwise the address owner's default signature from Settings → Sequencing → Senders → Signature. In a subject line it is blank. - The unsubscribe link is not added automatically either. It only works in an email's message. Anywhere else the editor shows "The unsubscribe link can only go in an email's message."
- Unknown variables are refused with "Use a supported personalization field."
- Play values. A lead who is missing a play value that a step uses is stopped instead of being sent a broken email (for example, Stopped: no first line written). See Play steps.
There is no AI writing inside the sequence editor. To draft copy, ask Clu, or let an agent's play write a value per person.
Sending rules
- One sender per sequence. All emails in a sequence go out from one address, picked in the Senders cell or in Sequence settings → Senders. There is no rotation across addresses. The address must belong to the sequence's owner or be shared with the team; otherwise the builder shows "(address) is a teammate's private address. Ask them to share it, or choose another."
- Schedule. A new sequence starts from your workspace's standard schedule if an admin set one. Otherwise it starts on Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, one email every 20 minutes, in the time zone of the person who created it. Change it per sequence in Sequence settings → Schedule. Schedule changes apply right away, including to leads already in progress.
- Spacing. A sequence sends one email per interval. With the default schedule, that is at most 27 emails per day for one sequence.
- Daily limit per address. A newly connected address can send 40 emails per day by default. You can set each address anywhere up to 1,000 per day. The limit is shared by every sequence that sends from the address, and the day is counted in the sequence's schedule time zone. When the limit is used up, leads wait with Waiting for the daily sending limit to reset.
- Emails are never skipped. If an email can't go out yet (the sender is disconnected or turned off, the schedule is closed, or the daily limit is used), the lead waits on that step. If the mail provider refuses the same email 5 times (Cleanlist retries after 15, 30, 60 and 120 minutes), the lead stops with Stopped: (step) could not be sent.
- One active sequence per person. A person can be in progress in only one of your workspace's sequences at a time. Adding them to a second one shows "Active in another sequence".
- LinkedIn limits. Per LinkedIn account, across all sequences: 20 connection requests per day by default (up to 40), 40 messages (up to 40) and 80 profile visits. See LinkedIn steps.
What stops or pauses a lead
| What happens | Effect | Shown in the Step column |
|---|---|---|
| The lead replies by email (default rule) | Run ends, status Replied | Stopped after reply |
| The lead replies, and the sequence is set to Keep sending the remaining steps | Run continues | Replied, sequence continues |
| A rep completes a call task as Meeting booked or Not interested (or a CRM call status an admin marked Ends sequence) | Run ends | |
| The lead clicks the unsubscribe link, or someone clicks Unsubscribe in the Inbox | Every running sequence for that address stops, and the address can't be added again | Stopped: unsubscribed |
| CRM email opt-out (with Honor CRM opt-outs on, Pro) | Email steps are skipped | Skipped: email opt-out in CRM |
| CRM Do Not Call (with Honor CRM opt-outs on, Pro) | Call tasks are skipped | Skipped: Do Not Call in CRM |
| Both CRM opt-outs | Run ends | Stopped: opted out in CRM |
| A step uses a play value this lead doesn't have | Run ends | Stopped: plus the reason |
| The mail provider refuses an email 5 times | Run ends | Stopped: (step) could not be sent |
| The sequence is archived | Every run ends | Stopped: sequence archived |
| The sequence is paused | Leads stay on their current step; open tasks stay open | Status Paused |
| Your plan no longer includes Sequences | Leads wait until access is back | Paused: sequences aren't on this plan |
Any email from the lead's address counts as a reply, including an automatic out-of-office reply. A reply from a different address (for example, a colleague) is not matched to the lead. Replies on LinkedIn are not detected at all.
Lead statuses
The Leads tab of a sequence lists every lead with a Status and a Step column. The Step column explains exactly what the lead is doing or waiting on.
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Starts at launch | Added to a draft sequence. Starts when you launch. |
| In progress | Working through the steps. |
| Paused | The sequence is paused. The lead continues from the same step when you resume. |
| Replied | Replied by email and the run ended. |
| Finished | Went through every step. |
| Stopped | The run ended for another reason. The Step column says why. |
For every Waiting, Paused, Skipped and Stopped message and what to do about it, see the troubleshooting table.
Inbox and Tasks
- Inbox collects email replies from leads in your sequences, with Needs reply and All views. You answer from Cleanlist and the reply goes out from the address the lead wrote to. Other mail in your mailbox is ignored.
- Tasks is the work queue for Call task and Manual task steps and for reply tasks. Reps work through them in a session, log call outcomes and dial with their phone app, Zoom Phone, RingCentral or Dialpad.
Both are covered in Inbox and Tasks.
Build and run sequences with Clu
In a Clu chat in the web app, Clu can list and read your sequences, and propose changes as confirmation cards:
- create a draft sequence, or edit a sequence's steps or name
- launch, pause or resume a sequence
- add people from a lead list (in an agent's workspace, that agent's latest results), up to 2,500 people per card
Nothing changes until you confirm the card. Launching, resuming, or adding people to a live sequence sends real email, so the card names the sequence, its sender and how many people will get email.
Clu builds Email, wait, Call task and Manual task steps. If you ask for a LinkedIn step, Clu adds a Manual task labelled "LinkedIn:", not an automated LinkedIn step; add automated LinkedIn steps in the builder. Sequence tools are not available in Clu in Slack. If your plan doesn't include Sequences, Clu tells you and points you to the Plans page.
The sequence actions themselves cost no credits. Clu's own messages are charged at Clu's normal rate on paid plans; see Clu.
Credits
| Action | Credits |
|---|---|
| Sending an email | 0 |
| LinkedIn profile visit, invitation or message | 0 |
| Adding leads to a sequence | 0 |
| Replying or unsubscribing from the Inbox | 0 |
| An Agent turned on in a Call task or Manual task step | That agent's price per lead, for each lead who reaches the step |
The step's Agent picker shows each agent's price as "N / lead". When a sequence has task agents, the launch confirmation shows an estimated total (price per lead times the leads starting), or "Cost unavailable". If the lead already has a finished result from that agent, Cleanlist reuses it instead of running and charging again. Call script is the exception: it writes a fresh script at each call step. For agent prices, see Skills.
What Sequences does not do
- No open or click tracking.
- No A/B variants, branching or conditional steps.
- No attachments.
- No per-sequence analytics dashboard. Use the Leads tab and the per-step lead counts on the canvas.
- No LinkedIn reply detection. Only email replies stop a run or reach the Inbox.
- No automatic unsubscribe link or signature. Insert
{{unsubscribe_link}}and{{sender.signature}}yourself. - No sender rotation. One address per sequence.
- No built-in dialer or call recording. Call opens your phone app or softphone.
Using lemlist, Outreach or Salesloft instead
Native Sequences are separate from Cleanlist's outside-sequencer features, which are still available:
- Send to Sequencer (lemlist). In a lead list, Actions → Export → Send to Sequencer pushes leads into a lemlist campaign you pick, and can keep sending new leads added to the list. Pro and above, with lemlist connected under Integrations. See Action columns.
- Add to sequence in an agent's play. An agent can enroll the people it finds in a Cleanlist sequence, or in a lemlist, Outreach or Salesloft sequence. See Play steps.
Related
- Build and launch a sequence: the step-by-step guide, sender and schedule settings, troubleshooting
- LinkedIn steps: connect LinkedIn, the three steps, daily limits
- Inbox and Tasks: replies, task sessions, call statuses
- Clu: build sequences in chat
- Agents and Play steps: enroll people automatically
- Plans and Pro trial
- Tutorials: watch a sequence being built