Reply-Aware Drip Sequencer

This automation sends personalized outbound emails from Gmail, tracks each thread, and dispatches reply-aware follow-ups on schedule—using a Google Sheets list as the source of truth. It runs hourly, skips weekends, fills message placeholders from sheet columns, embeds invisible campaign markers in each email for tracking, and only sends the next email in the sequence when it’s due and there’s no human reply in the thread. Sent activity is written back to Sheets so operators always know who was first contacted and when.

How it works

• Scheduler with guardrails: Runs every hour; a weekend filter prevents off-hours sends.

• Sheet-driven targeting: Reads contacts from a configured sheet; enforces required columns for any {placeholders} used in the templates.

• Template engine: Multi-step sequence (day-offsets 0/3/8 by default). Placeholders are validated and substituted; missing data throws a clear error.

• Thread intelligence: Fetches prior threads by subject, decodes content, and checks embedded attributes to determine the next message number and whether it’s due now.

• Reply-aware sending: If there’s a prior message, the system replies in-thread; otherwise it starts a new message to the target address.

• Post-send bookkeeping: Updates the sheet row with first_emailed = today and preserves the row_number match key.

Why it’s a game-changer

• Time saved: Replaces manual follow-up tracking and ad-hoc reminders with an autonomous, rules-based cadence.

• Fewer mistakes: Deterministic placeholder checks, weekend gating, and per-thread state stop double-sends and off-hour emails.

• Higher response quality: Replies arrive in the original thread, improving deliverability and context continuity.

• Scales cleanly: Add more contacts to the sheet or extend the sequence without re-architecting the workflow.

Ideal for founders and SDR teams who want consistent, respectful follow-ups without managing calendars and reminders.

Manually managing follow-ups across dozens of prospects can consume 1–2 hours per day between tracking, copying templates, and checking prior threads. At a blended $40–$70/hour, that’s $800–$2,800/month in time value alone. This build delivers hourly orchestration with weekend protection, sheet-driven personalization, strict placeholder validation, embedded campaign markers, reply-aware logic, and post-send logging—reducing error risk and accelerating pipeline momentum. Payback is typically 1–3 months depending on volume.