Adding Delay Steps Between Emails

Delay steps are the key to creating effective multi-email workflows. Instead of sending all your emails at once, delays space out your communications over time, making your outreach feel natural and non-intrusive.

What Are Delay Steps? #

A delay step pauses the workflow for a specified amount of time before executing the next step. This allows you to build sequences like:

• Send welcome email → Wait 2 days → Send follow-up
• Send proposal → Wait 3 days → Send reminder → Wait 1 week → Send final reminder
• Send thank you → Wait 5 days → Request review

Available Time Units #

BookLive supports five time units for delays:

Unit	Best For	Example Use Case
Minutes	Urgent sequences	Confirmation emails after booking
Hours	Same-day follow-ups	Follow up 4 hours after proposal sent
Days	Standard follow-ups	Check in 3 days after initial contact
Weeks	Nurturing campaigns	Monthly check-ins with leads
Months	Long-term follow-ups	Anniversary reminders

How to Add a Delay Step #

1. Open your workflow in edit mode
2. Click Add Step where you want the delay
3. Select Delay as the step type
4. Enter the delay value (a positive number)
5. Select the time unit from the dropdown
6. Save the step

Delay Timing Explained #

Delays are calculated from when the previous step completes:

Example Timeline #

If a client is enrolled on Monday at 10:00 AM:

1. Step 1 (Email) – Sends Monday at 10:00 AM
2. Step 2 (Delay: 2 days) – Waits until Wednesday 10:00 AM
3. Step 3 (Email) – Sends Wednesday at 10:00 AM
4. Step 4 (Delay: 1 week) – Waits until next Wednesday 10:00 AM
5. Step 5 (Email) – Sends the following Wednesday at 10:00 AM

Best Practices for Delay Timing #

Proposal Follow-Ups #

Space reminders appropriately to stay top-of-mind without being pushy:

• First reminder: 2-3 days after sending
• Second reminder: 5-7 days after first reminder
• Final reminder: 1-2 weeks after second reminder

Pre-Event Reminders #

Help clients prepare for their event:

• Detailed logistics: 7-14 days before
• Final confirmation: 1-2 days before
• Day-of details: Same day (hours before)

Post-Event Follow-Ups #

Strike while the iron is warm, but give time to process:

• Thank you: 1 day after event
• Review request: 3-5 days after thank you
• Referral request: 1-2 weeks after positive review

Working with Month Delays #

Month delays use “no overflow” logic to handle edge cases properly:

• January 15 + 1 month = February 15
• January 31 + 1 month = February 28 (or 29 in leap years)

This prevents unexpected date jumps when months have different numbers of days.

Viewing Scheduled Steps #

After a client is enrolled, you can see exactly when each step is scheduled:

1. Open the enrollment details
2. View the step timeline showing:
   • Completed steps with completion timestamps
   • Pending steps with scheduled times
   • Current step in progress

Rescheduling Delays #

If you need to adjust timing for a specific enrollment:

1. Open the enrollment
2. Find the pending step you want to reschedule
3. Click Reschedule
4. Enter the new date and time
5. Save the changes

This only affects the individual enrollment, not the workflow template.

Skipping Delay Steps #

Sometimes you need to speed up a workflow for a specific client:

1. Open the enrollment
2. Find the current delay step
3. Click Skip to immediately proceed to the next step

Note: Only delay steps can be skipped. Email steps must either be sent or cancelled.

Common Delay Patterns #

The Quick Follow-Up #

Email: Proposal sent
Delay: 2 hours
Email: "Just sent you a proposal!"
Delay: 3 days
Email: "Following up on the proposal"

The Gradual Reminder #

Email: Initial outreach
Delay: 3 days
Email: Gentle reminder
Delay: 1 week
Email: Final reminder
Delay: 2 weeks
Email: Last chance

The Event Countdown #

Email: Booking confirmed
Delay: Until 7 days before event (use performance-relative trigger)
Email: One week reminder
Delay: 6 days
Email: Day-before details

Troubleshooting Delay Issues #

Emails Not Sending on Time #

If emails seem delayed beyond the configured time:

• Delays are calculated from step completion, not enrollment time
• System processes steps periodically, so there may be a few minutes variance
• Check if the enrollment is paused

Steps Appearing to Skip #

If enrollments skip past delays:

• Check if a goal was met (goals skip remaining steps)
• Verify the enrollment wasn’t manually advanced
• Check if past-due handling is set to “Skip to Next”

Tips for Effective Delays #

• Don’t over-communicate – More emails isn’t always better. Space them out appropriately.
• Consider time zones – If your clients are in different time zones, schedule emails for reasonable hours.
• Use goals – Always add goals to prevent sending irrelevant emails after the client has taken action.
• Test your timing – Before activating, review the complete sequence to ensure delays feel natural.