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How to thread emails and edit subject lines in Sequences
How to thread emails and edit subject lines in Sequences

This article explains how you can set up follow-up Sequence stages and their subject lines.

Updated over a week ago

Sequences are available on the Mixmax Small Business plan and above. Check out our pricing page for more information.

Sending stages as a thread

When sending a sequence with multiple stages, you can choose to send each stage as an independent email or as a reply.

To send as a new, independent email, click the slider button to No next to Send email - As a reply in the top right corner of your second (or subsequent) stage email. This means the email will show up as a brand new email in your recipient’s inbox.

To send as a reply, click the slider button to Yes next to Send email - As a reply in the top right corner of your second (or subsequent) stage email.

Send email as a reply

When you send sequence stages as a reply, emails will appear as an email thread in your recipient’s inbox. This will also add “Re:” to the subject line.

When your recipient replies to the email, their response will appear above the body of both/all of the emails sent in the sequence. Gmail will trim this content when recipients compose their reply, but it can be expanded by clicking the three dots at the bottom of the compose window.


Subject lines in sequences

When you create a sequence, you can decide whether each email in the sequence is a reply to the previous email in the sequence or whether each email will arrive as a separate email — with a unique subject line.

Sending a follow-up stage as a reply

If you want a follow-up stage of your sequence to be sent as a reply to the previous sequence — and have the same subject line — make sure that the toggle next to Send email - As a reply is set to Yes. In the example below, the subject line of the first stage is "Your growth." The subject line of Stage 2 is "Re: Your growth," and you cannot edit it.

Subject line as a reply

Sending a follow-up stage as a separate message

If you want a follow-up stage of your sequence to be sent as a separate email with a different subject line, make sure that the toggle next to Send email - As a reply is set to No. In the example below, the Subject field is blank, and you can add a new subject. This email will not be threaded with the previous email(s) in your sequence.

New subject line

Sending a sequence from the compose window in Gmail

When you add a recipient to a sequence from Gmail by selecting the Sequences menu (top bar), each stage of the sequence will have the same subject line as the message you are composing.

Subject line in later stages of the sequence

On the Growth or Enterprise plan, you can change the subject line of your follow-up messages sent from Gmail by clicking the Edit (pencil) icon, then set Send email - As a reply to No on stage 2. You can then add a new subject for your follow-up and subsequent messages in your sequence. Your follow-up emails will not be threaded with the original email.

Edited subject line

For more help with Sequences, check out our Sequences overview.

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