Follow-ups in the same thread vs a new thread

Draft — written from product facts + domain knowledge; UI labels to be verified before publishing.

Each follow-up step in a sequence can either reply to the previous email (same thread, subject shown as "Re: …") or go out as a fresh email with its own subject line. Both are valid; they suit different goals. This article explains the difference, how to set it per step, and when to use each.

How the two options behave


	Same thread	New thread
Subject	Inherits step 1 subject, shown as "Re:"	Your own subject per step
Recipient sees	Whole conversation quoted below	A standalone email
Best for	Short bumps, keeping context	New angle, second chance at the subject line
Deliverability	Slightly better: replies to existing threads look like real conversations	Neutral; each email is judged on its own

Steps

Open the campaign and click the follow-up step in the sequence panel.
Above the editor, find the subject setting for the step. Choose Reply in same thread (the subject field is greyed out and shows the step 1 subject) or New thread (enter a subject).
Write the body. For same-thread steps do not repeat the greeting or your full pitch; the previous email is quoted underneath.
Click Save.
Repeat for each follow-up. A sequence can mix both, for example steps 2 and 3 in the thread and step 4 as a new thread.

Tips

Recommended default for cold outreach: step 2 and step 3 in the same thread, step 4 (the "break-up" email) as a new thread with a new subject.
Same-thread follow-ups should be one to three sentences. "Any thoughts on the below?" outperforms a second essay.
Use a new thread when step 1 had a weak subject line; it is your only way to get a second look at the inbox list.
Do not alternate threads every step; two or three parallel threads with the same person feel like spam.
For plain text campaigns the quoted thread is still included, so keep step 1 short to avoid long quoted blocks.

Troubleshooting

Follow-up shows "Re:" but the original is not quoted — some clients hide quoted text behind "..."; the recipient can expand it. Nothing is wrong.
Follow-up arrived as a new email even though same thread was selected — the recipient's client threads by subject and message ID; if they deleted the original, the follow-up appears alone. Also happens if step 1 bounced and was retried from another mailbox.
Subject field is locked — the step is set to same thread. Switch to new thread to edit it.

Add follow-up steps and delays to an email sequence
Subsequences: branch on reply intent
Preheader text and test sends
A/B test with multiple email variants

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More in Campaigns: Sequences

Create an email campaign and write your first email→Personalise, check spam words and preview before you save→Personalisation variables: lead, sender and context fields→Spintext: randomise phrases so no two emails are identical→Add follow-up steps and delays to an email sequence→A/B test with multiple email variants→Send emails as plain text→Add an unsubscribe link to your emails→Enable the unsubscribe header (one-click List-Unsubscribe)→Custom variables and updating them mid-campaign→Sequence templates: save and reuse sequences→Subsequences: branch on reply intent→Images, GIFs and video links in cold emails (and why to avoid attachments)→Preheader text and test sends→