How to Add Wait Steps
A wait step pauses a workflow for a set time before the next action. This tutorial shows you how to add waits so your follow-ups are spaced out and arrive at the right time of day, not all at once.
What you will learn
- What a wait step does
- How to add a fixed wait
- How to wait until a specific time of day
- How to avoid sending messages at night
Before you start
- Have a workflow with at least two messages
Step-by-step
- 1
Understand wait steps
Without waits, every action in a workflow runs at once. A wait step pauses the workflow for a set time, so messages are spaced out. Waits are what make a sequence feel like a human following up, not a robot blasting.
- 2
Add a fixed wait
Click the plus between two actions and add a Wait action. Set it to a number of hours, days or minutes. For example, wait 1 day between your first and second message.
- 3
Wait until a time of day
Instead of a fixed wait, you can wait until a specific time, for example 10am the next day. This stops messages going out at 3am when a fixed wait ends in the middle of the night.
Use wait-until-time for any message to a customer. Nobody likes a 2am WhatsApp.
- 4
Respect business hours
For customer-facing messages, set waits to land within business hours. For internal notifications, any time is fine. This keeps your automation respectful.
Result
Your messages are spaced out and arrive at sensible times. Your follow-up sequence feels natural instead of like a burst.
Troubleshooting
Messages arrive at odd hours
Switch fixed waits to wait-until-time and set a sensible hour like 10am.
Best practices
- Space follow-ups a day or more apart
- Use wait-until-time for customer messages
- Keep internal notifications on fixed waits
Next steps
- Read Creating a Nurture Sequence to build a longer sequence
- Read Testing a Workflow to test timing
- Read Advanced Workflow Automation for complex timing
Related tutorials
Frequently asked questions
What is the longest wait I can set?
You can set waits of days, weeks or longer. For very long waits, consider a separate nurture campaign instead of one long workflow.