Configuring communication steps
How to configure Email, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp message steps in Vetta sequences: timing, senders, personalisation, and sending limits.
Updated October 25, 2026 · 9 min read
Communication steps are the actions that send messages to contacts across Email, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp. Well-configured steps increase deliverability, improve engagement through personalisation, and scale safely within your workspace's sending limits.
Message timing
Every step can be configured to run:
- Immediately after the previous step completes
- After a delay of X minutes, hours, or days
Sequences · Step timingSends respect the sequence's sending window (the days and hours you configure in Sequence Settings) plus the optional business days only restriction and the sequence timezone (your chosen timezone, or the sequence creator's). Reach out to leads every sets how many minutes Vetta waits between one contact and the next, and Vetta enforces a minimum gap of its own.
A step follows the sequence's schedule while Use sequence scheduling settings is on. Turn it off to give that step its own days and hours.
Sender configuration
Email senders: Select team members whose connected accounts can send. Vetta picks a sender at random from the ones you selected for each lead. With Priority for Owner on, a lead who has an Owner gets the owner's sender account first, and leads without one are still spread at random across the selected senders. The signature set on the sender account (in Settings → Core Integrations) is added to the end of each email.
LinkedIn senders: Only users with connected LinkedIn accounts can send messages, connection requests, or profile visits.
WhatsApp senders: Users with connected WhatsApp numbers.
Personalisation with variables
Insert variables from the variable picker to pull contact data into messages. Variables use the contact (currentPerson) or the sender (currentSender):
| Variable | Example output |
|---|---|
{{currentPerson.name.firstName}} | Sarah |
{{currentPerson.name.lastName}} | Chen |
{{currentPerson.company.name}} | Acme Corp |
{{currentPerson.jobTitle}} | VP of Sales |
{{currentSender.email.firstName}} | James (the sending rep) |
Any field on the contact, including custom fields, is available in the picker. You can also transform values with expression blocks, and use spintax to randomize phrasing across sends so messages don't look identical. See Using personalization & messaging.
Send Email step
- Add a Send Email step in the editor
- Compose your email, or insert an AI variable so AI writes the text for each contact (see Setting up AI variables)
- Write the subject line (40 to 60 characters; avoid spam triggers)
- Compose the body with variables
- Turn on Enrich if it doesn't exist to find a missing work email before the email sends (the lookup uses credits; contacts who already have an address are not looked up)
- Configure timing
- Select senders (minimum one required)
With Single thread emails on in Sequence Settings, later emails continue the first email's thread and keep its subject.
Best practices:
- Include the contact's first name in the subject
- Use a personalised hook referencing the company or recent news
- Keep paragraphs to 2 to 3 sentences
- Include a single, clear call-to-action
- Avoid generic openers like "I hope this finds you well"
Send LinkedIn Message step
Prerequisite: Recipients must be existing LinkedIn connections. Use the Has LinkedIn Connection condition to check, or send a connection request first. The sender must have a connected LinkedIn account.
- Add a Send LinkedIn Message step
- Compose plain text (300 to 500 characters recommended)
- Use line breaks for readability
- Configure timing (typically 2+ days after email)
- Select senders
If the sender has LinkedIn Premium or Sales Navigator, you can turn on Send as InMail when not connected: contacts who aren't connected with the sender receive the message as an InMail, which uses one of the sender's InMail credits, and connected contacts still get a regular message. You can see each sender's remaining credits in Sequence Settings, under LinkedIn InMail.
Best practices:
- Avoid URLs: they reduce response rates
- Open with a personalised hook
- End with a soft call-to-action
- Keep it concise
Send LinkedIn Connection Request step
- Add a Send LinkedIn Connection Request step
- Leave Attach a message to your invitation off unless you have a strong reason to add one
- Configure timing
- Select senders
The step waits for the invitation to be accepted and splits on the result, so you can follow up with a message on one path and try another channel on the other. Use the Delete LinkedIn Connection Request step to withdraw pending requests after a while (unanswered pending requests can hurt your account standing).
Send connection requests without a note. Vetta warns that attaching a message sharply reduces how many invitations you can send per day and lowers the chance of acceptance. Save your words for the first message after they accept.
Send WhatsApp Message step
Prerequisites:
- Contact must have a phone number in the CRM in international format (+country code): use the Has Phone Number condition to check
- Contact must have WhatsApp
- Add a Send WhatsApp Message step
- Compose plain text
- Include one clear call-to-action
- Configure timing (typically late in a sequence)
- Select the WhatsApp sender
Best practices:
- Lead with value or curiosity
- Keep it personal and brief
- Use emojis sparingly
- Avoid links if possible
View LinkedIn Profile step
A non-message action that visits the contact's LinkedIn profile to create a notification on their end. Configure timing (typically before messaging) and select the sender account. Also required before the Has LinkedIn Connection condition can evaluate reliably.
Sending limits
Daily sending limits live in Global Sending Limits, in any sequence's settings. They are set once for the whole workspace and apply across every sequence, so you cannot lower them for one sequence. Changing them in one sequence's settings changes them everywhere.
How they count:
- Per connected account: each sender has its own allowance, so adding senders increases your total volume
- Per action: email, LinkedIn connection requests, LinkedIn messages, LinkedIn profile visits and WhatsApp messages each have their own cap
- Over a rolling 24 hours: when an account reaches its limit on a channel, Vetta stops sending on that channel and resumes the next day
Recommended daily volumes:
- LinkedIn: 15 to 20 invitations and messages a day per account
- Email: start around 10 to 15 a day per mailbox, and work up to about 30 once warm-up has run its course
Credits act as a limit too. When your workspace runs out of credits, the sends that need an AI-written message or an email lookup can't happen, and they resume as soon as you buy more credits. See Credits.
Each field shows the recommended value. If you go above it, a warning tells you the account is at risk, and Vetta will not let you go past a maximum. The limits count only what Vetta sends, not what you do by hand on LinkedIn or in your mailbox, so leave headroom if you also do manual outreach from the same account.
Raising limits is the fastest way to get an email domain flagged or a LinkedIn account restricted. Keep the recommended values and add more senders when you need more volume. For email, warm new mailboxes first: see Mailbox warm-up and deliverability.
Common questions
What are the sending limits and where do I set them?
They live in Global Sending Limits, in any sequence's settings, and count per connected account, per action, over a rolling 24 hours. Each field shows the recommended value, warns you above it, and has a maximum you can't pass. See Sending limits.
What are the recommended daily sending limits for each channel?
On LinkedIn, 15 to 20 invitations and messages a day per account. For email, start around 10 to 15 a day per mailbox and work up to about 30 once warm-up has run its course. See Sending limits.
Can I set a lower limit for one sequence?
No. The limits are set once for the whole workspace, and changing them in one sequence's settings changes them everywhere. See Sending limits.
Why did sending stop partway through the day?
An account reached its limit on that channel, so Vetta stopped sending on it and resumes the next day. To send more, add senders rather than raising the limits: each account has its own allowance. If the steps need AI-written messages or an email lookup, also check your credits: those sends wait until you buy more. See Sending limits.
How does Priority for Owner pick the sender?
Vetta normally picks a sender at random from the ones you selected. With Priority for Owner on, a lead who has an Owner gets the owner's sender account first. See Sender configuration.
Do the limits count messages I send by hand?
No. They count only what Vetta sends, so leave headroom if you also do manual outreach from the same account. See Sending limits.
Can I message LinkedIn contacts I'm not connected with?
Send a connection request first, or, if the sender has LinkedIn Premium or Sales Navigator, turn on Send as InMail when not connected, which uses one of the sender's InMail credits. See Send LinkedIn Message step.
Should I add a note to connection requests?
No. Vetta warns that attaching a message sharply reduces how many invitations you can send per day and lowers the chance of acceptance. See Send LinkedIn Connection Request step.
Why isn't my WhatsApp step sending?
The contact needs a phone number in international format (+country code) and must have WhatsApp. Put a Has Phone Number condition before the step. See Send WhatsApp Message step.
Where does the email signature come from?
From the sender account, set in Settings → Core Integrations. It is added to the end of each email. See Sender configuration.
Key outcome
Each message step now sends at the right time, from the right account, with personalised content, and within limits that protect every connected account. When you are ready to go live, see Publishing & managing sequences.
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