Draft outreach follow-ups

Campaigns may define an ordered follow-up sequence (sequenceSteps on the campaign: each step is waitDays + a short drafting brief like "gentle bump" or "share a relevant case study"). When an initial (or previous follow-up) has sat unanswered past the step's wait period, this pass drafts the next step and files it as a kind: 'followup' proposal for human approval — same Review tab, same approve/dismiss flow as initials and replies.

You never send anything. And you never chase someone who answered: the moment any inbound message lands on the conversation, the sequence is permanently stopped and skill://outreach/draft-reply-email owns the thread. outreach_propose_followup enforces this server-side — if it refuses, move on.

TL;DR

1. List due work with outreach_list_due_followups({}). Every returned row is due now and pre-filtered — eligibility is not your job. An empty list means the pass is done; stop.
2. For each row: read the thread with conv_get_conversation(row.conversationId) and the campaign with outreach_get_campaign(row.campaignId) for the campaign brief.
3. Draft 30–90 words per the row's stepBrief, referencing the earlier email without repeating it. No subject, no unsubscribe footer — follow-ups thread inside the existing email chain, which already carries both.
4. File with outreach_propose_followup({ conversationId, step: row.nextStep, draftBody, evidence }).
5. Stop when every row is filed. No approving, no sending.

Step 1 — list due follow-ups

{ "name": "outreach_list_due_followups", "arguments": {} }

Each row carries campaignId, campaignName, contactId, conversationId, nextStep (1-based index into the campaign's sequenceSteps), stepBrief, waitDays, and lastSentAt. The server has already excluded: replied conversations, suppressed/unconsented contacts, disabled campaigns, closed or human-assigned conversations, contacts with a pending follow-up or reply draft, sequences stopped by a dismissed step, and contacts held back by the campaign's cadence rules (maxPerWeekPerContact budget over the trailing 7 days, blackoutDates). Do not re-derive any of that — draft what you're given.

Step 2 — read the thread and campaign

{ "name": "conv_get_conversation", "arguments": { "id": "ccv_…" } }
{ "name": "outreach_get_campaign", "arguments": { "id": "ocmp_…" } }

Read what was already sent — the follow-up must not repeat the initial's pitch. The campaign brief gives the overall goal; the row's stepBrief gives this step's specific angle. When the two pull apart, the step brief wins: step 3 of a sequence is often deliberately different in tone ("breakup email") from the campaign's opening pitch.

Step 3 — draft

• 30–90 words. Follow-ups are shorter than initials. The prospect has already seen the pitch; this is a nudge, not a re-send.
• Per the step brief. "Gentle bump" is two sentences. "Share a case study" earns a kb_search to ground a concrete, real example — don't fabricate customers or numbers. "Breakup email" is graceful: one line closing the loop, door left open, zero guilt.
• Reference, don't repeat. "Wanted to make sure my note last week didn't get buried" beats restating the offer.
• Plain prose. No headings, no bullet lists, no JSON-escaping.
• No subject, no unsubscribe footer. The thread already carries both; the send path ignores subjects on follow-ups anyway.
• Never guilt-trip. "I know you're busy…" once is human; twice is passive-aggressive. If the step brief smells like pressure, draft the polite version.

Step 4 — file the proposal

{
  "name": "outreach_propose_followup",
  "arguments": {
    "conversationId": "ccv_…",
    "step": 2,
    "draftBody": "Hi Jane,\n\nCircling back in case my last note got buried — Acme cut their support backlog 40% in the first month with the setup I described (happy to share how). Worth a 15-minute look this week?\n\n— Munin",
    "evidence": {
      "stepBrief": "share a relevant case study",
      "kbDocIds": ["kdoc_acme_case_study"],
      "reasoning": "No reply 7 days after initial; step 2 calls for social proof; Acme case study matches their industry."
    }
  }
}

Behavior:

• The proposal lands in pending status, visible to the operator on /dashboard/inbox with a Follow-up badge and step number.
• Approving sends the body verbatim via conv_send_message on the same conversation. If the prospect replied in the meantime, approval fails and the operator dismisses — the reply flow has taken over.
• Dismissing a follow-up permanently stops the sequence for that contact. Operators who dislike the wording should edit-then-approve instead. Write drafts worth editing, not dismissing.

What NOT to do

• Don't auto-send. No conv_send_message from this skill. Drafts only.
• Don't draft for conversations the tool refuses. A refusal means a reply landed, the step was dismissed, or a draft is already queued — all of them mean "not yours". Never work around it.
• Don't skip ahead. step must be exactly row.nextStep; the service rejects out-of-order steps.
• Don't re-pitch. The initial made the case. Follow-ups add one new thing (proof, angle, deadline) or simply nudge.
• Don't stack asks. One follow-up, one call to action.

Related

• skill://outreach/draft-initial-email — drafts the first touch this sequence follows.
• skill://outreach/draft-reply-email — takes over the conversation the moment the prospect replies; an inbound reply permanently stops this sequence.
• skill://outreach/review-proposals — the operator flow that approves or dismisses these drafts.