> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.b2bsignals.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Steps and messages > Build a campaign's steps: invites with or without a note, AI or your own text, follow-ups, waits, branches and what stops when someone replies. The **Steps** tab decides what each person gets, in what order and how long to wait in between. Changes save on their own. Saving a step sends nothing. ## Add a step Click **Add step** at the end of the list, or **Add a step after this** on a step, and pick from the list. Options that can't go at that point are greyed out. ![Add a step sheet listing LinkedIn steps, branches, and timing and checks](https://mintcdn.com/b2-b-signals-llc/u5yYe4FZtFc5vtD_/images/campaigns/add-a-step.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=u5yYe4FZtFc5vtD_\&q=85\&s=fc231afdcc64fd781fb849d1adf7c239) The Add a step sheet on a draft. Only if… is greyed out because it can't go at this point. | Group | Step | What it does | | - | - | - | | On LinkedIn | **Invite** | A connection request, with or without a note | | | **Message** | A message once you're connected | | | **InMail** | A message without connecting | | | **Like a post** | A reaction on their latest post | | | **Comment on a post** | A comment, and every comment waits for your OK | | | **View profile** | They see you looked. Nothing to write. | | | **Follow** | You follow them to see their posts. Nothing to write. Follow is still being tested. | | | **Email** | Only for people we find an email for | | Only some people go on | **If they accept** | Splits people on whether the invite was accepted | | | **If they replied** | People who reply take one path. Everyone else goes on after the wait. | | | **If we found an email** | People with an email go one way. Everyone else goes on with LinkedIn. | | | **Only if…** | Splits on title, country or any field | | Timing and checks | **Wait** | A pause between steps | | | **Check first** | Holds the next step for your OK, even when the campaign runs on its own | | | **Stop** | They leave the campaign here | ## Connection request: with or without a note On an **Invite** step, choose **No note** or **With a note**. * **No note**: the invite goes out bare, and there's nothing to write. * **With a note**: write it yourself or let AI write it. The step counts to 200 characters. A sender on a LinkedIn Premium, Sales Navigator or Recruiter account can send up to 300. A sender's monthly allowance for notes can run out. Later invites from that sender then go without a note until it resets, and the campaign shows a notice saying when. If someone doesn't accept, the step can withdraw the invite. Under **More options**, **If not accepted** sets **Withdraw the invite after** a number of days, from 1 to 60. The default is 14. This keeps your pending invites low. ## AI or your own text Each written step is one or the other. > [tab] Let AI write it > > Answer "What should this message do?" The box suggests a starting point: "Mention why we are reaching out, from what we know about them. In one line, say what we help with. Under 60 words." On a comment step it asks "What should the comment do?" AI writes each person's message from their reason and your writing rules. > > Text is written shortly before it's due, not all at launch. If a person's message hasn't been written yet, Approvals and Upcoming sends say so. > > Language defaults to **Their language**, chosen from their profile. You can set one for the step. > > **Autopilot** can't use this. Autopilot only sends text you wrote, so a step on Autopilot has **Let AI write it** turned off, and the campaign asks you to switch before launch. > [tab] Write it myself > > Write what they should read. **Insert** adds their name and more. Your text goes out exactly as you wrote it. > > An email step also needs a subject. A **Write it myself** step can't be left empty, and the campaign won't launch until it's filled. Use **Preview as** to read a step as a real person. A preview sends nothing. ## Follow-ups and timing Follow-ups are **Message** steps with a wait in front. **When** sets the timing. | Situation | Timing | Default or range | | - | - | - | | The first step | **Right away**, as soon as a person joins | | | A step that follows people who haven't replied | A number of days after the last message | 1 to 90 days | | Any other step | A number of minutes, hours or days after the step before | | | **Wait for them to accept** | People who haven't accepted by then take the "If they don't accept" path | 7 days, 1 to 90 | | **Wait for a reply** | People who haven't replied by then go on to the next step | 3 days | A **Wait** step can count **Only during working hours**. Every send also has to fit the [schedule and the sender's limits](https://docs.b2bsignals.ai/campaigns/senders-and-limits.md), so the real time can be later than the step says. ## When someone replies **Stop when they reply** is always on, and you can't turn it off. The moment a person answers, nothing more goes out to them from the campaign, whichever step they were on. The reply shows in the [Inbox](https://docs.b2bsignals.ai/workspace/inbox.md). If the reply shouldn't count, open the conversation in the Inbox. Its ⋯ menu has **Ignore this reply** and **Resume campaign for** that person, when they apply. **Auto-reply with your check** is a separate setting in **Settings**, under **Replies**. AI drafts an answer to simple replies, and you send it. ## More options on a step Open **More options** on a message step: | Option | What it does | | - | - | | **Before sending** | **View their profile first** or **Like their latest post first** | | **Backup message** | Used when a field in your text is empty for someone, or when AI can't write the message. It waits for your OK before it goes. | | **Skip this step for people missing a field** | On your own text. Anyone whose text would have a blank goes on to the next step. | | **Approval** | **Same as campaign**, **Ask me for this step** or **Send this step without asking** | | **Versions** | Test different texts. See [A/B tests](https://docs.b2bsignals.ai/campaigns/ab-tests.md). | **If AI is unavailable** sits in **Settings**, under **More settings**. **Wait until AI is back** holds messages. **Draft a backup for me to approve** writes backup text. Backup text never sends without a person approving it, even on Autopilot. **Show all options** in **My account** opens options that otherwise appear after your first launched campaign, such as **Canvas**, **Versions** and per-step approval rules. ## Edit a campaign that's running Steps are read only while a campaign runs. Click **Pause & edit**. A paused campaign sends nothing until you turn it back on. * People who already got a step keep their message. The new text goes to the rest. * The **Canvas** opens only while the campaign is paused. * A change in **Settings** applies to messages that aren't drafted yet. An archived campaign has to be restored before you can change its steps. A campaign run for you automatically can't have its steps changed here. ## Related > [card] [Approvals](https://docs.b2bsignals.ai/campaigns/approvals.md) > > Check and edit messages before they go out. > [card] [A/B tests](https://docs.b2bsignals.ai/campaigns/ab-tests.md) > > Test two versions of a message. > [card] [Senders and limits](https://docs.b2bsignals.ai/campaigns/senders-and-limits.md) > > Why a step can go out later than it says. > [card] [Inbox](https://docs.b2bsignals.ai/workspace/inbox.md) > > Where replies land. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.