Add a Delay Between Automation Steps
An instant reply is the one thing no human has ever sent. Someone comments, and half a second later a perfectly formatted DM arrives — the timing alone gives it away.
Delay puts a pause between two steps.
Turning delays on
Section titled “Turning delays on”Enable delay at the top right of the editor switches the feature on for the whole automation. Small Add delay buttons then appear between the cards: between the trigger and the public reply, between the public reply and the DM, and between every step in the DM sequence.
Click one and set the wait.
The delay shows in the timeline once added, and clicking it again lets you change or remove it. Each is independent, so a sequence can wait ten seconds before the DM and two days before the follow-up.
How long
Section titled “How long”Seconds are for realism. Five to fifteen seconds before the first DM is the sweet spot: long enough not to look instant, short enough that the person is still holding their phone. This is the delay to add if you only add one.
Minutes space out a multi-message sequence so it doesn’t land as a wall of notifications.
Hours and days are for coming back later — a reminder, a second chance at an offer, a nudge to someone who never replied. Nobody thinks a two-day gap is a human typing; that’s not what it’s for.
Where delays earn their keep
Section titled “Where delays earn their keep”- Before the first DM — ten seconds, so the reply doesn’t read as automated
- Between DM steps — thirty seconds, so a three-part message doesn’t arrive as one buzz
- Before asking for an email — give the value first, then ask; a request that lands simultaneously with the offer feels like a toll gate
- Before a follow-up — hours, not seconds
The Delay node does the same job in the Flow builder, with the same units.