By the end of this guide, you'll know what happens when you edit different parts of an active campaign, understand which changes affect existing leads versus future leads, and learn safe methods for making major changes without disrupting your outreach.

Campaigns rarely launch perfectly. You might spot a typo, want to test new messaging, or realize a step needs improvement. Understanding how edits affect leads already in your sequence prevents confusion, protects your analytics, and ensures every lead gets the best version of your outreach.

The key principle: only leads who already received a given step keep the old version. Leads who haven't received that step yet (even if they’re already queued/scheduled) will receive the updated version. Knowing this rule helps you make smart editing decisions.

Before editing an active campaign:

When you edit a step in an active campaign:

✅ Leads who have not received that step yet will receive the updated version (including leads already scheduled/queued for it)

❌ Leads who already received that step will NOT be updated retroactively

This keeps past sends consistent while letting you improve what hasn’t gone out yet.

Situation: Your campaign is active. Leads are on Step 1 (some received it, some are scheduled to receive it). You want to edit Step 2, Step 3, or Step 4.

What happens:

✅ All leads who haven't received Steps 2, 3, and 4 yet will receive the updated versions

✅ Changes apply immediately to any step the lead hasn't received yet

Example:

When to use this:

Situation: Your campaign is running. Some leads have already received Step 2, others have not (some may even be scheduled to receive it).

What happens:

✅ Leads who have not received Step 2 yet will receive the updated version (even if they were already scheduled/queued)

❌ Leads who already received Step 2 keep the version they got

Example:

Why this happens: Edits apply to future sends. What’s already been delivered can’t be changed retroactively, but anything not yet sent will use the updated content.

When to use this:

⚠️ Important: If the edit is critical (broken link, wrong pricing, offensive content), consider pausing the campaign while you fix it to reduce the chance anything goes out before your change is saved.

Deleting steps:

❌ You CANNOT delete steps once any lead has been launched

Why:

When you CAN delete:

✅ Before any leads are launched (campaign in draft mode)

Adding steps:

✅ You CAN add new steps to the END of your sequence at any time

❌ You CANNOT insert steps in the middle of an active sequence

Why: Adding to the end doesn't disrupt existing lead flows. Inserting in the middle would cause confusion about which leads get the new step.

Example:

To add a step at the end of your sequence, scroll to the bottom of the sequence and click the + button.

If you catch the issue before any lead receives any email, you have more flexibility.

When to use:

How to do it:

Step 1: Pause the campaign

Click Pause to stop all pending sends.

Step 2: Reverse launch for all leads

Go to Leads → Filter by "Ready to Send" → Select all → Unreview

Full guide: Reverse launch for a lead

Step 3: Edit the sequence

Make all your changes. Delete steps, add steps, modify content, reorder, etc.

Step 4: Review and relaunch Go to Review/Launch → Check leads → Launch them again

All leads will receive the updated sequence from the beginning.

💡 Best for: Critical fixes before any damage is done

When to use:

How to do it:

Step 1: Pause the original campaign

Stop sending to prevent more leads from going through the old version.

Step 2: Duplicate the campaign

Click the three dots (⋮), then select Duplicate

Step 3: Edit the duplicate's sequence

Make all necessary changes in the new campaign.

Step 4: Import leads from the original campaign

Go to Leads → Import → Select Import from existing campaign

Full guide: Import leads from an existing campaign

Choose which leads to import:

Step 5: Launch the duplicate

Review leads in the new campaign and launch.

⚠️ Important note: Leads imported to the duplicate start from Step 1, even if they were on Step 3 in the original campaign. This resets their journey.

💡 Best for: Major restructuring or when you want to keep the original campaign intact for analytics

SaaS Sales Team Finds a Broken Demo Link

A B2B SaaS company launched a 4-step campaign to 500 leads. After some leads received Step 2, they discovered the demo booking link was broken.

Situation:

Decision:

They needed to ensure nobody else received the broken link, while acknowledging the 50 leads who already got it.

Action taken:

Result:

Key takeaway: Editing a step updates what hasn’t been sent yet (even for scheduled leads). Only leads who already received that step require a manual correction.

Issue: I edited Step 2 but leads are still receiving the old version

Root cause: Those leads already received Step 2 before you made the edit (sent emails don’t change retroactively).

Fix:

Issue: I want to delete a step but the option is grayed out

Root cause: At least one lead has been launched, which locks the sequence structure

Fix:

Issue: I edited the email copy, but it's not showing in the sent emails

Root cause: The email was already sent before your edit

Fix:

Issue: I added a new Step 5 but leads aren't receiving it

Root cause: Leads may have already completed the original 4-step sequence before you added Step 5

Fix:

Edit early, edit often (before launch): Thoroughly test your sequence with a small batch (10-20 leads) before launching to hundreds. Catch errors early when you can still make changes easily.

Use review mode: Before launching, use Review mode to see exactly what each lead will receive. Spot personalization errors, broken variables, or formatting issues.

Pause immediately for critical issues: If you discover a broken link, wrong pricing, or offensive content, pause the campaign instantly. Every minute counts.

Test links and variables: Click every link and check every variable (#{{firstName}}, #{{companyName}}, etc.) before launching. Most errors are preventable with simple testing.

Use A/B testing for optimizations: Instead of editing an active campaign, create an A/B test to compare the current version against your new idea. This gives you data without disrupting existing flows.

Document changes: Keep a log of what you changed and when. This helps you understand performance differences in analytics later.

Consider duplicate over edit: For major changes (new angle, different structure, additional steps), duplicating and starting fresh is often cleaner than trying to edit mid-campaign.

Communicate with your team: If multiple people manage campaigns, use campaign notes or Slack to document edits so everyone knows what changed.

Monitor after edits: After making changes, watch the analytics closely for the next few days to ensure the edit improved performance (or at least didn't hurt it).

Editing a future step (leads haven’t received it yet)? → Edit freely. All leads who haven’t received that step yet (even if scheduled) will get the updated version.

Editing a step that some leads already received? → Those leads keep the old version; everyone else who hasn’t received it yet will get the new version.

Need to delete a step? → Only possible before launch. Use reverse launch or duplicate if already launched.

Need to add a step? → Add to the end only. Leads in progress will eventually reach it.

Critical error affecting an upcoming step? → Consider pausing immediately, fix the step, then resume. Leads who already received the step will require a manual correction.