Journey Follow frequency cap vs Ignore: account cap applies to whole trip vs bypass for this path
Follow vs Ignore FC for journeys: table, per-step myth, Iranian cart example, queue vs spam, Leadara mapping.
Sara Moradi
Designs customer journeys and marketing automation campaigns for retention and lower churn.
October 1, 2026 · 5 min read
Also available in فارسی
Follow frequency capping means the journey’s outbound steps honor the account FC / time-gap rules (usually queueing when capped). Ignore means this journey still sends even when the cap is exhausted. The Follow/Ignore choice is typically journey-scoped—you usually cannot exempt a single step inside the same trip.
What Follow vs Ignore means
Frequency capping limits how many messages a contact gets in a window—e.g. at most 2 marketing SMS per 24 hours, or a 6-hour gap between emails. When a journey has multiple steps, ops asks:
- Should this trip respect the account cap like other campaigns? → Follow
- Or is this path critical enough to bypass the cap? → Ignore
Do not confuse this with rate limiting vs frequency capping: rate limits usually protect infrastructure/throughput; FC protects the contact’s experience.
Comparison table
| Dimension | Follow FC | Ignore FC |
|---|---|---|
| Honors account cap | Yes, on journey outbound steps | No—sends even when cap is full |
| When cap is full | Usually queue/delay (policy-dependent) | Sends now (if the channel allows) |
| Scope | Whole journey | Whole journey |
| Per-step exemption mid-path | Usually no | Usually no—use a separate journey or transactional path |
| Risk | Critical message stuck behind promo | Spam and burned SMS consent |
| Fits | Nurture, education series, general promo | Sensitive alerts, some cart/payment paths (carefully) |
For queue vs drop when FC hits: frequency-cap queue delay vs drop. For flat caps vs engagement-tiered policy: engagement-tiered frequency policy vs flat cap.
Can I disable FC for one message inside a journey?
In most platforms—and as a practical Leadara design assumption—not as a per-step toggle inside the same journey. Follow/Ignore is a trip setting, not a button on one SMS.
If step 3 must Ignore while steps 1–2 must Follow:
- Move that step to a separate Ignore journey/campaign; or
- Define the message as transactional and keep it outside the promo cap (OTP, shipment status); or
- Branch the contact into a short Ignore path—rather than exempting one step mid-path without product support.
Iranian example: abandoned cart stuck behind promo
A beauty store’s Friday campaign already filled a “2 SMS/day” cap. That night a shopper abandons a cart. If the cart journey Follows and the policy queues, the cart SMS may slide to morning—when intent is cold. If it Ignores, the SMS goes out; but if every promo journey also Ignores, the same person gets four SMS by evening and opts out.
A balanced pattern many Iranian teams use:
- Promo and educational content → Follow
- Short-window abandoned cart → Ignore or a higher/tiered cap for high-intent
- OTP and shipment status → outside promo caps (transactional)
- Weekly winback → Follow + quiet hours
Do Ignore messages still count toward the daily cap?
Product-dependent; two common patterns:
| Pattern | Effect |
|---|---|
| Ignore = send + still increments the counter | Tightens remaining room for other channels |
| Ignore = send + outside the promo counter | Other promos still have room; perceived spam risk rises |
Confirm your account’s real behavior before launch and write it in the runbook. A wrong assumption here creates marketing-vs-support reporting fights.
Decision design for Follow/Ignore
- Cost of delay: does 10–12 hours kill value? (cart, expiring code)
- Cost of spam: is the channel SMS with fragile consent?
- Alternative: can a tiered high-intent cap replace a full Ignore?
- Transactional vs promo: if it is order status, do not put it under the promo cap at all.
- Campaign collision: how many Ignores run on the same Black Friday?
Truthful Leadara mapping
In Leadara, treat frequency policy at journey/account level with email and SMS (Kavenegar/Nikaline):
- Default nurture and promo to Follow;
- Use Ignore only for time-sensitive paths with a written reason;
- Keep transactional messages outside promo caps;
- Live Chat is human support; AI Chat is an internal assistant—not a customer bot.
Do not claim Leadara has the exact “Follow/Ignore” UI of a specific competitor; implement the design principle—honor account FC vs bypass at journey scope.
Practical steps
- Tag every live journey Follow or Ignore.
- Collect all Ignores on one page; if more than 2–3 paths Ignore at once, review.
- For cart: write an acceptable delay (e.g. max 90 minutes); if Follow+queue exceeds it, change policy.
- QA: capped profile + Follow journey; same profile + Ignore; transactional profile.
- Turn on a daily “messages queued due to FC” report.
- Keep quiet hours separate from FC—both can create delay.
- Audit Ignores each quarter so temporary exceptions do not become permanent.
Common mistakes
- Ignoring the whole account “so cart never queues”;
- Expecting per-step exemption inside one journey;
- Mixing bulk send rate limits with contact FC;
- Ignoring without knowing whether the counter still increments;
- Putting OTP under the promo cap.
FAQ
What does Follow frequency capping mean for a journey?
Outbound steps in that trip obey the account cap and gaps, and usually queue/delay when the cap is full.
Can I disable frequency capping for one message inside a journey?
Usually not inside the same trip. Use a separate journey, a transactional path, or change account policy.
If I Ignore FC, do those messages still count toward the daily cap?
Depends on the product; two patterns are common—check your account before launch.
Should abandoned cart Follow or Ignore?
If delay kills value, Ignore or a high-intent tiered cap; if the same day is promo-heavy, watch Ignore pile-ups.
How is this different from rate limiting?
Rate limiting protects the system/throughput; FC protects the contact’s patience. Read the comparison article.
Is queue better than drop when Following?
For cart, usually queue with a max wait; for dated promo, drop can be cleaner.
Does Leadara Live Chat explain caps to customers?
Live Chat is human. FC setup is your team’s job; AI Chat is internal only.
What does success look like?
Fewer SMS opt-outs, on-time cart messages, and an org-wide clear Ignore list.
Next step
Put today’s Ignore list on one page. Flip any row without a time-sensitive reason back to Follow. Run a cart QA with a full cap and see whether queue exceeds the business threshold.
