# Lead states and stop rules in a campaign

> What each lead state means in an EmailPal campaign, and the rules that stop a sequence when a lead replies, unsubscribes, bounces or when a colleague at the same company replies.

Source: https://emailpal.io/help/campaign-lead-states-and-stop-rules

## Lead states

Every lead in a campaign has a state.

| State | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| **Not started** | In the campaign, not picked up yet. |
| **In sequence** | Has been emailed and has more steps to go. |
| **Paused** | On hold. |
| **Completed** | Reached the end of the sequence. |
| **Replied** | Answered. The sequence stops. |
| **Bounced** | The address bounced. The sequence stops. |
| **Unsubscribed** | Asked to be removed. The sequence stops. |
| **Skipped** | Not emailed, for example a risky address when risky addresses are off. |
| **Error** | Could not be sent. |
| **Expired** | A follow-up was so overdue that it is no longer sent. [Sending limits and mailbox rotation](/help/campaign-sending-limits-and-mailbox-rotation). |
| **Stopped** | Ended by a stop rule. |

## Stop rules

In the campaign's **Settings**, under **Advanced options** and **Stopping and pacing**:

| Setting | Default | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Stop when a lead replies** | On | A lead who answers does not get the next follow-up. |
| **Stop on automatic replies too** | Off | Out-of-office and auto-responders also stop the sequence. Off keeps going after them. |
| **Stop everyone at a company when one replies** | Off | Others at the same company are paused, so one company does not get several follow-ups. |
| **Limit per company** | Empty | The most people at the same company that get emailed at once. Empty means no limit. |

Keep **Stop when a lead replies** on. Emailing someone who has already answered is the quickest way to earn a complaint.

## Out-of-office replies

With **Stop on automatic replies too** off, an auto-reply does not stop the sequence. When EmailPal detects one, it sets the contact's lead status to **Out of office**, but only if the status is still **Lead**. Statuses you have set yourself are left alone. [Lead statuses](/help/lead-statuses).

## Unsubscribes and complaints

An unsubscribe, whether from the link in the email, the one-click header in Gmail or Outlook, or a spam complaint feed, ends every sequence for that address and records a suppression for it. Later imports skip that address. [Importing leads and verification](/help/importing-leads-and-verification).

## Replies

Replies land in **Unibox**. EmailPal does not decide that a reply is positive. You label it, and the label drives your CRM. [Unibox](/help/unibox-shared-inbox), [Lead statuses](/help/lead-statuses).

## FAQs

### A lead replied but the sequence kept going

Check that **Stop when a lead replies** is on. If the reply was automatic, **Stop on automatic replies too** also needs to be on.

### Can the same person be in two campaigns?

Yes, unless you skip people who are already in a campaign when you import. That option is on by default in the import dialog. [Importing leads and verification](/help/importing-leads-and-verification).

### Why is a lead marked Skipped?

The sequencer chose not to email that address. The usual reason is a risky or catch-all address while **Email risky addresses** is off.

## Need More Help?

[Create a campaign](/help/create-a-campaign), [Unibox](/help/unibox-shared-inbox), [Auto-pause on bounces](/help/campaign-auto-pause-and-circuit-breakers).