Marketing operations
Illustrative sample · Proposed journey
Three email onboarding plan
A plan for three introductory emails explains who should receive each message, what action it encourages, and when messages should stop.
Lifecycle planning · Audience rules · Campaign QA · KPI specification
A fictional research newsletter brief created for this portfolio. Timing and copy are proposed. This is not the original NYUC onboarding sequence or a deployed CRM workflow.
Terms explained
- Onboarding
- The introduction that helps someone take a useful first step.
- Eligibility and suppression
- Eligibility decides who may receive a message. Suppression stops a message, for example after someone unsubscribes.
- Event
- A recorded action, such as an email being delivered or a resource being selected.
Three messages. One first action.
- Day 0
Welcome
Open the starter guide
Start only after confirmed consent. - Day 3
Find relevance
Choose a topic
Send only if no resource is selected. - Day 5
Offer an example
View a worked example
Send only if the person is still eligible.
After the first resource selection, an unsubscribe, or day 7. Check consent before every send.
The goal is a first resource selection within seven days of confirmed consent. This diagram is a plan, and the timing has not been tested in a live campaign.
Scroll horizontally to compare all columns.
| Step | Eligibility & timing | Message & primary action | Exit / suppression |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 · Welcome | Immediately after confirmed opt in | “Your first research read starts here.” → Open the starter guide | Suppress without valid consent |
| 02 · Relevance | Day 3, if no resource selected | “Which question are you working on?” → Choose a topic | Skip if the first action is complete |
| 03 · Useful next step | Day 5, if still eligible | “One practical example to try this week.” → View a worked example | Exit after action or day 7. Suppress unsubscribed contacts |
Recommendation
Map the rules and measurement before configuring a platform.
Give the journey one goal: a first resource selection within seven days of confirmed opt in. Treat every send as conditional on consent and current eligibility.
Define the events
confirmed_opt_in starts eligibility. Message_delivered records a delivery. Resource_selected records the intended action. Unsubscribed stops future messages. Use a stable contact identifier, timestamps, and consistent campaign identifiers.
Specify the KPI
First action rate = unique eligible subscribers selecting a resource within seven days ÷ unique confirmed subscribers whose full seven day window has elapsed. Report delivery and unsubscribe rates separately. A click is a diagnostic signal, not the final action.
Preflight the journey
Review the proposed flow before any pilot.
- Test consent, unsubscribe, duplicate, and already completed action scenarios.
- Verify mobile links and the destination resource.
- Define who approves copy and who owns event QA.
- Check that time windows and attribution match the report.
Learning note
Takeaway
A sequence needs more than copy: eligibility, exit rules, send timing, and a defined action keep the journey coherent.
Related experience
New Yorkers United for Child Care case study ↗Explore the related project for its context, approach, and outcome.
Files and calculations.
For the full set of sample briefs, CSVs, SQL, verification code, and 14 role briefs, download the collection ↓.