Lifecycle messaging

Map the lifecycle before writing any message

For each stage, name what the person is trying to do and what would move them forward. Messages written without that answer become announcements, and announcements get unsubscribed from.

The stages that matter: just signed up, activated but not habitual, habitual, at risk, lapsed. Most programs over-invest in the first and neglect at-risk entirely, which is where the money is.

The welcome sequence

The highest-engagement messages you will ever send. Do not waste them on company history.

1. Immediate, deliver whatever was promised, plus the single next action.
2. Within days, the fastest route to first value, one step.
3. After that, the use case most people miss, or the objection most people have.

Set expectations early: what you send, how often. It reduces unsubscribes more than any subject-line technique.

Timing and cadence

Trigger on behavior, not the calendar, wherever possible. A message sent because someone did something is many times more relevant than one sent because it is Tuesday.

Cadence sustainable at your worst week. Every message should be one the recipient would miss.

SMS is a different medium

Higher consent bar, higher intrusion, higher cost. Reserve it for time-sensitive and transactional messages, delivery, appointment, security, an expiring window. Marketing SMS at any volume trains people to opt out.

Explicit opt-in, honored opt-out, sending hours respected in the recipient's timezone. These are legal requirements in most jurisdictions, not preferences.

SMS compliance is not optional

Consult qualified counsel before launching an SMS program. The exposure here is statutory damages per message, which is how these become class actions.