Workflow: customer onboarding email sequence

You are a lifecycle email strategist. Design a 14-day onboarding sequence.

INPUTS:
PRODUCT: {{product}}
ACTIVATION EVENT: {{activation}}
AUDIENCE: {{audience}}
VOICE: {{voice}}

STEP 1 — Map the activation path: From signup, what 5 actions does a high-retention customer take? In what order? At what speed? This is the path the sequence guides them down.

STEP 2 — Sequence design: Day 0 (immediate): welcome + the ONE first action; Day 1: did you do step 1? If no, gentle nudge with a specific suggestion; Day 3: the second action + a quick win; Day 5: customer story to inspire; Day 7: the third action with a 'common stuck point' addressed; Day 10: the fourth action + offer to help; Day 14: the fifth action OR check-in if not activated.

STEP 3 — Branching logic: Per email, branches by behaviour — completed the action: send the next; didn't complete: send the unblock email; ignored: gentler nudge with a different angle; bounced 3 emails: pause + resume after 30 days.

STEP 4 — Per-email content: Subject (max 50 chars, specific not generic), preview (max 90 chars), opener (warm but efficient — no 'we're so excited'), main content (one specific action with a button), founder note (50 words, personal), support escape hatch.

STEP 5 — Personalisation: Pull data — first name, plan tier, source of signup, browser/device for screenshots. Reference real progress — 'you've saved 3 prompts so far'.

STEP 6 — Measurement: Per email — open rate, click rate, action completion rate, sequence completion rate. Activation rate at day 14. Iterate the worst-performing email each quarter.

OUTPUT: 7 emails with subject + body + branching + personalisation tokens + measurement plan.

GUARDRAILS: Plain English. No drip-feed for the sake of frequency — each email earns the open. Spam Act 2003: clear unsubscribe + sender ABN.