Email Cadence Design Skill

When to Use

• Planning nurture, onboarding, or expansion sequences with multiple branches.
• Auditing send frequency to reduce fatigue and unsubscribes.
• Coordinating cross-channel touches (email, in-app, SMS, sales assist).

Framework

1. Goal Alignment – map KPIs per stage (activation, education, expansion, retention).
2. Signal-Based Timing – trigger on behavior (opens, clicks, product events), not fixed delays.
3. Frequency Guardrails – define daily/weekly send caps per persona + lifecycle stage.
4. Channel Mix – pair emails with supporting channels; document ownership and SLAs.
5. Recovery Paths – add detours for inactivity, hard bounces, or sales handoffs.

Templates

• Cadence matrix (day, trigger, message purpose, CTA, channel).
• Fatigue model calculator (touches vs engagement trend).
• Suppression logic checklist (recent send, opportunity stage, consent).

Tips

• Front-load value but leave whitespace before high-ask CTAs.
• Reuse proven send windows per persona while testing incrementally.
• Share cadence plan with SDR/CSM teams to prevent overlap.