📢 Push Campaigns: Example Setup – “User First Year Lifecycle” Campaign Series

Summary:
This example walks you through creating a simple lifecycle-based push campaign that targets users at key stages during their first year using your app. It is designed to help you understand how campaigns, rules, and previewing work in practice.

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Overview

This guide shows how to set up a “User First Year Lifecycle” campaign series, which sends different push messages to users at key points after they first use your app.

The goal is to:

• welcome new users

• encourage engagement early on

• re-engage users if they become inactive

• maintain long-term engagement

Rather than one single campaign, this lifecycle is best built using multiple campaigns, each with its own rules and timing.

This example includes 4 campaigns:

1. Welcome (Days 0–3)

2. Early Engagement (Days 7–14)

3. Re-engagement (30+ days inactive)

4. Long-term Check-in (6+ months)

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Before you start

Before creating campaigns, make sure:

• your app users are being recorded in the system

• users have a OneSignal subscriber ID (for push capability)

• you understand how to use the Preview Tool

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Campaign 1: Welcome (Days 0–3)

Purpose

Send a welcome message shortly after a user first appears on your server.

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Step 1: Create the campaign

Go to:

Push Campaigns → Campaigns → Create New

Fill in:

• Campaign Name: New User Welcome

• Status: Active

• Priority: 100

(High priority ensures this campaign is considered first)

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Step 2: Add rules

Add the following rules:

Rule 1

• Group: 1

• Field: Days since first seen

• Operator: Between

• Value 1: 0

• Value 2: 3

Rule 2

• Group: 1

• Field: Has OneSignal subscriber ID

• Operator: =

• Value 1: 1

This means:

The user must be new (0–3 days) AND able to receive push notifications.

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Step 3: Configure push settings

• Enable automatic push sending: ✔

• Only queue with OneSignal ID: ✔

• Push Send Mode: on_first_match

• Max Pushes Per User: 1

• Push Delay: 1 day

• Cooldown Days: leave blank

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Step 4: Add push content

Example:

• Title: Welcome to the app 👋

• Message: Thanks for joining! Explore everything we have to offer.

• URL: Link to homepage or key feature

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Step 5: Save and preview

Open Preview Tool:

• select a recently created user

• confirm:

  • campaign matches

  • queue decision = Allowed

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Campaign 2: Early Engagement (Days 7–14)

Purpose

Encourage users to return and engage within their first two weeks.

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Setup

Basic details

• Campaign Name: Early Engagement Push

• Status: Active

• Priority: 80

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Rules

Rule 1

• Group: 1

• Field: Days since first seen

• Operator: Between

• Value 1: 7

• Value 2: 14

Rule 2

• Group: 1

• Field: Has OneSignal subscriber ID

• Operator: =

• Value 1: 1

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Push settings

• Push Send Mode: on_first_match

• Max Pushes Per User: 1

• Push Delay: 0 or 1 day

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Example message

• Title: Don’t miss out 👀

• Message: There’s more waiting for you in the app – come back and explore!

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Preview tip

Test with:

• a user ~10 days old → should match

• a user ~2 days old → should NOT match

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Campaign 3: Re-engagement (Inactive 30+ days)

Purpose

Target users who haven’t returned to the app recently.

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Setup

Basic details

• Campaign Name: 30 Day Re-engagement

• Priority: 60

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Rules

Rule 1

• Group: 1

• Field: Days since last seen

• Operator: >=

• Value 1: 30

Rule 2

• Group: 1

• Field: Has OneSignal subscriber ID

• Operator: =

• Value 1: 1

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Push settings

• Push Send Mode: on_first_match

• Max Pushes Per User: 1

• Cooldown Days: 30

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Example message

• Title: We miss you! 💙

• Message: It’s been a while – come back and see what’s new.

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Preview tip

Check:

• inactive user (30+ days) → match

• active user → no match

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Campaign 4: Long-Term Check-in (180+ days)

Purpose

Reconnect with long-term users and remind them of your app’s value.

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Setup

Basic details

• Campaign Name: 6 Month Check-in

• Priority: 40

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Rules

Rule 1

• Group: 1

• Field: Days since first seen

• Operator: >=

• Value 1: 180

Rule 2

• Group: 1

• Field: Has OneSignal subscriber ID

• Operator: =

• Value 1: 1

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Push settings

• Push Send Mode: on_first_match

• Max Pushes Per User: 1

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Example message

• Title: Still with us? 🎉

• Message: Thanks for being with us – check out what’s new in the app.

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How these campaigns work together

These campaigns create a simple lifecycle:

Because of priority, the most relevant campaign is selected first.

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Using the Preview Tool with this setup

After creating all campaigns:

1. Test a brand new user

   • should match Welcome

2. Test a 10-day user

   • should match Early Engagement

3. Test an inactive user

   • should match Re-engagement

4. Test a 6+ month user

   • should match Long-Term Check-in

5. Check:

   • correct campaign selected

   • queue decision = Allowed

   • no unexpected blocking

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Key learning points

This example shows how to:

• use rules to target different user stages

• use priority to control which campaign wins

• use on_first_match for lifecycle messaging

• use Preview Tool to validate behaviour

• build multiple campaigns that work together

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Best practice tips from this example

• build campaigns in stages, not all at once

• test each campaign before moving to the next

• avoid overlapping rules unless intentional

• use clear priorities (100 → 80 → 60 → 40)

• keep messages simple and relevant

• always preview before going live

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In summary

A lifecycle campaign like this helps you stay connected with users throughout their journey in your app.

By breaking it into clear stages and testing each one, you can build a reliable and effective push strategy using the Push Campaigns module.