Campaigns: New Student Special
If you only build one campaign in Customer.io, make it this one.
A New Student Special campaign isn’t just about sending a few welcome emails — it’s about guiding someone from their first “I’ll give this a try” moment into a sustainable relationship with your studio. Most new customers won’t automatically become regulars, even if they loved their first class. They need reminders, encouragement, and opportunities to explore everything you offer.
A thoughtful campaign:
- Bridges the gap between excitement and routine
- Helps students see the value of your offerings before their pass expires
- Increases the odds they’ll stay — not because of discounts, but because they feel connected
Looking for more strategy? Visit our full guide that offers an in-depth look on how to design a New Student Special that reflects your values, supports habit-building, and builds long-term engagement — not just a quick win.
Before You Start
Make sure your New Student Special pass is already built in Union. For this walkthrough, we'll use an example of a 1-month unlimited pass — something that mirrors the access and value of a top-tier subscription.
If your offer is different, that’s okay! You can always adapt the timing or flow based on your own goals. Suggestions along the way will be based on what we've seen work best.
Campaign Setup: Name and Setting the Trigger
Before choosing the trigger, we recommend naming your campaign and adding a tag — this makes it easier to find and manage later. You can set the goal now or wait until the workflow is mapped out. In our experience, the goal often shifts slightly as the campaign comes together.
Watch a quick one-minute video on using tags in Customer.io to keep things organized.
Once you click Choose Trigger, select Segment as the trigger type.
While you can create a manual segment, in most cases, using the synced segment tied to the pass is the simplest place to start — and it keeps things clear when setting your goal and exit conditions later.
A synced segment that looks something like: Active Passholders for [YOUR PASS NAME]
If you've changed the name of your pass, the segment will still use the original pass name from when it was created. Learn more about synced segments here.
For your trigger, choose the Segment option and search for your segment by name.
Pro tip: Because of the Union integration, you'll notice lots of segments that start with “Active Passholders for…” Instead of scrolling, just search using your pass name — it’s faster and easier to find the right one.
You’ll see a suggestion to add a time-based condition here (like “only include customers created in the last 7 days”). For this campaign, that’s usually not needed — especially if you're already using delays in your workflow, which we'll speak to in this example.
In fact, we’ve seen people accidentally over-filter their audience and exclude folks who should’ve received the emails. Unless you have a very specific reason to add conditions, we recommend keeping it simple and using just the synced segment.
If you have any questions, reach out to support@union.fit.
Finally, click Save and Build Workflow.
Building Your Campaign
A New Student Special gives people a chance to explore your studio — not just what you offer, but how you make them feel. This campaign is your opportunity to guide that experience and help them understand the full value of what you provide.
Think of it less like a sales funnel and more like a welcome tour:
- What do you stand for?
- What types of classes or teachers might resonate?
- What additional services (like retail, spa services, or memberships) might support their practice?
The goal isn’t to overwhelm them — it’s to help them naturally arrive at:
“Why would I go anywhere else? They have everything I need.”
For this walkthrough, we’ll use a 1-month unlimited pass as the example, but you can adjust the timeline based on whatever makes sense for your offer.
Start with a Delay
Once someone is added to the synced segment, they’ll enter this campaign immediately — because the trigger is based on the active status of their pass.
In Union, customers will already receive a purchase confirmation email, which may include details about their class registration. To avoid overwhelming them with back-to-back emails, I recommend starting your campaign with a Time Delay of about 15 minutes. This gives a little breathing room and lets your first message stand out.
Next, add a Welcome Email
Since customers can enter this campaign in different ways (buying a pass only, registering for class + buying a pass, or walking into a class), we don’t want to assume how they got here. Keep the welcome message high-level and friendly — something that applies no matter what path they took.
Example content includes:
- A warm welcome + gratitude for joining
- How to view the class schedule or replay library
- Intro to the team or class styles
- Quick link to FAQs or contact info
Here's one example of what that welcome email might look like:
Add a “Wait Until” Block to Personalize the Next Step
After your welcome email, add a Wait Until block so you can guide customers based on whether they’ve registered for class.
You’ll create two possible paths:
- If they’ve registered (and the registration is marked as “redeemed”), they continue down one path.
- If they haven’t registered within your set timeframe, they’ll get a gentle message encouraging them to explore and book a class.
This keeps your messaging relevant — whether someone is just getting started or still planning their first visit — and helps avoid nudging people who’ve already taken action.
How to set up the Wait Until block:
Scroll to Delays, then drag a Wait Until block into your workflow. Once it’s in place, click the block to begin editing. Click on Conditions > choose Event. From here, search for registration_issued and click Add.
Directly below, you can add a second condition, search for registration_redeemed and click Add. Make sure it says Path 2 – Condition before continuing.
If you accidentally add the second condition under the first one, it will become an AND condition — meaning both events must happen before the person moves forward.
For this flow, you want an OR condition: either scheduled or attended.
Next, set the Max. time — in this example, we're using 5 days. Your timing might vary depending on how long the pass is valid for. Feel free to adjust the wait time to fit your flow!
Max time prevents anyone from getting stuck if they don’t meet a condition.
Once you’ve set it, click Save. You’ll now see each path labeled when you hover over the block.
Build the Paths That Follow
Now that your Wait Until block is in place, you’ll create different experiences based on whether or not a student has attended class. There’s no one right way to do this — but here’s one common setup we recommend to keep things feeling timely, relevant, and personal.
Below is a general view of what this can look like. You can build on this structure or adjust the timing and messages to match your pass length, tone, and goals.
For students who’ve attended a class:
We suggest adding a short delay (around an hour) before sending your follow-up. This helps space things out — especially for walk-ins — and gives your next message more impact.
The email that follows can gently encourage another registration and recommend beginner-friendly playlists or replays.
For students who have an upcoming registration or haven’t registered yet:
This is a great time to send a warm, encouraging nudge. Even if someone has a class booked beyond your wait window, this message can stay high-level — highlighting the variety of your offerings, what makes your studio special, and making it easy to take the next step.
Pro-Tip: When you create one of the two emails, you can simply copy the email and adjust the intro text — same links, different tone.
Expand the Experience
At this point in the journey, your students have hopefully tried a class (or a few). Now’s a great time to widen the lens and introduce them to other parts of your business — not as a sales pitch, but as part of helping them build a deeper, more personalized practice.
This could include:
- A message about the benefits of yoga and how to create a routine
- An invitation to explore replays or playlists at their own pace or that they can revisit access their favorite teachers anytime, anywhere
- A spotlight on retail, spa services, or private sessions
You don’t need to cover it all — just focus on what makes sense for where your students are right now. Think of it as helping them go a little deeper into the experience their pass already offers.
If your goal is to guide them toward something like a higher-tier membership, make it feel like a natural next step — not a pitch, just support for the practice they’re starting to build.
Want to see how this can come together? Here’s a sample timeline for the 1-month New Student Special. Each message builds on the last — highlighting different ways students can engage without overwhelming them:
Feel free to adjust the spacing, content, or order to fit your offerings and voice. The goal is to help students see what’s possible and feel supported every step of the way.
Check In and Guide What Comes Next
By now, your students have hopefully gotten a feel for your space — maybe they've found a favorite teacher, tried a few different styles, or explored your on-demand content. But this doesn’t have to be the end of their journey.
As their pass nears expiration, it’s a great moment to check in and offer a gentle next step. This isn’t about pushing a sale — it’s about making sure they feel supported and know what options are available.
You can time this using a Wait Until block based on the next_pass_valid_ends_at attribute — or, for a simpler option, use the synced segment for pass is about to expire.
Here’s one way to pace it (example below):
- 4 days before expiration: Send a warm check-in email. Ask how their experience has been, and offer help if they want guidance on classes or memberships.
- 2 days before expiration: Follow up with an invitation to continue. If you offer a special discounted membership for new students, this is a great time to share it — framed as a thank-you, not a pitch.
You don’t need to over-message here. Just keep the tone aligned with your brand, and guide them toward what comes next in a way that feels like a continuation of everything they’ve already started.
After the Offer: Create a Gentle Follow-Up Path
If someone doesn’t take action after your subscription offer, don’t worry — this isn’t a dead end. It’s just a chance to give them a little more space and then offer a lower-commitment next step.
Here’s a simple way to structure it:
Wait ~5–7 days after the subscription invitation.
This gives them time to consider the offer, and for many studios, aligns with the pass expiration window.
Send a “Still exploring?” message.
Acknowledge that not everyone is ready to subscribe right away. Offer a flexible option, like an "off the menu" pricing option or a class pack at a slightly discounted rate.
This feels approachable — like you’re meeting them where they are.
Here's an example
Final Touches Before You Launch
Before launching your campaign, make sure to:
- Add a campaign goal to track success and optionally exit people when it’s met
- Add an exit condition (like purchasing a subscription) so students don’t receive unnecessary follow-ups
- Set each email to “Send automatically” so they deliver without manual intervention
- When starting the campaign, choose “New people only” to avoid sending emails to anyone who already had the pass