Journey examples

Common examples to get your journey started.

For additional resources, check out our blog!

• Maximizing User Engagement: The Synergy of Push Notifications and Email
• Consistently Drive Value with Journeys
• Increase Engagement with Email for Cross-Channel Journeys
• Improve Retention with In-App and SMS for Journeys

---

Onboarding

Journey setting	Description
Entry rules	User matches the segment criteria. Subscribed users, future additions only (you only want people who subscribe going forward; you don’t want existing users to receive this).
Exit rules	They moved through the entire journey.
Re-entry rules	No
Content	Welcome new users to your app or website; encourage them to accomplish certain tasks over the first several days or weeks.

Onboarding welcome journey example

Re-engagement campaign

Journey setting	Description
Entry rules	User’s last session is greater than 7 days; subscribed users. (You may want to exclude certain segments like paid customers if your goal is to get more free users coming back.)
Exit rules	They moved through the entire journey or meet certain conditions — exit when the user becomes active in your app/website.
Re-entry rules	Yes, after a certain amount of time: 7 days (re-engagement can happen whenever they haven’t opened your app in a while).
Content	Remind users to come back to your app when they haven’t opened it in a while, and entice them with rewards or discounts.

Re-engagement campaign journey example

Abandoned cart

Journey setting	Description
Entry rules	User matches the segment criteria. Segment with a tag “cart_item,” and be sure to tag your users when they have items in their cart.
Exit rules	They moved through the entire journey or meet certain conditions. Exit when a user enters a segment where “cart_item” is empty (when a user completes their purchase, remove this tag).
Re-entry rules	Yes, after a certain amount of time: 1 day (you’re fine sending this once per day whenever they abandon their cart).
Content	Remind users to come back and purchase the item they didn’t complete checkout with. You might want different branches for categories or personas (e.g., whether they’ve purchased previously).

Abandoned cart journey example

Abandoned cart using custom events

Custom events are currently in early access. To request access, contact [e-mail] with:

• Your company name
• Your OneSignal organization ID
• The app ID(s) you want to enable

Journey setting	Description
Entry rules	Custom event name is “cart_updated”, with one filter property: “cart.*.*” exists.
Exit rules	They moved through the entire journey or meet certain conditions: Exit when custom event condition occurs, custom event name is “cart_updated”.
Re-entry rules	Not applicable to event-triggered journeys.
Content	Remind users to come back and purchase the item they didn’t complete checkout with. You might want branches for different item categories or personas. See the custom event Liquid syntax tutorial for a guide to personalizing your messages.

Abandoned cart event-triggered journey example

Promotional campaign

Journey setting	Description
Entry rules	User matches the segment criteria. Subscribed users or target the segment your promotional campaign is relevant to.
Exit rules	They moved through the entire journey or meet certain conditions. Select a segment that defines the goal you want to target (e.g., users who purchased).
Re-entry rules	No (if this is a one-off campaign, send it once).
Content	Prepare them for the event, remind them when it starts, and offer a discount or reward as it gets close to ending.

Promotional campaign journey example

Send message after user leaves app if action incomplete

Initial setup

1. Use data tags to mark that the action needs to be performed by the user. Remove the tag when the action is completed.
2. Set up the segment for this tag.

Journey setting	Option	Description
Entry rules	The user’s last session is greater than the amount of time.	The amount of time you determine the user has been last active on your app or website.
Audience	Include the segment you want to target with the tag.	These are the users eligible to receive the message.
Exit rules	Exit when the user no longer matches the audience conditions.	When the user leaves the segment, they are no longer eligible for the journey message.
Re-entry rules	Yes, after a certain amount of time.	The amount of time you want to wait for the user to be eligible to get the message again.

Journey steps

1. Add the desired message(s)

   Add the desired message(s).

2. Set a wait node for the amount of time you want the user to wait

   This can be a high or low number depending on if you want the message to show again as a reminder. In the example, we use 104 weeks (2 years).

A/B test within a journey

Using a split branch node, you can set a 50/50 split within your journey. Create two different message templates and as your users flow through, half will get “Template A” and the other “Template B”.

You can then export your message data to check the analytics as desired.

An A/B test

Display in-app messages in order and once per day

In this example, we want to display 3+ in-app messages in a row, but only show them once per day. If a user doesn’t open the app, they will still see it next time they open the app.

Initial setup

1. Create a new segment

   Create a segment called iam_journey with filter: User Tag iam_journey is 1

   1. You can change iam_journey to whatever name you choose.
   2. This tag will be set on each user that finishes the journey and gets all messages.

   

   Segment creation screen
2. Create the in-app messages

   See design in-app messages with drag and drop for more.

3. Set up the following journey

   Journey setting	Option	Description
   Entry rules	User matches the segment criteria	These are the users eligible to receive the message.
   Audience	Include segment & exclude segment	Include the “Subscribed Users” segment. Exclude the “iam_journey” segment from step 1.
   Exit rules	They moved through the entire journey	No additional conditions necessary.
   Re-entry rules	Yes, after a certain amount of time	2 minutes

   Journey steps

   Repeat this order for the number of messages you want to display. In this example, we will display 3 in-app messages (IAM 1, IAM 2, IAM 3).

   1. Add an in-app message step.

      1. Name the message, for example: IAM 1.
      2. At the bottom of the message, set delivery schedule to 1 day.

   2. Add a yes/no branch action before the in-app message step.

      1. Set your branching condition: previous message behavior: “IAM 1 viewed”.
      2. Follow the No branch
         1. Drag the IAM 1 to the No branch.
         2. Add a wait step for 1 day.
      3. Follow the Yes branch
         1. Within the Yes branch, repeat steps 1 & 2 for all messages, replacing IAM 1 with the new in-app message (e.g., IAM 2, IAM 3).
         2. At the final Yes branch, add tag user action.
            1. Tag the same key used in Initial setup → Step 1 segment.
               1. Example iam_journey : 1.

   

   The complete journey

Limited entry journey

Ensure users can only enter a journey a limited number of times while controlling the experience at each stage.

Journey setting	Description
Entry rules	User matches the segment criteria (for example, subscribed users or any relevant target segment).
Audience	Include your target segment. Exclude users with the tag journey_count = 2 to cap entries at two times.
Exit rules	They moved through the entire journey.
Re-entry rules	Yes, after a certain amount of time: 15 days.
Content	Provide a first-time experience on initial entry, and a tailored second-time experience on re-entry. Prevent any further entries beyond the second.

Limited entry settings

Initial setup

1. Prepare your tag strategy

   Use a user tag named journey_count to track entries.
   You don’t need to pre-create tags; they’ll be added when you set them in the journey.
   See tag action for details.

2. Configure audience include/exclude

   In journey audience:

   • Include your target segment (for example, “Subscribed Users”).
   • Exclude users where user tag journey_count is 2.
3. Set re-entry rules

   Set re-entry rules to “Yes, after a certain amount of time: 15 days.”
   This allows exactly one re-entry between the first and second runs.

Journey steps

Limited entry flow

1. Add a yes/no branch at the start

   Condition: user tag journey_count equals 1.

   • Yes branch = returning users (second entry).
   • No branch = first-time users (no tag present yet).
2. No branch (first time entry)

   • Add tag user action: set journey_count to 1.
   • Send your first-time messages and actions.
   • Continue to end or additional logic as needed.
3. Yes branch (second time entry)

   • Add tag user action: set journey_count to 2.
   • Send your returning-user messages and actions.
   • Continue to end or additional logic as needed.
4. Enforce the limit

   Because the audience excludes users with journey_count = 2, any attempted third entry will be blocked automatically.

Recurring journeys for specific days

Send recurring messages that align with a specific day of the week (e.g., weekly promotions, event reminders).

Journey setting	Description
Entry rules	User matches the segment criteria (for example, subscribed users or another relevant target segment).
Audience	Include your target segment.
Exit rules	They moved through the entire journey.
Re-entry rules	Yes, after a certain amount of time: 7 days.
Content	A weekly message sent on a specific day (e.g., every Friday).

Recurring journey settings

Initial setup

1. Configure audience

   Include your target segment so eligible users can enter the journey at any time during the week.

2. Set re-entry rules

   Set re-entry rules to “Yes, after a certain amount of time: 7 days” to enable weekly recurrence.

Journey steps

Recurring journey flow

1. Add a time window node (first step)

   Configure the time window to filter for your target day of week (e.g., Friday).
   Users entering the journey will wait until the next matching day.

2. Add your message after the time window

   Place the message node immediately after the time window so it sends when the day is reached.

3. End the journey

   Let users exit after the message sends. With re-entry at 7 days, they will rejoin and repeat weekly.

Caveat: update the message content regularly to avoid repeating the same copy each week.

Progressive journeys (event-driven)

Escalate engagement depending on user progression, monitored with wait until conditions on custom events.

Journey setting	Description
Entry rules	Custom Event = Progression_Level, with filter progression_level = 0.
Audience	Optional segment filter. You can run this for all users or restrict to a subset; no tags required.
Exit rules	- They moved through the entire journey. - Or when maximum progression level is reached (e.g., progression_level = 3). - Optionally: exit when a Wait Until node expires. - Optionally: branch from a Wait Until node to tag users who do not complete the event, leading them into a re-engagement journey.
Re-entry rules	No
Content	Stage-based messages that escalate as users complete milestones (emails in this example).

Progression journey flow

Journey steps

1. User enters the journey

   All eligible users enter based on entry rules.
   Trigger: Custom Event Progression_Level with progression_level = 0.
   Start: Immediately.

2. Level 1

   • Wait until custom event Progression_Level occurs with progression_level = 1.
   • Send: Level 1 Complete! message.
   • (Optional) Apply expiration on the wait node → exit user if milestone not reached.
   • (Optional) Branch: if expiration hits, tag the user and send them into a re-engagement journey.
3. Level 2

   • Wait until custom event Progression_Level occurs with progression_level = 2.
   • Send: Level 2 Complete, you are doing great! message.
   • (Optional) Apply expiration or branch/tag to re-engagement.
4. Level 3

   • Wait until custom event Progression_Level occurs with progression_level = 3.
   • Send: You’ve reached level 3! message.
   • (Optional) Apply expiration or branch/tag to re-engagement.
5. Exit

   End the journey once users complete Level 3, or when a Wait Until node expires.
   Optionally, use branch/tag paths to route stalled users into a re-engagement track.
   Schedule: Start immediately, Never stops.

Benefit: this method ensures progression happens only when real engagement signals occur.
Adding expiration and branch/tag logic lets you gracefully handle stalled users — either exiting them or re-routing into a re-engagement journey.

---