workflows active: 44 last morning round: Thu 07:00 last deploy: 2026-09-03
Forbes / Self-serve 2026

Self-serve advertising lifecycle

The full-funnel lifecycle for a self-serve advertising product on DanAds: 8 programs, 29 emails, a revenue model, and the 2027 forecast now in use for vendor contract renegotiation. Built solo. Launching with the product.

Problem

A self-serve product has no account manager. Whatever onboarding, activation, and retention a human would do for a managed account has to be built into the lifecycle before launch, or you lose users before you ever get a shot at them. The whole kit had to exist on day one.

What I built

Onboarding and activation

Onboarding sequences take a new advertiser from account creation to first live campaign. Activation programs push toward the behaviors that predict a second one. With no account manager in the loop, all of that had to exist on day one.

Self-serve lifecycle danads / no account manager, so all of it is built in Account created onboarding sequence starts First live campaign the onboarding goal Second campaign activation pushes the behaviors that predict it Stalled retention sequence Lapsed reengagement sequence 8 programs, 29 emails, written and built by one person, staged for launch
The lifecycle on one line, staged for launch.

Retention, reengagement, and the revenue model

Retention and reengagement sequences for advertisers who stall or lapse. Eight programs and 29 emails in all, and I wrote and built every one. Behind the lifecycle sits the revenue model, including the 2027 forecast that is now being used in the vendor contract renegotiation.

Stack

danads / salesforce / email automation

Outcome

Built, not yet launched. The programs are finished and staged, and they go live when the product does. Meanwhile the revenue model and the 2027 forecast are already in use in the vendor renegotiation.