Drip Campaign - Cadence

[Anonymous]

I am setting up my first drip campaign and have some questions on cadence, triggers and program setup. 

We're launching a training program for existing clients of one of our products which runs for the first 90-days after signing up for the tool. This is a new initiative, so we are opting in current clients, and then new clients willl be added to the program, as they are onboarded. 

Few questions: 

1. The cadence is not static, meaning some weeks we need to send two emails, other weeks only one, to keep within the 90-day schedule. Do I have to setup different streams for each week to do this? And if so, how do I set the trigger rules to push people into next stream? 
2. We are connected to Salesforce CRM which powers the program smartlist. What is best practice for opt-ing in new members so they start at the beginning of the program?
3. We're planning to launch within the month, so we need to skip two weeks in December because of the holiday season. Do I need to create a new campaign for members that are opted in after January or is there a workaroud? 

Thanks in advance, 

Ashley 

[Josh_Hill13]

Ashley,
 

This slide deck will help
http://www.slideshare.net/jdavidhill/marketo-engagements-and-drip-nurturing-boston-user-group-dec-10-2013

1. Yes, you need separate Streams and will have to push and pull people between Streams. Use Transition Rules or have separate smart campaigns to manage this. You probably will need several smart lists and campaigns external to the Transition Rules.
2. As long as they are unsubscribed=false, you can push any lead into the engagement. Depends what your triggers are. I prefer criteria not associated with SFDC Campaigns, but you can do that.
3. You should setup a holiday campaign that says "On December 15, pause everyone in the Engagement who is still active, then wait until January X, 2015 and set to Normal"