Behavioral Strategy · Email Marketing

Where behavior science meets the customer journey.

Independent consulting for brands that want smarter email programs — grounded in how people actually decide, not just how we model them.

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Open rate

34.2%

+8.1pp lift

Conversion

6.7%

+2.4pp lift

Revenue/send

$3.18

+41% YoY

Journey architecture · welcome series

Trigger

›

Segment

›

Engage

›

Convert

SELECT s.EmailAddress, d.LoyaltyTier
FROM ENT.Subscribers s
JOIN DE.CustomerData d
ON s.SubscriberKey = d.ContactKey
WHERE d.DaysSincePurchase < 90

Services

Journey Implementation

End-to-end SFMC journey architecture — trigger logic, decision splits, personalization rules, and exit criteria built to convert.

SFMC Journey Builder Triggered sends A/B testing

Most requested

Data Segmentation

SQL-powered audience strategy — dynamic segments, suppression logic, and behavioral cohorts built directly in Marketing Cloud data extensions.

SQL SFMC DE Audience logic Suppression

Automation Strategy

Lifecycle automation design — triggered workflows, re-engagement programs, and behavioral cadences grounded in how customers actually behave.

Automation Studio Lifecycle Re-engagement

How I work

The approach behind the work.

Every engagement starts with understanding the data before touching the platform. Here are two examples of how I think through common problems.

Retail · Welcome series

Rebuilding a broken onboarding journey from the data up

When a welcome series isn't converting, the problem is almost never the creative — it's the logic underneath. My approach: start with a SQL audit of suppression gaps, send windows, and segment overlap before rebuilding a single step. The result is a journey that reflects how subscribers actually behave, not how we assume they do.

Journey Builder SQL audit Behavioral triggers SFMC

Insurance · Lifecycle program

Building an analytics foundation for a multi-brand email operation

Reporting that can't answer "why did this happen?" isn't reporting — it's noise. For complex multi-brand operations, I design the data architecture first: ingestion strategy, ERD, KPI definitions, and a phased project plan. That foundation makes every optimization decision downstream faster and more defensible.

Data architecture SFMC ingestion KPI framework Analytics

Engagement model

How we work together.

Every engagement is scoped to what you actually need — no retainer minimums, no bloated teams. Pricing depends on scope and time required, so let's talk through what makes sense for your situation.

Strategy Sprint

Let's discuss

A focused 2–4 week engagement to diagnose a specific problem and produce a clear action plan.

✓ Audience or journey audit
✓ Strategic recommendations doc
✓ SQL segmentation review
✓ 1 presentation to stakeholders

Implementation

Most common

Let's discuss

End-to-end build of a journey, segmentation system, or automation program in SFMC.

✓ Full journey architecture + build
✓ SQL segments + data extensions
✓ QA, testing, and launch support
✓ Handoff documentation

Ongoing Advisory

Let's discuss

Fractional strategist on-call — for teams that need senior thinking without a full-time hire.

✓ Weekly strategy sessions
✓ On-demand SQL + journey reviews
✓ Program performance analysis
✓ Flexible scope, month-to-month

About

Behavioral strategy meets technical execution.

I'm Jason Sisley — a behavioral strategist and email marketing consultant with 15+ years building programs that actually change what customers do. My edge is the combination: I understand why people behave the way they do, and I know how to build the systems that act on it in Salesforce Marketing Cloud.

I've led lifecycle strategy at the EVP level, built and managed agency teams, and worked across retail, insurance, financial services, and more. I work independently now — which means you get senior-level thinking on every engagement, not a junior team with my name on the door.

Behavioral psychology SFMC Journey architecture SQL segmentation Lifecycle strategy Automation Studio

On LinkedIn

Follow →

Jason Sisley

3 days ago

Most email "personalization" is just first-name tokens. Real personalization is behavioral — it's knowing where someone is in their decision journey and sending the message that matches the moment...

Jason Sisley

1 week ago

The curiosity gap isn't a trick — it's a fundamental feature of how the human brain allocates attention. Used ethically, it's one of the most powerful tools in email marketing...

Jason Sisley

2 weeks ago

SQL in Marketing Cloud isn't a technical nice-to-have. It's the difference between sending the same email to 500k people and sending the right email to the 12k who are actually ready to act...

Contact

Let's talk about your program.

Tell me a bit about what you're working on. I'll respond within one business day — and if it's not a fit, I'll say so upfront.

Prefer to connect directly? You can find me on LinkedIn or reach out by email. I'm based in Chicago and work with clients across North America.

[email protected]

linkedin.com/in/outsidetheaviary

Based in

Chicago, IL · Available remotely