Behavioral nudges involve sending the right message, at the right time, to the right people. Using queries and Deliver, you can identify and capitalize on the critical moments in the constituent journey with thoughtful, action-oriented outreach.

This guide helps you think strategically about when and how to use behavioral nudges.

What is a behavioral nudge?

A nudge is a message sent in response to a student’s activity (or inactivity) in Slate. It’s triggered by what a student has just done (or hasn’t done), and it serves as a prompt, a reminder, or a next step.

Nudges are timely, relevant, and behavior-specific.

What you'll create

• 🤔 A brainstorming list of behaviors you want to send nudges for

• 🔎 A recipient list query to target constituents who demonstrate these behaviors

• 📣 A personalized message that encourages the reader to take the next step

Step 1: Identifying nudge-worthy behaviors

Focus on moments where students often pause, hesitate, or drop off.

These are inflection points: moments where communication can move someone forward.

Step 2: Defining the audience

Use person- or application-scoped queries to define your audience based on:

• Application status

• Checklist completion

• Event attendance

• Communications received or clicked

• Decision and reply status

• Deposits received

Populate your query with exports like Preferred Name, Program, and Next Deadline to personalize your message content with Liquid markup.

▶️ Action Item: Build your recipient list

Sample nudge scenarios

Step 3: Match the message to the moment

A nudge is effective to the extent that it is aware of the recipient’s current context:

• ✅ Good Nudge: Hi {{Preferred}}, we saw that you recently submitted your application. Nice work! If you're ready, your next step is to upload the required materials. We're here if you need anything.

• ❌ Poor Nudge: Dear Student, you are missing documents. Please submit soon to avoid delays.

A good nudge is:

• Supportive

• Specific

• Personalized

• Actionable

Step 4: Schedule the mailing

In Deliver, schedule your mailing to run on a recurring basis—daily or weekly. This ensures that as soon as someone meets the criteria in your query, they’ll receive the nudge automatically.

You can also:

• Set a delivery window (e.g., only on weekdays)

• Use a population to suppress repeat recipients

• Use expiration dates to stop mailings after deposit deadlines or events

▶️ Action Item: Schedule the mailing on a recurring basis

Final thoughts

Not every behavior needs a message. Be thoughtful. If a student is clearly moving forward on their own, they don’t need a nudge.

Ask yourself:

• Have they already taken the action this message promotes?

• Have they received a similar message recently?

• Will this message feel like help—or pressure?

Use additional filters or populations to avoid over-messaging.