How do I create direct messages to go to users after they've been a member for a certain amount of time?

Unfortunately, I think your only options to do that are:

1. Ranks
2. Badges
3. Automated Email campaigns 

All have trade-offs and complicating factors of how you actually get to that point: 

• Ranks - if you’re trying to use other criteria for ranks AND adding time-based things, you’re effectively multiplying your number of ranks and creating a complex web. 
• Badges - Adds a lot of clutter on their profile, and there’s not a way to award badges based on time / age of profile
• Email campaigns - You’d need to figure out a way to adding a custom user role that triggers the automated email to them

It would be a lot easier if they deliver this popular idea: 

Or the Email campaign gets a lot easier if they add the ability to send automated emails based on segments: 

It’s a lot easier to build time-based segments and then when someone meets the segment criteria, they would get that email. 

Or even this one would help:

The webhook could trigger the automation to add the custom role to the user, which would trigger the automated Email campaign. 

But if you prefer the direct message part, your best bet is Badges or Ranks

Thinking through this a bit more, here’s a convoluted workaround way you could get what you want. 

1. Badges for each time-based milestone you want to send messages for; set them up with the automated message*
2. Automations based on new user sign up that waits {time period} then awards them the badge via the API
3. (Optional) remove the badge (via API) as part of the automation if you don’t want a bunch of low relevance / low importance badges cluttering up user profiles 

I’m pretty sure the automated message that comes with the badge will remain even after you remove the badge, but you should test to be safe. 

*Your automated message doesn’t need to reference a badge at all if you’re doing step 3. They don’t need to know the badge exists. You’re just using it as a vehicle to send the automated message. 

hi ​@Gaby I think it depends on what you message for each email would be. If it's just an memory about being a member for x weeks, perhaps a badge with an email notification can work.

But if you want to have more context in them to motivate them to engage in the community, I would recommend to sent them out via email campaigns. 

Today we launched out community and I have the following emails set up in 2 different languages:

• Day of registration: More extensive welcome email, highlighting the first few things people can do in the Community
• 3 days after registration: Email about completing their profile and setting up their notifications
• 7 days after registration: How to create your first topic and tips to engage with other topics
• 14 days after registration: Explain other features in our Community, such as product updates, user groups and events. 

All of these are send through the email campaigns in CC. 

As we just did the official launch of our community today, I have planned some time for myself in 4-5 weeks to evaluate the emails and see roughly how they perform and then improve them where necessary. 

Thank you ​@DannyPancratz and ​@Sanne van Opstal-Brakel ! I think we may end up using the email campaigns feature instead as we’ve had a high deliverability through that. Might play around also with some of these workarounds.