Email Automation Flow
Boosting Engagement by Addressing User Pain Points
Fine Day Press
Role
User Research
Journey Mapping
Content Strategy
User Flows / Wireframing
Visual Design
Tools
Figma
Adobe Suite
MailChimp
Google Analytics
SurveyMonkey
Timeframe
3 months
Understanding the Problem
Fine Day Press, a design studio specializing in premium, thoughtfully designed wedding stationery, built a monthly newsletter-based email list with over 3k subscribers over an initial 3-month period, but engagement was low, with an open rate of 3.2%, and low CTRs.
An initial review of the email marketing program identified some specific challenges:
Monthly email newsletters were based on internal ideas, not user input
Email marketing created without usability testing
Content lacked consideration of users’ pain points
Crafting a Solution
Utilizing user research and analytics, combined with fresh content writing and visual design, we created an engaging automated email campaign addressing pain points and nurturing users through the process of buying wedding invitations, resulting in an increase in click-through rate and open rate.
Final Results
Over an 12-week period after launch. Metrics are based on analytics data provided by MailChimp
67%
Open Rate Increase
54%
CTR Increase
User Research
Generating Insights
Surveys were sent to existing customers to find out more about their journey to purchase invitations, and this identified user pain points and goals.
I also reviewed website analytics and customer intake forms to create a spreadsheet identifying the primary drivers of site traffic and get to know our users’ buying patterns and ordering timeframes, shown in the charts below.
KEY PAIN POINTS
“I looked at a lot of invitations online, but the process was overwhelming - I wasn’t seeing exactly what I wanted, and I felt clueless on how to get started.”
— Eleanor B.
Journey Map
Identifying Opportunities
In our customer surveys, we asked users to tell us about their experience shopping for wedding invitations. Using that information, I created a journey map to illustrate a user’s buying experience, from exploration to brand advocacy.
Connecting Opportunities to Deliverables
Based on the opportunities found in the journey map exercise, we identified the following potential solutions:
Create a free download that addresses the most common invitation questions to encourage email sign-ups (we called this The Wedding Invitation Planner)
Follow with a series of emails providing advice and inspiration to support users on the buyer journey (for example, how to word invitations and address envelopes)
Build trust by sharing our brand story and values
Inspire confidence with testimonials from existing customers
Provide post-purchase mailing tips, helping users to complete the invitation process
Lastly, give users an easy way to leave a review via Google
User Flow:
Organizing the Drip Campaign
Final Designs
Conclusion
Email marketing automation, when used properly, is a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes - but it must take the users’ needs into account alongside the available automation tools.
Put users at the forefront of the project
Involve users upfront before developing marketing tools; find ways to collect feedback and listen to users throughout their buying journey
Create a clear plan to define project scope and keep the project on track; this is key within a large project with multiple design deliverables
User testing doesn't end after development. Design is a constant iteration of improving the experience for the end user
Further development
More automation and audience segmentation could be utilized. For example, timing emails to key dates in the user journey based on their wedding date would be a powerful benefit to users.
A/B testing could be applied to specific content within the email series for optimization.