Fine Day Press
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 email engagement was low, with an open rate of 3.2%, and low CTRs.
An initial review of the email marketing program identified some potential areas for improvement. Monthly email newsletters were based on internal ideas, not user input. We suspected that the more generic content may lack consideration
of users’ pain points.
Could we boost email engagement by prioritizing content that addresses user’s pain points?
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 a sizable increase in click-through rate and open rate.
Team
Ashley Austin, Product Designer
Caroline Gormley, Content Strategist
deliverables
User Research
Journey Mapping
Content Strategy
User Flows
Visual Design
Tools
Figma
Adobe Creative Suite
MailChimp
SurveyMonkey
Final Results
open rate increase
CTR increase
Over an 12-week period after launch. Metrics are based on analytics data provided by MailChimp.
User Research
Generating Insights
Surveys were sent to existing customers to find out more about their journey to purchase invitations, and the results from 30+ participants 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.
Common 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 illustrating a user’s buying experience, from exploration to brand advocacy. This helped identify specific opportunities where we could affect the sales funnel.
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: 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
The drip campaign was structured around an initial sign-up point — accessed via the website, mobile site, or landing page — with an immediate email containing the free download link, followed by 10 emails sent over a 9-week period.
Final Designs
(excerpts from a series of 10 emails)
Learnings
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
Plan for further development:
Given the scope and resources of a small business, this project was an ideal size to kick off an automated email campaign. Now, with a good baseline, the program could be significantly expanded.
Audience segmentation could be utilized, timing emails to key dates in the user journey based on their wedding date. The email series could be expanded to 20, or 30, emails to cover a longer timeline, since we know customers’ journeys are often a several month timeframe. A/B testing could be applied to specific content within the email series for additional optimization.