Crafting Success: A Case Study on Building DIY Brand Growth through Engaging Email Marketing

After two months, we were able to achieve a 19% increase in revenue for a POD brand.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

• There was a monthly revenue increase of 19%.

• The additional revenue generated in the first 2 months amounted to $105,000.

BRAND STORY & CHALLENGES

The e-commerce store operated on a print-on-demand business model and primarily catered to customers in the US and Canada. Its unique offering allowed visitors to upload a photo, which would then be transformed into a sketch of a painting. Customers would receive the drawing within a few days and could spend time painting it with their loved ones. The most popular photos uploaded were of family members and pets. The store's motto, "Happiness is … listening to your dog snoring while painting his photo," captures its warm and humorous approach. When marketing to this audience, friendly and witty copy with an appealing design was necessary to promote the products effectively.

We encountered several technical challenges during the project.

To begin with, we needed to establish an email marketing system and website popups to boost the number of email subscribers.

In addition, with Black Friday just a few days away, we didn't want to miss out on the chance to launch the project.

Lastly, we aimed to incorporate SMS and Messenger marketing into our strategy effectively.

BEFORE

• The email marketing sequences were rudimentary, with only an abandoned cart flow.

• The Wheelio popup had a high conversion rate, but it attracted subscribers who were not highly engaged.

• Neither email nor SMS marketing generated any revenue.

• Moreover, the strategy employed for Black Friday campaigns was ineffective.

BEFORE WORKING WITH US

AFTER

We made significant progress in overcoming the technical challenges:

• We created 9 different email sequences, which enhanced the effectiveness of our email marketing.

• The Optinmonster popups were branded and segmented, leading to the acquisition of highly engaged subscribers.

• We implemented professional SMS and email marketing, resulting in a significant increase in Messenger marketing revenue.

• Our Black Friday strategy involved warming up the list before selling to the engaged segment, which proved to be effective.

• An omnichannel approach was applied, tightly connecting email, Messenger, and SMS with our strategy.

RESULT AFTER 1 MONTH

RESULT AFTER THE FIRST 2 MONTHS

HOW WE HELPED

We typically begin our work with new clients by setting up email automation since it often has the most significant impact on their business.

There were two abandoned cart flows because the store used both regular Shopify checkout and OCU (One-Click-Upsell) checkout.

We segregated the email flows for subscribers based on Mobile vs Desktop usage to obtain more information on the quality of traffic.

The original Wheelio popup installed on the client's website was turned off because it typically resulted in low-quality subscribers, despite its higher conversion rate. Instead, we set up Optinmonster popups that allowed for more targeted segmentation and trigger customization.

The results of our efforts were immediately evident as the welcome flows generated substantial revenue within days of activation.

Our subsequent hurdle involved effectively implementing SMS and Messenger marketing.

To facilitate Messenger marketing, we utilized Recart, and our initial focus was on establishing passive Messenger flows.

These flows, akin to email flows, were targeted at inactive website visitors and included:

• Abandoned Cart flow

• Messenger Receipt

• Messenger Fulfillment Notification

• Loox customer review Message

Our main challenge was to attract more Messenger subscribers and decide on a suitable welcome flow for them.

To this end, we adopted the 'Discount Widget' and the 'Order page subscription,' similar to the approach taken with another client in the linked case study above.

We also employed active automation with Recart custom flows, but the outcomes were not as successful as with this particular client.

To manage SMS marketing, we opted for SMS Bump.

Using this platform, we configured various SMS flows, including:

• Abandoned cart flow

• Win-back flow

• Upsell flows for new and returning customers

• Welcome flow for new subscribers

Since SMS is a more intrusive medium, it necessitates sending fewer but more impactful messages. Moreover, we had to ensure compliance with legal requirements and account for customers' varying time zones. (For instance, sending 10,000 text messages when people are sleeping is not advisable.)

We faced the challenge of obtaining high-quality SMS subscribers and discovered various methods, including offering VIP incentives through a floating button on the website, using website popups in addition to email popups, and creating separate landing pages. To further expand our subscriber base, we offered extra discounts to those who subscribed to our SMS and Messenger lists during our Black Friday and Christmas campaigns. We also sent out content, customer reviews, and surveys in preparation for Black Friday, followed by email campaigns targeted at engaged customers and SMS campaigns targeted at existing SMS subscribers. To maximize our omnichannel approach, we actively promoted our Black Friday Messenger flow with Sponsored Messages. We achieved similar results during Christmas and even provided a free downloadable Christmas Messenger flow. After only two months of working together, we added an extra 19% in revenue, doubled Messenger revenue, and implemented SMS, resulting in an almost doubled revenue per subscriber rate in just a few weeks.