In the fast-paced world of email marketing, efficiency and quality are paramount. At Stripo, we understand this need and are excited to introduce our new real-time Co-editing and Version History tools.
After a thorough beta testing phase involving diverse participants, we’ve gathered valuable insights and feedback. In this article, we will tell you how the new features help email marketers speed up email production and make it more convenient.
Why did we develop real-time Co-editing and Version History?
Collaboration tools are an essential part of team workflow optimization during email production. We at Stripo had the hypothesis that the inconvenience of working together in email editors is due to technical stoppers that lead to the following:
- Loss of time waiting for corrections and approvals at various stages of email production — namely, when a person opens and closes the editor to save changes, then sends a message about the changes made or waits for feedback from colleagues.
- Problems in communication between team members — it is uncomfortable to communicate due to the constant switching between different tools and many distracting factors.
- The absence of a sense of teamwork — everyone feels isolated when creating an email, which precludes the feeling of co-creation, and there is no co-creation effect.
Because of these and other issues that teams face in the email production process when two or more people are involved, we added collaboration tools to the Stripo editor. Real-time Co-editing and Version History were the first functionalities implemented.
Real-time Co-editing
Real-time Co-editing functionality allows several participants to simultaneously edit the email layout without leaving the editor and see all the changes made by every team member.
This means that you can now collaborate with your colleagues on email development, invite your teammates, assign specific roles, and enjoy collaborative efforts to speed up email creation.
Version History
Version History provides a comprehensive log of all changes made to your project, including those made by your colleagues working in Co-editing mode. It was developed to let you see and control the changes, easily restore any previous version, and roll back to any previous version of your email.
The Co-editing feature allows teams to collaborate in real time, making the email creation process faster and more efficient. Meanwhile, the Version History tool ensures transparency and control, allowing members to track changes and quickly revert to previous versions.
Beta testing process
At the end of June 2024, we initially opened access to the real-time Co-editing and Version History functionality to beta testers — about 500 members. After two weeks, when we ensured everything was working perfectly, we made it available to 120,000 members already using the new editor. A special email informed all participants about the opportunity to use the new features.
These features are now available to 150,000 members with the new Stripo editor.
In preparation for this article, we emailed over 14,500 contributors with a short survey to get their impressions of the new editor.
User reviews
Our beta testers, ranging from digital agencies to SaaS companies, have reported significant improvements in their workflows. They highlighted how these tools helped streamline their processes, allowing them to focus more on strategic marketing activities.
In their answers, members who used the Co-editing functionality noted some of the most helpful uses and results:
- improved communication and reduced likelihood of errors, as all project participants could see changes in real time;
- the email production team inside the company can simultaneously work on an email template to speed up the process;
- creating emails using a modules and templates library by different email marketing specialists;
- tracking changes and quickly reverting to previous versions;
- in case of errors, the Version History function allows quick restoration of the desired template;
- enables different persons from companies and agencies to participate in email production together.
Read more about the benefits of real-time Co-editing in email production.
How Stripo's new collaboration tools help email marketers
Here are a few cases to show you how the approach to teamwork has changed in email production with the function of simultaneous editing.
Case 1: Sprint for editing email layouts
One of the members shared how their team worked to create a new template for their back-to-school campaign. Imagine that the deadline is rapidly approaching, and the work is boiling. They have to change the layout, check the adaptability, agree on the texts and visuals, and do it all in a few hours.
How it was:
It used to be like a game of ping-pong: One makes changes and closes the editor, the other opens it, checks, gives feedback in Slack, and so on in an inefficient back-and-forth. Also, if they need to change something quickly, they have to write and specify precisely what the colleague was doing.
Firstly, time was lost due to the necessity of constantly opening and closing the email layout in the editor so that the changes made by another person are reflected in the template. But if the email is being edited, then updating it will not lead to anything because it has its own session. There were often situations in which updates were not saved and had to be done from the beginning.
Each team member had to open and close the editor repeatedly, which was not only a waste of time but also very inconvenient.
Secondly, it was necessary to signal the changes somewhere — to constantly communicate simultaneously via different messengers — in Slack and email. And it's also inconvenient.
As well, when you go to your inbox, something inevitably distracts you. If a person who, even for those few minutes, can be of great importance, went to make tea while waiting for an answer, then another person, having made an email, is waiting for an answer at this time. When the colleague does not receive the reply immediately, he or she may switch to another task, further delaying communication. This simply delays the production for an incredibly long time.
How it works now:
With the new real-time Co-editing feature in Stripo, people can work on email layouts as a real team: One edits the title, another changes the image, the third adds links, and the manager monitors the whole process in real time. For example, during editing, a designer proposed an alternative block design, and a colleague immediately saw the changes and approved them.
Everyone can see what everyone else is doing and coordinate changes instantly. It's convenient, fast, fun, and, most importantly, effective.
We will soon add a commenting feature, making communication during email production even more convenient and fun.
Case 2: Instant content adjustment
One of our members noted that they made the most significant changes in the part of the flow related to text editing.
How it was:
They approved all the emails' texts in Google Docs because it is convenient to leave comments and make corrections immediately. But when it came to importing texts into the email editor, problems began: Some formats were not saved, some elements disappeared, and the whole process turned into error correction. This was especially critical when deadlines were burning and every minute counted.
They used Google Docs mainly because they were used to it, and everyone involved in email production knew this tool. In addition, they did not need to be invited to any system, so they could quickly communicate there.
How it works now:
With the new Stripo feature, the team decided to try a different flow. The whole team edits content for regular emails in the editor. For example, when they work on the final email for a big promotion, a copywriter edits the text, a marketer puts the finishing touches on the offer, and a designer ensures that everything looks perfect. And all this in one place, without switching between tools.
They instantly see all changes, can discuss them, and correct them on the go. Because the entire process takes place in one system, this saves a lot of time and reduces the risk of errors.
If necessary, you can make a copy of the block, for example. Everyone will make suggestions and then they will decide on the best option.
They noted that such work gives the feeling that something is happening there. Even when you're waiting and staring blankly at the screen and thinking about something, you're not a team. And now Stripo lets you see how the cursor moves and who is working on what. When you see which colleague is working, you feel a sense of involvement in this process. This improves team communication.
Case 3: Collaborating on HTML code
Another of our members shared a situation of simultaneous work in the editor on HTML code.
How it was:
Periodically, the team needs to create complex HTML templates for vital email campaigns. For example, there is an urgent need to fix the code to display a new promotion or to change the email's responsiveness for mobile devices. It used to look like a daunting quest: One colleague opened it, edited the code, and closed it, and only then could another one open it and see the changes. But this often led to confusion when someone forgot to save changes or misunderstood exactly what needed to be fixed.
How it works now:
Now, with the new simultaneous Co-editing feature in Stripo, everything has changed because it is available not only for drag-n-drop but also for HTML code editing. Imagine that you can edit HTML code together in real time, see each other's cursors, and see how the code changes literally before your eyes. For example, you add a new block with an offer, and, at the same time, your colleague revamps the styles to display correctly on all devices.
No delays, no misunderstandings — you both see the same picture and agree on edits instantly. This not only saves time but also reduces the risk of technical errors that could ruin your campaign. This makes the Stripo editor really flexible and, ultimately, essential.
Wrapping up
We have studied all the insights and will continue to improve this functionality in Stripo. The main thing we saw from our members' answers is that thanks to real-time Co-editing and Version History, Stripo empowers marketers to craft high-quality emails easily and quickly, freeing up time for marketing activities.
In addition to reducing the time for email production were the following non-obvious insights on the Stripo editor:
- it fosters a sense of teamwork, even for remote teams;
- it increases control over the work process — the more systems, the more chaos, and the less control;
- it increases the focus of attention because there is no need to switch between different tools and wait for a response;
- it frees time and energy to focus on strategic tasks rather than technical details.
With Stripo, crafting high-quality emails has never been easier or faster. Try out our new features today, and experience the difference for yourself.
If you've also tried Stripo's new collaboration features, let us know what you think about them. We'll be happy to include your cases and impressions in the article.
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