Targeted emails in action: 3 real cases from Stripo

Targeted emails are an excellent tool for solving various marketing problems. In this case study, we'll explore three distinct targeted email sequences designed for specific purposes that have different approaches to segmentation and personalization. The email campaigns serve various goals: engaging new users, reactivating inactive readers, and gathering valuable product feedback.

Targeted emails group № 1: New Stripo users' engagement 

Marketing goal: User retention at the first stages of interaction with the product, attract new users, and keep them in the initial stages of using the product.

In particular, it is important to help those who have started creating their first email but have not finished editing it. The primary marketing goal of these emails is to ensure that the user continues to engage with the product and completes their first email. This is critical because, on average, if a user does not create an email within the first 7–10 days, the probability that it will remain active decreases significantly.

Emails from this group

Each user for whom our system receives an event confirmation indicating that they have started to create an email but have not finished receives one email. We are constantly testing this email using four options to determine the most effective approach.

1. The first version of the email directly addresses the user with the message: "We saw that you started to create your first email but did not finish it. Let us help you!" The email provides a complete guide to working with the editor, including screenshots and examples. The user is also offered the opportunity to order a ready-made template from our designers or schedule a meeting with the support team to resolve any issues.

2. The second version of the email is similar in content, but a short questionnaire is attached. We ask the user to fill it out to understand what exactly prevents them from completing the email creation.

(Source: Email by Stripo)

3. The third version is a personalized email from our CEO, Dmytro Kudrenko. It says that he has noticed the user is having difficulty and is ready to help. The email also contains a guide for working with the editor but is submitted on behalf of the CEO.

(Source: Email by Stripo)

4. The fourth version is also a personalized email from the CEO but in plain-text format. This format mimics a simple, unobtrusive text email that looks less formal than a block email.

Results of the targeted user retention emails

Thanks to the use of these emails, we were able to achieve stable results. The percentage of opening emails (open rates) varies from 35% to 42%, and the rate of clicks on openings (click-to-open rate) is from 3% to 5%. This helped significantly increase the number of users who completed their first email, increasing the likelihood that they would remain active Stripo users.

Targeted email group № 2: Reactivation of inactive readers 

Marketing goal: Permanent hygiene of the list of readers and reactivation of inactive users.

Maintaining the purity of the contact list is essential in our work with newsletters, particularly through reactivating those who have stopped interacting with our emails. This is not just a formal process; it helps preserve a high domain reputation and ensures our emails land in the primary inbox rather than the spam folder. The main marketing goal of this sequence is to separate inactive users from active ones, ensuring our emails are only sent to those genuinely interested in the content.

The structure of the email series

This automatic sequence consists of three emails. One changes depending on the season, and the other two are evergreen, suitable for any time.

The first email is sent to subscribers who last opened our emails a long time ago. The following emails are sent only to those who have not read the previous ones.

1. The first email is focused on a variety of interesting content that can be used regardless of the link to our product. It can be a marketing calendar, crash tests, white papers, eBooks, or email reviews. The main goal is to interest the user by making him want to interact with the content.

(Source: Email by Stripo)

2. The second email uses situational content that changes depending on the season. For example, now it's email about going back to school, soon it will be email about Halloween, and so on. In addition, the email contains templates that the user can consider.

3. The third email is the last attempt to attract the subscriber. If they do not respond to previous emails, we suggest that they fill out a short form where they can explain why they are not interested in the newsletter. After that, the subscriber is automatically unsubscribed and goes to the inactive segment of users.

Results of reactivating subscribers using targeted email sequence

Here are the results we got for each of the emails:

Thanks to this email series, we achieved an important result: about 30% of users who initially did not interact with our emails became active again after the first email. Another 15% was added after the next iteration. This strategy allows us to maintain a clean readership list, maintain a high domain reputation, and ensure the maximum effectiveness of our newsletters.

Targeted emails group № 3: Survey for gathering valuable product feedback

Marketing goal: Researching to improve the functionality of modules in Stripo.

At Stripo, we constantly improve our products based on our users' needs. Observing users' behavior through analytics and asking them about their experience interacting with the functionality is important. For this purpose, we surveyed those actively using Stripo editor modules. This initiative allowed us to identify critical issues that prevent us from using our tools effectively and find ways to solve them.

Our marketing goal for this targeted email was to conduct in-depth research on how users interact with modules in the Stripo editor. We had to collect their opinions on what they lack, why they use the modules this way and not otherwise, and what can be improved.

The email with the survey form

This campaign was manual and included one email in which we reached out to users who were actively using the modules in the Stripo editor and invited them to take a survey. The unique aspect of this email was that we focused on the segment of users who were already engaging with the modules' functionality in the last 30 days (except those who just registered), allowing us to collect relevant information for further product improvement.

(Source: Email by Stripo)

In the survey email, we asked what prevents users from working with modules, what they lack, and what they see as ideal improvements to this functionality. Getting specific insights and suggestions was essential to better understanding user needs and planning further functionality development.

Targeted email campaign results

The open rate was 34.4%, and we collected about 120 relevant responses. This data became the basis for further discussions with the product team. User feedback has provided valuable input for improving the module library search functionality and the naming pattern for custom modules.

It also turned out that users really need a separate workspace for working with modules. This allowed us to prioritize work on creating a full-fledged module space, similar to the functionality of working with templates.

Overall, this survey helped us understand what was bothering users and provided us with influential insights that helped shape our plans to improve the modules in Stripo.

Wrapping up

Email marketing should be attractive and an effective tool for interacting with users. The Stripo team is actively working on creating targeted emails that help retain new users and collect valuable data for product development.

Here are the life hacks we got as a result of this work:

1. Focus on users — understanding the needs and behavior of users is a key element in creating effective email campaigns. Consider feedback from your customers.
2. Testing options — regularly testing different approaches and email formats helps you find the most effective solutions for user retention and engagement.
3. Invest in analytics — use surveys to gather user insights to improve the product functionality that your customers need.