Our case study series, “Email Marketer’s Code,” brings you another exceptional example from a seasoned marketer. In this edition, leading email marketing strategist Viivika Lumberg shares how she implemented a trigger-based email strategy that boosted CostPocket’s user engagement by 60x and helped save the business.
In this in-depth look, you’ll discover how Viivika’s approach, driven by user behavior and thoughtful automation, took the app from a 1% conversion rate to an impressive 65% completion of user profiles. If you’re looking for insights into using email sequences to guide users and increase conversions, this case is packed with valuable lessons you won’t want to miss.
Expert
About Viivika Lumberg
Viivika Lumberg is a seasoned freelance email marketing strategist with a deep passion for data-driven marketing and organizational behavior. Focusing on maximizing the potential of email campaigns, she has a track record of delivering exceptional results to her clients. For example, her work with CostPocket led to a remarkable tenfold increase in conversion rates from trial users to paid customers, all thanks to well-crafted email flows. Her expertise also extends to improving email engagement through the use of advanced analytics and segmentation tools for her clients.
As the founder of Maildo, an email marketing agency, Viivika successfully managed everything from email strategies to technical setups and GDPR compliance. Her leadership and strategic vision were so impactful that Smaily later acquired the agency. Currently, Viivika is a freelancer in email marketing and deliverability. Driven by a commitment to continuous improvement, Viivika steps into businesses to craft tailored email marketing strategies that not only meet but also exceed expectations, delivering measurable results every time.
Viivika shares her experience in creating a strategy and setting up a trigger email campaign, the main goal of which was to convert leads interested in the product into users.
Trigger-based emails are the best noninvasive way to communicate with your clients at the right time with the correct message. Although they can sometimes be challenging to set up, I guarantee that they are worth the hassle.
Viivika Lumberg,
About CostPocket
A bit more about the starting point: CostPocket (previously Tsekk.ee) is an expense management app that digitizes data from receipts and invoices and helps with expense and travel reports. It is not just an app for collecting expense documents. The magic happens when all the data are sent into accounting software in digital form, so no accountant needs to do any manual entry.
About seven years ago, I faced a question: What do you do if you have a really great product that will make your life 20 times easier, but setting up the account is a bit tricky, and you probably need the service only a few times a month?
We have two options:
- One option is to call each of your clients and help them through the initial setup process, but this approach is not scalable.
- Another way is to automate the process with the help of emails.
The marketing challenge: Only 1% of leads became active users
The CostPocket problem was that it was downloaded by clients who made the first step (created an account), but only 1% of those people actually started to use the app.
The root of the issue was simple: During the process, people were asked many questions, some of which were quite tricky, like, “What ERP does your accountant use?” Many people left without returning.
The solution to that concern required time and patience. We knew that the only correct solution would be to guide people through the sign-up process by triggering automated emails once it became apparent that the user was getting stuck.
Unfortunately, at that time, it was not an option, as the system CostPocket used did not allow for the use of trigger points to send emails. So, all that we could do was set up a list of emails that all users would receive after signing up and giving us their email addresses, which was the only piece of available information at that time.
Solution: 8 trigger emails that boosted conversions
As the first step, we created eight emails, the first of which convinced the user to continue with the sign-up process. Additionally, we had a case study to show the service’s benefits, an email with a joke (yes, that is fine if you know your customers will appreciate it), and a few others. The automation was based on only one trigger (sign-up time), and all the emails went out to everyone, so segmentation was not implemented.
You might assume that sending triggered emails based solely on sign-up would result in extremely low open rates and click rates, as you do not actually know whether the recipient still has any interest in your product.
Well, I have to surprise you: the average open rate for all the emails in the list was 42%, with the first email averaging a 54% open rate and the last averaging a 33% open rate.
Click rates for those emails were somewhat less important, as we did not have a system to direct people back to the app. Therefore, the emails contained most of the necessary content in the email body, and the CTA directed recipients to a blog post with a longer explanation of the same topic.
What did the emails look like? They were extremely simple:
(Source: Email from CostPocket)
We added one picture to every email and included a short tutorial text, aiming to take no more than one minute of the recipient’s time to read the email. Additionally, we included the name and picture of an actual customer support person at the bottom of the email.
Results in numbers: A tenfold increase in completed profiles
The mailing statistics were described earlier:
- the average open rate for all emails was 42% (ranging from 33% to 54% in individual emails);
- the average click rate was 3.7% (ranging from 0.1% to 9.9%);
- the actual business win is that thanks to those emails, CostPocket gained 10 times more completed profiles — or, in other words, paying customers.
Hurray!
To be continued…
Two years later, we introduced a second version of the email flow, which earned the nickname “The Monster.” By then, the app had evolved significantly, allowing us to identify exactly where new users were getting stuck during the sign-up process. We also made the entire user journey smoother, thanks to feedback from our customers.
We no longer wanted to send seven emails to each new customer, as that could be considered spamming.
What did we do?
- Instead, with the help of the IT department, we set up triggers for each step in the sign-up process.
- We realized that one email per trigger is not always enough. This meant that our “Monster” became even bigger and included more emails: on average, every trigger had three emails, resulting in more than 20 emails in total.
Important note:
Remember, the trick is that not everyone receives all the emails! The triggers were set up so that if someone did not complete step 2 in the sign-up process, they received an email the next day with a description of how to complete the step. If they completed the step and moved further in the process, or even finished it, they did not receive any additional emails.
However, if they still did not finish the second step, they received two additional reminders. If nothing happened, they were moved down to a general flow explaining the app’s benefits, which included three additional emails. If the client did not “wake up” with those emails, we stopped emailing them and considered them nonclients. - Design-wise, we moved toward a simplistic design, as seen below. We experimented with the copy at least three times and continued to improve the text.
(Source: Email from CostPocket)
This is a complex solution that requires extensive testing and thought to ensure that your clients receive only the necessary emails and that the sequence stops as soon as the required action is taken.
The results are worth the trouble, though:
- the average open rate for all emails was 53% (ranging from 42% to 70% in individual emails);
- the average click rate was 7.7% (ranging from 0.1% to 16.9%);
- the average percentage of completed profiles is now 65%.
Of course, it is not just the emails — the number is approximately 600% better than at the starting point because the process itself has also been rebuilt at least five times and constantly tested on users, and marketing is doing more precise targeting.
Wrapping up
We are grateful to Viivika Lumberg for the inspiring case she shared with us. CostPocket’s success with trigger emails highlights the power of targeted, behavior-based campaigns. Here’s how you can apply these lessons to your email marketing efforts:
- Leverage triggered emails — set up automated emails based on user actions. Identify key points where users need guidance and send timely helpful emails to keep them engaged.
- Continuously optimize your flows — test different email sequences and refine them over time. Don’t be afraid to expand your flow as needed, but ensure that each email serves a purpose.
- Keep it simple — use clean designs and concise content. Quick, easy-to-read emails with clear calls to action will boost engagement and help drive conversions.
These strategies will help you build compelling, high-performing email campaigns.
P.S.: Are you a practicing email marketer and have a case study of an outstanding email campaign that you want to share with the community? Write to us, and we will discuss it.
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