The Challenge

Black Ember had reached a plateau in their email revenue, with earnings remaining relatively stagnant. They were handing email in-house, but were struggling to unlock the untapped revenue potential within their audience and expand their email list.‍When they approached us, Black Ember sought out help in leveraging their audience's potential for increased revenue and in growing their email subscriber base.‍We recognized that their strategy lacked optimization in automation, lead capture, and regular communication with their audience. They were also neglecting huge SMS marketing opportunities.

The Strategy

To address Black Ember's challenges, we initiated an approach aimed at optimizing their email marketing and introducing a successful SMS program.‍First, we conducted a thorough evaluation to pinpoint areas of opportunity. Identifying their current ESP (email service provider) as a limiting factor in revenue scaling, we facilitated a transition to Klaviyo, a platform better suited for growth. We focused on establishing core automations and launching their SMS program to broaden their communication channels.‍Our collaboration involved direct engagement with the company's President. They appreciated our dedication to their brand's success and were satisfied with the expertise provided by our email and SMS teams.‍Prior to our involvement, Black Ember's email campaigns lacked personalization and dynamic product recommendations. By integrating this into their evergreen campaigns, we saw a notable increase in engagement. We successfully encouraged 7% of their engaged email audience to opt-in for SMS within a year, enhancing their overall marketing reach.‍In terms of specific strategies, we created a monthly email campaign calendar, suggesting topics that not only engaged readers but also educated them about the product line. Black Ember is not one to offer a discount code, so we worked with the brand to deliver a unique lead capture strategy involving a monthly giveaway, enticing users to opt-in for email and SMS marketing without compromising the brand's integrity. This approach brought exceptional results, surpassing even industry standards for opt-in rates.

Examples

By implementing an SMS marketing program, we were able to enhance audience engagement, boost overall retention revenue, and generate excitement around new Kickstarter campaigns and product launches. Our collaboration led to a remarkable achievement, surpassing one of their Kickstarter goals by 19x. Our first Kickstarter campaign with Black Ember raised $98,465, exceeding their initial $5,000 goal. This campaign marked our introduction of SMS marketing for their product launches, proving highly effective in driving engagement and revenue.

‍Black Ember had some great video content that was not being utilized in their email program. We added clips of these as GIFs to their site, making the emails more engaging and visually appealing. This educated their audience and reinforced their image, further establishing their brand. 

‍We wanted to find a way to add dynamic recommendations to customers via email marketing, so we showed them products that they had previously browsed or added to their cart. This served as an incentive to purchase these items, increasing both order and click-through rates.

‍Social clout had a large impact on increasing the placed order rate of emails. The reviews and press features were not being strategically utilized, so once we implemented these into their emails, it built trustworthiness and had an impact on convincing non-customers to place their first order.

Proven Success

One of the most rewarding aspects of our work with this client was the substantial impact we made on their revenue growth. By addressing missed opportunities and optimizing their email and SMS strategies, we were able to significantly increase their monthly revenue. Their email and SMS revenue tripled year-over-year, demonstrating the effectiveness of our approach.

What's particularly exciting about this success story is that a significant portion of the revenue growth stemmed from their existing audience. This highlights the untapped potential within established customer bases and highlights the importance of maximizing engagement and conversion opportunities. It's a testament to the power of strategic marketing efforts in unlocking additional revenue streams and driving sustainable business growth.

Visual Representation of Results: Engaging Email Content

Below are a few examples of the engaging, visual appealing emails we curated for their email list: