Context

Email campaign promoting travel apparel to an engaged but unevenly segmented audience.

Goal:

increase click-through and direct revenue.

Version A (Control)

Discover Our New Waterproof Travel Shorts

Version B (Variant)

One pair of shorts.
Ocean. Rain. Street. Trail.

Hypothesis

Minimal, identity-based framing would outperform feature-driven language.

Result

- Higher CTR

- Revenue lift from the engaged segment

- Improved engagement consistency

TL;DR

Specific imagery and identity framing outperform descriptive features in retention emails.

Context

Campaign targeting local farmers to participate in a regional food initiative.

Previous ads leaned institutional and underperformed.

Version A (Control)

Join the Valley Food Partnership and strengthen our regional food system.

Version B (Variant)

Farmers don’t need another meeting.
They need fewer middlemen.

Hypothesis

Plainspoken, culturally aligned language would outperform nonprofit framing when targeting working producers.

Result

- Higher engagement rate

- Improved click-through

- Increased interest from qualified participants

TL;DR

Audience alignment matters more than organizational tone.

Context

Managing social content for a destination-based hot springs account.

Initially hired as a writer and so strategy leaned copy-forward:

- captions carrying narrative weight,

- structured hooks,

- written context.

Engagement plateaued.

Control (Copy-Forward)

Long-form caption explaining water temperatures, amenities, and seasonal programming.

Strong storytelling. Moderate engagement.

Variant (Image-Led + Minimal Copy)

High-quality photography prioritized.

Caption reduced to a punchline:

“102 degrees. Snowing. Still worth it.”

Or:

“Hot water. Cold air. No complaints.”

Hypothesis

For a visually driven destination account, photography would outperform narrative-heavy captions in driving engagement and click-through.

Result

- Higher engagement rates

- Increased saves and shares

- Stronger CTA response when copy was reduced to punchline-level framing

- Performance was driven by image quality, not narrative density.

TL;DR

Sometimes the strongest copy is restraint.

Context

Local coffee company reliant on in-person farmers market sales.

During the pandemic, physical distribution collapsed.

Existing emails were informational:

“Here’s where to find us this weekend.”

No embedded commerce.

No direct purchase path.

Revenue depended on foot traffic.

Control (Informational Email)

We’ll be at the farmers market this Saturday from 8–12. Stop by for fresh beans and say hello.

No links.

No structured CTA.

No online purchase option.

Intervention (Single-Template Commerce Pivot)

Rebuilt the newsletter template to:

- Embed a direct “Buy Now” button

- Highlight limited availability

- Clarify shipping logistics

- Reduce text density

- Frame purchase as support + convenience

Example shift:

Before:

“Hope to see you Saturday @ this location and Thursday and Friday the 18th @ this other location.”

After:

Can't make it to the market this weekend?

Fresh Costa Rican roast dropping this weekend.

Delivered to your door.
Order before Sunday.

[ Buy Now ]

Hypothesis

Reducing informational language and embedding direct purchase pathways would convert passive readers into online customers.

Result

Transition from in-person dependency to viable online revenue

Increased direct-to-consumer sales during market shutdown

Established email as a commerce channel, not a bulletin board

TL;DR

Access beats announcement.

If readers can’t click, they can’t convert.