Overview
Press Loft is a leading online PR platform that connects lifestyle, interiors, and gift brands with journalists, bloggers and influencers, helping brands generate valuable media coverage. With a global presence, Press Loft enables brands to showcase their products to key media outlets and streamline their PR efforts.
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I worked with Press Loft in 2022 to optimise their email outreach campaigns and improve engagement with potential clients through strategic, integrated campaigns via paid ads, content personalisation & email sequences.
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I mentored and supported a junior member of the team enabling them to take over the running of both nurture campaigns for existing clients and cold outreach messaging.
Nikki Snell, Founder & CEO, Press Loft
Rachel's expertise in email marketing and automation has been invaluable in improving our outreach efforts. She helped us resolve complex issues with our automation platforms, significantly boosting email engagement and trial sign-ups.
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Challenges
Press Loft was facing several challenges in scaling their cold outreach efforts and improving email campaign performance. These obstacles affected their ability to drive free trial sign-ups and convert leads into long-term clients.
01.
Cold email engagement issues
Press Loft’s cold outreach emails were not performing as expected. They needed improvements in messaging, content personalisation, and targeting to increase engagement and response rates.
02.
Automation & data flow disruptions
There were ongoing issues with the automation platforms, including Lemlist and Make, that disrupted the flow of data and hindered campaign delivery, leading to missed outreach opportunities.
03.
Limited campaign optimisation​
The existing email campaigns lacked dynamic content and testing mechanisms, limiting their effectiveness. There was a need to introduce A/B testing and optimise content to better resonate with the target audience​.
04.
Manual campaign management
Due to a lack of robust automation, much of the email campaign management was manual, increasing the workload for the team and making scaling difficult.
05.
Trial conversion rates
Although Press Loft offered a 60-day free trial, they struggled to convert trial users into paying clients, highlighting the need for better lead nurturing and follow-up processes
Solutions & strategic approach
Cold email optimisation
I reworked the messaging of Press Loft's cold email outreach to focus on more personalised, engaging content.
I introduced recommendations to add visual elements, highlight unique value propositions, and incorporate testimonials to build credibility
Mentoring junior team member
I worked with a junior member of the team to mentor her on best practices for email communications, helping her understand how to tailor messaging for cold prospects, warm leads, and existing customers.
This mentorship allowed her to develop a more strategic approach to email outreach, improving her confidence and skills in managing future campaigns.
Improved automation
I worked closely with Press Loft’s CTO to address the issues with data flow between Lemlist and Make.
This involved troubleshooting the webhook and campaign sequence setups to ensure the correct data was being fed into the campaigns and that emails were sent at the right cadence​
A/B testing & email personalisation
To improve the effectiveness of email campaigns, I proposed A/B testing of subject lines, content structure, and calls to action.
This helped identify what worked best for different audience segments, leading to more refined campaigns
Lead nurturing campaigns
I developed a 10-step lead nurture sequence aimed at free trial users to better educate them about the platform’s benefits and drive conversions.
This included follow-up emails designed to guide users through the trial experience, increasing the likelihood of conversion
Paid ad integration
I collaborated with the paid ads team to create targeted ad campaigns on platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, and Google, designed to complement the cold email outreach.
This approach maximised visibility and provided additional touchpoints to drive free trial sign-ups.
Results
Higher engagement in email campaigns
Improved automation & data flow
Increased free trial sign-ups
Enhanced lead nurturing
Mentoring & team growth
Optimised paid ad performance
By optimising email content and introducing A/B testing, open and click-through rates increased across the board, improving overall engagement with cold outreach prospects​.
The issues with Lemlist and Make were resolved, ensuring smooth data flow and more consistent email delivery. This reduced manual intervention and allowed for more efficient campaign scaling.
The integration of personalised cold emails and paid ads contributed to a measurable increase in free trial sign-ups from target brands in the lifestyle and interiors sectors​.
The 10-step nurture campaign for free trial users helped improve the conversion rate of trial users to paying customers, providing a more seamless journey from trial to subscription​.
Through mentoring the junior team member, I helped build internal capabilities for email communications. The team member now confidently manages email campaigns, with a deeper understanding of how to target cold prospects, nurture warm leads, and engage existing customers, resulting in more strategic and effective communications.
The paid ad campaigns, integrated with email outreach, delivered a higher return on investment (ROI), with more targeted traffic being driven to Press Loft's landing pages and trial sign-up forms.