When I joined the company as the sole marketer, we were receiving just over 1K monthly website visitsāwith zero conversions.Ā
Most of our visitors were in the awareness stage (top of the funnel), and the conversion path on the website was not optimized.Ā
On top of that, we faced a very limited marketing budget and lacked basic marketing infrastructure:Ā
No Google Analytics set up
No audience data or clear target definitions
No email or CRM segmentation
No existing engagement or content strategy
We didnāt even know what our audience knew about usālet alone what they needed or what their pain points were.
Despite the lack of resources, I built a comprehensive and sustainable strategy to move our audience through the funnel.Ā
Here's how I did it:
1ļøā£ Foundation: Data Setup & Audience Discovery
Set up Google Analytics to begin tracking traffic sources, demographics (age, location, gender), and user behavior.
Mapped out the customer journey and conversion paths to identify key drop-off points.
Discovered that LinkedIn and email marketing were the most promising, cost-effective channels for engagement.
2ļøā£ Email Strategy: HubSpot Automation & Engagement
Designed a bi-weekly newsletter strategy using HubSpot, with automated workflows and behavioral segmentation.
Created smart audience lists based on engagement (e.g., clicks, form submissions, time spent on the website).
Implemented personalization in subject lines and content (e.g., using names, company details) to increase open and click-through rates.
Developed visually engaging emails aligned with brand design, using āF-patternā layouts for heavy contentāmaking it easier to read and follow.
Ensured mobile responsiveness, dark mode compatibility, and proper alt text for all graphics.
Set up email best practices including unsubscribe links, spam prevention, and compliant footer design.
3ļøā£ Content Strategy: Multi-Channel Integration
Launched a social content strategy to support email campaignsālike the Friday Poll Series on LinkedIn for casual, consistent engagement.
Collected responses and repurposed them in the newsletter:
āWe asked our audience... 78% said yes. What do you think?ā
This loop not only created engagement but also provided valuable data for segmentation and content ideation.
Built and updated a blog section on the website to serve as a knowledge hub. Topics included:
Hiring tips
Local job market insights (e.g., Mississauga, Brampton, Hamilton)
Industry pain points and challenges
4ļøā£ Lead Magnets & Conversion Tools
Created a high-value lead magnet:
āDownload Your Free 2025 Salary Guideā
Promoted this via email and social with clear CTAs and alert bannersāleading users into a nurture journey.
5ļøā£ Technical Optimization & Testing
Ran A/B tests for subject lines, headers, CTA placements, and graphics.
Monitored and iterated on what worked. The result?
ā”ļø Email open rate increased from 10% to 25% in just two months!
6ļøā£ Automations & Funnel Strategy
Designed automated workflows triggered by user actions:
Example: A user clicks on a CTA ā receives a follow-up email ā added to a conversion-targeted list.
Used branching logic to nurture leads toward bottom-funnel actions like contact forms or guide downloads.
7ļøā£ Performance Tracking & Insights
Regularly analyzed campaign performance and identified key improvement points.
One major insight: Email content was too long and unengaging.
⤠I fixed this by breaking it into bite-sized sections, adding visuals, and using strong, curiosity-driven subject lines.
How did I fix the engagement problem long-term?
I dove into research, reading industry essays and case studies from platforms like PapersOwl to understand optimal content strategies and engagement tactics. After multiple rounds of A/B testing, I discovered that 120 words per email was the sweet spot for our audience.
But I didnāt stop there.
To make the brand more approachable and funāwhile still staying relevant to our tech-savvy audienceāI infused a touch of humor into our identity. I even created two custom robot mascots, hand-designed and developed to reflect our industry.
These mascots became part of our email content and branding, adding personality, making the content more digestible, and increasing recognition.
Open rate increased from 10% to 21%
Over 50% reading rate
Click-through rate (CTR) hit 5%+
Built brand engagement and recognition through creativity and strategy
Created a data-driven, conversion-focused funnel from scratch
š” With zero customer data, limited budget, and no teamāthis campaign was built on creativity, strategic thinking, and nonstop optimization.Ā