Mapping "entry points" and technical requirements

The first step in preparing the project was the identification of all email database "entry points". More specifically, which channel the students came from, what content they have already experienced, and what their goal is at that specific user journey stage. 

This mapping can be done in various ways, but I chose Excel because of its simplicity. It also ensures that all employees involved in the project have access to the file, since the company already uses Microsoft Suite. 

The process is straightforward: list every channel that adds students to the database and analyze each one. The table below illustrates the mapping inside the file without the actual contents due to NDA reasons.

The analysis showed that there were 3 general categories of 'entry points': quiz (10), form (14) and scholarship application (8).

Documentation and guidelines

Documentation played a central role in planning and creating these automations, since the project was completely new. In practice, this meant we had no established campaign model to follow, and each person had their own definition of a “good” campaign because we had no clear, consistent guidelines. Therefore, we needed to establish a clear standard and define what a “good” automated email campaign looks like. As project manager and lead, I led that work.

This process consisted of 3 phases:

1. Organizing information

2. Defining of technical requirements

3. Writing detailed guides on the email marketing process/workflow

Organizing information

To make information easy to access for all team members and colleagues, I created a Microsoft SharePoint site. I chose a site over a PDF so we can update content as needed and store all resources on the company cloud. Below is a screenshot from this site.

Defining technical requirements

The guidelines cover maximum text length, brand identity elements, font sizes and colors for text and links, content structure, platform-specific technical requirements, and the UTM code structure for tracking campaign performance. 

The screenshot below shows a snipped of the technical requirements page.

There were a few goals that we wanted to achieve with these automations:

• Re-engage students

• Diversify traffic sources to include email

• Improve students' experience with our scholarships (reminding them to complete the second application form and sending an immediate rejection email to students who don't meet the degree level requirements).

Note: I cannot show the exact tool and automation due to NDA, so I will use sketches that recreate the logic of the  algorithm.

Below is the sketch of the algorithm for the 'standard' automation we used for all emails except scholarship application emails.

Below is a simplified algorithm for the 'scholarship application' automation.

The purpose of this automation were:

1. Remind students who are eligible to complete the second half of the application with an instant follow-up email;

2. Keep students who have successfully applied in the loop by suggesting more scholarships;

3. Redirect students who don't meet the eligibility criteria towards scholarships that match their profile (for example, if a Bachelor's student applies for a Master's scholarship, they will receive an email explaining they are ineligible for the scholarship, along with a list of Bachelor's scholarships they can apply for).

Personalized email content plays a key role in keeping users engaged. 

The content and approach of each message we created depended on the user’s goal. For example, someone who requested a motivational letter template has different needs than someone who completed a study methods quiz. Campaigns, tone and content were purpose-built to match those needs, interests and user journey stages.

The main questions we asked ourselves in the process of creating campaigns were:

• What does the student want to achieve?

• What information does the student need to make a decision?

• What is their next step?

• Do we have relevant content that could help the student?

• Does the tone match the situation?

• What is the age/maturity level of this student?

• What are their concerns or problems? Can we address/remove them?

Examples of the 'standard' email campaigns

Examples of the 'scholarship application' emails

For the campaign that is sent out when students meet the eligibility criteria (left image below), we did a few A/B tests to see whether students prefered longer or shorter text, and if they engaged with additional resources on writing scholarship cover letters. After several iterations, we discovered that students converted the highest.

The 'rejection' campaign was a little more difficult, because we didn't want to immediately throw a wet blanket on the student's hope of winning a scholarship. So, we framed it more as a positive: you gain other Master's scholarships instead of losing the Bachelor's scholarship you're ineligible for.