One of the hardest lessons I've had to learn over the last 10 years as a performance marketer is that you can't solve every problem with ads.
Sometimes the problem truly has been created somewhere else.
Let me paint you a picture.
I was working on a client where their Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) had been trending up pretty significantly. So I retraced my steps and started reverting the changes in my log one-by-one to see if anything made a difference.
It didn’t.
So I kept digging because something was not right. I blacked out and when I came to, I was knee deep in Klaviyo looking through the email flows. I finally found it! A trigger broke with a site change and people weren't receiving their first purchase discount offer.
New perspective unlocked: I now understand the symbiotic nature of paid ads and email.
Today I’m putting this micro user journey under the microscope - visiting three brands the same way most ads deliver you (STTPP: straight to the product page) and rating their ability to get my data.
Record #1: JULY
The pop-up: They were all over me. I was met with the pop up within 8 seconds of hitting the product page. It’s worth A/B testing a longer delay or even an exit intent pop-up instead. Klaviyo’s own best practice actually recommends exit intent as it doesn’t get in the way of the person browsing.
The offer: “Free personalisation on your first order” super straightforward.
The form: Mostly easy. I wasn’t sure if I HAD to give my mobile number to get the code but it turns out I most certainly did (the sneaky break it over two screens trick). Making the phone number an optional step would get more submissions overall.
The follow-through: I got my code texted and emailed to me within a minute. Speedy!
Pretty darn good ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I took half a star away for the semi-aggressive pop up speed and the other away for making the phone number required.
Record #2: Go-To
The pop-up: This one was a very demure, very mindful “I’m here if you want me” teaser tab on the side of the product page. It didn’t interrupt browsing but I could definitely find it if I was looking for it.
The offer: “Sign up for 15% off your first order.” Very nice indeed.
The form: Couldn’t be clearer. Phone number (optional)? Music to my ears.
The follow-through: The code as promised to my inbox within seconds.
Perfectly simple ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A strong offer, user-led engagement and a fun rhyme? Consider me bribed.
Record #3: Showpo
The pop-up: Non-invasive. I had about 20-30 seconds of solid browsing before the pop up made itself known.
The offer: “You’re leaving $15 behind”. It’s giving loss aversion and I like it a lot.
The form: Honestly, it could be clearer. There’s a secondary offer within the main offer (offer-ception?) asking you to give up your birthday for a surprise gift. The extra field is slowing me down and even though it’s an optional field, it’s not obvious enough that it’s optional.
The “Keep My $15” CTA is a nice conversational touch but also a risk. I’d A/B test a more literal CTA like “Claim my $15 off” or “Get my code” to reduce the cognitive load.
The follow-through: It took a few long minutes - seeds of doubt started to grow (I'm not a patient woman). But then the code dropped into my inbox and all was right in the world.
Bold moves with mixed results⭐⭐⭐
The form starts strong with the “loss framing” and social proof (1M+ members) but then the birthday offer and the unconventional CTA create unnecessary friction at the finish line.
Final thoughts
Paid media won’t always be able to save the day.
You fight in an auction to bring people to your site, you only have their attention for a small window of time. Most of them won’t buy and you’ll then pour money into fragmented remarketing audiences to try and get them back.
The better option is capturing their data before they leave.
So when you look at your own website ask yourself this:
is the sign up offer and form simple?
could we A/B test time delay vs. exit intent or pop-up vs. teaser?
are there any optional fields that we could remove or label “optional” for clarity?
how long is the average wait time between signing up and receiving the code?
By the way, this piece isn’t an invitation to tell your email colleague that they aren’t doing enough.
It’s a friendly nudge to paid marketers that we can’t work in silos, that sometimes we need to lift our heads out of the channel data and look at the full picture.
“Mmm, it’s always better when we’re together” - Paid Ads & Email 🤝
Cheers,
Sarah Arvela Webb
Brought to you by Saz’s daylist: soft jazz pizzazz monday night.
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