The Blackwell Playbook

If your partners offer similar products, don’t be afraid of losing business to them: Promote their offerings as complementary to your own. You can provide value to your audience by showing that you’re interested in helping them solve their problems. Just be sure to have your partners do the same! A rising tide floats all […]

A great tactic to boost engagement is to let your audience go behind the scenes. One interesting email campaign idea is to share the tools that you use in your business. People love reading about tech and productivity, so these emails enjoy a high open rate and help your customers find value in your emails.

Previous customers are a great audience because they’re already familiar with your company’s offerings. Reach out to them with special offers, such as a welcome-back discount or an exclusive sale. Often, you’ll find that they’ll not only purchase more, they’ll spend more than they did the first time. If your product is something that they’re […]

Get the wisdom of the crowd in deciding what to cover next in your blog or email newsletter. Your audience loves to feel included and special. You might even consider soliciting their industry advice or the story of how they use your product, then feature the best quotes in your upcoming content.

Offer variable rewards that make your audience’s engagement with your copany into more of a game. For example, some companies will even include games on their page in which you can win a certain discount code or free gift. People find games of chance addictive  — tap into this to get them addicted to your […]

If customers find that their card isn’t accepted, they’ll likely only try once more before abandoning their cart. Often, this can be as simple as a mistyped card number or zip code. It’s important to minimize their stress and make it easier for them to try again — especially on mobile. Don’t make customers log […]

If one of your users or customers is mentioned in a post, let them know — and be sure to follow up whrn the post is liked or otherwise engaged with. This in turn helps keep that user engaged.

Never assume that a user can easily navigate your user interface, especially if your design isn’t intuitive. While it’s always a good idea to put human-centered design (HCD) into practice, you should also add labels and descriptions to help the user understand what they’re doing on your site or app. And never trick users into […]

Don’t skimp on your website’s “About” page! This is a great opportunity to communicate your brand to people and share your company story. By creating an emotional connection with your audience, you can help encourage engagement with your company. Avoid sales-y language on this page: be fresh and relatable.

Try developing your email pipelines for specific product purchase. You can then retarget customers with related or complementary products. Doing this shows the customer that you appreciate them and their business, and can boost your customers’ lifetime value (LTV)!

After their initial purchase, there is a 27% chance that customers will return for another purchase. After the second visit, this likelihood increases to 54%. One effective tactic for encouraging customers to return for that second purchase is to send them a coupon for a discount of their next purchase. The increased customer lifetime value […]

Don’t forget to let your current subscribers know when a new product drops or something trends in your store or on your site! Keep your audience in the loop with email marketing that taps into your current happenings and re-engage previous buyers.

Your audience gets hundreds of sales pitches per day. Stand out from the crowd by being unique! Focus on your company’s story or give your audience a behind-the-scenes look into your business. Creating an emotional connection with your customers is the key to lasting success.

For longtime, regular, or premium customers, offering priority customer support can be a great incentive to upgrade or an effective means of building customer loyalty. You’ll find that providing higher tiers of support is well worth the expense in terms of the increased customer lifetime value (LTV) and good reputation that your company will gain.

Use the concept of visual hierarchy to make your user interface more intuitive and encourage engagement. Your website design should compellingly use colors, typography, layout, and icons to facilitate their navigation of your site. Remember, the less the user has to think, the more likely they are to engage with your company.

Clunky, large carousels can be distracting or even slow down your page, but if used effectively, they can be a great use of real estate. Keep carousel images simple and powerful, and use simple text descriptions or CTA buttons rather than long captions.

If you have long-term customers or clients, consider setting aside time for review or followup calls with them. Not only will this demonstrate that you care about their experience and appreciate their business, but it’s also a great source of data and feedback to guide your business growth.

Few things strike fear in the Internet’s heart like a checkout page or form that gives no indication that things went through successfully. Ensure that you have a thank you message in place to confirm that the transaction or submission was successful! This not only prevents duplicates that cost you money and make a bad […]

If someone shares your content and someone else likes it, be sure to let the original sharer know! Be selective with this tactic, especially if someone gets a lot of likes on their share.

Instead of asking for confirmation to complete a process, offer an undo option. Users like to feel like they’re in control and can correct any mistakes, but if they didn’t make any mistakes, being asked to confirm can be annoying and might even derail their completion of the process.

If you offer a service, always offer customers a discount for paying on an annual basis, whether it’s a lump sum payment or a discounted monthly rate on the basis of a yearly contract. This encourages customers to sign up and boosts your retention rate.

If you’re running an online community or marketplace, populate it with fake accounts — or enlist a bunch of friends — to give it some activity and entice new people to join.

Customer requests are always something to consider for future iterations of your product or service. When you do implement a request, always email the customer(s) who requested it to let them know. Most customers never hear back from companies that take their advice into account, so doing so sets you apart and boosts your retention […]

Consider making your webinars premium, i.e. available to paying customers only. This boosts your retention rate by helping your customers feel valued and special — plus, they may gain a better understanding of how to use your product or service. For your nonpaying customers and leads, email them to invite them to webinar if they […]

While menus help keep your site tidy, many users don’t click on dropdowns. Make important navigation options open and obvious for your users to boost conversions and help them spend more time on your site..

When your users mention other users, be sure that you have an alert system in place. This tactic helps build community and encourages retention by helping your users feel connected and validated.

It’s easy to add a favicon and gives a little something extra to your website. Plus, if people bookmark your site, they’ll see your logo rather than a generic globe or bookmark icon, boosting your brand awareness.

Rather than having your blog post’s title as your URL, use your target keywords to compose your slug. This is a great way to make your URL both “pretty” and SEO-friendly. Plus, if someone pastes the link in their post, the anchor text will drive related keyword traffic to your content!

A Qualaroo survey allows you to send followup surveys that are customized by what someone said or how they responded in the original survey. This method lets you evaluate your customers’ responses and gain further information needed to market your campaign, or go in-depth with qualified customers who want to give you further feedback.

Add a sidebar widget to your site or platform to show trending items, whether they’re products, blog articles, or user plans. That way, even if users land on a page that doesn’t interest them, they’ll see your other products or content.. Plus, people like to feel like they’re in-the-know and special, so they’re more likely […]

Wherever you use your logo on your website or platform, make it link to the home page to provide consistency, aid navigation, and meet web design best practices.

Get valuable data on your customers’ and clients’ experience by sending an email link to a SurveyMonkey or Qualaroo survey. Follow up with respondents to make them feel heard, and put their recommendations into action. You can also send out an email listing the improvements or make a post on your blog.

After your customer or client comes on board, send a welcome email that includes a quick intro or tips for success through your product or service. This email shows that you care and can help get customers and clients excited to take full advantage of your offering.

Many users sign up for your service or download your app, then never use it. Get these users back on track by sending them an email with the necessary steps to reactivate their account or get the most out of your service. Leverage your existing content to create a guide for them, and include links […]

A new platform or app can be intimidating, so find a way to offer your customers a step-by-step guide or helpful tips to navigating it. Develop an onboarding system that incorporates FAQs, a “getting started” guide, and anything else that might be helpful for new users. This will help encourage users to keep using your […]

To err is human — and your human users will make mistakes. However you can help them fix those mistakes will improve their user experience. Don’t make your forms so rigid that they can’t easily fix incorrect entries, and offer the option to change their email address, name, password, and other personal information in their […]

Send new or prospective users an email with testimonials, videos, or infographics showing how other customers have used your product or service. Especially if your leads have bounced or dragged their feet in signing up, you can put their minds at ease about any concerns they had about your product.

If some of your regular users or visitors haven’t been around for the past 30-60 days, send them an email reminder to check out what’s new on your site. Retaining these customers boosts your overall sales and retention, plus they are easier to retarget than other users.

Build a knowledge base filled with tutorials and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), and place a prominent link to it in your site navigation. This should cut down on the number of customer support requests you receive, and it also demonstrates that you care about your customers.

Recommend content, products, or services to users based on their previous actions on your site. This can lead users down a rabbit hole of discovering your other offerings and spending more time on your site. They’ll also be much more likely to convert when they see things tailored to their interests!

Having a dedicated account manager sounds like a great idea, but what happens when too many clients need something at once? Train your entire support and sales team to help anyone, thus improving your customer satisfaction rate.

Use deep linking to seamlessly blend the user’s experience from their browser to the app store to the app. Users don’t want to lose the content they were looking at before they clicked on your app store link, so ensure that their content will carry through to the app, once it’s installed!

Fold testimonials into your marketing campaign. Focus on stories that emphasize lesser-known features or showcase unique scenarios in which your offering saved the day. Some of your audience may not have realized the full potential of your product or service, and a testimonial can help show them the way!

If your users connect your social accounts to your service or platform, you’ll have access to valuable data. However, getting users to connect can be challenging. To incentivize it, offer a small discount or reward if they connect their social account.

If you’re running a platform for your users, enable them to import their contacts from their phone or social media networks. This is not only convenient for them, but can drive further sign ups.

Surprise your followers with a free gift. This can improve your retention rate and perhaps even surprise users into making a purchase that they wouldn’t have otherwise. That’s because your customers like to feel valued, and they are more likely to engage with a brand that they think cares about them.

No matter how close your mobile app is to your web version, there will be differences. To improve your retention rate, offer users a brief tutorial or navigation on how to use the mobile app, and build in reminders to use the mobile app when people access your regular site through their mobile device.

To re-hook customers who haven’t purchased in a while or who let their subscription expire or cancel, offer a discount or free month or other incentive to bring them back. Many people simply get busy or distracted and need a reminder about your company. A “welcome back” offer can remind them of the good experience […]

Offer exclusive content and discounts via email to your Most Valuable Customers (MVCs). These people are especially likely to recommend you to people in their personal networks, and offering them extra goodies might just seal the deal!

While Facebook and Twitter favor shorter videos, YouTube videos perform better if they are longer, because Google considers longer viewing time a sign of good engagement. Plus, the longer they watch a video, users tend to go down a rabbit hole watching related content from your channel.

One core segment of your retargeting efforts should be people who made one purchase but haven’t purchased since. Use ads to show them products that complement the ones that they purchase, or suggest to them that they shop for gifts. This tactic resonates with customers who are pleased with their purchase but simply haven’t made […]

Use multifunctional controls in your user interface (UI) to decrease clutter and improve navigation. Remember, the UI should put the user first! Think about what would make the UI design and functionality cleanest and simplest for your customers.

While marketing is ultimately about promoting your business, you should still approach your creative assets from the perspective of what you can provide your customers. Put their needs first and add value, whether it’s high-value content in your marketing or value in terms of the pricing that you offer them.

If your users engage with someone who’s followed by an influencer, send them an email or other alert telling them as such. This provides users with validation that they’re connected to important people on your platform.

Use an email drip sequence to offer top tips in your industry. Buffer it with quotes from influencers and data from your own research, if applicable.

If you’re running a platform, recommend content to users based on whom they follow and engage with. This helps boost retention by continuing to provide users with relevant, high-value content.

Track down the sites that are continually giving your competitors backlinks. This may be a review site or industry blog. Reach out to the publisher with your own high-quality content to encourage them to create backlinks to your site. Tip: infographics and data are always good ideas to pitch to publishers.

Initial welcome emails produce 320% more revenue per email than your standard marketing email. Make it count with a personalized welcome message from your founder or CEO. Consider soliciting user feedback and offering assistance to make your product or service worth it for the user.

Most users are on mobile and are limited in how they can navigate the web. That means that once they’re done looking at your landing page, they’re more likely to bounce. Solve this problem by implementing an infinite scroll to automatically load more content as soon as the visitor “finishes” the landing page.

If you notice that your product has a frequent area of confusion or concern, create and distribute detailed documentation with plenty of how-tos and FAQs. Your users will feel glad that they can find answers and not have to send emails or make phone calls, and your brand’s reputation will be boosted.

Boost both your retention rate and customer lifetime value (LTV) by rewarding your best/frequent customers with special offers and discounts. The more that customers feel acknowledged and appreciated by shopping with you, the more likely they are to make a repeat purchase.

If you’re running a platform, activate keyboard shortcuts to make it easier for your users — especially those who navigate only by keyboard. For example, let the arrow keys move the user around the user interface (UI), or offer keystrokes/shortcuts for commonly executed actions.

About 25 percent of all your users only access websites on mobile devices. If your website isn’t “responsive,” meaning that it adjusts flexibly to the screen size and dimensions that the user has on their device. Ensure that your web design is responsive so that nothing is cut off or shrunk to the point of […]

Whether we’re talking branding or your actual products, it’s important to be consistent. Use a consistent, cohesive visual identity and tone, make your similar products consistent in design and features, and be consistent in scheduling and releasing content. This tactic builds trust with your users.

Don’t rearrange your UI with no warning to your users. Introduce big changes gradually, such as by offering the option to let a new sidebar slide in rather than suddenly appearing, and roll out a “tour” for users to help orient them to the changes.

If you ran a giveaway or contest, you certainly had more losers than winners. Most people are used to never hearing back about a contest or sweepstakes they entered. Make your audience feel like winners by offering a discount to entrants who didn’t win. You’ll boost retention and let your audience know that you value […]

Your top-performing, best-quality content likely hasn’t made it to all of your audience. Send out an email showcasing your best stuff to get new eyes on your top content and boost your retention rate.

A zero data state is one in which your user has nothing to input into your user interface (UI). This is most common among new users, but can be frustrating if there is no instruction on how to proceed. Ensure that you make your design intuitive, and foolproof it by offering an onboarding how-to guide […]

If there’s one golden rule about web forms, it’s that they will malfunction and/or cause confusion among users. Never assume that your forms are fool-proof. For example, if the user enters a password that doesn’t meet the password requirements, don’t let the form reload and dump all the information they’ve already entered. That’s a great […]

If your subscriber’s payment method fails, the surest way to ensure a permanently lost subscriber is to let it slide. To get subscribers back on track, send email notifications alerting them to update their payment method and make it easy to do so. Many users let automatic payments happen and don’t pay them much mind, […]

B2B companies, especially those that offer Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) can really benefit from focus groups that provide them with real-world feedback. Recruit your top users by offering a reward, such as a free month or discounted annual rate, then hold a meeting (virtual or in-person) to talk about the user experience, performance issues, and anything else […]

Always include author bylines on your blog posts. This not only builds good relationships with guest bloggers, but it also boosts trust with your audience and helps them make a human connection. Feel free to include a bio as well that lists the author’s experience, degrees, certifications, or other qualifications. And when you’re a guest […]

If you’re running a platform, notify users when users they follow post new content, especially if the content creators are high-profile. This tactic encourages users to return to the platform, thereby boosting your retention rates. 

Image galleries get a bad rap for being space hogs and accessibility nightmares, but if done well, they have a lot of potential to highlight your products. Try taking photos of your product from different angles, then collecting all shots in a single gallery. You can also use galleries to highlight the customer journey, such […]

Analyze your visitor data to identify users who are at risk of “churning,” i.e. abandoning carts or bouncing. You can then target those users with discount offers, mailing list signups, and other tactics that boost engagement and reduce your bounce rate.

When your user’s shared content is reshared, be sure to let them know. People get an endorphin boost from knowing that their content performed well. Just don’t overdo it — focus on high-performing reshares or reshares by influencers.

Don’t neglect the different needs and wants of mobile versus desktop users. Mobile users are typically arriving at your content via a voice search or app. They’re not sitting down to do extensive research. Desktop users, on the other hand, are taking more time to browse the web. Consider adjusting your pages to prioritize different […]

As a rule, users hate filling out forms. That’s why dozens of add-ons and browser functionalities have been developed to make it easier. On mobile especially, though, these systems are still not perfect. Make it easier to capture your leads by pre-filling user data with information from their mobile devices. 

Improve your platform or site’s efficiency by decluttering your user interface (UI) and/or menus. Combine similar links or destinations, eliminate items that aren’t performing well, and keep imagery sleek and simple.

Personalized subject lines cause a 22.3 percent increase in their open rate over emails. People like seeing their name. Your lead capture form should be as simple as possible, but it’s usually worth it to collect first names so that you can make your emails friendlier.

When customers buy your product or sign up for your service, offer them a way to share the purchase on social media. This tactic helps create a sense of social commitment. Those who commit alone and don’t share what they’re doing are less likely to follow through. Plus, this is a great way to obtain […]

Use a widget to highlight the latest blogs, products, or other content. This tactic drives users to pages that may not yet rank highly. Plus, people like to feel like they’re “first,” so you’ll likely see a boost in readership and purchases.

Capitalize on people’s fear of missing out (FOMO) by sending them updates from your platform or social media profiles. Use language such as “Did you see this popular post?” or “You missed our flash sale!” to encourage people to visit your content.

If you offer a service that customers would use on a regular basis, make it a subscription model: Collect their payment information and charge them on a recurring basis. This tactic allows you to make it easy for your loyal customers, while improving retention rates. Users who are evaluating your service or uncertain about it […]

If you offer products in multiple categories, take advantage of each single purchase to offer related products to the customer. Send an automated email within 24 hours of a purchase, and highlight other products from the same category. Customers are likely to purchase again while your brand is fresh in their mind.

Many top-performing companies benefit from using humor in their advertising. This tactic can boost engagement and build a sense of connection with your customers. That said, it can easily backfire. Subtly test humorous copy and see which style — dry, goofy, self-effacing, etc. — best resonates with your audience. Then, roll out humorous ads slowly […]

In general, it’s a best practice to use a one-column layout in your landing pages. You don’t want users to feel overwhelmed by information or uncertain as to where to click. Plus, a one-column layout better enables you to put your call-to-action (CTA) front and center.

Start a webinar series that offers exclusive knowledge or great conversation to potential customers or industry publishers. Choose a topic to discuss in general and select one or more moderators to guide the discussion and offer a presentation. Then, conclude with an explanation of your company offering. A good rule of thumb is to devote […]

After users log out of your platform, don’t just say “Bye.” Show them highlights of your latest platform updates, new features, or exciting content on the platform. You just may entice them to log right back in.

Liven up your signup process with natural-language input. Form providers such as Typeform facilitate this approach, in which leads enter text into fields that constitute blanks in existing sentences, Mad Libs- style, rather than filling out a formal form.

Roll editorial content into your email marketing. Curate content in your industry, show the best of your blog, and otherwise provide value to your subscribers, rather than just being “sales-y.” These types of emails are more often forwarded to other people, thereby increasing your subscription rates. Plus, you’re more likely to boost your open and […]

If you’re running a platform, especially one in which people share or save content, roll out a Chrome and/or Firefox extension to encourage users to take full advantage of your platform. Anything you can do to remove hurdles such as the annoying process of copy-and-pasting of links or images will help boost engagement on your […]

If you’re rolling out new features or products, don’t lose customers who might cancel without ever having the chance to try them! Regularly announce what’s “coming soon” and highlight new items or features on the cancellation page. This tactic can help prevent people from cancelling because the product or feature they want isn’t there. If […]

Send an email promoting a certain product to customers who have purchased items in the same product category. This tactic helps encourage customers to return by showing them products relevant to their interests.

Never crowd elements of your webpage together: It looks very old-fashioned. Keep plenty of white space for a more pleasing and functional user experience.

On your product or pricing pages, show local currency rates when possible. This tactic helps you to reach international audiences and affirms that you do indeed serve customers in their country.

Use the onboarding process to make a personalized impact. Offer to onboard users manually and help ensure that everything goes smoothly. Customers will feel respected and appreciate the convenience. This tactic can improve your retention rate.

Nothing quite expresses gratitude like a handwritten “Thank you” note. Take a page out of Etsy and eBay sellers’ playbooks and use handwritten notes to thanks your customers. This tactic can boost customer satisfaction and encourage loyalty.

Incentivize your customers to give feedback by offering a reward, such as a discount or gift card, in exchange for their time.  Send them an online survey to save time and money, then offer them a discount code upon completion. Tip: Focus on open-ended questions, e.g. “Why did you decide to upgrade to a paid […]

Customize your onboarding process according to the source of the subscription.  For example, if someone comes in via your general profile, they likely need full onboarding. A user who came in via a product page likely just wants information on that product, so tailor your onboarding accordingly.

Customize your onboarding process according to the source of the subscription.  For example, if someone comes in via your general profile, they likely need full onboarding. A user who came in via a product page likely just wants information on that product, so tailor your onboarding accordingly.

Always provide the status of an action that your customer took, such as placing an order. Don’t leave them to wonder if the item has been shipped yet or what’s going on. Clear communication is the key to customer loyalty.

Consider sending automatic password resets to users who enter their passwords wrong 3 times. You don’t want users to get frustrated and end up leaving your platform. Make it convenient for them to get back on board!

If you’re using borders or frames to define and demarcate parts of your user interface (UI), consider decluttering your design and making it look less ‘90s. Excessive borders can be distracting and off-putting to visitors. Instead, use color-blocking and/or white space to define your UI.

Use a widget on your landing page to show visitors which posts, products, or services are your most popular posts or products. People like to follow what other people are doing, so this tactic is a nice psychological trick to encourage purchases or upgrades.

Social listening is the practice of monitoring social media feeds for posts about your brand — both positive and negative. A study from Lithium Technologies indicated that more than half of consumers who message a brand directly expect a response within an hour. Be sure to set up automated responses on platforms such as Facebook […]

Resurrect a top-performing article or other content from a past email campaign. Your newer subscribers never got a chance to see it, and your older subscribers might have forgotten it. You know it performed well, so give it a chance to shine again and watch your click rates rise.

Many products, especially software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions can be daunting to new users. Some will abandon the product if they don’t understand how to use. Send a tutorial email as part of your onboarding process to help retain customers. 

If you’re running a platform, regularly remind users to chat with you if they have any questions or concerns. You can usually set custom rules to trigger these messages, such as X number of minutes on the site or X number of days without activity on the platform..

Use vector images on your site: They scale up and down easily, making them ideal for your responsive website design. This tactic helps ensure a better user experience. 

Keep your payment page simple and separate from the rest of your site. You can usually build this page through your payment gateway. Changing up the theme of this page can make customers nervous, so go with a classic look: white background, simple layout, and clear indicators of your brand and security measures.

Re-send email campaigns to members of your audience who did not open the first one. Ensure that you wait a week or so before re-sending and change the subject line to avoid spam complaints.

Podcasts are great ways to establish your brand authority, drive traffic to your website, and produce a passive income stream. Do some research to see what topics your target audience might be interested in, then recruit leaders in your industry to be guests on your podcast. Release content regularly and promote the podcast on your […]

Advertise collections of items or complementary products rather than individual items. You can make “suggested pairings” or offer a bundle deal if customers purchase multiple, related products at the same time.

Use a simple form to make it convenient for customers to contact you with any questions or concerns. Rather than hiding the form on a separate page, add it to a sidebar or footer to keep it within easy reach

Improve the clarity and aesthetic of the elements in your user interface by combining or hiding tooltips or labels whenever possible. For example, you can unveil tools upon hover rather than listing out every possible option.

Have separate styles for links that the user is hovering over or clicking, as well as a distinct style for any link indicating their current position. This tactic enhances your UI by helping orient users, and it also provides visual cues for people who navigate your website via keyboard.

When designing your user interface (UI), allow flexibility and delays that suit your user. For example, don’t automatically close menus or on-hover elements if the user accidentally moves the cursor slightly outside it. You should test your UI extensively to ensure that it doesn’t have annoying side effects.

When designing your user interface (UI), use familiar symbols, typographic elements, and orientations. Don’t make users try to figure out an alien system. This tactic can boost conversion and retention by minimizing distractions for the user.

If a friend of a user joins the platform or posts an engaging post, notify the user to help boost your retention rate.

Offer seasonal content — and promotions — in your email and social media marketing campaigns.  There is always something to tap into, whether the first day of spring or National Pizza Day. Think of clever ways to boost engagement with your content and offer discounts or coupons as appropriate.

Whenever you release a new feature on your platform, email your users to let them know. This tactic will reactivate many of your inactive users, while motivating new users to use the platform. Bonus points if you can point to a development that was requested by users!

Customize the onboarding experience by using deep links to collect user data. For example, if one of your users referred a friend, the friend can see an acknowledgement of this referral in their onboarding process. Deep links provide a powerful way of boosting retention by making the onboarding process as personal as possible.

Once your app is love, prioritize fixing bugs, speeding up the app, and stabilizing the build so that users don’t get frustrated. Aim to provide a quick turnaround on responding to bug reports and feature requests. Remember, users can easily rate the app, so keep them happy!.

While it’s best practice to keep your forms as short as possible, sometimes you need to have multi-page signups. Let the user know how many pages or fields to expect, or show a progress bar, to help set expectations. This tactic can prevent users from bouncing or cancelling their progress if they get fatigued by […]

If you’re running a platform, don’t send email notifications for every event. Tailor them to the user’s interests and priorities, or send a roundup on a daily or weekly basis.

If you have a lot of content on your website, offer a site search functionality to help users avoid frustration while discovering more of your content.

Customize each new user’s onboarding with their name, gender, interests, and any social media friends. A more personalized experience makes for a better overall experience.

Use design cues, such as icons or color-blocking, to lay out your website and provide visual clarity. This can lead to a more pleasing, user-friendly experience for your customers.

When designing your call-to-action (CTA) buttons and forms, use eye-catching colors to help them stand out from the rest of your page. Choose brighter versions of your color palette or contrasting colors from the color wheel.

Follow user expectations in your user interface (UI). For example, most people expect “close” buttons to be in the upper left, and for directional elements to use rightward arrows for “forward.” Adhere to these conventions for a better user experience.

Let your new mailing list subscribers know what they should expect in terms of how often they’ll get emails and what the emails will include. Send a welcome email to cement your brand identity in their mind and prime them to receive further emails from you.

You’re familiar with upselling, in which you try to convince someone to purchase a more expensive plan or add complementary products to their cart. But this approach can backfire if users are trying to be frugal. Try a “downsell”: For example, you could target customers who remove cart items with a discount, or offer those […]

Add live chat to your site to answer leads’ and customers’ questions. Research has found that live chat makes customers feel supported and helps decrease bounce by giving them the instant gratification of getting their questions answered. You can also use chatbots to answer frequently asked questions.

Develop how-to guides for your product and post them prominently on your website to help customers feel supported and take some of the pressure off your support team. Tip: Create multiple levels, e.g. “Newbie,” “Power User.”

If you’re tracking the products or services a user is purchasing or looking at, you can recommend related products and send them a roundup of suggestions in an email. This tactic improves your email’s click rate and boosts customer loyalty.

Pre-populate form fields based on users’ profiles and/or any data imported from social media or any other sources. If the user has shared their location, for example, you could auto-fill their city, state, and country in the form. Anything you can do to make the form easier to complete will help drive conversions.

Vague icons can be confusing for visitors, as well as pose accessibility issues. It might not be obvious to some users, especially those from other cultures, what your icons mean. Label the icons with text in the design of your page, and consider adding titles and tooltips for anything that can’t be overtly labeled. 

If some of your customers haven’t used a certain product or service, send them an email featuring it. Many of them likely didn’t know it existed or didn’t think it would apply to them. Send them a demo video, features list, or even a discount code to get them on board.

If you run your own platform, let users know how any content they have shared is performing. You can share a “leaderboard” showing top posts, as well as a personalized breakdown for users’ own posts.

If free trials aren’t driving conversions, go ahead and require upfront payment for your service. Having users pay for a month or year in advance may boost retention and engagement as users figure they paid for it, might as well use it.

When a user registers, send them an email welcoming them to the platform and give them a first step to take, e.g. “Fill out your profile” or “Share your first post.” Include a link back to the platform so that users will find it convenient and enticing to return to the platform right away.

Consider implementing progressive reduction on your platform, in which explanatory functions, extra labels, and onboarding tips gradually vanish as users become more experienced. Your users will find it annoying to be prompted to learn new things or update their profile once they’ve been on the platform a while. Progressively reduce these prompts to improve your […]

In your welcome email, curate your top content for people who have just subscribed to your list. This affirms their decision to join your list and provides them with valuable content right out of the gate. This tactic helps prevent unsubscribes and boosts customer retention.

If you automatically charge customers and a payment doesn’t go through, wait a day or two to contact the customer (and don’t interrupt service). Sometimes, processors go awry, or the customer’s card may have been temporarily blocked. Try again before reaching out to resolve the issue. This tactic helps reduce the customer’s frustration and prevents […]

Add your highest-volume target keyword to the meta titles and descriptions of your about page, and don’t forget to tuck target keywords into the copy as well. All this can help boost that page’s SEO ranking

If you send your welcome email immediately after someone subscribes or registers, you might be distracting them from exploring your app. Let them take a look around — then reach out to them with recommended content.

Leverage the power of collaborative filtering to send recommendation emails to members of your platform. These recommendations can include friends, followers, and trending topics. This tactic encourages users to stay active and thus helps boost your retention rate.

Group related items together in your user interface (UI) rather than listing everything separately. For example, group all account-related functions under a single menu. Decreasing clutter improves your customers’ experience in your UI and makes it look cleaner and more modern.