keep it simple?

February 25, 2025

In partnership with

Anirudh here with another InTenSe CaSe STudy - one that kept me up all night.

72% of consumers say “generic marketing” makes them distrust brands.

Our D2C client faced this exact issue:

⦁ Flat email open rates (12% vs. industry avg. 21%)
⦁ Meh conversions
⦁ DM click rates below 3%

So we ran a behaviourally anchored framework over 30 days.

Here’s what actually moved metrics, backed by data + psychology.

January 26th Email Campaign:

⦁ Design Used: A hand-drawn Indian flag—that’s it.
⦁ Open Rate: 43% (2x industry avg.)

Sales? 6 figures

Founder’s Birthday Campaign:

⦁ ₹1000 off for 24 hours.
⦁ Orders rolling in past midnight—because who sleeps when there’s a deal this good?
⦁ (And yes, we paired it with a dope shot of the founder rocking shades)

Sales? Yet rolling in xD

Lesson? Direct, to-the-point messaging WORKS.

Why?

⦁ 3 out of 5 people delete an email where they have to find a CTA
⦁ 85% of emails are opened on mobile, where attention spans last <4 seconds

So we flipped the script with a single-scroll, mobile-first email design.

Results?

⦁ 43% open rates (ON A NATIONAL HOLIDAYYYY)
⦁ 3.2x CTR on the birthday campaign

The Anatomy of a High-Converting Email

Less Text, More White Space

⦁ 72% copy reduction (250 → 70 words).
⦁ Emails <100 words = 50% higher engagement (Campaign Monitor).

Unmissable CTA

⦁ Contrast button + urgency: “24% off → 24-Hour Exclusive”
⦁ Psychology hack: Zeigarnik Effect (unfinished tasks nag the brain). “24-hour” = Open loop = Action.

Single-Scroll Structure

⦁ CTA above the fold (no scrolling needed)

But Here’s Where We Faceplanted 😬

A/B Testing Subject Lines – Too Smart for Our Own Good

We initially always A/B test subject lines for 24 hours, letting the winner take over.

Sounds foolproof, right?

First deployment? 47% open rates.

Next one? 13%.

The reason? Us. Purely us.

⦁ The second subject line was getting more clicks per open, so we got overconfident.
⦁ We paused the campaign and used the ‘low open but high click’ subject line instead.
⦁ Guess what? Tanked.

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What do most D2C brands send over WhatsApp?

⦁ “Hey, here’s your code. Buy now.”
⦁ “New product drop! Grab it before it’s gone.” (Yawn.)

What if…

⦁ You get a DM teaching you how to check if you have flat feet → then a subtle nudge for insoles?
⦁ Or a message that says: 🦶 
“Did you know smelly feet are a thing? Your feet have 250,000 sweat glands producing half a pint of sweat daily. Your sock material matters.”

Yep. That’s what we did. And cha-chinggggg.

The Solution:

Short, Question-Driven Hooks

⦁ “Hey [Name], quick Q – did the [product] solve your [specific pain point]?”
⦁ Result: 22% response rate (18x lift).
⦁ Why? Mirrors casual SMS behavior (76% of Gen Z/Millennials prefer chat-like brand convos).

Emoji ≠ Personality

⦁ 1-2 max per message.
⦁ (Overuse dropped clicks by 31%—A/B tested.)

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Rule 1: Talk Like a Human, Not a Brand

Rule 2: One Screen, One Ask (Design emails for zero scrolling on mobile.)

Rule 3: Hijack “Boring” Dates

Rule 4: DMs Are Tinder, Not LinkedIn

Rule 5: Journeys > One-Offs

Why This Works (According to Science)

⦁ Cognitive Fluency: Simple messages processed 60% faster (Journal of Consumer Psychology).
⦁ Occasion Precision: Campaigns aligned with micro-moments (Google’s intent-rich moments) convert 3x higher.
⦁ Journey Syncing: Brands using connected journeys retain 56% more customers (McKinsey, 2023).

Ready to Ditch Generic Marketing?

👉 DM me “POJ” – I’ll share our full campaign playbook and A/B test templates.

Let's hit the brakes on the usual newsletter talk and switch gears. Sometimes, it's not just about updates and milestones, right? Let's pull back the curtain a bit more on the daily grind—the real stuff that keeps us ticking, or occasionally, keeps us up at night.

So, apart from diving back into writing and juggling fiery hoops at work, I've been rediscovering old hobbies that got shoved in the back during the hustle. Did anyone else pick up a guitar during the pandemic and then completely forget about it once life sped up again? Well, that guitar’s out of the closet now, and let’s just say, my fingers are not thanking me.

And books! Remember those? Actual, physical books. I’m revisiting some classics that have nothing to do with work. It’s refreshing to read something that doesn’t require you to optimize or strategize after you turn the page. If you’ve got any good reads, drop them in the replies—I’m all for expanding that dusty bookshelf.

On the personal front, trying to be more in the moment. It’s easy to always look to the next big thing, the next goal. But hey, what about today? Took some time last weekend just walking around the city, no emails, no calls. If you haven’t tried it, highly recommend. It’s like a little reboot for your brain.

And speaking of reboots, how about those Sunday morning commitments? Who knew they could be so energizing? There’s something about wrapping up a productive meeting and still having the whole day ahead of you—more time for those neglected hobbies, or maybe just a good old Netflix binge.

So, while the work never stops, neither does life outside of it. It’s all about finding that sweet spot between making strides professionally and not missing out on actually living. Let's keep sharing the less glamorous, but equally important, parts of our lives—it's what really connects us.