Removing the Design Increased the Email CTR by 7x

A law firm helping Ukrainian businesses enter international markets is always exploring new ways to connect with its audience. Last year, on the eve of Black Friday, we faced a classic dilemma: How do we create an email newsletter that works?

The market evolves by the minute. What was exciting five years ago — like sleek visuals or polished design — feels empty today. Clients are tired of formal, templated messages. They don’t want a monologue; they want a conversation.

What Steps Did We Take?

We set out to test a simple hypothesis: Honest communication is more important than a pretty picture. To do this, we conducted a classic A/B test of two Black Friday email approaches.

Option A: Traditional corporate approach

• Professionally designed email;
• Official company branding;
• Detailed breakdown of the offer;
• Sent on behalf of the law firm.

Option B: Personalized approach

• Minimalist design (a plain-text email, like a standard Gmail message);
• Sent from a specific employee;
• Tailored offer;
• Personalized based on past interactions.

Our goal? To make the email as relevant as possible. Instead of just inserting the client’s name, we analyzed their previous interactions, needs, and business context.

The email from a company employee was written in a natural, conversational tone — just like a personal message.

Mind-Blowing Results

• +16% Email Open Rate;
• 7x Higher CTR;
• A significant boost in engagement, with additional conversions from leads who felt the email was a personal message.

Option A: Traditional corporate approach

Option B: Personalized approach

The numbers speak for themselves: Personalization isn’t just a trend — it’s a marketing essential.

Conclusions

Effective email marketing isn’t about how good an email looks — it’s about how well it connects with the recipient.

Ready to turn your marketing into a real, engaging conversation? We know exactly how to make it happen.