Alexandria MacFarlane has been destined to be an entrepreneur since she was selling her Halloween candy in middle school.

After a few years working in social media, she knew she wanted to break out on her own and build a business around something she was passionate about. 

At that same time, she was beginning to build a personal brand sharing her journey exploring skincare and beauty products.

That’s when it clicked. With a passion for skincare and an existing audience that trusted her opinion, Alexandria said “it felt like I had finally figured out what I was supposed to do”. 

She decided she’d start her own skincare company and dreamt up her vision for Truly Lifestyle Brand in December 2018. 6 months later, she launched the brand rooted in her personal values and passions – sustainability, community and celebrating natural beauty.

When asked about how Truly differentiates, Alexandria told us that the commitment to their mission and community sets them apart. She said, with Truly, “you're not just a customer, you're our best friend.”

And that commitment to community is evident in everything they do.

Which has played a massive role in their success. 

Alexandria told us that word of mouth, social media and email marketing have been the biggest drivers in their business growth.

So, let’s talk about how they do it with Privy and their journey with email marketing…

Making the switch from Omnisend to Privy

Like many busy founders, Alexandria wasn’t deeply familiar with email marketing platforms as the business was starting out. 

They started out with Omnisend and eventually found the platform to be too confusing and limiting for their business. 

As a small team, they needed a user-friendly platform they could grow with and manage on their own.

So, after using Privy for list growth, Alexandria and team decided to take a meeting with a Privy coach. 20 minutes in, Alexandria decided that Privy Email was a “no brainer” for their brand.

They were excited to save money, consolidate their marketing tools and gain more flexibility to experiment with new ideas.

And the best part was what came next.

Working with Privy's Customer Success team

Alexandria told us that Privy's Customer Success program is “completely unmatched.” Getting to work 1:1 with a customer success manager has been a huge part of their experience. 

They no longer had to wait weeks to get help with their email marketing. They now had a dedicated customer success manager they could rely on every step of the way.

Comments like this are what make this customer story so special. The commitment that both the Truly Lifestyle Brand and Privy teams share in our relationships with customers.

Speaking of customer-first marketing, let’s talk about…

The campaign that drove 525 orders in 5 days

Every year the Truly team celebrates the brand’s birthday with a special sale. They treat it like a birthday party all their customers are invited to.

This was their first year running this campaign completely in Privy. From emails, SMS and popups. Alexandria said “everything was so seamless.”

They sent out 5 emails and 3 texts across 5 days, leading to 525 orders and over $42K in sales throughout the campaign.

Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at what they sent:

So what worked well for them with this campaign?

• Building hype before the sale went live (they even recommended shoppers fill their cart to prepare) 
• Sending reminders with 24 and 5 hours left to drive urgency 
• Cross-promoting their loyalty program by offering double points when customers shopped the birthday sale
• Automatically applying discounts at checkout to reduce friction

And that’s just one example of the creative campaigns we’ve seen from the Truly team. 

Keep reading to find out what else they do with Privy!

Truly Lifestyle Brand's exact Privy playbook

Truly Lifestyle Brand uses the full suite of Privy products to drive serious results for their business.

Here's what their playbook includes:

Leaning into multi-channel campaigns that drive results

In a normal month, the Truly team sends 7-15 email campaigns and consistently maintains open rates above 40%.

Now, these aren’t just sales emails. 

The Truly team consistently reinforces their commitment to building community. Leaning into email to share behind the scenes content, education around their products, monthly updates from Alexandria and more.

I mean…just check out this snippet from one of their recent emails 👇

Personal touches like this go a long way in building loyalty and trust with subscribers.

Which plays a huge part in fueling their word of mouth and success as a business.

And when it comes to SMS, the Truly team thinks of it as a way to reinforce major campaigns and share important information with their brands' most loyal customers.

If email is the main course, SMS is the garnish on top for Truly.

How Truly uses Privy's automations for always-on revenue

30% of Truly’s revenue attributed to email in Privy is driven by automations.

The best part about automations? Once they’re live, you have an always on revenue stream working behind the scenes for your business. 

Here’s a sneak peek at Truly’s automation strategy 👇

3 after signup emails & 1 after signup text

This brand tailors their after sign up emails based on the offer and source that drove a new signup. These emails average a 59% open rate.

5-part abandoned cart email series

With the first email going out 30 minutes after cart abandonment, this automation has a follow up strategy for 5 days. This has saved 1,300 carts and led to over $128K in revenue.

Pssttt…don’t be afraid to add more emails like Truly has. 20% of the revenue they’ve driven are from the final 2 emails of this sequence 👀

5 customer winback emails

30 days after a subscriber's last purchase, this automated series kicks off. 

With 5 emails spread across 9 months, Truly has been able to re-engage shoppers and generate over 460 orders from this series.

Truly Lifestyle Brand's Privy experience

It’s been just over a year since the Truly team made the full switch to Privy and they’ve generated over $1.2M in sales with Privy.

They’ve built an incredible foundation with automations and displays they can rely on to drive conversions and new sales for their business 24/7.

Which gives them more time to think creatively about their campaigns and maintain a consistent rhythm building relationships and nurturing their subscribers with Privy.

Looking back at their experience so far, Alexandria told us that their biggest wins from making the move to Privy have been:

• Saving time and getting more confident with their marketing
• Gaining freedom to experiment and see what works for their brand
• Consolidating platforms and using Privy as their one-stop shop
• Having the support of their customer success manager, Carley

And there’s no slowing down for the Truly team.

Alexandria has ambitions to make the Truly Lifestyle Brand a household name and she’s excited to continue to build a sustainable business with the help of Privy.

If you’re a busy founder like Alexandria and looking for a platform that’s built to make your marketing easier, then we’re here to help. With Privy, you’ll get user friendly tools and support you can rely on to grow your business without the hassle.

Schedule a call with one of our Privy coaches or see for yourself with a 15-day free trial today.