How Well Plated’s Email Traffic Increased by 15%Thanks to Automated Email Sequences

Best-selling cookbook author and food blogger Erin Clarke of Well Plated is well known for providing healthy recipes that are approachable and affordable. Oh, and completely delicious!

Erin came to us with an already fast-growing email list through Kit with over 130,000 subscribers in January 2025 — the kind of list growth bloggers dream of!

So, if list growth wasn’t an issue, what was? 🤔

Erin noticed her unsubscribe rate was beginning to rise as she grew her list, and it made her want to dive in and see what was *really* going on.

After losing one subscriber for every two new subscribers gained, she knew it was time to rethink her email strategy.

“Getting subscribers is one thing, but maintaining them is another.”

Together, we decided the best way to reduce unsubscribes was to build her brand awareness through automated sequences that better served her readers and kept them engaged with her best content — the recipes her loyal readers already loved!

Erin’s email marketing goals were clear:

• Build stronger connections with her subscribers
• Increase website traffic to her easy-to-make recipes and meal plans
• Promote her paid products, including her cookbook
• Get more free resource sign-ups for her Recipe Box — a way for subscribers to build meal plans from their favorite recipes
• Boost affiliate revenue since Erin believed her current strategy wasn’t “fully capitalizing on this potential”

As a second pair of eyes, Erin knew partnering with Duett would give her the tools and support she needed to create emails within a successful framework.

Our in-depth audit turned subscriber insights into improvements

We began with a comprehensive review of Erin’s current email list, compiling our findings into a 70+ page Email Strategy Playbook. We believe you can never be too thorough. 😉

Through data analysis, messaging research, and technical review, we set out to uncover what was working — and what wasn’t. This included a DEEP dive into the back-end of Erin’s list on Kit.  

Our audit revealed many ways we could better organize and optimize Erin’s email list. 

After testing her email delivery (Erin excelled here!), we gave her team suggestions on how to better organize their Kit tags and sequences, drive more traffic from broadcast emails, and make her email designs more accessible and easier to use.

We also reviewed ALL of her current messaging, helping us find gaps in how they were talking about their Recipe Box feature, Then, we gave specific changes to really show how valuable this free resource is for readers. “Your insights helped us better communicate the value of our Recipe Box.”

We also simplified the way her list could update their preferences by creating a one-link preference center. This allows subscribers to easily choose which weekly emails they want to receive — an RSS digest, a handcrafted newsletter, and/or meal plans — so they’re in control of their inbox.

The Playbook was just the beginning — a way to see “a lay of the land” before creating new email automations — and it gave us a clear direction before continuing in the Duett Debut process.

“The Playbook was beneficial all the way through, from the audit to the implementation of the nurture sequence. It was so thorough!”

A custom sequence framework that takes the second-guessing out of writing

The next step in the Duett Debut process was to dig into audience research to determine how to serve up the best content our clients have to offer. 

Like Erin, so many of our clients have hundreds — if not THOUSANDS —of blog articles and content. 😱 So, how do you determine what makes it into an automated sequence? That’s our job to figure out!

We take what our clients AND their audiences have asked for and bring it all together to create a cohesive strategy — resulting in our custom Email Sequence Framework — so we can really wow their new subscribers!

The Email Sequence Framework makes sure every detail in our email content strategy is ironed out ahead of time. When we’re clear on the experience we want all new subscribers to have, creating the emails feels downright easy.

Defining an email topic is just a start. We also give unique content prompts that outline exactly what subscribers will get from each email and strategically order them based on our ideal narrative arc. Our clients love that we add technical notes to indicate where link triggers, product links, and content links go, too. 

While Erin’s in-house team executed the writing, they knew *exactly* what to include thanks to our sequence framework. Erin walked away knowing not only what to send to her list but WHY it was worth sending.

Beautiful email template designs help you stay on-brand and top-of-mind

It was clear from day one that Erin wanted to explore a new email template design. “We hated the current templates, but we didn’t actually know how to change them.”

Just as Erin and her team were tempted to “live with it,” our team said NO WAY. We worked with Erin and her design team to bring her vision to life.

The result was an easily customizable email template design, helping her welcome emails, nurture emails, AND email broadcasts all look cohesive.

“Your team was fantastic at introducing us to a better, more flexible template structure and bringing it to life in the backend.”

We worked together to create a template with:

• Multiple eye-catching CTAs to encourage engagement and highlight paid products like her cookbook.
• Tip-specific content blocks that highlight affiliate products in her Amazon shop. 
• Branded colors that were incorporated into her links, buttons, and social icons. 
• An updated bio section that makes her emails feel more personable and friendly. 
• Simplified footer language to help readers update their email preferences

Erin didn’t realize just how much she needed a new design until the templates were delivered. “We got the Well Plated team these new templates, and we were all so excited. We started using them right away!”

We took care of the tech, making automation setup a breeze

Erin wanted to use email in a way that felt connected to her audience — but without worrying whether things were technically working in the back-end. She just needed to know that it was.

That’s why we handled ALL of Erin’s tech—from email tagging and segmentation to automated follow-ups and link triggers. We set up all of her new email content using the new email template designs, tested and checked all the links, and then turned them live.

The Duett team loves the tech side of email marketing because once that’s working and welcoming new subscribers, our clients can focus on creating content and connecting with their audience. This phase of our work gives our clients peace of mind.

We even flagged some tech issues within Kit regarding their opt-ins, which were causing subscribers to not get what they needed after signing up.

“Implementation was really smooth, and I appreciated that your team circled back to double-check and make sure everything was working. [Your team] caught a couple of places where people were not being pulled in, and I wouldn’t have figured that out.”

The results speak for themselves

It didn’t take long for Erin to see how well her new email marketing strategy was working.

Within the first month, she saw a 15% increase in email traffic directly from her new automated email sequences.

Once subscribers started to get her new welcome emails, Well Plated’s unsubscribe rate dropped from 0.21% to 0.1% for each email sent. Based on the data and the growing number of personal email replies she receives, it’s clear that her subscribers are even more excited to stick around now that they know her better from the start!

Plus, Erin gained —

• An email strategy that’s now informed by real subscriber survey data, so there’s no more second-guessing.
• Renewed confidence in knowing her email subscribers are up to speed on her best content and only getting the emails they want most.
• A sense of relief knowing exactly what tech changes we implemented, so she can grow her list with ease, knowing everything’s working.

Erin considers her biggest long-term win to be her new nurture email sequence: “We didn’t have a nurture sequence in place, and honestly didn’t realize we needed it until working with you.” 

As with any partnership, we worked together as a team. Our strategic insights and tech savviness paired with Erin’s in-house writing and design team created a winning combination.

“We’re so happy! I appreciate how on top of communication you guys were. Everything was kept on deadline. I was very clear about everyone’s expectations. We had a great experience working with you!”

Looking for more ways I can help you?

Book a free call with me (no-pressure zone, promise!) and we’ll chat more about what would benefit your business most in this season.