Scaling content strategy for Mailchimp integrations
Style Guide, UX Writing, IA & Taxonomy
From May 2022 to August 2023, I was the sole content designer on the Partnerships team, which helps users connect the integrations and data they need to market their businesses with Mailchimp. In this role, I developed a range of content strategy deliverables including information architectures, taxonomies, content models and audits, copy docs and templates. The following overviews summarize the largest efforts I led to create connected content experiences across the integrations user journey.
Integrations style guide and copy briefs
With limited content resources in Partnerships, content creation tasks outside of in-app content didn’t have any templates or repeatable processes, and content creation often fell to contract writers or non-content team members. I onboarded these individuals to writing about Mailchimp integrations with a style guide that could be used by anyone writing customer-facing copy for Partnerships, to help them save time and create more consistent content. Much of this work involved translating complex technical concepts into user-friendly language.
The Partnerships Style Guide consisted of:
Audience and mindset identification
Context setting & conceptual explanations
Voice and tone guidelines
Glossary
Integrations directory detail page template
Nomenclature and SEO guidelines
Additional inputs from Technical Content and Product Marketing
Integrations discovery experience
The ‘Discover’ page of Mailchimp was built to bring our entire integrations directory inside the Mailchimp product for the first time, after previously only being available on the Mailchimp.com website.
By conducting qualitative research with a product designer, we learned that users were experiencing difficulties searching for and connecting integrations. They sought to evaluate and see the value of integrations before connecting, which they saw as making a commitment to the product. Users also wanted easier-to-find listing pages with guidance on what to do next after the integration is connected, and details on features that are enabled by the data connection.
Our designs improved the discoverability of integrations as users explored the Mailchimp platform, and led with value using content communicating the benefits for their business. The addition of case studies helped bring transparency and clarity to how we use integration data to power Mailchimp features.
Integrations categorization and taxonomy
Before design work for the new directory kicked off, I developed a controlled vocabulary for integration listing and discovery content to help establish consistent patterns for users. My primary focus was on improving categorization so users can quickly work out which filters were likely to contain apps of interest.
There was a risk that if the category where users expected to find a given integration didn’t contain it, they would assume that the integration was unavailable and lose the opportunity to connect. Without a source of truth on what features integrations unlock or enhance what Mailchimp functionalities, we weren’t communicating value and benefit to users.
By categorizing all of our 250+ integrations based on the Mailchimp functionality they allow, I gained a better understanding of existing language and streamlined usage for better clarity. I also audited usage of terminology within Mailchimp properties and with our competitors by scoping customers to survey, auditing terms and how they were used, and synthesizing research into recommendations.
