# Marketing Emails [Image] This is an inspirational email experience meant to pull people back into shopping mode. Users open it casually, scanning for gift ideas that feel thoughtful without requiring a decision right away. For the business, the goal is to stay present during seasonal moments and remind shoppers why Etsy is a place worth returning to. We tested an Etsy marketing email that featured curated gift themes, product imagery, and multiple paths back into the site. Participants were asked to imagine receiving the email and react to how it made them feel, what it signaled about the brand, and what they would do next. The test used Satisfaction, Desirability, Intent, and Loyalty to surface how well the email creates positive emotion, shapes brand perception, and supports forward movement. Marketing emails often look successful because they’re visually strong and well-liked, but that doesn’t always mean they move people. This type of testing helps teams see where interest turns into momentum—or quietly stalls. The signals matter because emails sit early in the journey, shaping confidence, expectations, and whether a shopper feels nudged forward or simply entertained. * * * ### **Define Goals for Your Marketing Emails** An eCommerce marketing email should balance user needs like relevance, inspiration, and trust with business goals such as re-engagement, traffic, and conversion. Users want emails that feel worth opening and aligned with their interests, not generic promotions. Businesses want email to remain a reliable channel for bringing people back to browse and buy. When marketing emails work, they feel helpful—not interruptive. **Audience:**
 This concept was tested with online shoppers in the United States who reviewed Etsy’s marketing email newsletter. Participants were asked to react to the layout, content, and calls to action, and to share whether the email felt relevant, motivating, or easy to ignore. **User Needs** At this moment, users are deciding whether the email deserves attention at all. The experience should earn that choice quickly. - The email should immediately capture interest through visuals, subject matter, or tone (**engaging**). - The content should offer something worthwhile, such as inspiration, discovery, or timely deals (**valuable**). - Messaging and offers should feel authentic and aligned with the brand’s marketplace identity (**credible**). - The email should clearly communicate why the content matters and what to do next (**insightful**). - The overall look and feel should make users want to open future emails (**desirable**). Together, these needs ensure marketing emails feel intentional and relevant, not like inbox noise. **Business Goals** From the business perspective, marketing emails are about sustaining momentum beyond the site. - **Increase Email Engagement** – Improve open and click-through rates by delivering relevant content. - **Drive Return Visits** – Bring shoppers back to browse products or collections. - **Support Conversion** – Turn interest sparked in email into on-site actions and purchases. - **Strengthen Brand Affinity** – Reinforce the brand’s personality and value through consistent communication. - **Learn What Content Resonates** – Use engagement signals to refine segmentation and messaging strategy. When these goals are aligned, marketing emails become a steady growth channel—keeping the brand present, useful, and welcome in a crowded inbox. * * * ### **Choose Metrics to Test Your Marketing Emails** This concept tests an inspirational marketing email designed to re-engage shoppers and guide them back into browsing. A design stack of UX metrics was selected by mapping core user needs to observable signals in how people react, interpret, and decide after opening the message. The metrics used here were Satisfaction, Desirability, Intent, and Loyalty. **Desirable → Satisfaction**
 When users open a marketing email, their first response is emotional. Satisfaction captures whether the content feels pleasant, relevant, and worth their attention in that moment. In this experience, it reflects how the visuals, tone, and structure land during an initial scan. **Credible → Desirability**
 Desirability reflects the impressions users form about the brand after reading the email. It captures whether Etsy still feels creative, trustworthy, and aligned with what users expect from it. This metric helps surface how brand identity is reinforced—or weakened—through promotional messaging. **Findable → Intent**
 Intent measures what users believe they would do next after engaging with the email. It captures whether the experience naturally leads toward action or leaves people browsing without direction. In this context, it reflects how clearly the email supports a next step without forcing it. **Reliable → Loyalty**
Loyalty signals whether the experience strengthens long-term affinity with the brand. It reflects whether users feel positively enough about the email and the company to recommend it to others. For marketing emails, this metric helps distinguish short-term engagement from lasting trust. * * * ### **Establish Hunches to Direct Your Testing** Before testing, the team started with a set of open questions about how this email might land with shoppers. These hunches weren’t about proving the design right or wrong—they were about reducing uncertainty and understanding where confidence or hesitation might appear. Each hunch shaped a focused question tied to a specific signal. **Example: Etsy Marketing Email**

Hunches

Questions

UX Metrics

The seasonal visuals and themed sections may feel creative and on-brand, but could also signal browsing rather than buying. If the email reads more like inspiration than direction, users may enjoy it without feeling urgency.

How does this email make you feel about the content it presents?

Satisfaction

The email may reinforce Etsy’s creative identity, but not clearly communicate why this message matters right now. Some users may recognize the brand voice without forming a stronger preference.

What impressions does this email give you about this brand?

Desirability

Even if users like the email, the next step may feel optional or unclear. Users might browse mentally without committing to a concrete action.

What would you most likely do next after viewing this email?

Intent

Positive reactions to the email may not translate into advocacy. Enjoyment doesn’t always mean users would recommend the brand.

On a scale from 0 to 10, how likely would you be to recommend this brand to a friend or colleague?

Loyalty

Together, these hunches aim to evaluate whether the email builds understanding, confidence, and momentum—or whether it primarily serves as a pleasant pause in the inbox. * * * ### **Turn Hunches into Test Questions** Turning hunches into concrete questions makes uncertainty measurable. By pairing each UX metric with a specific question type, the team can see where reactions form, where decisions stall, and what kind of signal each moment in the email is actually producing. - **Satisfaction (Likert scale)**
 Question type: Likert scale
 Example: “How satisfied are you with the content provided in this email?”
 This question captures the immediate emotional response after scanning the email. It reflects whether the content feels pleasant, relevant, and worth attention in the inbox. [Image] - **Desirability (Multiple-choice impressions)**
 Question type: Multiple-choice impressions
 Example: “What impressions does this email give you about this brand?”
 This question surfaces how the email shapes brand perception. It helps distinguish between feeling creative and memorable versus generic or forgettable. [Image] - **Desirability (Likelihood scale)**
 Question type: Likelihood scale
 Example: “How likely would you be to visit the website based on this email?”
 This version of desirability focuses on pull. It captures whether positive impressions translate into interest in exploring the brand further. [Image] - **Intent (Multiple-choice action selection)**
 Question type: Multiple-choice action selection
 Example: “What would you most likely do next after viewing this email?”
 This question reveals decision momentum. It shows whether users see a clear next step or default to passive behaviors like saving or closing the email. [Image] - **Loyalty (Net Promoter Score)**
 Question type: NPS scale (0–10)
 Example: “On a scale from 0 to 10, how likely would you be to recommend this brand to a friend or colleague?”
 This question captures longer-term brand advocacy. It helps separate short-term enjoyment from durable trust and willingness to vouch for the brand. [Image] * * * ### **Calculate UX Metric Scores from User Feedback** This concept tested an Etsy marketing email designed to inspire gift discovery and encourage shoppers to return to the site. Participants were asked to imagine receiving the email in their inbox and respond based on how it made them feel, what it signaled about the brand, and what they would do next. The design stack combined attitudinal signals (Satisfaction, Desirability, Loyalty) with a behavioral signal (Intent) to capture both reaction and momentum. - **Very Good** = 90% and above - **Good** = 70%–89% - **Average** = 50%–69% - **Poor** \= 30%–49% - **Very Poor** = below 30% 65% — Average. At a high level, this score reflects an experience that is well-liked and brand-positive, but uneven in how strongly it motivates action. The email succeeds emotionally, while momentum drops when users consider what to do next. **Satisfaction (72% — Good):**
 Most participants reacted positively to the email’s visuals and overall tone. The content felt pleasant and easy to scan, with little friction during initial engagement. Hesitation tended to appear only after users had already formed a favorable impression. **Desirability (81% — Good):**
 The email strongly reinforced Etsy’s creative and gift-focused brand identity. Users described the experience as on-brand and appealing, suggesting the message aligns well with expectations. This score reflects consistent positive perception rather than surprise or novelty. **Intent (47% — Poor):**
 When asked what they would do next, many users leaned toward passive actions such as saving the email or continuing to browse later. Fewer participants indicated an immediate click-through. This signals a gap between interest and action. **Loyalty (61% — Average):**
 Willingness to recommend Etsy was steady but not emphatic. The email supported existing brand goodwill, but did not significantly elevate advocacy. Enjoyment of the content did not always translate into a stronger recommendation signal. [Image] Taken together, the scores point to a browse-forward, inspiration-led experience. The email performs well at reinforcing brand feeling and creating a pleasant moment in the inbox, but shows clear strain at the point where interest is meant to turn into action. The dominant tension is not trust or clarity, but momentum. Click here to check out the [raw survey data and UX metric scores for Etsy’s marketing email.](https://my.helio.app/report/01KC837GW9TTGT3ZJJ9ASTASB2) * * * ### **Draw Signals from Your Design Stack** **1\. Focus on poorly scoring metrics** [Image] Etsy’s marketing email achieved an overall score of 65% (Average). While Desirability (81%) and Satisfaction (72%) indicate that users generally like the look and aesthetic of the email, Intent (47%) scored poorly and Loyalty (61%) remained only average. This gap signals that while the email is visually appealing, it struggles to motivate users to take action or build long-term affinity. The key signal: the email looks good, but doesn’t clearly answer why this is worth acting on right now. **2\. Use design intuition to identify patterns across metrics** [Image] The pattern suggests Etsy’s email succeeds at brand expression and visual charm but falls short on clarity and urgency. Users appreciate the craftsmanship and tone, yet struggle to understand what the email wants them to do next or how it benefits them personally. High desirability paired with low intent often points to inspiration without direction—content that feels pleasant to browse but easy to ignore. This reflects a common email UX issue: strong branding without a strong behavioral hook. **3\. Determine if user needs are being met** [Image] - Engaging: Partially met — visuals and tone attract attention but don’t sustain momentum. - Valuable: Partially met — content feels interesting, but usefulness isn’t immediately clear. - Credible: Met — messaging aligns well with Etsy’s brand and marketplace identity. - Insightful: Under-met — users aren’t quickly oriented to why the email matters now. - Desirable: Exceeded — visual appeal and emotional tone are strong. **4\. Compare outcomes to your business goals** - Increase Email Engagement: Partially achieved — aesthetic draws attention, but action rates likely lag. - Drive Return Visits: Weakly supported — lack of urgency or specificity reduces click-through motivation. - Support Conversion: Underachieved — low intent indicates limited movement from inbox to site. - Strengthen Brand Affinity: Achieved — brand consistency and tone reinforce Etsy’s identity. - Learn What Content Resonates: Supported — mixed reactions highlight which content inspires versus converts. **5\. Surface signals & establish a direction** Signals derived from the data: - Visual appeal alone does not drive action; clarity and relevance are the missing links. - Users like the email but don’t feel compelled to do anything with it. - The email functions more as brand reinforcement than as a conversion tool. **Direction based on business context:**
 To improve intent and loyalty without sacrificing brand warmth, next steps should include: [Image] - Sharpening the primary CTA with clearer value (“Explore handmade gifts under $50” vs. “Shop now”). - Surfacing relevance faster through personalization or explicit benefit framing. - Reducing competing messages to focus attention on one clear reason to click. - Testing subject lines and hero copy that emphasize why this email matters today. The signal is clear: ***Etsy’s marketing email delights the eye, but not the decision. Turning inspiration into action will require clearer value cues and more intentional guidance toward the next step.***