Library of Pursuits
In 2021, as the newly installed platform editor, I set out a challenge for myself: increase reader engagement with Gear Patrol’s email product. The 'Library of Pursuits' is one of the projects I took on to accomplish that goal.
Drive-By Readers
Back in 2021, if you were using Google to try and find out which bottle of whiskey to splurge on, what standing desk to order, or which pair of running shoes to buy, there was a decent chance you’d end up on a Gear Patrol story.
That year, pages on these topics pulled in tens of thousands of monthly views from Google. As the platforms editor, I wanted to find a way for us to convert those drive-by readers looking for quick answers into real product enthusiasts and regular Gear Patrol visitors.
A Reason to Stick Around
My idea was a relatively novel one: develop expert-lead courses on the hobby (fitness, whiskey) or practice (at-home productivity) that readers were coming to us from Google to learn more about, promote them on our high-traffic search pages, and send them via an email drip campaign so readers would have to join our email newsletter list to get them.
More than just looking for signups to grow our overall list size, the real aim was to guide our search visitors further down the journey to becoming a loyal Gear Patrol reader.
Making it Happen
Without a team budget for 2021, I had to pitch my newsletter course idea internally to win support from editorial & creative team leads. After getting buy-in, the two teams set aside a tiny percentage of their annual budget, allowing me to hire freelancers to write the course material.
With a green light on freelance funds and support from creative & marketing to develop the courses, I dove into production on the courses we’d call the Library of Pursuits.
I developed freelance briefs and contracted talent, collaborated with the creative team to create a look and feel for illustrations and newsletter layout, and collaborated with marketing to build a promotional strategy, including a giveaway with Design Milk.
Slow But Steady
The overall list size for the project ended up being north of 10,000, and the courses have seen an average open rate of above 50% and a completion rate of 84.5% — more engaged than the average for Gear Patrol’s daily and weekly newsletters. In 2024, the project was awarded ‘Marketing Innovator of the Year’ by the Intuit Mailchimp x Fast Company Forward Awards.