The Challenge
An AI-powered email marketing platform that technically outperforms Klaviyo and Mailchimp, but is completely absent from the content buyers actually use to make purchasing decisions.
73% of their target customers research through articles and community recommendations before buying. The client appeared in none of them, rather than a single roundup, buyer’s guide, or “Klaviyo alternatives” article. They were spending $180+ per qualified lead through Google Ads while competitors generated the same leads organically through brand mentions in high-ranking content.
Their entire growth relied on paid ads and partnerships. DR 28 with 4,200 monthly visitors, and only 320 branded searches per month, meaning almost nobody was looking for them by name.
The Strategy We Used
We designed a brand mention campaign targeting the entire ecommerce email marketing discovery ecosystem, comparison articles, Martech review sites, ecommerce community platforms, Shopify ecosystem content, and marketing strategy blogs.
- Securing brand mentions in existing “best email marketing platforms” and “Klaviyo alternatives” articles on MarTech blogs, e-commerce publications, and SaaS review platforms.
- Earning inclusion in Shopify and WooCommerce app recommendation posts and integration roundups, where email marketing tools are frequently discussed.
- Contributing product comparison data and expert perspectives to marketing automation roundup articles on publications with DR 40–70.
- Placement in e-commerce community discussion threads where marketing managers share tool recommendations.
- Building a tracking system mapping every target article’s SERP position and estimated monthly traffic to prioritize the highest-visibility placement opportunities.
The team identified 340 articles currently ranking on pages 1–3 for the client’s target discovery keywords. These became the primary outreach targets. Each article was evaluated for its potential traffic value; a mention in a page 1 article with 8,000 monthly visits was worth more than mentions on 20 unranked pages.
The Results
The most impactful result was the transformation of the client’s lead acquisition economics. Before the campaign, 91% of leads came from paid channels at $180+ per qualified lead. By month 10, organic and referral sources accounted for 34% of new leads, and the blended cost per lead had dropped 44%.
The “Klaviyo alternatives” strategy was especially effective. The client secured mentions in 14 articles ranking for various “Klaviyo alternative” keyword variations. These articles collectively drove 1,200+ monthly visits to the client’s site, with a trial conversion rate 3x higher than paid traffic, because visitors arrived with comparison intent and had already seen the client recommended by a trusted source.
Branded search growth from 320 to 2,800 monthly searches confirmed that the mentions were driving real awareness. The client’s sales team reported that prospects increasingly mentioned seeing the platform recommended in articles, and the typical qualification call shortened from 35 minutes to 20 minutes because buyers arrived pre-informed.
AI visibility shattered all previous records for brand mentions. Perplexity delivered 28 source citations, the highest single-platform count across others. ChatGPT cited the client in 24 email marketing queries. With 52 placements in page 1-2 articles, the client’s brand was embedded in the highest-authority content that AI models used as a source for generating tool recommendations. When ecommerce marketers asked ChatGPT, “What are the best Klaviyo alternatives for mid-market brands?” or asked Perplexity, “email marketing platforms with AI personalization,” the client appeared because they were mentioned in the exact articles those AI systems referenced. The 44% CPL reduction was amplified further by AI-sourced leads; the client’s marketing team identified AI discovery as contributing an estimated 12% of total inbound leads by month 10, at effectively zero incremental acquisition cost.
