Making Subscriptions Management Hassle-Free for 57 Million Users
How I helped Dotdash Meredith simplify and enhance the newsletter management experience with a redesign for subscribers across 40 brands.
Project Overview
Context
Dotdash Meredith’s newsletter preference center is the one and only place for its 57.8 million newsletter subscribers to unsubscribe, manage, and subscribe to newsletters. The 40+ brands at DDM send out more than 160+ different newsletters every month.
In Q4 of 2023, as DDM transitioned its newsletter preference management from an outdated technology platform to the unified DDM platform, I was tasked with designing the new user experience. This migration not only significantly reduced server hosting costs but also removed a major front-end dependency. Beyond my initial assignment, I proactively identified and resolved several user experience challenges inherent in the legacy system, enhancing overall user satisfaction and engagement.
The Problem: People are tired of jumping through hoops just to stop unwanted emails
Subscribers faced significant challenges in managing their newsletter subscriptions due to a cumbersome process, affecting their ability to easily unsubscribe or adjust preferences. This inefficiency not only frustrated users but also risked damaging brand perception.
Zoom in onto the user pain points of the legacy newsletter preference center at DDM
Solving these problems will not only boosts customer satisfaction and retention but also aligns with compliance, and enhances brand reputation.
As the leading digital publishing company, ensuring customer satisfaction and adhering to email marketing regulations are pivotal to the success of our email marketing initiatives. In order to meet both user needs and business goals,
I partnered closely with:
- 2 product managers
- 1 project manager
- 2 developers
- 2 business stakeholders
I was in charge of the end-to-end process including:
- design audit and discovery
- translating business requirements to design requirements
- conducting competitive analysis
- creating user flows and wireframes
- designing patterns and templates
- reviewing design with stakeholders
- creating design documentations and handing off design to devs
The Solution
Streamlining user experience with dedicated pages
- Reduces Overwhelm: Separates tasks to minimize confusion.
- Enhances Focus: Allocates one task per page for clearer engagement.
- Simplifies Navigation: Declutters interface, streamlines action discovery.
Simplified: one-click unsubscribe
- Eliminates Steps: Transforms a three-step process into a single click.
- Immediate Confirmation: Directs users instantly to a confirmation page upon unsubscribing.
- Feedback Opportunity: Enables easy collection of user feedback and seamless navigation to newsletter management.
Enhanced control with flat subscription list
- Driven by Data: Tailored for the average 1-3 newsletter subscriptions per user.
- Clear Display: Showcases active subscriptions in an accessible flat list.
- Brand Visibility: Emphasizes the source brand for each subscription with clear delineation.
Immediate feedback for every action
- Success Messages: Provides instant feedback post-action to reassure users.
- Action-Specific Confirmations: Tailors confirmation pages for unsubscribing/resubscribing and inline messages for newsletter management.
- Comprehensive Coverage: Ensures visibility with success banners for broad actions like unsubscribing from everything.
Research Highlight
Process Highlight
Advocating for the best user experience possible while balancing business objectives
- Encountered pushback on the one-click unsubscribe proposal.
- Utilized best practices, email standards, and competitor analyses to support its user-centric advantages.
- Communicated the importance to let users opt out to reduce frustration and build better relationship with users.
Users have already decided to unsubscribe. It’s best to just let them go. — "Top 10 Design Mistakes in the Unsubscribe Experience", NN/g
Navigating technical constraints
- Processing Delays: Managed challenges with 24-hour wait times for subscription changes.
- User Interface Adaptations: Refined the flow to hide the unsubscribe button, ensuring clarity and preventing confusion during the waiting period.
- Transparent Communication: Introduced upfront messages to set clear expectations about the process timeline.
Balance user needs and edge cases
- Optimized Control: Revised "unsubscribe" button usability to enhance user autonomy.
- Server Overload Concerns: Addressed potential overloads from rapid "unsubscribe" and "undo" actions.
- Simplified Resubscription: Implemented an easier flow with direct "You are resubscribed!" confirmation, removing unnecessary steps.
Continuous Improvement through Collaboration
- Team Feedback: Gathered insights from team members and fellow designers.
- Iterative Design: Refined the project through multiple iterations.
- Collaborative Evolution: Leveraged collective input to achieve the final design.
Pull from and add to design system for wide adoption
- Using existing components from the design system to build a consistent and adoptable design.
- Contribute new components to the design system for brands to adopt for this project and beyond.
Design Documentation and Dev Handoff
- Figma prototypes to walk through user flows
- Design review with devs
- Slack channel announcement for design updates
- Design QA and sign off
Outcome
The redesigned subscription management experience is now live, revolutionizing the way users interact with leading brands like Allrecipes, Better Homes & Gardens, InStyle, Travel and Leisure, etc. As the design continues to roll out across all Dotdash Meredith brands, it's set to transform the digital lives of 57.8 million users by making the process of unsubscribing and managing newsletters effortlessly seamless.
Business impact: contributed to the success of the replatforming, saving costs and removing dependencies, and aligning with company goals.
UX outcomes: elevated user experience and reduced customer service inquiries.
Learning
Strategy for effective stakeholder alignment
Aligning closely with the Product Managers was my top strategy in UX design. This crucial partnership ensured early buy-in from stakeholders and empowered us to advocate effectively for our design choices. Together, we navigated the complexities of stakeholder expectations, driving forward with design decisions confidently. This approach not only streamlined the review process but also secured the necessary support for our design vision.
