Newsletter Subscriptions

Improving the way subscribers subscribe to our newsletters

The Newsletter For Busy People

The Boston Globe's newsletter is incredibly popular among readers. This weekly newsletter connects them with news about Greater Boston and highlights proposed solutions to global issues. As a result, our readers can engage with the people, topics, and ideas shaping our world, no matter where they are.

With over a million daily readers, email has become a vital platform for Globe reporters to share their stories with a broad audience, especially as traffic disruptions from the homepage, search engines, and social media continue to rise.

"The most valuable thing we do for other parts of the newsroom is putting their journalism in front of our audience in people’s inboxes."

PROJECT TYPE
Solo Design Sprint

ROLE
UX UI Designer | Researcher

Duration
2 Weeks (12 days) Sprint

PRODUCT
Mobile First Design | Desktop

TOOLS
Figma

The Challenge

The Boston Globe produces a large amount of content daily, much of which cannot be seen solely from the homepage or social media. As a result, Boston Globe Media has chosen to prioritize creating a newsletter signup experience that subscribers will eagerly anticipate receiving each morning, which has garnered hundreds of subscribers. This initiative aims to keep our subscribers engaged and continue enhancing our retention rates. 

The design team has been tasked with developing a compelling newsletter signup experience that is both engaging and informative, and seamless in order to encourage our readers to sign up and return for more.

My Role

I reviewed the project brief provided, which included my objective, any dev constraints, interview notes, company research insights, and a persona. 

My role as the sole UX UI Designer was to analyze the data, conduct a competitive analysis, map out an appropriate user flow, sketch mockups, design an MVP prototype, conduct usability testing and any iterations based on any stakeholder’s feedback.

To do this, my first question was: “What is the role of email and newsletters?”

Timeline & Planning

Day 1 - What is a newsletter? Understanding the problem and who our users are.

Day 2,3,4 - UX Research, journey map & identifying user’s pain point

Day 5,6 - Comparative analysis. Drafting of user flow

Day 7,8,9 - Sketching, low-fi wireframes & feedback

Day 10,11 - High- fidelity & Prototyping

Day 12 - Iteration

Day 1

Understanding Newsletters, The Problem, and Identifying Our Users.

Tim Franklin, Senior Associate Dean at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, and Integrated Marketing Communications, described newsletters as “a friend who checks in every day like clockwork. You don’t have to seek it out. It’s familiar as a morning cup of coffee. It’s often brief and respects your time. It makes you smarter.”

Email newsletter subscriptions are valuable soft leads. They are one of the most effective ways to efficiently deliver news, are inexpensive to produce, and can serve as a pathway to a subscription or membership. Most importantly, a newsletter is a way to connect and create a deeper relationship with readers while building brand loyalty.

*Credit: Why Email Newsletters Are a Game-Changer for Local News

Below are eight reasons why newsletters matter:

  • Newsletters make subscribers more likely to stick around.

  • Newsletters bring people into the tent where you can close the subscription deal.

  • Newsletters let you engage with readers on their turf, considered a “safe space.”

  • Newsletters hit a sweet spot in reader control vs. news outlet curation.

  • Newsletters let you micro-target readers.

  • The newsletter provides a valuable advertising spot with an engaged audience.

  • Newsletters let you customize the news for individuals.

  • Newsletters make readers feel special.

Despite newsletters' undeniable significance, many news platforms make a critical error by neglecting to prioritize their visibility.

Understanding our core problem and problem statement

The Boston Globe's homepage has always been challenging for many readers. The homepage is dense, has a limited organizational hierarchy, and suffers from inconsistency, ambiguous visual language, and a poor user journey. Therefore, how can we expect our users to sign up and customize their news if accessing newsletters is like looking for a needle in a haystack?

Users often have difficulty accessing The Boston Globe newsletter and spend much time navigating the website to find all the newsletter offerings. The home page makes it hard for readers to view and subscribe to the different newsletters, leading to increased cognitive load, longer search times, low signup rates, and reduced user success. These issues can create negative experiences and decrease the likelihood that users will see the value in our service.

Identifying our users

Below are four different types of users who visit the Boston Globe.

  • New users who are not familiar with TBG

  • Subscribers

  • Non - Subscribers

Our users are also diverse, including men and women aged 18 to 55 who use both desktop/laptop and mobile devices.

Day 2 - 4

User Rsearch, Journey Map & Paint Points

After defining and understanding the problem and identifying our users, I kept in mind three key focuses as I honed into my research for the newsletter experience, which were the following answers to the questions:

  • Editorially, what is their purpose?

  • What role do they play in the business?

  • What makes a well-designed newsletter page?

The answers to those questions were:

  • For Editorial: Deliver a captivating single link that will entice weekly users to return to The Globe and Boston.com website more frequently.

  • For The Business: Strategically drive subscriber retention to maximize engagement and loyalty.

  • What makes a well-designed newsletter page? It must capture readers' attention and make them eager to explore The Globe and Boston.com's diverse range of topics.

User Research

I organized the company’s research conducted by Applause. The study aimed to obtain feedback on the current newsletter signup experience. The questions were the following:

The research questions were the following:

  • What is their impression of the current newsletter landing page?

  • How easy is it to find from within the website?

  • What do they like/dislike?

  • Are they able to find newsletters of interest easily?

  • Does the process of subscribing meet their expectations?

After analyzing all of my research, I began mapping out the current user's entry path throughout the journey of discovering the newsletter link, accessing the newsletter page, and signing up for their desired topics. However, theres access points pinpoint a readers/visitor pain points that that negatively impact the user experience.

Current Journey Map, Behavior and Pain Points

There are currently four ways for our readers to access the newsletter page:

  • The hamburger menu

  • Google search

  • Link within an article

  • Link in the Footer

Below are the pain points:

The Boston Globe

These results were based on User Experience heuristics and best practices included, but were not limited to:

  • The Nielsen Norman Group’s 10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design

  • The Gestalt Principles

  • The Understanding Groups 10 Information Architecture Heuristics 

  • Task Flows / Journey Mapping

Overall, the main takeaways to guide my design decisions and focus on these aspects were:

  • Ensuring consistent and prominent placement.

  • Minimizing unnecessary steps.

  • Allowing access to interact with The Boston Globe content if the user's goals or needs change.

  • Creating a stronger connection between the newsletter page and the manage newsletter page.

  • Provide more explicit user instructions on how to sign up for newsletters.

Day 5 - 6

Comparative analysis & Drafting User Flow

As I prepared for my upcoming sketching session, I delved into researching news platforms that contain a newsletter signup experience. My goal was to uncover their strengths and draw inspiration to craft an ideal UI and UX design that fits The Boston Globe brand. My selection were:

Comparative Analysis

The New York Times

  • Utilize filters to help users find topics quickly and easily and improve page density.

  • Ensure the "add" button is prominently displayed and easily noticeable to users.

  • For users already signed in, eliminate the need to input their email twice to minimize extra steps and ensure a seamless process.

  • Display a clear message at the top of the page to indicate that the user is logged in.

  • Provide clear and visible instructions for users on how to sign up for the newsletter.

The Washington Post

  • The "Sign up" tab and "Manage Newsletter" are visible and accessible at the top of the page.

  • Ensure the "Add" button is prominently displayed and easily noticeable to users.

  • Include a “Preview” option to view a newsletter before signing up.

  • Utilize a carousel to limit the information density of the page.

  • Utilizes bold and engaging images for each newsletter topic.

The Atlantic

  • Include a “Preview” option for users to view a newsletter before signing up.

  • Ensure that the "Select" button is prominently displayed and easily noticeable to users.

  • Each section should contain a visible message indicating the number of topics it contains and whether any are selected. This will help users know what they have selected and allow them to return to the section if needed.

  • An interactive toggle of the email field appears to indicate to users that they have selected a newsletter.

  • Includes a count for users to manage how many newsletters they have added.

  • Provide clear instructions for users on what they are supposed to do.

LA Times

  • Uses bold and engaging images for each newsletter topic.

Drafting User Flow

Afterward, I sketched a map 2 of the end-to-end user experience, illustrating solutions of how a user might navigate through the website - from finding the newsletter icon/link, to entering the newsletter page, and completing the process of signing up for newsletters that interest them.

Placement Recommendations

  • The newsletter link can stay in the hamburger menu, but I want to streamline the process for users to navigate to the newsletter page.

  • I suggest placing the newsletter link or icon in the upper navigation bar of the homepage. Therefore, I suggest removing the blue bar or making it smaller to free up more space so that the newsletter icon is easier to discover and won't be lost among other tabs.

  • Adding a “Newsletter” link with a description when users search for “The Boston Globe” or “Newsletter—Boston Globe” is another easily accessible pathway on the newsletter page.

Day 7 - 9

Sketching, Low-Fi Wireframes & Stakeholder/Dev Feedbacks

After finalizing my user flows, I sketched my design, which later transformed into high-fidelity mocks. I presented them to stakeholders, product managers, and developers to gather feedback on any constraints or additional features they wanted to incorporate using Figma — taking advantage of its scrolling and innovative animation features, which enabled me to create more realistic interactions.

During the presentation, I received feedback that the same process and goals were desired for Boston.com, a regional website owned by The Boston Globe Media. Boston.com, as a subset of The Boston Globe, shares the same user base, and all the previous research applies to it as well.

Design: Boston.com

Design: The Boston Globe