Featured Member: Sweet Harmony Bakeshop
Owner: Lena Alvarez

The Challenge

Sweet Harmony Bakeshop, a small but mighty bakery in Portland, OR, had built a loyal in-store following, but online orders were flat. Their monthly newsletter—sent sporadically—wasn’t reaching new customers or inspiring repeat visits. Lena wanted a way to connect with her audience consistently, showcase seasonal treats, and encourage pre-orders during busy periods.

The EmailMonkey Solution

After joining the EmailMonkey community, Lena learned about segmentation and automation from other members’ success stories. She implemented:

• Segmentation by customer behavior — separating wholesale clients from individual dessert lovers.

• Automated campaigns — welcome emails with a free recipe download, and birthday month discounts.

• Visual templates — mouthwatering product images optimized for mobile.

• A/B testing — experimenting with subject lines like “Fresh out of the oven” vs. “Warm cookies are calling .”

The Results

Within 3 months of using EmailMonkey:

• Open rates jumped from 18% to 41%

• Online orders tripled during seasonal promotions

• Customer loyalty grew — 27% of orders came from repeat buyers

• Time saved: 4+ hours per week by automating weekly specials

Lena’s Take

“EmailMonkey gave me more than a tool—it gave me a strategy. Seeing how other community members use automation inspired me to test and tweak my own campaigns. Now, my emails are doing the selling for me while I focus on creating new recipes.”

Want to learn more?
Check out Lena’s full campaign breakdown in the Community Marketing Tips group, or ask her directly in this month’s Marketing AMA.