Synctuition is a Tallinn-based meditation app, one of the world’s first 3D sound meditation programmes.
As Senior Content Marketing Manager, I developed the brand voice and content for Synctuition.
Advantage & Opportunity
- Pioneer: Synctuition is one of the world’s first meditation apps with 3D sounds.
- Product-market fit: Market trends are in favour of innovative meditation apps like Synctuition. English-speaking countries are the main markets.
Challenges
- Competition: We are unique but yet not alone in the market.
- Targeting: Synctuition targets not only the meditation novice, but also the experienced meditator looking for a more innovative and effective option. But first we need to educate our potential users about what exactly 3D sounds are and why they work.
This is where the SEO-based content approach and brand voice come in.
Getting There – Approach
“Today, Synctuition found its voice.”
This was one of the best compliments I’ve received in over 15 years of marketing, shared by a co-founder after our meeting about email flow copy and brand voice.
Email Marketing:
- In my first few weeks, I focused on getting to know the product, our audience, the market nuances, and the team—essentially, marketing 101. My initial task was to develop a comprehensive email flow covering various scenarios for users at different stages of their journey.
- I crafted the email flow to have its own distinctive tone, blending scientific precision with a touch of spirituality—professional yet friendly, knowledgeable, and approachable.
Strategy:
- Journey Mapping: I started by mapping out the user journey based on app behavior and prepared a detailed email flow.
- Design Collaboration: Working with the design team, I crafted the email copy and suggested design ideas while managing the art director.
- Optimisation: I regularly optimised content and frequency to align with our acquisition and retention goals.
- Micro Conversion Metrics: I used metrics like open and click-through rates, the number of free trials from blog subscriptions (which had its own flow), subscriptions, active users, and unsubscriptions to continually update and refine the content.
- Acquisition Focus: We highlighted benefits from various angles and included testimonials to attract new users.
- Retention Strategy: For existing users, we used testimonials, provided how-to guides to simplify navigation, and showcased what they could expect next if they continued their journey in the app.
SEO Strategy, Content Management, and Writing:
Meditation is a crowded market, with plenty of keyword opportunities—an SEO specialist’s dream—but also high keyword difficulty—an SEO specialist’s nightmare.
- To navigate this, I balanced our content strategy with a mix of navigational, informational, and transactional long-form and short-form articles tailored for TOFU (Top of Funnel), MOFU (Middle of Funnel), and BOFU (Bottom of Funnel) audiences.
- Over time, I incorporated shorter blog posts featuring spiritual messages that highlighted our benefits, complete with images. While these posts might have seemed to defy Google’s “1500 words or more” rule, they effectively attracted significant traffic, leading to new trials and subscribers.
SEO Strategy:
Instead of targeting high-volume, high-difficulty keywords—often saturated and highly competitive, especially in the US—I opted for a more strategic approach. I focused on keyword gap analysis, setting thresholds for search volume and keyword difficulty to find more niche meditation-related keywords.
For scheduling, I implemented an aggressive content calendar during the initial months to build momentum.
Metrics:
- I tracked unique visitors, page views, and bounce rates, alongside key metrics like the number of free trial subscriptions and active users.
- Informational and educational articles were regularly updated with new data, and we revised H1 headings to reflect the latest updates, including the year and month.
Multi-Channel Marketing:
- Our marketing strategy for Synctuition was multi-channel, aimed at boosting both subscriptions and active users. To determine which channels were most effective, we employed a multi-attribution model. I used Mixpanel to track the user journey, given the diverse ways users interact with the app.
Tools used: Google Analytics, Google Keyword Planner, Semrush, WordPress, Ahref’s, Mixpanel, Buzzsumo
Results:
- 105% increase in blog subscriptions
- 60% rise in active users within 6 months
- A strong brand identity that has “found its voice,” consistently maintaining the same tone from 2018 to today
Learnings:
- When crafting an SEO strategy in a crowded market, you’ll often encounter numerous high-volume, high-difficulty keywords. In such cases, balance is essential.
- At Synctuition, we succeeded not by chasing the most popular keywords but by uncovering hidden opportunities and carving out our own niche. This approach aligned perfectly with our goals, as Synctuition is no ordinary meditation app.
- When it comes to email marketing, less isn’t always more. Despite the general advice for concise emails and minimal design elements, we found that our audience preferred longer emails packed with valuable information. So, we went against the grain and it worked!
- Testimonials turned out to be one of our strongest content types. They’re incredibly effective unless, of course, the audience doesn’t resonate with the product or service. For us, they proved to be the best performers.