Her First 100k

Her First $100K is a feminist finance company dedicated to empowering women with personal finance education. What began as a blog addressing a market gap quickly evolved into an online learning platform offering memberships, courses, and digital products. As the business grew—driven by social media success on TikTok and Instagram—the need for a scalable and automated email marketing solution became clear. Today, ActiveCampaign plays a central role in how Her First $100K engages its audience, nurtures leads, and drives revenue.

From Blog to Business

Her First $100K started as a blog founded by Tori Dunlap, who aimed to fill a significant void in personal finance education for women. As the content resonated with a growing audience, the platform evolved into a full-fledged business. "Our founder wanted to share more information about personal finance for women because she saw that it was such a gap for so many people. And as she did that, it grew exponentially so quickly because there was such a need for this kind of content and this sort of mission," explains Elizabeth McCumber, the email marketing strategist.

This rapid growth meant that email became a critical channel for relationship building. Early on, the company used a platform called Flodesk, which offered attractive designs but lacked advanced automation and segmentation capabilities. As their subscriber count grew, the limitations became clear.

The Need for a Better Solution

Before switching, Her First $100K struggled with key challenges:

• Limited Automation and Segmentation:
  Flodesk did not support complex automations or detailed segmentation. Elizabeth noted, “We were using an email platform that was really aesthetically nice but didn't have a lot of the more technical features, more complex automations, for example, the ability to segment more.” With a diverse audience and a growing list, the business needed a system that could deliver personalized content at scale.
• Scalability Issues:
  Handling nearly 300,000 contacts with a basic platform meant that sending one-off emails became cumbersome. The lack of technical depth hindered growth and efficiency.

These challenges prompted the transition to ActiveCampaign. The move was driven by the need for advanced features that could handle the complexities of a rapidly growing business.

How ActiveCampaign Solved Their Challenges

How ActiveCampaign Solved Their Challenges

The transition from Flodesk to ActiveCampaign was seamless, thanks to ActiveCampaign’s proactive onboarding and implementation support, included as part of the switch. Their hands-on approach and dedicated guidance ensured the process was not only smooth but also highly successful, making the move effortless and stress-free. Beyond the transition, ActiveCampaign delivered immediate value by addressing key challenges with robust automation, advanced segmentation, and seamless integrations, driving measurable results from the start. “I think that the first wonderful point with our ActiveCampaign journey that I experienced was that we had that transition call and it went really well. Whether it was working through the warmup process with our rep or just getting all of our information, our contacts into ActiveCampaign, we were able to do that pretty flawlessly,” Elizabeth recalls.

Advanced Automation 

ActiveCampaign allowed Her First $100K to set up detailed automations. One key example is the “last engage date” automation. This workflow checks for each contact’s activity—whether they open or click emails—and updates a custom field with the last engagement date. This date then triggers re-engagement campaigns if a subscriber becomes inactive. Elizabeth explains, “I use it every single time I segment,” highlighting its importance in maintaining a clean and engaged list.

Actionable Steps for Replication:

• Trigger Setup: Configure an automation to update a custom “last engage date” field whenever a contact opens or clicks an email.
• Segmentation: Use this custom field to identify inactive subscribers.
• Re-engagement Campaign: Create an automation that sends a series of emails offering top content and a reminder that inactivity may lead to unsubscription.

Detailed Segmentation Through Tagging

A central part of Her First $100K’s strategy is detailed audience segmentation. Using ActiveCampaign, they apply a set of 279 tags to each contact. These tags capture specific interests, such as “debt defeater,” “career climber,” “commander-in-chief,” “financial freshmen,” and “stock market scholar.” This granular tagging allows the team to send highly targeted content based on a subscriber’s financial goals and behavior.

Actionable Steps for Replication:

• Data Collection: Use a quiz (Her First $100K built theirs through Treasury) to gather detailed information about each subscriber’s financial goals.
• API Integration: Automatically feed quiz responses into ActiveCampaign and assign relevant tags.
• Dynamic Segmentation: Create segments based on tag combinations to tailor email content.

Seamless Integration Setup

ActiveCampaign’s vast network of integrations with other platforms is another major asset for Her First $100K. The company connects ActiveCampaign with Treasury, Kajabi, and WebinarJam to maintain a unified customer journey. For example, quiz results captured on Treasury automatically feed into ActiveCampaign via API. This integration ensures that subscribers are placed on the correct workflows and receive personalized emails from the start.

Actionable Steps for Replication:

• Integration Mapping: Create a flow diagram showing data movement from Treasury to ActiveCampaign.
• API Configuration: Ensure quiz responses and contact details are passed automatically into ActiveCampaign.
• Revenue Data Sync: Work on integrating revenue data from Kajabi to correlate email activity with conversions.

Structured Email Funnel Architecture

Her First $100K uses ActiveCampaign to design an email funnel that moves subscribers from initial opt-in to paid membership. The funnel begins with a social media-driven quiz that collects email addresses and key financial information. Subscribers then enter a welcome series, which delivers at least three value-focused emails before any product mention. This approach builds trust and positions the company as a source of high-quality education.

After the welcome series, subscribers receive targeted content based on their tags. For example, if someone is tagged as a “debt defeater,” they might receive emails featuring debt reduction strategies and relevant affiliate offers. Additionally, if a subscriber signs up for a webinar but does not attend, ActiveCampaign triggers a follow-up sequence with a recording and additional content.

Actionable Steps for Replication:

• Email Nurturing: Develop a structured welcome series (minimum three emails) focused solely on educational content.
• Tag-Triggered Campaigns: Set up additional email sequences that target specific segments based on quiz responses and engagement.
• Webinar Follow-Up: Configure an automation that sends webinar recordings and related content to non-attendees.

Business Impact

Switching to ActiveCampaign has yielded significant, measurable improvements for Her First $100K. The company now sends around eight million emails per month, supporting a diverse and highly engaged audience.

Key performance metrics include:

• Over 212,000 registrants across all webinars, powered by ActiveCampaign automations.
• A 54.6% email open rate, compared to the industry average of 35.6%.
• A remarkable 189% contact growth rate year-over-year, underscoring the success of the personalized onboarding and nurturing strategies.

These numbers reflect not only the scalability of ActiveCampaign but also the impact of its advanced segmentation and automation features. By moving subscribers through a carefully structured funnel—from the initial quiz to targeted follow-up campaigns—Her First $100K has created a system that effectively supports both free content distribution and premium membership conversions.

"I would say the most important role of ActiveCampaign for us is to move people through the funnel," explains Elizabeth. This statement encapsulates how the platform’s capabilities have directly contributed to stronger engagement, a steadily growing contact base, and a significant increase in webinar participation—all of which have driven revenue and solidified Her First $100K’s position as a leader in personal finance education.

How You Can Replicate This Strategy

For businesses looking to implement a similar strategy using ActiveCampaign, consider the following steps:

1. Set Up Detailed Automations:
   • Implement a “last engage date” automation to track subscriber activity.
   • Design re-engagement campaigns triggered by inactivity.
2. Adopt Granular Segmentation:
   • Use quizzes or surveys to capture detailed subscriber data.
   • Leverage API integrations to automatically tag and segment your contacts.
3. Integrate Key Platforms:
   • Map out and connect your data sources (e.g., Treasury, Kajabi) to ActiveCampaign.
   • Ensure seamless data flow between systems using native integrations, the ActiveCampaign API, or third-party connection solutions to create a unified customer experience.
4. Design a Structured Email Funnel:
   • Create a multi-stage welcome series that focuses on education before selling.
   • Develop targeted follow-up sequences based on specific subscriber actions (e.g., webinar non-attendance).
5. Measure and Optimize:
   • Track engagement metrics and adjust workflows based on performance.
   • Use features like BotSense to maintain data integrity and ensure accurate reporting.

Conclusion

Her First $100K’s success with ActiveCampaign demonstrates how advanced automation, detailed segmentation, and seamless integrations can transform email marketing. By moving from a basic platform to ActiveCampaign, the company solved its immediate challenges and built a scalable system that supports ongoing growth and customer engagement.

For businesses looking to replicate this strategy, the key is to leverage integrations to sync detailed customer data to build advanced automations that deliver personalized communication to increase engagement. Her First $100K’s approach offers a practical blueprint for using ActiveCampaign to turn email marketing into a powerful revenue driver, all while delivering personalized and valuable content to every subscriber.

If you’d like to see how ActiveCampaign can help you grow your business and scale your audience, get started with a 14-day free trial today!