Making the switch to a scalable, supportive platform for global growth

Born during the global lockdowns of 2020, Craft Club was launched to inspire creativity and connection through DIY kits. What started as a passion project between a couple has quickly grown into a globally recognized brand with ambitions of becoming the world’s largest craft company. However, big goals require innovative tools, especially when working with a small team. While their initial platform with a leading competitor was effective in the early stages, cracks began to appear as the brand expanded globally. The SMS functionality was limited, support was nonexistent, and managing multiple platforms created inefficiencies. 

“During our four years with our first provider, we never once spoke to a real person. But as we grew, we needed more guidance and hands-on help to set things up correctly.”
- Nikos Maniaty, Co-Founder, Craft Club

Looking to scale efficiently, improve customer engagement, and simplify their tech stack, Craft Club made the switch to Attentive for SMS in September 2024 and email in February 2025. The results from the trial were immediate: subscriber growth improved 200%+ after 30 days with Attentive, and engagement rates jumped. Attentive’s global presence, ease of use, and responsive support team sealed the deal.

“We needed a platform that could grow with us. The fact that we could consolidate SMS and email with a partner that truly supports scaling across regions made Attentive a no-brainer.”
- Nikos Maniaty, Co-Founder, Craft Club

Launching essential strategies to drive early results

Craft Club’s partnership with Attentive began with a clear focus on building experiences that could quickly generate results and establish a scalable foundation. They launched essential journeys—like welcome, cart and browse abandonment, and post-purchase—across both SMS and email channels. 

Early on, they tested various promotional offers to determine which ones resonated most with their audience. This experimentation led to the discovery that a two-tier discount system was most effective, offering 10% off to email subscribers and 15% off to customers who joined both email and SMS programs.

One of Craft Club’s favorite features of Attentive’s platform is the patented two-tap mobile technology; they’re the most seamless and effective sign-up units the team has come across, making it easy to capture new subscribers without disrupting the user experience. They also appreciate the intuitive layout for creating journeys, which makes it easy to create personalized interactions. Journeys has seen 43x ROI across all regions. The team also leveraged multimedia messaging (MMS) in the US market to boost engagement with richer visual content. Additionally, integrations with tools like Shopify for pre-purchase data and Wonderment for post-purchase tracking help streamline their full-funnel marketing strategy.

Best-in-class support

Craft Club consistently highlighted the exceptional level of support they received from the Attentive team. Beyond the initial onboarding process, they benefited from proactive guidance and assistance from their Customer Success Manager, implementation specialists, and local market experts. This comprehensive support network proved invaluable for a fast-growing company operating in multiple regions.

“It’s not just our CSM. We received hands-on help from the implementation team, which was a pleasant surprise, and it’s been amazing. With other platforms, you pay more and get less.”
- Nikos Maniaty, Co-Founder, Craft Club

Driving conversions with continuous testing, personalized offers, and phased campaigns

To keep their messaging fresh and impactful, Craft Club embraced a culture of continuous testing and personalization. Craft Club leaned into A/B testing incentives, subject lines, and content styles to find what truly resonates with their audience. Blanket discount codes had started to lose their punch, so the team began testing a range of offers, carefully evaluating which ones converted best and tailoring future promotions accordingly. Their annual 12-day Christmas giveaway campaign was a standout example of how they kept offers compelling. Rather than running a single offer, they kept it dynamic, introducing new surprises daily to keep their audience excited and engaged.

Craft Club’s SMS and email marketing now form the backbone of a four-phase sales strategy that builds momentum and drives urgency. It starts with a pre-launch promotion, using teasers like “get your carts ready” and calendar invites to warm up high-intent shoppers. When the sale goes live, broad segments receive messages to generate excitement and fast action. Midway through, Craft Club re-engages their subscribers with reminders and fresh incentives like giveaways to sustain interest. Finally, the last-chance push leans into urgency with countdowns, low-stock alerts, and text reminders.

They’ve also used Attentive to build stronger community ties, especially when things don’t go perfectly. If there are shipping or fulfillment hiccups, Craft Club communicates transparently, often through a message from the founder. This human approach fosters loyalty, shows accountability, and reinforces the trust they’ve built with their audience. This outreach also resonated when they shared that recent customer feedback had directly influenced a product improvement, driving an open rate of 69%, CTR of 13%, and CVR of 8% on the campaign.

“We also build journeys that aren’t just transactional, but connective, like post-purchase journeys featuring tutorials and product usage tips that deepen customer relationships. It’s not just about selling, it’s about connection. Attentive helps us communicate honestly and creatively.”
- Nikos Maniaty, Co-Founder, Craft Club

Crafting a seamless experience with SMS and email

One of Craft Club’s strategic advantages has been their ability to align SMS and email communications. VIP customers and limited-edition product drops are targeted primarily through SMS, nodding to the channel’s immediacy and effectiveness for time-sensitive messaging. While email is reserved for richer content, educational material, and storytelling. This multichannel approach allows Craft Club to stay top of mind across the funnel without overwhelming subscribers. It also ensures that each channel plays to its strengths, providing an experience that reflects lifecycle stages.

Simplifying global growth with Attentive’s compliance and best practices

Attentive’s compliance support and international best practices gave Craft Club the confidence to scale beyond its Australian roots into the UK, US, and Canadian markets. Attentive was designed with compliance in mind, offering compliance tools that help safeguard from potential risk so clients can run their program with peace of mind, while ensuring campaigns retain the brand’s distinctive voice. 

“I create one campaign, and it runs across the US, UK, Canada, and Australia without extra effort. It’s seamless.”
- Nikos Maniaty, Co-Founder, Craft Club

Even amid challenging economic conditions and evolving supply and demand trends, Craft Club experiences strong growth, with particular focus on their presence in the UK and EU markets. Attentive’s scalable infrastructure enabled the brand to navigate these complexities with confidence and effectiveness.

Results that speak for themselves

What started as a trial soon became a critical platform for the brand. The results following the switch were undeniable, as their program has seen a global ROI of 21x. In June, Craft Club achieved its first $1 million revenue month, and Attentive contributed $380,000 of that total. Cart abandonment journeys delivered a 16% conversion rate globally, while browse abandonment hit 28%.

“Don’t just pick a tool because everyone else does. Zoom out. Think about where your brand will be in three years. Attentive felt like a big leap, but we grew into it fast. And we avoided the pain of switching platforms when it really mattered.”
- Nikos Maniaty, Co-Founder, Craft Club

What’s next for Craft Club

Craft Club has ambitious plans for their continued partnership with Attentive. They are excited to launch more product lines, expand further across Europe and Asia, and continue refining their marketing around a balance of conversion and community. The brand is also exploring Rich Communication Services (RCS) as a next-generation messaging channel.