Case study · Brand + Website + Newsletter
TT Hanna started with no website and zero subscribers. Now 3 out of 4 readers open her emails.
How a dark fantasy romance author built an owned audience from nothing. A list that grew another 250% in the months after launch, with a 76.5% open rate.
0 -> list
started from zero subscribers
+250%
list growth after launch
76.5%
newsletter open rate
The before
Readers she couldn't keep — or touch
TT Hanna writes the kind of dark fantasy romance readers stay up too late for. Readers found her on socials, fell for her words... and then had nowhere to go.
No website. No signup. Zero subscribers. No way to reach a single reader when her book dropped.
Everything depended on social media algorithms deciding to show her posts. And we all know how that goes. TT had readers. What she didn't have was a home for them, or any way to bring them back.
the build
What I built
A brand as dark and atmospheric as her books.
Logos, palette, and typography that signal 'dark fantasy romance' before a since word is read — so the right readers know they're home the second they land.
A custom website with one job, built from the ground up.
Her first-ever home base, where every page guides readers toward two actions: buy the books, join the list. No dead ends, no decoration for decoration's sake.
Newsletter capture readers actually want.
Strategic signup placement with a real reason to join. Optimized for mobile, because that's where her readers were browsing.
the after
An owned audience that actually opens.
TT went from zero subscribers to a real, owned audience and the list didn't stop there. In the months after launch it grew another 250%. And these aren't dead-weight subscribers padding a number: her newsletter rate is 76.5%, meaning three out of four readers open what she sends.
Now when she has a new release, she isn't hoping an algorithm shows her post. She's emailing readers who already love her work and are waiting to hear from her
Starting from zero isn't the problem. Staying there is.
TT started with no website and no list. If that's you, you're one project away from owning your audience and it's fixable faster than you think.