How Heidi Weinberg turned misaligned leads into confident buyers — and rebuilt her email engine with RightMessage

The problem: Attracting 2,000+ monthly leads who weren't ready to freelance

Heidi Weinberg helps fashion designers escape the toxic 9-to-5 grind and build thriving freelance businesses. Her business — built organically from YouTube, SEO, and LinkedIn — brings in 2,000+ new subscribers a month and serves a list of over 26,000.

But not everyone on that list was ready to freelance.

In fact, the largest segment of her incoming leads had no interest in freelancing — they wanted to start their own fashion brand. Others were beginners who didn’t know freelancing was even an option. Many were hunting for traditional jobs.

Heidi wasn’t attracting the wrong people. She was attracting a broad audience that needed education before they were ready to buy.

We were getting all these people who weren't specific to freelancing, but close — people who wanted a brand, or a job. And we didn't want to write them off. We wanted to meet them where they were, then guide them toward what was actually a better fit.

The situation became critical when her lead capture system completely broke down. Heidi had switched from RightMessage to ConvertBox. for better A/B testing capabilities on her 15+ lead magnet forms. It worked — until it didn't.

When her VA noticed that email signups had dropped to zero, Heidi started digging. She quickly discovered that ConvertBox had simply… stopped working. Silently. Worse, the company was completely unresponsive.

"We were losing leads every single hour. I was emailing, pretending to be a new customer just to get someone to respond. Nothing."

That’s when she reached out to RightMessage.

Within 72 hours, everything was migrated and rebuilt inside RightMessage.

"Price didn't matter. What mattered was being operational and supported. Brennan literally got on a call and walked us through it. There's no other tool I use where the founder is helping me one-on-one. That level of care is just... unheard of."

How Heidi Weinberg used RightMessage to segment and convert misaligned leads

With RightMessage back in place, Heidi focused on turning those broad, adjacent leads into aligned, confident buyers.

Step 1: Capture segmentation data with post-opt-in surveys

Every new subscriber now sees a short post-opt-in survey that collects their primary goal, experience level, and their role (if they're currently freelancing).

The survey asks:

• Primary Goal: Freelancing, starting a brand, or finding a job

• Experience Level: Beginner (0-1 years), intermediate (1-5 years), or advanced (5+ years)

• Role Specialization: Fashion designer, technical designer, pattern maker, textile designer, or other

"This data tells us where to begin. Instead of sending everyone the same emails, we can show people the stories and resources that actually make sense for them."

Step 2: Send personalized onboarding sequences by experience and goal

Heidi's team uses this segmentation data to trigger tailored welcome automations — especially for their two largest (and least-aligned) segments:

For Brand Starters:

An educational sequence that gently reframes the reality of launching a brand — highlighting the cost, time, and risk — and positions freelancing as a profitable, lower-barrier alternative.

We don't want to crush anyone's dream. We just want them to see the full picture, and then decide what path makes sense.

For Beginners:

An onboarding sequence focused on skill-building, showcasing free content, tools, and stories of total beginners who made the leap into freelancing — including a former Spanish teacher who became a full-time freelancer within a year.

We don't just say 'You can do this.' We show them how — and we show them proof.

Step 3: Make data-driven decisions with visual conversion tracking

RightMessage's visual dashboard allows Heidi's team to make instant optimization decisions across their entire funnel. Heidi can easily see conversion rates, completion rates, and performance metrics at a glance.

When Heidi noticed fewer people signing up for her evergreen webinar, her first instinct was to make a change to the opt-in form. But a quick look at her data in RightMessage instantly showed her that the form’s conversion rate was solid. Instead of wasting time fixing the wrong problem, Heidi could move on to diagnosing the actual issue and concentrate on fixing that.

"I love that I can make quick, data-informed decisions."

The system also enables them to track UTM parameters and lead sources seamlessly, connecting all the way from RightMessage through to ActiveCampaign. This creates a complete view of how different segments perform across the entire customer journey.

"The way that the data for conversion is set up and presented is really strong. From a visual perspective, it just feels really easy."

Results: 12% opt-in rate and 100,000+ segmentation data points

Faster, Data-Driven Funnel Decisions

RightMessage's visual dashboard makes it easy for Heidi's team to optimize what's working — and fix what's not.

We checked the opt-in rate for our evergreen webinar. Solid. No need to change it. That's the kind of instant clarity we get now.

Higher Trust, Better Buy-In

By showing the right stories to the right people, Heidi's team is building deeper resonance and more sales-ready leads.

I had someone pay $3,000 for our program after I echoed back her own words in an email. She told me, 'That's when I knew you were the one to help me.' That's the power of personalization.

Founder-Level Support

This isn't just about tech. It's about knowing the person behind the tool will show up when it matters.

Brennan bends over backward. I've emailed him late at night. I've panicked mid-launch. He's always there. You can't put a price on that.

Future plans: Website personalization and LinkedIn integration

Heidi is excited to implement RightMessage's website personalization for her upcoming live launch, using the segmentation data to customize sales pages based on experience level and career goals.

I'm looking forward to testing out a good chunk of data during a live launch, and then using the results to refine and optimize our evergreen funnel.

She's also planning to create additional funnel paths and automation triggers based on the growing segmentation data, including:

• Cross-sell and upsell sequences for existing customers

• More granular welcome sequences for specific specializations

• Automated nurture campaigns for leads who aren't yet ready to buy

Heidi also wants to expand her current survey to capture more nuanced information about subscriber needs and preferences.

The opportunity to gather this quality, qualitative data and then feed that right back to customers so they feel deeply seen and heard and understood — that's what creates trust, and all buying decisions are based off of trust.

In addition, Heidi has plans to to integrate RightMessage data across all marketing channels, including personalized content for LinkedIn (where Heidi gets her highest-quality leads) and customized podcast recommendations based on subscriber segments.

Leads from LinkedIn are just really high quality. They close fast. They're really engaged. So being able to connect that data through RightMessage and personalize their entire experience — that's huge.

Even if you only use 15% of RightMessage, it's worth it. This tool's not just powerful — it's trustworthy."

Frequently asked questions

How did Heidi Weinberg segment her fashion design audience?

Heidi Weinberg segments her 26,000+ subscriber email list using post-opt-in surveys that capture three key dimensions: primary goal (freelancing, starting a brand, or finding a job), experience level (beginner 0-1 years, intermediate 1-5 years, or advanced 5+ years), and role specialization (fashion designer, technical designer, pattern maker, textile designer, or other). This segmentation revealed that her largest incoming segment wanted to start fashion brands rather than freelance, allowing her to create targeted educational sequences for each audience.

What questions does Heidi Weinberg ask in her post-opt-in survey?

Heidi's RightMessage survey asks three strategic questions after someone subscribes: (1) What is your primary goal? with options for freelancing, starting a fashion brand, or finding a traditional job, (2) What is your experience level in fashion design? with beginner, intermediate, and advanced options, and (3) What is your role specialization? covering fashion designer, technical designer, pattern maker, textile designer, and other roles. These questions help her team deliver personalized content and identify which leads need education before they're ready to consider freelancing.

How does RightMessage integrate with ActiveCampaign?

RightMessage integrates with ActiveCampaign by syncing all segmentation data in real-time to custom fields in subscriber records. When someone completes a RightMessage survey, their answers are automatically sent to ActiveCampaign where they trigger personalized welcome automations and email sequences. The integration also tracks UTM parameters and lead sources from RightMessage through to ActiveCampaign, creating a complete view of how different segments perform across the entire customer journey from initial opt-in to purchase.

What conversion rate does Heidi Weinberg achieve with RightMessage?

Heidi Weinberg achieves a 12% overall website opt-in rate using RightMessage forms across her site. This converts her 2,000+ monthly visitors from YouTube, SEO, and LinkedIn into engaged email subscribers. The visual dashboard in RightMessage allows her team to quickly check conversion rates for specific funnels - for example, when she noticed fewer webinar signups, she could instantly see that the opt-in form itself was performing well, allowing her to focus on diagnosing the actual problem rather than wasting time fixing something that wasn't broken.

How long did it take to migrate from ConvertBox to RightMessage?

Heidi Weinberg's complete migration from ConvertBox to RightMessage took just 72 hours (3 days) despite having 15+ lead magnet forms to rebuild. When ConvertBox silently stopped working and became completely unresponsive to support requests, Heidi was losing leads every hour. She reached out to RightMessage founder Brennan Dunn, who personally got on a call and walked her team through the migration process. Within three days, everything was operational again with all forms rebuilt and functioning inside RightMessage.

How does Heidi Weinberg personalize onboarding for brand starters?

For subscribers who want to start their own fashion brand (her largest incoming segment), Heidi sends an educational email sequence that reframes the reality of launching a brand by highlighting the significant cost, time commitment, and financial risk involved. The sequence then positions freelancing as a profitable, lower-barrier alternative that allows fashion designers to earn income immediately while building skills and client relationships. The goal isn't to crush anyone's dream, but to show them the full picture so they can make an informed decision about which path makes sense for their situation.

What segmentation data points does Heidi Weinberg collect?

Heidi Weinberg has collected over 100,000 individual segmentation data points about her audience through RightMessage surveys. Each new subscriber contributes data on their primary career goal, experience level, and role specialization. This data is permanently enriched in their ActiveCampaign records and used to trigger tailored automations, personalize email content, and inform product development decisions. The system also tracks UTM parameters and lead sources, connecting acquisition channel data (YouTube, SEO, LinkedIn) with subscriber behavior and conversion rates throughout the funnel.

How does Heidi Weinberg use data to optimize her funnel?

Heidi uses RightMessage's visual dashboard to make instant, data-informed optimization decisions without guessing. When she noticed declining webinar registrations, instead of immediately changing the opt-in form, she checked the conversion rate in RightMessage and discovered it was performing well - allowing her to focus on the actual problem elsewhere in the funnel. The dashboard shows conversion rates, completion rates, and performance metrics at a glance, enabling her team to quickly identify what's working and what needs attention across their entire 15+ lead magnet ecosystem.

What results did personalized email sequences achieve for Heidi Weinberg?

Personalized email sequences helped Heidi close a $3,000 program sale by echoing back a prospect's own words from her survey responses. The customer told Heidi, "That's when I knew you were the one to help me." By segmenting her audience and sending different stories and resources to brand starters versus beginners versus experienced freelancers, Heidi builds deeper trust and creates more sales-ready leads. The personalization allows her to meet people where they are and guide them toward solutions that actually fit their situation, rather than sending everyone the same generic content.

How does RightMessage help with LinkedIn lead tracking?

RightMessage tracks UTM parameters and lead sources from LinkedIn through the entire customer journey, allowing Heidi to see that LinkedIn leads are her highest quality - they close faster and are more engaged than leads from other channels. The integration with ActiveCampaign connects this lead source data with segmentation information and conversion behavior, creating a complete picture of how LinkedIn subscribers perform compared to YouTube or SEO traffic. Heidi plans to use this data to create personalized experiences for LinkedIn leads, including customized podcast recommendations based on their subscriber segment.