web app 
James Marketing Amplifier is a marketing automation web app dedicated to small law firms. The purpose is to help them improve their marketing to obtain more and better clients. James Marketing Amplifier offers a high-value law content which can be sent to segmented clients through email campaigns. With this online tool, law firms receive more signups from their website, acquire customers through referrals, grow and improve educational content on their blogs.
James Publishing is a mature company that has been publishing content for lawyers since 1981. Jim Pawell, Co-Founder of James Publishing, found us through recommendation. We turned his raw idea into a clickable prototype that obtained customer feedback. The next step was to build functioning software. The purpose was to build a totally new type of product for which there are no models in any industry or profession.
This project involved 7 people: Project Manager, UX/UI Designer, Quality Assurance Specialist, two Front-end Developers and two RoR Developers. We handled 100% of the design and development. Although the pandemic of COVID-19 appeared during the process of implementation, our cooperation went perfectly.
Big differences in time zones can always be a struggle for project management, especially in agile workflow, where changes can happen very rapidly. In order to stay on top of things, we have held regular meetings with James Marketing Amplifier staff to discuss any upcoming tasks and current customer feedback. This, combined with our project management tools, meant that over 10 hour time difference became a non-issue in our work.
James Marketing Amplifier provides high-value legal content through personalized files. Each document is branded with subscribers' data and logos to positively impact brand image.
Integration with the InDesign server allows us to take subscriber data and automatically apply it to great content prepared by the JMA team. This custom feature meant big savings for James Marketing Amplifier's staff, as this time-consuming process no longer had to be done manually. On the other hand, customers could receive their branded files within moments of registration.
By applying automation to the creation of branded documents, it was possible to reduce the time required for this task and delegate staff resources to perform new activities that previously lacked capacity. In this way, JMA employees were able to undertake the creation of customized videos for each client. At the same time, the automation of document branding has meant that James Marketing Amplifier now serves 10 times more clients than before.
A good way of learning new things is to work on a real project with real problems. The best way to solve the problem is to dive deep into the task and search for the right solution. But the best and the funniest things happen when you are trying to implement functionality that no-one did before, and the tool you need to use hasn't got any useful documentation. But after all, you will be proud of yourself that you did it, while the client will be happy to have something unique. In short, this is how we implemented the branded documents feature for JMA.
Library section allows JMA managers to properly sort and categorize the files depending on type, topic or length and assign it to proper subscribers. Status of each file can be easily reviewed, so updating a large number of files or checking for custom document versions can be done in just a few steps.
Additionally, library templates allow for a quick and automated way of assigning content to subscribers.
End result? Easy access to varied law documents for the subscribers, which can later be sent to their selected contacts.
Another way of reaching customers for subscribers is using campaigns curated by JMA staff. Responsive board allows for segmenting contacts into groups, so only the appropriate content is being sent. Thanks to robust Drip integration subscribers can be sure that the content will reach correct people.
Segmentation of the clients helps to engage them effectively by matching relevant content. The automatic email system will contact the person after adding a name and email address.
For the purpose of this project, I implemented innovative solutions designed by our UX/UI Designer. User-friendly design is necessary to meet the goals of the JMA application. I developed a scalable template using CSS3, HTML5, Java Script and one of its frameworks React.js. Thanks to this project, I learned how to work in an evolving environment. I haven't had the opportunity to work on marketing automation products before, and I found this project very enjoyable.
Through the User Panel (also called Customer Portal), subscribers can view available content documents and control the sending of individual emails. Managers with proper permissions can add new customers, and by using the drag & drop method, determine in which column a particular client should be located.
James Marketing Amplifier Managers can add new subscribers and upload new files directly to the library. The Admin Panel gives them full control of uploaded content materials. They are able to add, edit, and assign documents to subscribers.
When adding new contacts for their subscribers, JMA staff can use a bulk import tool which allows for importing large amounts of data into the system. Thanks to intuitive validation and editing options, it’s easy to find any mistakes in imported data and quickly fix them - even when working with thousands of records.
I haven't got an opportunity to use marketing automation tools before. Testing was a pretty challenging task, especially checking data correctness on admin's & subscriber's portal and integration with external applications. The most important case was to create solid documentation and to keep it in the test management app - Xray.
Thanks to the statistics in the Admin Panel, Managers can analyze the efficiency of the application and monitor user activity. Through the Dashboard, they can view numbers of logins, length of sessions, or the ratio of total emails sent to documents opened. Data can be sorted by specializations, managers or selected time ranges, and exported to the CSV file which allows for even more in depth analysis.
As a new member of the team, it was a challenge to join the ongoing project. However, thanks to good communication and experience in cooperation, I managed to create a comprehensive system for collecting statistics on the use of all the most important functions of our application. This is my first major feature with React and I am glad that the data is viewed smoothly and conveniently, and that our client can make key decisions based on them.
Convention server is a feature in the form of an add-on to legal websites that enables the creation of special libraries with branded company materials for visitors to download. This feature can be personalized according to the individual needs of JMA's clients. In addition, the convention server provides an alternative distribution channel for documentation generated on our client's side.
JR came to us with the idea for the digitalization of their processes. They also wanted to have the possibility to present their work efforts to the clients. The most challenging was to create the product and design the digital tool for the customers while the concept constantly evolved.
We analyzed many tools and possibilities for modeling the customers and leads service. As a result, we've built the MVP which main goal was to engage JMA customers into leading process and streamline onboarding and communication.
We've developed a prototype of the product that has been tested by James Referral and its clients before the final implementation. Then we gained valuable feedback, and thanks to that, we were able to adapt the portal to the needs and skills of users.
Rails 
Ruby 
Postgresql 
React 
HTML 
HAML 
CSS 
JavaScript 
xRay 
Twilio 
Adobe InDesign 
Zapier 
Jim Pawell, Co-Founder of James Publishing gave us an excellent review with 5 stars on Clutch. The new software appeared as a lifesaver for the company during the COVID lockdown. It has provided work for the team that they can do from home. The number of new customers rapidly grows. The company has transformed from being a stodgy old book publisher to an innovative software publisher with a product unlike any other.
The client is extremely happy with the relationship, and we are going to develop the next versions of the software that will significantly extend the final product.
After speaking with several development agencies, we retained Railwaymen to turn our raw idea into first a clickable prototype for which we could obtain customer feedback, and second, into functioning software. They handled 100% of the design and development.
Railwaymen is a first class, high-quality operation which charges reasonable rates and does great work. We are extremely happy with the relationship, and plan to stay with Railwaymen through future versions of the software. Creative design and problem-solving have had the biggest impact on my impression. But the unwavering support and patience of their team is a close second.
Joanna Brzezińska-Wajda
Head of Sales
