May 2026 Marketing Performance
Monthly review covering leads, web traffic, paid media, email, and marketing program status for May 2026.
Program Update
Marketing Status & Priorities
✓ Completed Since Last Meeting
- —LB-009 "Digital Governance: Architecture vs. Enforcement" published May 19
- —LB-005 Digital Modernization Playbook live at lullabot.com May 23
- —LB-011 Playbook Document Ad launched on LinkedIn May 20
- —LB-010 nurture emails built, activation scheduled June 4
- —LB-005 Zapier + auto-response email setup complete
- —Campaign 1 content pipeline fully complete — all core assets live
⏳ Awaiting Client Action
- —June Newsletter hero image — confirm from Lullabot design folder
- —ABM working session — schedule with Deanna, Corey, Ellie, Jenna to finalize Q2 approach
- —Video program — confirm first pilot video topic and batch production schedule
- —Zoho Marketing Plus — decision on cancellation still pending
🔧 In Development — Newfangled
- —June Newsletter (LB-NL626) — test sent May 28, final approval needed, send ~June 3
- —LB-010 nurture sequence — final technical review before June 4 activation
- —3 companion article concepts from Playbook — scoped, not yet assigned
- —LinkedIn awareness campaign assessment — PDF download test in progress
Pipeline Influence
Attribution
No CRM Connected — Simple Attribution Mode
Lullabot tracks deals informally. To complete attribution for this month, provide any closed or active deals (org name, contact email, close date, outcome) and we'll cross-reference against Insight Engine to identify marketing touchpoints.
What We Can Track
IE has 42 new sessions in May with 21 active MQLs and 3 SQLs. For any deals in discussion, we can look up the contact by email or company to confirm marketing touchpoints.
Open Question
Are there any active deals or prospects in discussion that we should cross-reference against Insight Engine this month?
Insight Engine
Lead Review & Highlights
| Month | New Leads | Active MQLs | Active SQLs |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | — | — | — |
| February | — | — | — |
| March | 18 | 7 | 3 |
| April | 38 | 19 | 5 |
| May MTD | 42 | 21 | 3 |
LEAD PROGRESS
42 new leads through May 29 — up from 38 in April and 18 in March. The ramp reflects the full Campaign 1 content stack now being live and indexed. Jan–Feb show no data, consistent with tracking infrastructure being established in March.
TRAFFIC & CHANNELS
Act-On email continues to be the dominant lead source (most sessions tagged "acton"). Direct and organic remain the top traffic channels. Notable: ChatGPT sent 51 sessions — the first meaningful AI referral signal worth tracking month-over-month.
Recent Featured Leads
Darran Anderson
Director of Strategy & Innovation · Texas Dept. of Transportation
Pages
1
Conversions
0
Source
Act-On
Texas DOT is a prime ICP target — Lullabot is a Texas DIR–approved vendor. A Director of Strategy at a major state DOT is precisely the procurement decision influencer the "governance without authority" messaging was written for.
Stacy Westra
Region V Administrator · Michigan Supreme Court
Pages
1
Conversions
1
Source
Converted via LinkedIn on first visit — validating paid social spend. State judiciary is a high-governance, multi-site environment in Lullabot's ICP. First-visit conversion is a strong signal worth a nurture follow-up.
Amy Hepler
Lead UX & Accessibility Developer · State of North Carolina
Pages
1
Conversions
0
Source
Act-On
State of NC is direct ICP. A Lead UX & Accessibility Developer is a key technical implementer persona — exactly the practitioner-level audience the accessibility content was built to reach. Second NC contact in the May pipeline alongside elena.talanker@nc.gov.
Yaoxin Chen
Web Developer & Associate Application Programmer · NY State Unified Court System
Pages
1
Conversions
0
Source
Act-On
NY State court system — another state judiciary contact alongside Stacy Westra. Technical implementer profile (IT decision-influencer persona) which the video content strategy is specifically designed to reach. Two court system contacts in one month is worth noting.
ALSO NOTABLE
21 active MQLs · 3 active SQLs MTD
Paid Media
May 2026 Performance
Full month MTD · May 1–29, 2026
Total Spend
$1,029
vs ~$1,500 budget
Impressions
8,204
Google + LinkedIn
Total Clicks
148
107 Google · 41 LinkedIn
Conversions
8
LinkedIn only · Google $0
| Campaign | Platform | Spend | Clicks | CTR | CPC | Conv. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Branded Search | $430 | 107 | 20.2% | $4.02 | — | |
| Playbook Document Ad | $290 | — | — | — | 6 ✓ | |
| State Gov Websites (Accessibility) | $309 | — | — | — | 2 · Paused |
PLAYBOOK AD PERFORMING
The Document Ad launched May 20 is already the strongest LinkedIn performer with 6 conversions on $290 spend — roughly $48/conversion. This validates the ebook as a lead-gen asset and justifies continued spend.
WATCH ITEM
Google branded search logged $430 spend with 0 tracked conversions. This is likely a conversion tracking gap rather than a real performance issue — worth confirming the conversion action is firing correctly.
Google Analytics · Full month MTD · May 1–29
Web Traffic & Search
Direct
4,021
↓ vs 5,722 Apr
Organic Search
3,498
↓ vs 4,375 Apr
Referral
601
↓ vs 1,003 Apr
251
↓ vs 416 Apr
Paid Search
133
↑ vs 59 Apr
Top Pages by Views · May MTD
TOP REFERRAL SOURCES
AI REFERRAL SIGNAL ✦
ChatGPT sent 51 sessions this month — the first meaningful AI-driven referral traffic. As state government buyers increasingly use AI tools for research, this is a signal worth watching month-over-month. Lullabot's thought leadership content appears to be surfacing in AI answers.
Traffic note: May sessions are down across all channels vs. April. With 2 days remaining in the month, the final gap will narrow — but April also benefited from two newsletter sends and the LB-008 publication spike. May's volume reflects a single article publish plus the ebook launch, most of whose traffic impact will carry into June.
Email & Content
May Program Performance
Newsletter Performance
| Newsletter | Recipients | Opens | Open Rate | Clicks | CTR | CTOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benchmark | — | — | 20–25% | — | 10% | 10% |
| May (LB-NL526) ⏳ metrics pending | ~1,800 | — | — | — | — | — |
| April (LB-NL426) ⚠ wrong list | 2,770 | 379 | 13.82% | 34 | 1.24% | 9% |
| March | 1,788 | 616 | 34.7% | 105 | 5.9% | 17% |
| February | 1,782 | 661 | 37.1% | 119 | 6.7% | 18% |
| December | 1,822 | 595 | 32.7% | 68 | 3.7% | 11.5% |
LIST CORRECTION IMPACT
April's 13.82% open rate is an outlier — it was sent to ~2,770 vs the correct ~1,800 list due to a Zoho miscommunication. The true baseline from Feb/Mar on the correct list is 34–37% open rate, well above the 20–25% benchmark. May should reflect a return to that range.
MAY METRICS PENDING
Act-On connector requires a credential fix — May newsletter metrics will be added once resolved. Sent May 5 to the corrected ~1,800 list. Expect performance in line with Feb/Mar baseline.
Content Published — May 2026
"Digital Governance: Architecture vs. Enforcement"
Published May 19 · Darren Petersen · LB-009
"Digital Modernization Playbook for State Government"
Published May 23 · lullabot.com/white-papers · LB-005
Newsletter Pipeline
| Newsletter | Send Date | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| April Newsletter (LB-NL426) | Apr 12 | Sent | Sent to ~2,770 (wrong list) — corrected in Act-On going forward |
| May Newsletter (LB-NL526) | May 5 | Sent | Corrected ~1,800 list · metrics to pull from Act-On |
| June Newsletter (LB-NL626) | ~June 3 | Awaiting Approval | Test sent May 28 · hero image confirmation needed |
Looking Back & Ahead
Retrospective
Campaign 1 Complete
All four core content assets are live — LB-007 (visibility), LB-008 (consensus), LB-009 (governance architecture), and LB-005 (Playbook ebook). The full nurture infrastructure (LB-010) activates June 4. This closes the foundation phase and shifts the program to lead development and conversion.
What's Working
- ↑Lead volume growing: 42 new leads in May (up from 18 in March). The ramp is tracking the content-live timeline.
- ↑Playbook ad efficiency: $48/conversion on the Document Ad in its first 10 days — strong early signal for the new LinkedIn format.
- ↑AI referral traffic emerging: 51 ChatGPT sessions — thought leadership content is surfacing in AI-assisted research by state government buyers.
- ↑ICP lead quality improving: Texas DOT Director of Strategy, Michigan Supreme Court administrator, NY State court systems — tighter persona alignment vs. prior months.
Open Questions for the Meeting
- ?LinkedIn awareness campaign — continue testing PDF download version, or pivot the creative strategy altogether?
- ?ABM email initiative — are 5 state campaigns still the Q2 goal? What's the prioritized state list?
- ?Video program — timeline to first pilot video? Who are the confirmed SMEs for the first batch?
- ?Zoho Marketing Plus — ready to cancel, or still needed for any active workflows?
- ?Are there active deals or pipeline conversations we should cross-reference against IE for attribution?
The information contained in this presentation is privileged and confidential.
© Newfangled. All rights reserved.