Author Archive: Lisa Harmon

November 19, 2008: 2008 Retail Email Subscription Benchmark Study Released!

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 08:26 PM
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From: Me Subject Line: 2008 Retail Email Subscription Benchmark Study Released! Date: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 2007 was all about relevancy. 2008 is all about the subscriber. In fact, subscribers are the new black. Stay on top of the trend: check out the terrifically...
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November 14, 2008: The warmest zzz's

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 03:11 PM
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From: Anthropologie Subject Line: The warmest zzz's Date: Friday, November 14, 2008 In keeping with our "senses" theme from this week's Email Insider, I feel like I can almost reach out and touch the textures featured in this Anthropologie email... and I'd like to....
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November 12, 2008: Always Have Smooth Landings with the Landing Page Checklist

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 01:36 PM
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From: Me Subject Line: Always Have Smooth Landings with the Landing Page Checklist Date: Wednesday, October 12, 2008 Check out the checklist > BTW: Interested in joining the eec Design Roundtable? See details here > You’ve swept your customers off their feet with a...
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November 06, 2008: FW: pre-sell

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 03:03 PM
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From: Last, First Subject Line: FW: pre-sell Date: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 From: NORDSTROM Subject Line: 40% Off or More! Half-Yearly Sale for Women & Kids! Date: Wednesday, November 5, 2008 We love "The Nordstrom Way" over here at Smith-Harmon – so much so...
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November 06, 2008: Count to 8

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 02:44 PM
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From: shopbop.com Subject Line: On Trend + On Point: 8 Pieces That Define the Season Date: November 6, 2008 Studies show: lists work. People love numbers. They're so definitive. So digestible. What I find interesting about this list is that the numbers are out...
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November 05, 2008: Prize Pie

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 02:19 PM
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From: Williams-Sonoma Subject Line: Holiday Pie Baking: Favorite Tools Date: November 5, 2008 BTW: See the animation here > I love apple pie, and I love this Williams-Sonoma top nav Shipping/Countdown animation. Way to add visual interest while simultaneously messaging two timely promotions, all...
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October 31, 2008: Happy Halloween from Smith-Harmon!

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 01:14 PM
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From: Me Subject Line: Happy Halloween from Smith-Harmon Date: Friday, October 31, 2008 For your entertainment: the Smith-Harmon team in costume! Oh how we've grown since the 2007 holiday... From left to right: Rachel and Deckard from Bladerunner, a Hippie, a Panda Bear, a...
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October 09, 2008: Sign me up!

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 10:15 AM
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While I do tend to find pop-ups annoying, I am a fan of J.Crew's email address collection pop-ups. I've included two here: the green graphical one made it's first appearance about a year-and-a-half ago; the white one with imagery is a newer iteration, as...
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September 15, 2008: It Sticks to the Ribs

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 02:50 PM
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From: Starbucks.com Subject Line: Starbucks has nutritious ways to start your day Date: Monday, September 15, 2008 I like that Starbucks used a letter format to notify rewards members of their new breakfast options; it lends a sense of importance to the content and...
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September 12, 2008: Kiss and Tell: Sephora Customer Reviews

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 09:21 AM
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From: Sephora Subject Line: Rate. Review. Win! Date: Thursday, September 11, 2008 See the email > Some of you might have already seen my EEC blog post about Customer Reviews. I'm psyched to see Sephora doing such a great job kicking off their Customer...
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August 26, 2008: Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 07:09 PM
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From: Me Subject Line: Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season Date: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 This just in: the Email Experience Council just released the Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season! Last year, the eec tracked more than 3,300 emails from more...
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August 20, 2008: Blog Olympics: Passing the Baton

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 03:50 PM
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From: Me Subject Line: Blog Olympics: Passing the Baton Date: Wednesday, August 20, 2008 I was delighted to see that so many of the blogs we respect - and from which we derive so much inspiration - included us in their Blog Olympics picks! I...
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August 15, 2008: Put Your Welcome Message to Work

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 07:48 AM
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From: Me Subject Line: Put Your Welcome Message to Work with the Welcome Message Checklist Date: Friday, August 15, 2008 Check out the checklist > BTW: Interested in joining the eec Design Roundtable? See details here > Welcome messages show some of the highest...
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August 14, 2008: Where's the Welcome?

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 07:07 PM
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From: MINIUSA Subject Line: What's Your Carfun Footprint? Date: Thursday, August 14, 2008 Two weeks ago I had an extremely positive customer experience buying a new MINI. It was quite honestly the first time I've gone through the car purchase process without feeling like...
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August 12, 2008: Ugh!

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 10:02 PM
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From: Neiman Marcus Subject Line: New UGG boots: Warm your feet + FREE SHIPPING Date: Friday, August 8, 2008 Ugh! Are you serious!?!? Despite the UGGs, for those of you who haven't read it, Mr. Stanley has infinite wisdom to share in Minding the...
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August 11, 2008: The Evolved Offering

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 07:19 PM
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From: NORDSTROM Subject Line: Ten Things: Transform Your Style for Fall Date: Sunday, August 10, 2008 I'm late to The Experience Economy party, having just listened to the audio book last week. If you haven't read it yet, (1) read it, and (2) opt...
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August 06, 2008: Daily Double

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 08:19 PM
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From: Daily Top 10 Subject Line: CNN.com Daily Top 10 Date: Wednesday, August 6, 2008 From: Daily Top 10 Date: CNN.com Daily Top 10 Date: Wednesday, August 6, 2008 From a creative perspective, I am a major fan of the new CNN.com Daily Top...
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July 31, 2008: eleVAting

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 09:35 AM
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From: eleVAte Subject Line: Welcome to eleVAte! Date: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 First of all, I love Virgin America. Second of all, I love this eleVAte welcome email for at least two reasons: (1) It includes all the details I need to revisit the...
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July 30, 2008: Millard and Tracy Say "Sorry"

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 11:51 AM
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From: J.Crew Subject Line: With our apologies... Date: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 I have had some dramatically bad experiences at jcrew.com over the past month. I appreciate that they sent out an apology; I did not get one from the Gap when their site...
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July 30, 2008: Glamping

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 11:39 AM
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From: fredflare.com Subject Line: Grace Kelly goes camping... Date: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 I adore the idea of Grace Kelly camping with the Hardy Boys. That is a fantastic notion. Reminds me of the style little Emma Roberts sported in the Nancy Drew movie,...
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July 25, 2008: Beauty and Brains

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 02:07 PM
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From: Sephora Beauty Insider Subject Line: PERK ALERT! Stila's New Palette. Beauty Insiders Only. Date: Sunday, July 20, 2008 See the email > Some of you might have already seen my EEC blog post about Sephora. They are doing a fantastic job with their...
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July 23, 2008: Sparkly Tiara

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 02:41 PM
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From: Coach Subject Line: Hamptons Collection: Online Now, In Stores Friday Date: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 See the email > For those of you who knew me way back when...I'm such a fool for a sparkly tiara ;)!...
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July 21, 2008: Scary Tan

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 03:07 PM
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From: Bliss Beaut-e-mail Subject Line: scared to tan-it-yourself? Date: Monday, July 21, 2008 See the email > BTW: Dude, use HTML text, especially when your graphical text already looks like HTML! I like how Bliss embeds product promotions into a useful how-to in their...
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July 16, 2008: The Giving Tree

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 09:50 AM
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From: Tully's Email Club Subject Line: Happy Birthday from Tully's Date: Sunday, July 13, 2008 From: Sephora Beauty Insider Subject Line: A Birthday Surprise from Sephora Date: Monday, July 14, 2008 Birthday emails are low-hanging fruit: they are one of the first triggered mails...
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July 11, 2008: Richard & Friends Petition

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 02:38 PM
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From: Delta Air Lines Subject Line: An Open Letter to All Airline Customers Date: Wednesday, July 9, 2008 This is interesting...Airlines CEOs are "taking the extraordinary step of writing (a) joint letter" to make a case against oil speculators. It packs a punch to...
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July 10, 2008: A Perfect Balance

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 02:04 PM
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From: Pottery Barn Kids Subject Line: Summer Sale: Save up to 50% on safari bedding, outdoor furniture & more! Date: Thursday, July 10, 2008 See the email > This Pottery Barn Kids email is interesting for two reasons: (1) It is a sale message,...
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July 09, 2008: Side Stripes

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 10:45 AM
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From: Barneys New York Subject Line: YA Touch of STRIPE from Miu Miu and Philip Crangi Date: Wednesday, July 9, 2008 I realize this isn't supposed to be a fashion blog, but I was compelled enough by this shoes/earrings combination to thow up a...
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July 08, 2008: Ephemeral Benefits

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 11:53 AM
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From: Starbucks.com Subject Line: Starbucks Card rewards are waiting for you Date: Tuesday, July 1, 2008 From: Amazon.com Date: Depends on Prime Sign-up Date Notably difficult to depict are the ephemeral benefits that come with products like gift cards and membership subscriptions. Starbucks does...
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July 07, 2008: Your Grill or Mine?

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 01:32 PM
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From: Tommy Bahama Subject Line: Your Grill or Mine? Try Our Blackberry Brandy BBQ Ribs Date: Wednesday, July 2, 2008 I love this subject line: "Your Grill or Mine? Try Our Blackberry Brandy BBQ Ribs" - it's super-cute - although I'm concerned that since...
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June 24, 2008: Email Design Checklists Save the Day: Avoiding Common Pitfalls

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 06:17 AM
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From: Me Subject Line: Email Design Checklists Save the Day: Avoiding Common Pitfalls Date: Tuesday, June 24, 2008 Check out the checklists > BTW: Interested in joining the eec Design Roundtable? See details here > Hitting “send” on any email campaign always leaves us...
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June 11, 2008: My Favorite Fake Out

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 11:19 AM
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From: Nordstrom Subject Line: Online Exclusive: Burberry Fall Shoe Collection Date: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 View the email > BTW: The body frame dropshadow feels dated. OK, so pretty much all of you who know me realize that I've practically changed my last name...
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April 10, 2008: Mistake or Miracle?

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 09:52 PM
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I'd originally planned to use this post to scold Burberry for designing their emails again and again in a way such that the preview pane view is woefully unhelpful. (I've animated through five examples at left to give you the gist of it; please...
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April 09, 2008: An Emulated Hand and Yellow Jellies

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 10:28 PM
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From: J.Crew Subject Line: Spring arrivals (new, new + new) Date: Monday, March 31, 2008 Don't get me wrong; I totally like this J.Crew handwritten treatment, but I have to say that it's a pretty obvious borrow from Barneys circa 2006. Kind of like...
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April 08, 2008: A Clear Invitation to the Dance

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 10:42 PM
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From: Starbucks.com Subject Line: Starbucks is doing something big in Seattle. Date: Friday, April 4, 2008 From: Jamba Juice Subject Line: Jamba Breakfast – On Us Date: Monday, April 7, 2008 Is this the world's biggest coincidence, or did Jamba hear about Starbucks and...
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April 05, 2008: Fashion in Action

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 09:28 PM
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From: Saks Fifth Avenue Subject Line: Watch Fashion in Action Date: Saturday, April 5, 2008 The email's a snore, but Saks' Video Catalog is MAGIC! This is the most practical and useful marriage of video and commerce I've seen yet. It's fantastic to be...
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April 01, 2008: Aw, c'mon Steve!

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 11:01 PM
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From: Apple Subject Line: Test-drive MacBook Air at the Apple Retail Store. Date: Tuesday, April 1, 2008 Hey, get your data right, Steve-o! Not only did I already buy one at a retail store, but you emailed me a PDF receipt! (Which was cool,...
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March 05, 2008: Bare Feet

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 11:44 AM
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From: Michael Kors Subject Line: Now online: The NEW Spring Catalog Date: Tuesday, March 4, 2008 After a very rainy winter in Seattle, and in an inbox full of emails about shoes, I have to say I found this image of bare feet really...
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February 29, 2008: Enviro-Silo Photo Mix

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 11:11 AM
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From: Coach Subject Line: Introducing Signature Stripe: Online Today and In Stores Monday Date: Friday, February 8, 2008 I'm a fan of the enviro-silo photo mix. Square-cut environment shots set the mood, bring lifestyle into the design and show product in use, while silhouette...
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February 26, 2008: Video in Designs and Subject Lines

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 12:06 PM
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From: J.Crew Subject Line: The well-traveled tote (see video) Date: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 From: Louis Vuitton Subject Line: The first Louis Vuitton movie : Travel and Emotions Date: Monday, February 18, 2008 While it is still logistically impossible to embed actual videos into...
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February 25, 2008: Too close for comfort?

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 10:34 AM
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From: J.Crew Subject Line: Engaged? Date: Monday, February 25, 2008 OMG - how did they know :)!?!? Is this just a crazy coincidence, or did theknot.com sell me down the river? This is an interesting experience for me in that I am a believer...
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February 19, 2008: Out of the Box

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 06:30 PM
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From: Pottery Barn Kids Subject Line: Shop the President's Day Sale - over 500 NEW items! Date: Thursday, February 14, 2008 Everyone loves a sale, but most sale emails have started to look like most other sale emails: red and square. In this example,...
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February 13, 2008: San Diego Zoo

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 05:17 PM
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From: Me Subject Line: Live from the Airport: EEC Email Evolution Conference Highlights Date: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 Congratulations to the EEC team for putting together a fantastic event; the Email Evolution Conference was evolutionary. My five favorite moments: (1) The inspiring and entertaining...
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February 07, 2008: Make a face!

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 10:33 PM
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From: Me Subject Line: Make a face! Date: Thursday, February 7, 2008 Chad White of RetailEmail.Blogspot fame brought a hilarious effort to my attention: Project Grimace. It's essentially an attempt to get Gmail’s attention with a video showing the faces of frustrated email producers...
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February 06, 2008: Go Ask Alex

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 12:23 PM
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From: west elm Subject Line: See the chicest new sofa in town Date: Tuesday, February 5, 2008 User-generated content and product reviews are popping up in email more and more, with reports of success, proving that we do want to hear what people like...
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February 04, 2008: Stuffed Donkey

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 07:59 AM
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From: Barneys New York Subject Line: BABIES win CAUCUSES! Date: Monday, February 4, 2008 I have to admit that I'm burning out a bit on all the caucuses action, but this is quite relevant and ridiculous pre-super-Tuesday :). BABIES win CAUCUSES! LOL :)....
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February 01, 2008: Early Adapter

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 11:16 AM
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From: FreePeople.com Subject Line: Short Pants Romance Date: Friday, February 1, 2008 Email + Social Networking = so hot right now! Yet despite all the talk, I haven't seen many retailers integrate email messaging with MySpace sites. Enter the notably-early-adapting Free People! (They've been...
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January 31, 2008: Hello, color!

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 08:47 AM
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From: Piperlime Subject Line: Say hello to color! Date: Thursday, January 31, 2008 This is a fantastic example of imagery, copy and content aligning to create a delightful user experience. Heck, it's just plain happy. I love rainbows! And patent leather! I really want...
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January 30, 2008: Old Loves

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 09:04 AM
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Since so many of us are creating Valentine's Day messages this week, I thought I'd share my 2007 Valentine's Day archive with y'all. Hope you find it useful :)! Heck, you may even discover a love letter you sent last year! Enjoy. From: American Apparel...
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January 30, 2008: Pop Pals

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 08:38 AM
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From: shopbop.com Subject Line: Final Winter SALE! Up to 70% Off Your Favorite Brands Date: Monday, January 28, 2008 From: katespade.com Subject Line: love to love me Date: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 I like both of these Warhol-ian visual delights! Although if we chopped...
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