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From: Pottery Barn Kids Subject Line: Trick or treat! Costumes starting at $29 + treat bags ship free Date: Thursday, August 19, 2010 From: Nature Made Subject Line: Men's Health: The Benefits of Fish Oil for Men Date: Friday, June 18, 2010 |
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A few tips for designing with HTML text: Use HTML-safe fonts. Using fonts such as Arial, Georgia, Verdana and Times will allow the copy to be coded as HTML text instead of as an image, thus allowing the copy to be viewable with images disabled. If you find system text utterly boring or off-brand, we suggest using your special font for the headline only -- just make sure to include an alt tag on that image when coding. 
Use solid colors behind HTML text. Outlook does not display background-images (images that appear behind HTML text). So keep that area free of gradients, patterns or images. Outlook does, however, show background-colors -- so the color behind your HTML text doesn't have to be white. In this example, notice that the image behind the system text does not show up in Outlook. Instead, you see a solid color (that you can choose). It's particularly important to apply a background color behind your images if your system text is white. 
Keep copy away from rounded corners. When designing with rounded corners, keep in mind that the portion of the box that includes the corners will need to be cut as an image. So keep your copy outside of that image in order to code that copy as HTML text. 
Know that HTML text will expand differently (horizontally and vertically) in different browsers. Therefore: 1) make sure to leave adequate room at the end of your paragraphs in case a word needs to jump to the next line, 2) don't cut your paragraph too close to images, 3) make sure your line height is at least equal to the font size and 4) leave some extra space below your copy block. 
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Category Archive: Best Practices
August 26, 2010
August 17, 2010
From: PETCOSubject Line: PETCO | Summer Scavenger Hunt!
Win Prizes + FREE Shipping on $25
Date: Sunday, August 15, 2010
PETCO sent an email introducing a multi-day Scavenger Hunt. The hunt leads you through their facebook, twitter and blog pages, getting subscribers to follow them and familiarizing them with the content found on those pages. The hunt is loaded with incentives for the subscriber - play and you could win gift cards! How creative and fun!
My only gripes:
1) Timing
The email was sent on a Sunday and the first step of the scavenger hunt was for Sunday only. For those who didn't check their email that day, they lost out on the first opportunity to play.
A) One solution would be to send out an introductory email with an overview of how the Scavenger Hunt will work and when it will begin.
B) Another idea would be to make each step of the scavenger hunt span a week (rather than one-per-day). This would spread out the email reminders and would give the subscribers additional time to play on their schedule.
2) Segmented Email Series
So far I've only received one email - I'm anxious to see if I'll get more. If made into a series, I suggest announcing last week's winner in each email to entice subscribers to be the next big winner. I also caution against sending too many emails to subscribers that aren't interested. I would only continue to send the series to those who click on any of the first 3 emails.
3) Best Practices: HTML copy
HTML text would have been great on the hunt portion of the email. Nice job using it at the top though!
Overall, I love this concept - what a fun way to get your fan-base accustomed to using your social networks and grow your social subscriber base!
July 27, 2010
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From: Eddie Bauer Subject Line: Annual Gear Up Event - Save Up To $40 On Packs & Duffels! Date: Monday, July 12, 2010 From: Eddie Bauer Subject Line: Free Shipping, 2 Days Only + New Ruffles Are In! Date: Monday, July 26, 2010 |
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I love the latest look from Eddie Bauer. What I love:
I give this email 5 out of 5 hearts! The only place I see room for improvement: the text could be HTML text, particularly in the call-to-actions. |
June 21, 2010
From: Various Email Footers
Date: June, 2010
Way back in October 2009, when Smith-Harmon became Smith Harmon, a Responsys Company, we went through a change of email platforms. I kept telling myself that I would learn to like the change and/or just get used to it, but I have finally come to the reluctant conclusion that neither of these options are ever going to happen. I don't want to name names, but "old platform" = 1 click to create new folder, and "new platform" = many more steps and lots of clicks and changing of (ahem) windows to create new folders and organize emails. Once the number of emails in inbox passed the half-way mark to 5 digits territory (I probably shouldn't be admitting to the world how unruly I let things get), I decided it was time to take action; I opened a new email account to house my collection of Retail Emails, and am currently in the process of trying to switch my email address over on all the lists to which I subscribe.
Turns out, this is surprising difficult in some cases. Here is a random sampling and reviews of my experiences with attempting to change my email address (listed in no particular order):
• Victoria's Secret didn't have Email Preferences link in footer. As with many of the others, the unsubscribe link took me to an Update Your Email Preference Page. It made me laugh that that they have a Continue Shopping button on this page. Good for them for not missing an opportunity, but I was frustrated at not finding where to change my email, and not particularly in the mood to shop.
• Barney's did well over all. While they only had an unsubscribe link in their footer, it took me to the best preferences page of the bunch: 3 simple options to either reduce frequency, unsubscribe, OR change email address - all with Barney's trademark, super-sharp copy-writing, I might add. The follow-up "Thank You" page was spot on as well (and preferable to an email).
• Kate Spade's graphical unsubscribe link was unclickable, so had to take a long-winded approach to unsubscribe. But then on the bright side, they had a link to join their mailing list and get 15% off my "first order"... Hmmm maybe I'll just unsubscribe and resubscribe every time I want to purchase something from KS. ;)
• Urban Outfiitters had an Email Preferences link in footer, but it did not lead to an option to change email address. Also, IMHO their preferences page was too busy and asked too many questions.
• Daily Candy had a link to "Change your e-mail address" in their footer, but no actual place to do so when clicked. What gives?
• Tablespoon had no preferences link in their footer nor an option to change email address when I clicked the unsubscribe link, but politely asked if there was a reason why I wished to unsubscribe, and wanted to know if there was anything they could be doing better.
• Horchow gets the highest marks from me for ease of email address change. Their footer had one link to change preferences or unsubscribe which led me to a nicely designed and simple page to do everything at once (which was perfect since Horchow was previously on my worst-offender list of over-sending!).
In summery, if I found it too difficult to change my email address, I simply unsubscribed, which is a pity, because that was not at all my original intent. (Plus, is there a retailer in the whole world wants to unnecassarily lose its subscribers?!). My suggestion to all email marketers, would be to add an email change and/or preferences link to your footers, and to make the following page is simple to use.
Date: June, 2010
Way back in October 2009, when Smith-Harmon became Smith Harmon, a Responsys Company, we went through a change of email platforms. I kept telling myself that I would learn to like the change and/or just get used to it, but I have finally come to the reluctant conclusion that neither of these options are ever going to happen. I don't want to name names, but "old platform" = 1 click to create new folder, and "new platform" = many more steps and lots of clicks and changing of (ahem) windows to create new folders and organize emails. Once the number of emails in inbox passed the half-way mark to 5 digits territory (I probably shouldn't be admitting to the world how unruly I let things get), I decided it was time to take action; I opened a new email account to house my collection of Retail Emails, and am currently in the process of trying to switch my email address over on all the lists to which I subscribe.
Turns out, this is surprising difficult in some cases. Here is a random sampling and reviews of my experiences with attempting to change my email address (listed in no particular order):
• Victoria's Secret didn't have Email Preferences link in footer. As with many of the others, the unsubscribe link took me to an Update Your Email Preference Page. It made me laugh that that they have a Continue Shopping button on this page. Good for them for not missing an opportunity, but I was frustrated at not finding where to change my email, and not particularly in the mood to shop.
• Barney's did well over all. While they only had an unsubscribe link in their footer, it took me to the best preferences page of the bunch: 3 simple options to either reduce frequency, unsubscribe, OR change email address - all with Barney's trademark, super-sharp copy-writing, I might add. The follow-up "Thank You" page was spot on as well (and preferable to an email).
• Kate Spade's graphical unsubscribe link was unclickable, so had to take a long-winded approach to unsubscribe. But then on the bright side, they had a link to join their mailing list and get 15% off my "first order"... Hmmm maybe I'll just unsubscribe and resubscribe every time I want to purchase something from KS. ;)
• Urban Outfiitters had an Email Preferences link in footer, but it did not lead to an option to change email address. Also, IMHO their preferences page was too busy and asked too many questions.
• Daily Candy had a link to "Change your e-mail address" in their footer, but no actual place to do so when clicked. What gives?
• Tablespoon had no preferences link in their footer nor an option to change email address when I clicked the unsubscribe link, but politely asked if there was a reason why I wished to unsubscribe, and wanted to know if there was anything they could be doing better.
• Horchow gets the highest marks from me for ease of email address change. Their footer had one link to change preferences or unsubscribe which led me to a nicely designed and simple page to do everything at once (which was perfect since Horchow was previously on my worst-offender list of over-sending!).
In summery, if I found it too difficult to change my email address, I simply unsubscribed, which is a pity, because that was not at all my original intent. (Plus, is there a retailer in the whole world wants to unnecassarily lose its subscribers?!). My suggestion to all email marketers, would be to add an email change and/or preferences link to your footers, and to make the following page is simple to use.
June 4, 2010
From: The Hatch at Hayneedle.comSubject Line: June 2 to June 4 ... see what's in The Hatch this week!
Date: Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Hayneedle is a collection of over 200 online specialty stores, and IMHO they are doing a lot of things right. I would like to nominate them for the poster-child of following best practices of all things e-commerce related. Headquartered in Nebraska, they do not have retail stores or snail mail catalogs, nor do they employ any "old-fashioned" marketing strategies whatsoever: no print or TV ads. Instead, they seem to have conquered all things internet related: SEO, domaine names and email marketing.
When it became time to upgrade my kids' sleeping arrangements to bunk beds a couple of months ago, I had not previously heard of Hayneedle. My initial awareness of Hayneedle came about because of their perfect use of SEO (Search engine optimization). Whatever I Googled, from "bunk beds" to "loft beds" to "Bunk beds and loft beds for kids", a Hayneedle site was always well placed on the organic search "Top 10". What is even better is that Hayneedle is basically an aggregation of over 200 websites into one. "Hayneedle.com" itself isn't exactly a mind-sticker, but their well named collection of domaine names (everything from hammocks.com to adirondackchairs.com to aquariumsdirect.com) along with excellent search engine placement are another thing.
Once I had clicked through to simplybunkbeds.com, I was totally sucked in and felt no need to leave the site (which isn't to say that I didn't do my due diligence - I spent about a month searching beds before making the final plunge). Again, Hayneedle had done everything right: easy product zoom view, similar products links, customer reviews all within a fantastic layout. It also didn't hurt that the bunk beds we ended up purchasing came with free mattresses and had a mere $25 shipping cost (Even the delivery man was nice!).
Naturally, I joined the Hayneedle email list... and the perfection just continues. I find that the volume of emails I receive from them to be just the right amount, and that they are mostly very relevant to me and my shopping proclivities. This email for "The Hatch" (Hayneedle's newly launched "by invitation only" weekly savings and sale) has the exact sense of urgency necessary, without applying too much pressure (3 days) and 2 out of the 3 the featured products happened to be items I was already contemplating purchasing - items I don't recall brewing at Hayneedle. What, are they psychic or something? (When I returned to the Hayneedle site to view something I had previously browsed, an enticement in the form of 10% Off Promo Code popped up.)
The icing on the cake was the "Compare Our Price" link, which with one click, instantly showed that it was indeed the best deal to be found on the internet. Now, I'm just waiting for the new sandbox to arrive. :)
May 27, 2010
From: Company KidsSubject Line: Shhh! A secret offer just for you - up to 40% Off!
Date: Thursday, May 27, 2010
Maybe I've been looking at Retail Emails too long, and perhaps I've gotten a little jaded, but I really can't help but wonder if the "random discount" is a great marketing strategy. It doesn't make any sense to me. First of all, why be secretive about a deal? Has the Company Store not heard about FTAF? I was enticed to click open the email by the second part of the subject line "...up to 40% Off!", but I know I would be disappointed if I only got 10% off my purchase.
And how do they determine the discount? Is it actually just "Buy More Save More", but with the dollar amounts in disguise, or does the person buying a couple of wash clothes have just as good a chance of hitting the 40% Off jackpot as the crazed pregnant lady who is nesting and feels compelled to buy new sheets and towels for her entire family? (I can poke fun - I've been there!)
Whatever the case may be, I have seen "Mystery Deal" emails before, so my guess is that they must have some relative success. Does anyone have inside information about this topic that they would care to share?
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From: JCPenny Subject Line: $4.99 Shipping! Make A Splash This Summer Date: Thursday, May 20, 2010 From: Ann Taylor Subject Line: Ann Taylor & InStyle Present Wear-To-Work Chic Trends + Enter For A Chance To Win A $500 Ann Taylor Gift Card Date: Friday, May 21, 2010 From: The Limited Subject Line: SAVE this Memorial Day Weekend With These Special Offers, Going On Now! Date: Thursday, May 27, 2010 |
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I've noticed a new design trend: diagonal text. It can really add interest to a design when used properly. My suggestion is to keep text to a minimum and make sure the fonts are simple and large for readability. I also recommend only using this tactic on headlines while keeping your body copy HTML text to avoid images disabled issues.
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April 6, 2010
From: Victoria's SecretSubject Line: This Just In - New Savings on 40+ Bra Top Dresses. Plus, Free Shipping. Details Inside.
Date: Wednesday, March 24, 2010
I must be getting older, because I find reading emails getting harder and harder. The use of light grey font to "de-prioritize" content you don't really want to call attention to always makes me wonder what is being hidden from me. Seldom does this inspire action; this treatment is an engagement preventer. Now, I understand wanting the main offer and body of the message to be where the eye is drawn, but I question whether it really makes sense to hide links with this treatment. Let's look at all the links with this treatment in this recent VS email:
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March 23, 2010
Did you know that more and more retailers are simply clicking the Spam button to unsubscribe from email lists? Not a good trend for the health of our email programs, by any means. So what's a retailer to do? Read the latest report from Chad White. Highlighting examples of the good, the bad and the downright ugly, this in-depth study will help you whip your opt-out process into shape. It examines the unsubscribe experiences at 100 top online retailers - covering everything from unsubscribe instructions in emails, to opt-out page components and confirmations, to the honoring of unsubscribe requests.
Get the whole scoop. Download the free report now
Get the whole scoop. Download the free report now
March 18, 2010
From: Virgin America
Subject Line: Next up: Orlando
Date: Thursday, March 18, 2010
There are so many things I love about this email. Let's start with the subject line, Next up: Orlando. In just three words, Virgin America has told me that they've added a new route as well as what the new destination city is. Brilliant. Next let's talk about the clean and simple email design. The use of white makes it easy on the eyes. It's not cluttered. And everything is organized in a way that's easy to scan. Dreamy. Now onto the words. The copy is succinct and informative. Nothing is screaming at me (notice the lack of exclamation points!!!). And best of all, rather than take the boring route with a button that says "book a flight" they had some fun. "Grab a Seat" is the perfect example of how buttons can have some personality AND be directive at the same time. Another noteworthy addition is the juicy "Tweet This" button sitting front and center above the fold. I haven't seen anybody else do it quite like that. Clicking on the "Tweet this" button landed me right in my Twitter account with my tweet already populated for me. And it went a little something like this: @virginamerica Next Up: Orlando. Starting August 19, fly from San Francisco or Los Angeles. http://www.virginamerica.com/flights/orlando
March 16, 2010
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From: Amazon.com & Netflix Subject Lines: Various Date: Friday, November 6, 2009 - Friday, March 12, 2010 If you're looking to increase user engagement & loyalty, personalization is sure to help. My advice: 1) Get creative. Think about what your subscriber would like to receive rather than what you want to send them. The more you know about your subscriber and use that information to target relevant messages, the more likely you are to hook that customer for the long haul. 2) Start a dialogue. Surveys are a great and easy way to find out what your subscribers are experiencing. If they report problems, work to correct them. 3) Seize the opportunity to add ratings and reviews to your website. They're sure to drive more traffic to your website. A good way to collect reviews: after a subscriber purchases a product, wait a few weeks (to give them time to test the product) and send them a friendly reminder to rate the product. Many people will be happy to share their good or bad experience. Two companies that I've noticed do an awesome job at personalization are Amazon.com and Netflix. Here are just a few examples of great personalization emails that they send: Amazon.com:
Netflix:
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February 9, 2010
From: Lisa HarmonSubject Line: Beyond Best Practices
Date: Wednesday, February 3, 2010
I was lucky enough to meet and talk with Marc Borgers and Michael Straathof of Borgers&Straathof at last week's EEC 2010 Email Evolution Conference. We chatted about moving beyond email creative best practices. Now that there's a general understanding of what the best practices are, there's an opportunity to find leverage in (and have fun with) breaking the rules! Watch the video >
February 1, 2010
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From: Apple Subject Line: Fitness made fun with iPod and iPod gear. Date: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 From: Apple Subject Line: Sounds like love. Give iPod this Valentine's Day. Date: Sunday, January 31, 2010 |
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There's no doubt that Apple has AWESOME design sense. Every email I get from them is breathtaking:
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January 6, 2010
From: Sports BasementSubject Line: NA
Date: Thursday, December 17, 2009
Let me start by saying I love Sports Basement. Thanks Sports Basement, not only for your charitable support of non-profits, fantastic inventory and prices to swoon over, but also for your thoughtful pop-up opt-in box! I was frantically scouring websites for last minute Christmas shopping (I know, I'm such a cliché) and found myself browsing Sports Basement's website. As I was perusing their hiking boot selection, a nifty little opt-in pop-up appeared. It's not a new function, but a great one none-the-less.
What's nice about this strategy is that you are not passively collecting opt-ins. Users are presented with the opportunity to opt-in. As an added bonus, because the box pops up after a prospect has spent some time on the site, Sports Basement will likely collect a higher quality email address.
However, there are a couple areas that should be considered. The website does not offer any other area to opt-in. In addition to the absence of the traditional opt-in, Sports Basement drops a cookie once they've collected the opt-in in order to suppress the pop-up moving forward. This suppression is most likely implemented in order to soften the aggressive acquisition process. While this may be a thoughtful business rule, it does not take into consideration that computers and laptops may be shared. Other prospects using the same machine will not have the opportunity to opt-in. To avoid leaving dollars on the table, I recommend adding the traditional opt-in box to every page, then test the suppression business rules to get optimum acquisition results.
January 4, 2010
From: Audible.com Hear and NowSubject Line: Your Five-Star Listens: Highest Rated Audiobooks of 2009
Date: Thursday, December 17, 2009
These days I rarely consider any online purchase without first seeing what other people have said about the products I'm interested in. When I received this email from Audible promoting 5 star reviews, I couldn't resist taking a few minutes to check them out. Sadly, the expectations set by this email were a big letdown for me and violated one of my core email mantras -- "make it easy for the recipient".
Notice there's not a single review, testimonial, or product category present in the email, just a very generic CTA link to read the reviews. Clicking through goes directly to a log in screen requiring my password. Now, since I'm a frequent customer this wasn't a huge barrier, but an occasional customer might get stumped here and have to request their password by email. I shouldn't need to enter my password until I'm ready to purchase something, and at this point I wasn't even close to ready.
Everything about this email led me to believe the reviews would be from "listeners like me", setting the expectation that the "top picks" would be in categories I've previously purchased, like Horror, Fiction, Crime Thrillers. Nope, instead I was presented with a product page of 10 top picks (out of 60 total) on topics not even close to anything I've ever purchased or would consider. To make things even worse, not a single featured product had a 5 star rating, nor a link to read reviews next to the stars shown. Rounding out the experience, nothing was on sale.
I'm sorry Audible, but I gave this campaign 1 star out of 5
From: ZapposSubject Line: Toast The New Year With A New You! Plus, Get Free Shipping
Date: Monday, January 4, 2009
Thanks to the social revolution of 2009, Facebook, Twitter and/or YouTube buttons have become fixtures in the footer or top nav of just about every email in the inbox. While some companies do indeed put together a social strategy, too many companies add the social factor simply because everyone else is doing it. They don't actually invest time, talent and money into creating a true social experience. What I L-O-V-E about Zappos emails is that they raise the bar by including a recent tweet from Tony their CEO. Now that's what I call delivering on the experience. Rather than simply throw in a "Follow Us on Twitter", Zappos creates content around the social experience by including a sample tweet. Very clever. Just wish it wasn't so buried at the bottom of the email.
December 22, 2009
From: Barnes & NobleSubject Line: Nook: The World's Most Advanced eBook Reader
Date: Friday, December 11, 2009
The real secret to a successful product is having people use it. Barnes & Noble truly understand this and use an automated message after purchase to make it easy for first time users to learn the ins and outs of their top selling holiday product, the "nook". After the receipt, this secondary transactional response focuses on how easy it is to use the product you just purchased.
Notice how this message starts with a thank you but immediately re-enforces the benefits of the product. Then, it moves right into a simple three step guide on how to get the most from your new nook (complete with a link to a short video tutorial). Rounding out the perfect activation message, Barnes & Noble include a simple yet subtle CTA to their eBookstore. I can quickly add the newest Alex Cross eBook by James Patterson to read while I sit at the airport during my Christmas break. Now, I won't mind so much if my flight is delayed for the third time cause I can just sit back and lose myself in my new nook.
December 21, 2009
From: Victoria's SecretSubject Line: Our Way of Saying Thank You: Special In-Store Offers.
Date: Wednesday, November 25, 2009
From: Victoria's Secret - FacebookDate: Wednesday, November 25, 2009
From: Victoria's Secret - SMSDate: Friday, November 27, 2009
Victoria's Secret is leading the way with their strategy for integrating cross channel campaigns to engage their audience at multiple touch points. Case in point, their Black Friday free bag giveaway message was delivered via email, mobile and social. However, in order to be successful, great strategy needs to follow through with great execution. Timing is everything and their timing was off.
Their email should've been a specific Black Friday reminder. The email was sent out Wednesday and included offers for the whole weekend. It's important to map out the timing of your marketing messages against the timing of when your customers are shopping, while also giving them enough time to plan in advance if the call-to-action is a retail store.
Once I received their SMS message, I was already done with my shopping for the day. Don't they know that people start lining up at 4am to get the best deals and by noon most people are back home taking a nap? As for Facebook, they should've talked about the in-store offer for Black Friday, not the Fashion Show. I realize they posted content on the 25th, but a reminder on the 27th would've been more important than the Fashion show, which was several days later.
Overall, they need to close the loop. The SMS link does not take you to a mobile site, nor do they have a mobile store app. There are also missed opportunities with the email and Facebook pages - both are prime locations to encourage mobile sign up, but the only place I could find mobile sign up was on their website. (I understand they do have in-store signage but I've never seen it - and I shop there often).
A great cross channel strategy will only get you so far - the key is making sure the execution ensures the success of the campaign.
Blogger's note: Hours after I finished this blog post, I received an SMS message that Victoria Secret has now launched a mobile website. Glad to see they're headed in the right direction!
December 18, 2009
From: Graham and GreenSubject Line: 20% off your Christmas shopping at Graham and Green!
Date: Tuesday, December 10, 2009
I received an email last week that got me thinking, could an email creative ever be so captivating that even if all best practices were ignored, it could still turn in a decent performance?
Scrolling down this email by Graham and Green, I was instantly struck by a glossy image of table lamps. I'm in the market for a nice table lamp, so I clicked on the product category and was unceremoniously dumped on the company's home page. Normally I would have given up at this point - offer or no offer, if a retailer can't be bothered to show me the particular product I'm interested in, I can't be bothered to go looking. Despite the obvious discount incentive, my curiosity got the best of me and I continued to click through.
At second glance, I realized that this "email" was actually a collection of horizontal images lovingly crafted in Photoshop. There's not a single font tag or HTML text character between the "Having trouble reading this mail?" at the very top, or disclaimer at the very bottom. Furthermore, all the URLs are pointed to the home page, despite the fact that the email is bursting with merchandise from numerous product categories.
This email breaks all best practice guidelines but it has managed to achieve the end objective - to capture my interest and get me from the email to the purchase page. Even though this was an unconventional journey, does this make it a bad email? Not necessarily, but making a few basic changes would have massively improved user experience and reduced the friction from click to purchase. I'm sure this retailer is losing out on potential sales. Whether you're a small or large retailer, in order to maximize all retail opportunities, the user experience should be as smooth and painless as possible.
December 17, 2009
From: Brookstone
Subject Lines:
1) FREE Sitewide shipping with $95 minimum purchase
2) Hurry, only 4 hours left for FREE Sitewide Shipping at $90!
3) Deal of the Day: $20 OFF our Men's Fleece Heated Vest plus Sitewide FREE SHIPPING!
4) Discover this year's hottest holiday gifts plus FREE Sitewide Shipping!
Date: Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Brookstone has stepped into one of the most common holiday traps: over-sending.
I have received up to four emails in one day from Brookstone, and an average of more than one email per day overall. While a small handful of people may enjoy getting blasted by that many emails, I think you're more likely to lose subscribers by over-sending.
Make sure if you're sending more than one email a day that the messages differ enough to make it worthwhile. On 12/15 I received two postcard-style emails, a deal of the day AND a general product collage email. The two postcard emails were essentially the same: Free Shipping on orders over $95, and the other, Free Shipping on orders over $90 - baffling. The other two emails mentioned the free shipping offer again in a top banner. Were four emails really needed for the free shipping promo? I doubt it.
If you're not sure how many emails to send, I would suggest creating a "my account" option where the subscriber can login and choose the amount (and type) of emails they would like to receive. If you already have an option like this on your website, make sure to include a link in each email to "change my email preferences." If that's too much work (on you or your subscribers), place a survey at the bottom of each email with a simple one-click answer.
EXAMPLE: How many emails would you like to receive from us?
[ ] More than two per week [ ] Two per week [ ] One per week
[ ] Bi-weekly [ ] One per month
If you give the customer a chance to control how many emails they receive, you'll be more likely to retain your subscribers by giving them a program that fits their personal needs.
Subject Lines:
1) FREE Sitewide shipping with $95 minimum purchase
2) Hurry, only 4 hours left for FREE Sitewide Shipping at $90!
3) Deal of the Day: $20 OFF our Men's Fleece Heated Vest plus Sitewide FREE SHIPPING!
4) Discover this year's hottest holiday gifts plus FREE Sitewide Shipping!
Date: Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Brookstone has stepped into one of the most common holiday traps: over-sending.
I have received up to four emails in one day from Brookstone, and an average of more than one email per day overall. While a small handful of people may enjoy getting blasted by that many emails, I think you're more likely to lose subscribers by over-sending.
Make sure if you're sending more than one email a day that the messages differ enough to make it worthwhile. On 12/15 I received two postcard-style emails, a deal of the day AND a general product collage email. The two postcard emails were essentially the same: Free Shipping on orders over $95, and the other, Free Shipping on orders over $90 - baffling. The other two emails mentioned the free shipping offer again in a top banner. Were four emails really needed for the free shipping promo? I doubt it.
If you're not sure how many emails to send, I would suggest creating a "my account" option where the subscriber can login and choose the amount (and type) of emails they would like to receive. If you already have an option like this on your website, make sure to include a link in each email to "change my email preferences." If that's too much work (on you or your subscribers), place a survey at the bottom of each email with a simple one-click answer.
EXAMPLE: How many emails would you like to receive from us?
[ ] More than two per week [ ] Two per week [ ] One per week
[ ] Bi-weekly [ ] One per month
If you give the customer a chance to control how many emails they receive, you'll be more likely to retain your subscribers by giving them a program that fits their personal needs.
December 16, 2009
From: eBay
Date: Friday, December 11, 2009
Have you ever wished for a quick sign-up form on a web site? I recently heard an ad on the radio for eBay's 'Daily Deal' - limited time and quantity offers that are usually 20% - 90% off, all with free shipping. All I have to do is visit eBay.com and sign up to have these deals delivered right to my inbox, or at least that's what the lovely voice on my stereo said. Pretty cool, right? Well, in reality, not so cool.
I found the daily deal page and email acquisition module with no problems. Unfortunately, I had to register in order to sign-up for this email. Determined to get these great deals, I forged ahead and registered. During the process I was told that I'd be able to adjust my notification preferences once I was done registering. Hmmm... I clicked through the confirmation email and still couldn't find a place to do this. Luckily, they sent me a welcome email with some language and a link in the footer on how to make these changes. Unluckily, it "may take up to 10 days to process" change requests. Also, the preference center didn't include a single reference to daily deal emails anywhere. (I THINK that was why I started this process 30 minutes earlier.)
I'm still not sure if I'm going to get these emails at all. If I do, it may be too late for my holiday shopping. I think a better time to smooth out this process would have been before the holiday season, and before you invest in a radio campaign.
December 15, 2009
From: StaplesSubject Line: Check out our new look!
Date: Monday, December 14, 2009
I just can't decide if the timing on this email was a hit or a miss. On the one hand, it offers a break from all the holiday madness hitting my inbox. And since Staples isn't exactly where I do my gift shopping, maybe it was smart to offer a breath of fresh air that doesn't scream HOLIDAY. On the other hand, by sending this email during peak holiday times they run the risk of people overlooking it completely as they search for FREE SHIPPING, SAVE, SALE, etc. etc. Starting out the new year with a new look would have made so much sense. Especially as people get back to the office and realize they need more post-its, pens, folders and what not.
Stepping back from the timing debate, I think the design and copy of this email are stellar. I love the simplicity and easy-to-see callouts that point to the new features. Best of all, when you click on the Visit Staples.com button, you're taken to the homepage where the first story you see supports the new look messaging. I heart follow-through.
December 14, 2009
From: EnterpriseDate: Thursday, December 10, 2009
I have a plea to all email marketers of the world - make it easy for people to opt in to your email marketing programs. I recently began signing up for the "Big Eight" car rental company email programs. I couldn't believe how difficult it was to sign up. Of the eight, only four had a quick sign up on their homepage. It was so hard to find the sign up for one brand, that I had to ask a colleague for help. When we finally found it, I was also required to provide my driver's license number, phone number and home address - just to opt in to their email program!
When I say make it easy, remember these best practices:
1. Include a quick sign up in a prominent location on your homepage and every page of your website.
2. Have a link to a sample email so people know what they're signing up for.
3. Ask for an email address at the time of booking AND have a pre-checked opt in box for your email campaigns.
4. Most importantly, track your list growth to ensure it is trending in the right direction. (UP!)
Of the eight rental car companies, Enterprise wins for best sign up placement on their homepage, but they could still benefit by keeping these other practices in mind.
December 11, 2009
From: LenovoSubject Line: Oops - the Lenovo.com site is back up. We've extended Employee Pricing.
Date: Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Sometimes, too much of a good thing can be a problem. You craft the perfect campaign, consumers are eager to find deals and shop, and your website gets overloaded. Then, all the hard work you put into your campaign comes to a screeching halt, and you have to try and figure out how to recover lost sales. Sadly, several retailers experienced "Cyber Monday Meltdown", but how you respond to it can make all the difference.
I'm typically not a fan of the "oopsie" email and I regularly advise against sending apology emails, unless you are going to extend some benefit to the impacted customers and give them a reason to try again. That's why I love this example from Lenovo.
Notice how the subject line and pre-header work in tandem to acknowledge the problem, state it was solved, and promote the extension of the sale. It even clearly lists the date of the extension and reinforces the consumer's benefit. They shortened the email to more of a postcard format, with a very simple call to action. While I can't share numbers, I can tell you the apology email was almost as successful in total sales as the original launch.
When life gives you lemons, make some lemonade.
December 10, 2009
From: FacebookSubject line: New Privacy Settings
Date: Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Great job by Facebook making it easier to share and not share. Once you have lots of people on Facebook you are bound to have a mixture of who you know (from college buds to in-laws). You need to post on a "need to know" basis. Now you can.
The "Specific People" option lets you choose friends individually or from your predefined Friend Lists.
So for a small business, you could do social posts just like you send targeted email. Don't think you can do that yet for a large business due to restrictions on Friend List sizes.
December 8, 2009
From: MGM GrandSubject Line: Tweet your sins for a free night at MGM Grand
Date: October 28, 2009
Been meaning to blog about this one since... October 28. Don't let my tardiness in posting it tarnish the brilliance behind the idea. LOVE the clever use of Twitter here. The subject line absolutely draws you in and the fact that Las Vegas is involved makes it that much more tempting. Being the angel that I am, I confess that I didn't tweet my sins, so I can't speak to the total experience. However, I do think this is a really interesting approach to integrating social in a whole new way with your email program. On the best practices front, this email has some work to do, but the concept is sinfully genius.
November 25, 2009
From: net-a-porter.comSubject Line: What's new for you on Wednesday
Date: Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Earlier this month I wrote about a positive experience with an email message from net-a-porter.com. While I maintain that their intention to message on favorite designer new arrivals is a good one, I have some reservations about the execution. I've been receiving emails literally every day highlighting relatively random (not email-worthy) Burberry product such as this mish-mash of sportswear.
It's a tricky balance. Moving toward systematic automation based on either stated or inferred preferences is definitely "the way of the future," but there's something to be said for the value of human input. I'm not sure that the net-a-porter.com merchandising team would have highlighted this particular "Cotton waffle-knit top."
Perhaps it's a simple matter of adding a "hot or not" flag that indicates whether a particular item should or shouldn't hit the inbox.
From: Gilt GroupeSubject Line: Valentino Pret-a-Porter, Jonathan Kelsey, Jewelry by Isharya Starts Today at Noon ET
Date: Wednesday, November 25, 2009
If you like beautiful things and you don't already get emails from Gilt Groupe, you should. Shouldn't. Should. Shouldn't. Should...
As an industry person, I like the mails for two primary reasons:
(1) They are able to both maintain a glossy image and promote relevant content within a templatized vehicle format. I don't know how many hours marketing and brand folks argue about the impossibility of brand value retention and templatization peacefully co-existing. Here they do.
(2) They've developed a super superfooter. The "ALSO FROM GILT GROUP" zone wraps up viral and cross-channel drivers, while the "UPCOMING SALES CALENDAR" keeps designer druggies anticipating their next score.
As a person person, I am totally obsessed with the photo of the kitten with the bracelets. It makes me want to put chandelier earrings on my cats.
November 20, 2009
From: Kohls.comSubject Line: FREE SHIPPING. 3 Days Only!
Date: Thursday, November 19, 2009
From: J.Crew
Subject Line: INSIDER SALE reminder. Ends tomorrow. 20% off your order of $150+.
Date: Tuesday, November 17, 2009
From: Lands' End
Subject Line: Up to 65% off + Free Shipping: in-season Overstocks
Date: Tuesday, November 17, 2009
I'm a little confused, Kohl's. What is it you're trying to tell me?
Just kidding.
This email brings up an interesting question. We all know large headlines and colorful graphics are best practices for email marketers. But is bigger and brighter always the way to go? Not necessarily. This Kohl's email, for example, does violence to my eyes, and that's not good. The message itself is fine--free shipping is a great angle for the pre-holiday season--but between the neon background, the huge text, and the animation, I feel like I'm being yelled at.
So let this be a cautionary tale: if you're going to go the "one box, one message" route, don't overdo it. J Crew puts out great one-message emails that use rich (but viewable) colors, classy typefaces and just a smidge of clever banter to get their message across without the virtual bullhorn. Similarly, Land's End uses a dark background to make their text really pop. Maybe Kohl's could take a pointer from these two companies so their next email doesn't have me reaching for the Excedrin.
October 9, 2009
From: AnthropologieSubject Line: It must be October.
Date: October 1
It must be October. What a clever subject line. It's so simple, so relevant, and so unique. I've been meaning to blog about this email for a week now! I know I sing Anthropologie's praises on a regular basis, but I just can't help myself. I'm addicted and I'm not the only one. Just this week I got a text from a friend that said: "Someone needs to do an intervention. At Anthropologie!! Help!"
The simplicity of this email's design and copy draws me in. Starting with the image, it supports the catalog creative brilliantly (check out above). And the copy: "Thirty-one days of craving, the cozy, the rugged, the refined" supports the subject line perfectly and creates a true story. Their call-to-actions are equally as beautiful, and the addition of the "Browse our October catalog" CTA presents a fantastic opportunity to engage their subscribers in an interactive way. Many online catalogs are clunky experiences, but their landing page is seamless.
What I was REALLY surprised to discover is that when I typed "boots" into the search box at the bottom, I was taken to a landing page with... boots! Instead of landing me on the homepage where I could retype my search word, they actually delivered on the promise. How novel.
September 28, 2009
I've always been blown away by the way designers bring copy to life. The way they think is completely different than how I think. I think in black-and-white word docs; they think in color, color, color. Bringing these two ways of thinking together is what creates the perfect email.
Coach put a fresh step in my inbox with this newsletter. At first glance, I loved the way they gave the product silos in the hero some breathing space by not confining them to a box. That said, it also felt like too many tricks in one bag. To get the real scoop from a designer's POV, I enlisted Amy Hamilton, SH designer extraordinaire, to help me out with the 360-degree look at the creative.
Here's what she said:
My first thought when seeing this email was, WOW COOL, this is different! I immediately noticed the overlapping text, colors and imagery. Coach is definitely creating a style here.
However, after the initial WOW factor wore off, my eye wasn't sure where to go. The hero copy and right rail copy seemed to fight each other, and the lower half of the email felt a bit cluttered. The call to actions also fell pretty far below the fold. While this email has some nice and inventive approaches, I think it could use a little more focus. I would suggest:
- Move a call-to-action above the fold
- Create a primary message focus by expanding the hero image through to the left rail, or by bringing down the font size in the left rail so it's more obvious that it's a secondary message
- Use a unified headline and copy treatment (as well as HTML text for body copy)
- Clean up a bit of the cluttered imagery at the bottom
September 25, 2009
From: Saks Fifth AvenueSubject Line: Harper's Bazaar picks Spring's best only at Saks
Date: September 23
On the heels of Fashion Week, this email couldn't be more perfectly timed or perfectly designed. I love that they avoided the boxy grid and messed things up a little. It has a fluidity to it that feels fresh. The copy is short and compelling, the call-to-action is clear, and the way they handled the partnership aspect of this email is really classy. Love how the Harper's Bazaar logo looks like it's actually part of the headline vs. being tacked on in an empty space. The secondary bonus message works really well in this email, too. Rather than go with a traditional boxed-in promo, they added some grit with a torn piece of paper.
Best of all, the landing page didn't disappoint. It was clean and compelling, highlighting the top five trends and giving me Glenda's take on each. And even though we're headed into fall, I could still shop each spring trend if I was so inclined.
Overall, Saks has definitely stepped up their email game by mixing product-focused messages with dedicated emails featuring editorial content, as you can see here and here. As a copywriter who believes there is always a story to tell beyond Free Shipping and SALE, I love it.
September 24, 2009
From: ShutterflySubject Line: Get bright ideas for the holidays and more
Date: Thursday, September 24, 2009
I have to say I love this newsletter from Shutterly.
Visually:
It has a light & airy feel (which can be difficult with the amount of information packed into this email) with a punch of well-chosen colors. The imagery is well placed to draw the eye across and down the page. The content is engaging with a variety of topics from video and iphone apps to holiday reminders and coupons.
Best Standards:
It also hits the mark for email best standards with...
-- A full preheader of standard options
(See Chad White's reportlet on popular preheader elements)
-- HTML body text
-- Alt tags on graphic headlines & images
--Standard newsletter "In this Issue" (table of contents) located above-the-fold
--Website navigation in the header
--Legal footer & opt out information
My Suggestions:
--Try the navigation in HTML text
--Use a standard button treatment throughout
--Try using the space at the bottom (where the header is repeated)
as a recovery module with additional link options.
I give this email 5 hearts!
September 10, 2009
From: HollisterSubject Line: Woke up in shreds.
Date: September 10, 2009
A few weeks ago (August 24th, to be exact) I blogged about a Hollister horizontal email for shredded jeans. While I liked the creative overall, apparently Hollister REALLY liked it. In fact, they liked it so much they decided to send me the exact same email again today, right down to the subject line. Oh wait, I take that back. They did change up the image a bit by zooming in on the fabric instead of showing the whole jean, but not sure that qualifies as new email creative. Since they decided to make me relive this one again, I'll take a minute to highlight a comment that Amy Hamilton made about a previous Hollister horizontal email. She pointed out that they're making the emails too tall, so subscribers actually have to scroll vertically and horizontally. Smart gal, that Amy.
September 8, 2009
From: Hotel Max
Subject Line: Your Stay with Us
Date: September 1, 2009
From: Hotel Max
Subject Line: Thank You for Visiting!
Date: September 2, 2009
Last week, I was up in Seattle for a meeting and stayed at the Hotel Max. After checking in at the front desk, I went up to my room and got online to catch up on my email. Amidst the regular cast of characters in my inbox was an unexpected surprise. Apparently, the minute I checked in, scratch that, the SECOND I checked in, Hotel Max sent me a welcome email. Talk about timely. Signed by the hotel manager, the email was personal and helpful, plus I have to give them kudos for taking the opportunity to plug the restaurant that's attached to the hotel.
To round out the customer service experience, they also sent me a follow-up email asking for feedback about my stay. I won't go into the details, but I did have some feedback and decided to send it in. I got a prompt personal email from the hotel manager letting me know what they were doing to fix the snafu. The only puzzle in all of this is that the first email I received welcoming me to the hotel lists one guy as the hotel manager, but the personal email I received was from a completely different guy who also held the hotel manager title. My guess is that there was a personnel switch and no one updated the emails. Oops. Now that's the perfect example of why it's so important to make sure the content in your triggered messages is up to date.
September 3, 2009
From: Krispy Kreme
Subject Line: Raising Funds with Krispy Kreme!
Date: September 1, 2009
Having grown up in Michigan, I'm a die-hard Dunkin' Donuts fan, but a former coworker of mine LOVED Krispy Kreme, which is how I started subscribing to their emails. I dig the huge image. I can just taste that sugar glaze, can't you? But, the letter format just isn't working for me here. There's too much copy, there's no clear call to action, there's no top nav, and there's no preheader. I'd think that the fan base for Krispy Kreme has to be huge, so the fact that they don't have a SWYN element is also a big miss. On a really basic level, there isn't even a store locator to help me get my Krispy Kreme fix stat. Add in the fact that they don't even link directly to the fundraising landing page that's live on the site, and the misses just keep stacking up.
It's also interesting because their website maximizes content buckets, but their emails don't. IMHO, they need a complete email overhaul that brings their retro-feeling brand to life. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a donut sitting next to me that needs some attention. Don't tell Dunkin'.
September 2, 2009
From: Forever21Subject Line: Tough Love - Shop Leather
Date: Tuesday, September 1, 2009
What was this email about? I'll never know. I can't stress enough how important it is to use HTML text in designs, or at the very least alt tags on images with graphical text to convey your message/s. This is vital for subscribers that have images disabled as well as when an error occurs, keeping your images from displaying properly. When all else fails, it's always good to have a link to a web/hosted version of the email. Unfortunately, even the hosted version of the email wasn't working.
August 21, 2009
Setting aside the fact that Whole Foods is probably not the most economical place to shop, I still feel somehow healthier when I buy my food there. I just signed up for their emails yesterday, and while the Welcome letter was a little boring, I'm loving their newsletter! Here's what I heart about it:Preheader: Althought it's a bit wordy, the fact that they have a preheader is a step in the right direction. I do think they could streamline it a bit and still get the messages across.
Relevancy : The Renegade Lunch Lady is a perfect feature story for back to school. Even if the meals she's suggesting are more what Claire would eat vs. Brian (that's a Breakfast Club reference BTW), the idea is timely. Plus they include links that go directly to the recipes, which makes life easy for busy moms.
Dynamic Content : Love the fact that they were able to populate the "What's on sale?" story with the deals for my specific Whole Foods store. Hint: they could do that because they asked me for my zip code when I signed up for their emails.
Recipe Reviews: This is a smart way to bring me into their community and encourage me to try a recipe as well as write a review.
Smart Design: They really broke up the content in any easy to digest way (pun intended) and maximized the right rail.
August 18, 2009
From: The Daily Sip
Subject Line: Daily Sip: Frick-in' Dry Creek
Date: August 17, 2009
Taking a cue from Daily Candy's playbook, The Daily Sip by bottlenotes focuses on one big feature per email. Short on the sass that Daily Candy is known for, but long on copy just the same, the emails combine a swirl of education with a splash of salesmanship. They bottle each one as a "daily dose of wine knowledge" and they've created a pretty tight editorial calendar around that direction, with five main content types per week: Tips & Tools, Featured Winemaker, Chef Notes, Wine of the Week, and Regional Spotlight.
Overall, I'm really digging these emails and read at least three out of the five I get each week. The tone is friendly and casual, not corporate, which is a definite bonus. That said, I think there are also some things they could do to help their subscribers interact more with the bottlenotes site, which appears to be big on community. (Their tagline is Good People. Great Wine.)
- A top nav would be a great start. My suggestion: Wines, People, Notes, Clubs...at the minimum.
- Including a few secondary messages that drive people to the site would be key, i.e. a small promo similar to what's on their homepage to entice people to write notes about the wines they're drinking now. It's a no-brainer; the promo is already built!
- From an inbox perspective, I'd also change the "from" field to bottlenotes vs. The Daily Sip. They have "Daily Sip" in the subject line itself, so use the opportunity to promote the name bottlenotes in addition to The Daily Sip.
Lastly, I'm the first to admit that I'm not a designer, but I find the right rail ads to be disjointed from the rest of the creative. If it's a bottlenotes promotion, then the design seems to work, but when it's an ad for grass-fed beef...well...it just doesn't, IMHO. If they turned the ad into editorial content, then they could have more control of the creative. They could also connect the ad to the feature story. So if it's about a killer red wine, then reference that the grass-fed beef would be the perfect food pairing. Otherwise, I'm not sure I get why it's there. Any other design suggestions here?
I lied. One last thing. I was a bit bummed by the experience of clicking on the "past sips" button. I was hoping to land in a newsletter archive, but instead ended up on a subscribe to The Daily Sip landing page. Since I already subscribe, this seemed like a miss.
August 4, 2009
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You may have asked yourself: What is the standard email width, anyway? Hopefully, my findings here will help you answer that question. I have gathered emails from 47 popular retailers to see what width they use for their emails. 
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It appears most retailers are using a width of between 600-650px for your average promotional retail email, and 650-700px for more content heavy (newsletter-type) emails. I concur that these averages are a good standard. Here's why: 1. It's not TOO wide, so it's less likely that your subscribers will get a horizontal scroll bar when viewed at low monitor resolution and in small email window panes. 2. It's not TOO narrow, so your email won't be painstakingly long in order to fit all your content. Long emails will lose subscribers' interest (or overwhelm them). Plus, you are less likely to fit all your relevant content "above the fold" (AKA - within the preview pane vertically). The above survey was based on the following emails (in order by width): Endless.com: 548 | PetSmart: 550px | Target.com: 570px | RedEnvelope: 585px | Sur La Table: 600px | Shutterfly: 600px | Naturalizer: 600px | Macy's: 600px | gap.com: 600px | GameStop News: 600px | OfficeMax: 606px | Old Navy: 608px | Dinner Made Easy [Betty Crocker]: 609px | Kmart: 615px | White House | Black Market: 618px | The Home Depot: 620px | JCPenny: 630px | Sears: 631px | CHEFS: 645px | Staples: 647px | New York & Company: 650px | Pottery Barn: 650px | Gymboree: 650px | Express: 650px | Piperlime: 650px | Godiva Chocolatier: 651px | L.L.Bean: 653px | GUESS.com: 659px | Williams-Sonoma: 670px | NORDSTROM: 688px | Eddie Bauer: 688px | Ann Taylor: 692px | Bath & Body Works: 700px | J. Jill: 700px | west elm: 700px | Crate and Barrel: 700px | BananaRepublic.com: 700px | Alaska Airlines Insider: 700px | REI Gearmail: 700px | Apple: 700px | The Land of Nod: 708px | Abercrombie & Fitch: 716px | Martha Stewart Living: 725px | Coach: 735px | Forever21: 780px | Restoration Hardware: 784px | Costco News: 787px |
July 27, 2009
From: Abercrombie & FitchSubject Line: A&F Premium Jeans
Date: July 23, 2009
Subject Line: The best plaid to party in
Date: July 26, 2009
I've given Abercrombie & Fitch some flack for their emails in past entries, so I'm excited to see some cool stuff coming from them lately. The horizontal scroll is fun and still a fresh sight in the inbox, and the copy is fun and on-brand, too. The copy on the jeans email especially optimizes opportunities to play with the pants theme, mentioning...erm..."assets," and telling subscribers to get their "butt in stores" to check out the jeans.
June 18, 2009
From: VeerSubject Line: Special Offer: Ask for a deal in June, you'll get one
Date: Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The subject line in this email from Veer does a great job of sticking out amongst the clutter of my inbox. How can you not open an email that says "ask for a deal" and "you'll get one" - if only out of curiousity!?
It's the subject line and primary message working in tandem that make this message stand out. At at time when most subject lines offer a combination of free shipping and a discount to try and get you to open the email, Veer uses a more compelling hook to tap into the relevancy of the current economic climate.
The email itself is a best practice example of simplicity and creative. While the hero image could have been a little shorter to allow the HTML text below it to show up above the fold, it looks great and is clearly on-brand with Veer who have established a great reputation for beautiful imagery.
June 12, 2009
From: PayPalSubject Line: RE: FW: Account Validation Required
Date: June 10, 2009
For over a week I received an email a day supposedly from PayPal with the subject line Account Validation Required. They all landed in my Junk folder, which was good, but when I started receiving two a day, I decided enough with the phishing.
Of course, I knew that the fact it was from a .uk address was phishy, and I knew enough not to click on anything or give them any info. But I couldn't help but think about all the thousands of people who probably don't know it's a scam. Scary. I forwarded the email to the address that the REAL PayPal site provides in the event that you think an email is a phishing scam: spoof@paypal.com.
Within an hour, I received this email back (check it out to the left). I really applaud PayPal for their follow-through, and I really like the tone of the copy. The good news: No more emails from the phony-baloney PayPal site with the .uk address. Now if we can just get rid of phishing scams all together, we'll be golden.
May 22, 2009
From: Let's Not Motor Day: Friday June 5Subject Line: MINIUSA
Date: Friday, May 22, 2009
Two little surprises in one MINI email:
(1) The preheader link -- "Having trouble viewing this email? Click here to view it in your browser." -- opens the full MINI website with the email itself in a smaller pop-up window. I like this idea. It allows us to both view the email and engage with the entire website, should we choose. I'm surprised I haven't seen this before; it makes so much sense. Thoughts?
(2) MINI has personality, down to the unsubscribe copy: "If these emails are boring you and you don't mind missing out on all the lip-smackin' stuff we'll be sending in the future, simply send a message to unsubscribe@insiders.miniusa.com and include "Unsubscribe" and your favorite fruit in the subject field." Cute, right? I honestly think that the favorite fruit piece might make someone chuckle enough to cause them to consider not unsubscribing!
May 21, 2009
From: Twitter
Subject Line: wyatt seipp is now following you on Twitter
Date: May 21, 2009
From: Facebook
Subject Line: Kendal Burrell confirmed you as a friend on Facebook
Date: May 10, 2009
Yes, I have a Twitter account and I guess people are following me. What that means I haven't quite figured out yet, and I think it requires that I start doing something. But, I'll get there...at some point. What I really want to talk about is how much I appreciate Twitter adding a little life to their triggered messages. I get that these emails need to be easy-to-read on a mobile, but does that have to mean boring old type without any color? Couldn't Facebook at least add the profile pic of who confirmed my friendship? Thoughts? Anybody? Anybody?
May 19, 2009
From: CB2: Unsubscribe RequestSubject Line: CB2
Date: Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Unsubscribe verification emails: good idea, or "too much" when a subscriber's request is already confirmed on a landing page at the end of the opt-out process? I'm interested in your input.
May 6, 2009
From: Crate and BarrelSubject Line: 1,2,3 ways to save on select Wusthof and Shun cutlery
Date: May 1, 2009
If you're into knives (or should I say cooking 'cause just being into knives might be a little creepy) then you'll know that Wusthof and Shun are on the cutting edge (pun intended). I love how Crate and Barrel turned a simple knife sale into something fun, interesting, clean and simple. And the texture with the lettuce at the bottom is simply gorgeous. Plus, they always have that dynamic store location in the footer. Guess they are the sharpest knives in the drawer. Okay, enough puns for one day...
April 30, 2009
From: Please add our new mailing address to your contact listSubject Line: JetBlue Airways
Date: Thursday, April 9, 2009
I received this email from JetBlue a few Thursdays ago. My initial reaction: "What a gratuitous use of the channel. Overmailers! Why would JetBlue use a valuable send opportunity, asking me to (1) open and read their email, then (2) do some other boring administrative task after that, without giving me anything in return?
But maybe I am unreasonable. I'd really like to hear your opinion. Is this a wasted mail? Should it have been incorporated as a well-pronounced submessage rather than sent on it's own? Or maybe (my opinion) JetBlue should have just pumped up the "add to address book" messaging in their preheader for about a month, adding some language about the address change. Tell me what you think!
Only partially related: If you haven't seen it yet, the new JFK JetBlue terminal is finally done, and it doesn't totaly suck. It's actually quite nice. It's actually so nice compared to the frightening excuse for a temporary teriminal they had going on for a few years there. That was seriously a third-world nation experience. Anyway, if you've been avoiding flying them because of that very scary temporary terminal, avoid no more! Perhaps they should have messaged the new terminal as their primary ;).
Happy travels!
March 10, 2009
From: Smith-Harmon
Subject Line: Smith-Harmon Releases Retail Welcome Email Benchmark Study
Date: March 10, 2009
The 3rd Annual Study Covers Trends and Best Practices for Creating an Impactful and Engaging Welcome Email
SEATTLE, March 10, 2009 — Smith-Harmon, Inc., an email marketing strategy and creative services agency, today announced the release of the Retail Welcome Email Benchmark Study. Looking at welcome email trends and best practices among the nation’s top online retailers, the study also includes advice and insights from Responsys, which partnered with Smith-Harmon on this study
“The welcome email is probably the single greatest opportunity that email marketers have to engage subscribers and drive action,” says Lisa Harmon, co-founder and principal at Smith-Harmon. “Welcome messages generate superior open rates and, done well, create a halo effect that boosts subscribers’ engagement with subsequent promotional and trigger emails.”
Given the golden opportunity that welcome emails present marketers, it’s unfortunate that so many still let the moment pass—or bungle the interaction with uninspired messaging. After examining the welcome email practices of 112 of the largest online retailers, Smith-Harmon found that only 76% of them sent out welcome emails. While that’s up from 72% in 2007 and 66% in 2006, it’s disheartening that more companies aren’t seizing this key marketing moment.
“The very first step in any email program is to acquire names to send your message to, but often in that process, we fail to set solid expectations on what the subscriber has really just agreed to receive,” says Stefan Pollard, senior strategic consultant with email service provider Responsys, which partnered with us on this study. “This gap is where the welcome email shines in its importance to start that new relationship with a wealth of information that the sign-up process may not have had time to communicate. More than simply confirming that an action has been taken, the welcome email is the first chance you have to engage your new subscriber and provide immediate value from your email program.”
We found plenty of opportunity for improvement, as some retailers didn’t make the strongest first impressions. For instance, 23% of retailers took more than 24 hours to deliver their welcome emails, greatly diminishing their effectiveness.
Others didn’t take advantage of their welcome emails to set expectations and drive engagement and sales. For example, only 76% explained the benefits of being a subscriber and only 87% included a link to their homepage.
Many retailers also failed to use their welcome email for progressive profiling, asking subscribers for more information about themselves and their interests to boost the relevancy of future emails. Only 24% of retailers did this, down from 28% in 2006.
"Creating welcome series rather than a having a single welcome email is also a growing trend," says Aaron Smith, co-founder and principal at Smith-Harmon. “Our award-winning work on REI’s year-long welcome series for new co-op members proves that these can be very effective at driving long-term engagement.” At least 9% of retailers are currently using welcome series of two or more emails.
Other key findings from the study include:
Subject Line: Smith-Harmon Releases Retail Welcome Email Benchmark Study
Date: March 10, 2009
The 3rd Annual Study Covers Trends and Best Practices for Creating an Impactful and Engaging Welcome Email
SEATTLE, March 10, 2009 — Smith-Harmon, Inc., an email marketing strategy and creative services agency, today announced the release of the Retail Welcome Email Benchmark Study. Looking at welcome email trends and best practices among the nation’s top online retailers, the study also includes advice and insights from Responsys, which partnered with Smith-Harmon on this study
“The welcome email is probably the single greatest opportunity that email marketers have to engage subscribers and drive action,” says Lisa Harmon, co-founder and principal at Smith-Harmon. “Welcome messages generate superior open rates and, done well, create a halo effect that boosts subscribers’ engagement with subsequent promotional and trigger emails.”
Given the golden opportunity that welcome emails present marketers, it’s unfortunate that so many still let the moment pass—or bungle the interaction with uninspired messaging. After examining the welcome email practices of 112 of the largest online retailers, Smith-Harmon found that only 76% of them sent out welcome emails. While that’s up from 72% in 2007 and 66% in 2006, it’s disheartening that more companies aren’t seizing this key marketing moment.
“The very first step in any email program is to acquire names to send your message to, but often in that process, we fail to set solid expectations on what the subscriber has really just agreed to receive,” says Stefan Pollard, senior strategic consultant with email service provider Responsys, which partnered with us on this study. “This gap is where the welcome email shines in its importance to start that new relationship with a wealth of information that the sign-up process may not have had time to communicate. More than simply confirming that an action has been taken, the welcome email is the first chance you have to engage your new subscriber and provide immediate value from your email program.”
We found plenty of opportunity for improvement, as some retailers didn’t make the strongest first impressions. For instance, 23% of retailers took more than 24 hours to deliver their welcome emails, greatly diminishing their effectiveness.
Others didn’t take advantage of their welcome emails to set expectations and drive engagement and sales. For example, only 76% explained the benefits of being a subscriber and only 87% included a link to their homepage.
Many retailers also failed to use their welcome email for progressive profiling, asking subscribers for more information about themselves and their interests to boost the relevancy of future emails. Only 24% of retailers did this, down from 28% in 2006.
"Creating welcome series rather than a having a single welcome email is also a growing trend," says Aaron Smith, co-founder and principal at Smith-Harmon. “Our award-winning work on REI’s year-long welcome series for new co-op members proves that these can be very effective at driving long-term engagement.” At least 9% of retailers are currently using welcome series of two or more emails.
Other key findings from the study include:
- Text-only welcome emails are becoming increasingly antiquated. More than 89% of retailers sent HTML welcome emails, up from 78% in 2007 and 69% in 2006.
- The role that welcome emails can play in ensuring future deliverability of emails is growing. More than 68% of retailers used welcome emails to ask new subscribers to add the sender to their address book, up from about 62% in 2007 and 49% in 2006.
- The number of top online retailers making their emails CAN-SPAM compliant rose significantly. Nearly 71% included both an unsubscribe link and their mailing address, up from 58% in 2007 and 52% in 2006.
- While 15% of welcome emails include a forward-to-a-friend link, none of those studied included a share-with-your-network (SWYN) link. We expect many marketers to adopt SWYN this year, including adding it to their welcome emails.
February 12, 2009
From: Lisa HarmonSubject Line: EEC09: Email Creative Fight Night Presentation Now Available!
Date: Thursday, February 12, 2009
From Left to Right: Sam White of eROI, Lisa Harmon of Smith-Harmon, Julian Scott of Responsys, Mike Corak of Mighty Interactive
For those of you who didn't make it to EEC09, grab your ringside seat to see the blow-by-blow of a knockout session - Email Creative Fight Night: Agency vs. Agency vs. Agency. Responsys, eROI and Mighty Interactive squared off to redesign three emails chosen by EEC Evolution Conference attendees. One rep from each agency showed off their skills and presented the redesigns to the crowd. Each round had a winner, and the Heavyweight Champ of Email was revelealed. I acted as ringside judge and moderator, and shared a few one-two design punches of my own. The gloves are off!
Check out the PowerPoint presentation here >
Watch round 1 >
Watch round 2 >
Watch round 3 >
January 26, 2009
From: Pacific Sunwear
Subject Line: New Arrivals + Get the Look! Shop By Outfit
Date: January 24, 2009
The top 200 pixels can be the most important part of an email. If subscribers open the email they are guaranteed to see all the content in this section, especially when they are looking through a preview pane. Every once in a while I’ll see an email that reminds me to pay attention to what the subscriber experience is like.
Here Pacific Sunwear invites me to “Get this look,” yet the model is seemingly naked.
But hey, it works for Abercrombie, right?
January 15, 2009
From: Smith-Harmon
Subject Line: Holiday Retail Email Volume Sets Record
Date: January 15, 2009
The holidays may be over for regular folk, but for us email marketers, not so much. We're still culling through all the data to get a detailed view of the '08 holiday stats and facts. Thanks to our resident research expert, Chad White, we now have a new FREE reportlet to help us sort through the mountain of numbers and focus on the biggest stories.
Check out some of the stats he's uncovered:
Retailers ratcheted up their send volumes by 43% during the holiday email season
Retailers sent approximately 3.9 promotional emails during the week of Dec. 19
The Retail Email Index was up 15% year-over-year during the holiday email season
This season, 15% of retailers more than doubled their email output
And that's just the short of it. Chad goes into great detail to explain the results of the holiday email hoopla that sent retail email volume through the roof. This 6-page reportlet discusses trends around the overall frequency increases during the holidays, the breakdown of weekly holiday vs. pre-holiday send volumes, and the impact of pre-holiday frequencies on holiday frequencies.
Ready to dig into the data? Download the free reportlet now.
Subject Line: Holiday Retail Email Volume Sets Record
Date: January 15, 2009
The holidays may be over for regular folk, but for us email marketers, not so much. We're still culling through all the data to get a detailed view of the '08 holiday stats and facts. Thanks to our resident research expert, Chad White, we now have a new FREE reportlet to help us sort through the mountain of numbers and focus on the biggest stories.
Check out some of the stats he's uncovered:
Retailers ratcheted up their send volumes by 43% during the holiday email season
Retailers sent approximately 3.9 promotional emails during the week of Dec. 19
The Retail Email Index was up 15% year-over-year during the holiday email season
This season, 15% of retailers more than doubled their email output
And that's just the short of it. Chad goes into great detail to explain the results of the holiday email hoopla that sent retail email volume through the roof. This 6-page reportlet discusses trends around the overall frequency increases during the holidays, the breakdown of weekly holiday vs. pre-holiday send volumes, and the impact of pre-holiday frequencies on holiday frequencies.
Ready to dig into the data? Download the free reportlet now.
January 6, 2009
From: Smith-Harmon
Subject Line: Retail Email Year-End Trends for 2008
Date: January 6, 2009
If you're in the midst of planning your 2009 email marketing strategy, this free reportlet from Chad White, Smith-Harmon's research director, is a definite must-read. It's packed with stats, trends and charts about the overall retail email volume, frequency and timing among the top online retailers in 2008. Want to know which days of the week were most popular to send retail emails? Interested in the top 20 retail email days of the year? Ready to learn what the SECOND biggest retail email season was, behind Christmas? Fasten your seatbelt and get ready for a few surprises.
Download the free reportlet now to get the panoramic view of what happened in the world of retail email in 2008.
Subject Line: Retail Email Year-End Trends for 2008
Date: January 6, 2009
If you're in the midst of planning your 2009 email marketing strategy, this free reportlet from Chad White, Smith-Harmon's research director, is a definite must-read. It's packed with stats, trends and charts about the overall retail email volume, frequency and timing among the top online retailers in 2008. Want to know which days of the week were most popular to send retail emails? Interested in the top 20 retail email days of the year? Ready to learn what the SECOND biggest retail email season was, behind Christmas? Fasten your seatbelt and get ready for a few surprises.
Download the free reportlet now to get the panoramic view of what happened in the world of retail email in 2008.
December 10, 2008
From: Neiman Marcus
Subject Line: So, you need a gift? Look no further + Free gift wrap & free online shipping
Date: December 10, 2008
From: Neiman Marcus
Subject Line: FINAL HOURS! FREE $100 NM GIFT CARD with online purchase + Free gift wrap & free online shipping
Date: December 9, 2008
From: NM Store
Subject Line: Take an extra 30% off at Neiman Marcus stores
Date: December 10, 2008
As a follow-up to my December 8th posting, I thought I would share the latest NM news. I received three emails from Neiman Marcus in ONE DAY. Yes, that's right. 1-2-3 in 1 day. While I understand that good things come in threes, I'm not so sure it applies here. And while I also understand that two were from Neiman Marcus proper and one was from NM Store, they all look like Neiman Marcus to me. And check out the subject line lengths! The only word that comes to mind is: Unsubscribe. Otherwise, I'm speechless.
From: Sirius Subject Line: Talk to Us Request
Date: December 10, 2008
From: Tim Westergren at Pandora
Subject Line: Welcome to Pandora
Date: December 9, 2008
While I do love all things girlie (beauty, clothing, shoes), I think it's important to take a look at some OTHER industries, to see what they're doing with email. Recently, I ventured into the world of Sirius and Pandora, and I really like the way they communicate with their customers in their triggered emails.
The first email is one I received from Sirius. While it's far from flashy, the sentiment made me read it to the end. The back-story is that I filled out an online form asking about a song that was played on The Coffee House. Within 24 hours, I got this nice note from them telling me they were on it. They also let me know that they value my feedback and that they're dedicated to customer care. And it didn't come across as lip service. I think they actually mean it. The two suggestions I'd make as far as copy goes is to change the "from" field to Sirius Customer Care and to make some of the text clickable so I can easily get back to the site. They might want to think about adding in a logo to align it with the brand, too.
The second email is the welcome message I got from Pandora after creating an account. Again, nothing too fancy, but engaging all the same. It made me feel a part of the community, like I belong in this really cool music world where I get to create my own radio stations. (I LOVE PANDORA! Totally addicted.) I'll be interested to see what the next round of emails looks like from them. I'm hoping they do a welcome series that tells me how to amp up my Pandora experience.
December 8, 2008
From: Neiman MarcusSubject Line: Free $100 NM GIFT CARD with ONLINE purchase + Free gift wrap & Free online shipping
Date: December 8, 2008
I'd been putting off my inbox cleaning for too long, so I spent some time this weekend filing over a thousand emails away into my archive library. After first sorting all my emails by the "from" field, I noticed something very interesting. Without realizing it, I've been receiving an email a day from Neiman Marcus since at least October and maybe even longer! I was shocked. At first I thought that maybe I'd missed checking a preference box or something when I signed up for emails originally, but when I tested my theory with a different email address, I was never given a frequency option. So, this leads me to believe that Neiman's default is to send an email a day to subscribers. Interesting. Then, lo and behold, when I clicked unsubscribe, I was given the option of getting a weekly email vs. a daily email. I did choose the weekly option rather than unsubscribe from all, but I have to wonder how many other people unsubscribe all together out of sheer frustration at receiving so many messages. I'd love to know if this everyday delivery strategy is working for Neiman's. I would think that the unsubscribe rate would be HUGE, but then again, I'm not exactly Neiman's target customer. Let's open up the discussion: What are your thoughts on email frequency?
December 5, 2008
From: Smith-HarmonSubject Line: Chad White's Cyber Monday Report
Date: December 5, 2008
Online retailers put a lot of bank behind Cyber Monday this year, and the big question is: Did it pay off? That's a big ole YES from Chad White, Smith-Harmon's new Research Director. His latest FREE reportlet, Cyber Monday Sees Record Retail Email Volume is packed with much more than just retail email volume and messaging stats. This 11-page gem gets into a full-on discussion of messaging trends with creative samples.
Download the free reportlet now to get the complete story on the biggest day in online shopping.
November 21, 2008
I know, I know: sales go down and the emails go out. But how many is too many? Thanks to two of my favorite marketers – the online marketing dynamic duo Amy Norton and Alexis Howe at Costco.com – for bringing this series of Restoration Hardware emails to my attention. The folks at RH went so far as to send seven semi-identical emails over the course of just five days promoting their friends and family event. I believe in reinforcement through repetition, but this particular execution has me ... seeing lots of red ;)! I'm curious about your thoughts:(1) How many is too many? What's your cutoff for the number of mails you'd send to promote a limited-time promotion or event?
(2) What are you feelings on re-using creative for message reinforcement? Is there a certain percentage that should change and/or stay the same in order to achieve the perfect balance of "consistent but different"?
See the series below to see what I mean...
From: Restoration Hardware
Date: Wednesday, November 12, 2008 1:25 PM
Subject Line: Can You Keep A Secret?
See the email >
From: Restoration Hardware
Date: Thursday, November 13, 2008 8:15 AM
Subject Line: Friends Don't Keep Secrets.
See the email >
From: Restoration Hardware
Date: Friday, November 14, 2008 3:25 AM
Subject Line: It’s Good To Have Friends.
See the email >
From: Restoration Hardware
Date: Saturday, November 15, 2008 4:51 AM
Subject Line: 2 Days Left to Save 20% at Our Friends & Family Event
See the email >
From: Restoration Hardware
Date: Sunday, November 16, 2008 5:27 AM
Subject Line: Just Hours Left to Save 20% on EVERYTHING At Our Friends & Family Event
See the email >
From: Restoration Hardware
Date: Monday, November 17, 2008 12:49 AM
Subject Line: Friends With Benefits. 20% Off Extended One Day Only.
See the email >
From: Restoration Hardware
Date: Monday, November 17, 2008 3:50 PM
Subject Line: Hurry! Final Hours of Our Friends & Family Event.
See the email >
November 19, 2008
From: MeSubject 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 thorough and incredibly interesting Retail Email Subscription Benchmark Study, authored by Chad White of the eec, to help you build a richer, more effective email subscription experience.
Learn more about the groundbreaking study now >
November 12, 2008
From: MeSubject 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 dazzling email creative and message. To help you give them somewhere equally stunning to land, we at the eec Email Design Roundtable have added a Landing Page Checklist to our Email Checklist Series. With so many details to think about, our checklist offers a collection of ideas that you can easily apply to your program.
Check out the checklist >
November 6, 2008
From: AbercrombieSubject Line: winter coats to keep you warm.
Date: October 30, 2008
From: Abercrombie
Subject Line: layer-up in classic style.
Date: November 6, 2008
I'm having a little trouble figuring out Abercrombie's latest email campaign. Maybe someone can help me sort it out.
The first email shown here has the subject line: winter coats to keep you warm. But, ummm, the email features a plaid flannel shirt. I guess it would be ironic if the guy happened to be naked or something, but he's not. So it just looks odd. Although, the links do make sense: Boys Outerwear and Girls Outerwear. At first, I thought it was just a production error, like maybe the wrong file was sent or something, until I received the second email and I realized they're trying to be ironic.
The second email's subject line is layer-up in classic style., which uses a hyphen incorrectly, but that's not really the issue, so I'll move on. The hero image features a guy with no shirt on, albeit he does have a short-sleeve tee draped over his shoulder. So, what exactly is he layering here? I guess it's ironic, but does it really sell the clothes? Maybe on a huge billboard it does, but in email when the whole objective is to get people to click through, does it work? The thing that's too bad is that the link to Boys Knits goes to some cool long-sleeve knit pullovers, tshirts, etc. IMHO, it would have been good to show at least a few products to tell the story and spark someone's interest enough to click the links. The way it is now, you really have to be a die-hard Abercrombie fan to be interested enough to click through.
It's election week: Let's put it out for a vote. Check out the two emails and share your thoughts. But remember this: It's like rain on your wedding day, a free ride when you've already paid, and having 10,000 spoons when all you need is knife. That's ironic, don't you think?
October 14, 2008
From: Crate & Barrel
Subject Line: Hurry...Free Shipping on bedding ends 9/30.
Date: September 25, 2008
From: Pottery Barn Kids
Subject Line: Dress Me Up - Our Exclusive Dolls Are Here!
Date: October 14, 2008
Let's take a minute to talk about store locators. Here's the deal: Email not only drives traffic to your website, it also drives traffic to your stores. In fact, companies with the ability to track their email subscribers' in-store purchases have the numbers to prove it. This is why including store information in your email is a slam dunk. Not only will it help drive sales, it also adds dynamic content, personalizes your message, and reinforces your subscribers' customer service experience.
My favorite execution is by Crate and Barrel. They include a banner at the bottom of each email they send me, with copy that reads: We're in the neighborhood. 155 Stockton Street, San Francisco, California. First, I love the friendly approach. Second, I love the click-through experience even more. When I clicked on the copy, I was taken to their store locator page on their website, complete with a map and a photo of the Union Square store. Nice touch.
Pottery Barn Kids also included a banner in their latest email, but the payoff wasn't quite as streamlined as the Crate and Barrel experience. At first I was impressed because they included a zip code field, which is a cool idea in theory. However, after entering my zip code, I expected to be taken to a page with a listing of all the stores in my 'hood. Not the case. I was taken to their general store locator landing page and asked to input my info again. The idea is there, they just need to work out the details.
If nothing else, adding store location information might be an interesting test to throw out there for the holidays, especially if you have exclusive in-store only merchandise you want to promote. If you know where your subscriber lives, you can recommend a specific store location, a la Crate and Barrel. If you don't, you can use a default message that takes your subscriber to your store locator page.
October 9, 2008
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 of this past summer.
While some might question whether a pop-up would annoy more potential subscribers than it would acquire, my guess is, since they've continuted with it for almost two years now, it's been successful for J.Crew. In fact, you'll notice they've shifted from requesting only an email address to an address, a first name, a last name, a gender and a zip code, which suggests that folks were so forthcoming with their email addresses that "the crew" decided to try their hand at collecting even more useful data at sign-up.
Crew members, do tell! We'd love to benefit from your learnings.
September 29, 2008
From: AnthropologieSubject Line: Dust off the dog-ears.
Date: September 29, 2008
With an inbox that boasts 571 unopened emails, I think it's safe to say that I probably subscribe to more emails than the Average Joe or Jane. So when a subject line truly stands out from the hundreds I get each week from retailers, airlines, credit cards, non-profits and others, well, I think that's an accomplishment worth mentioning. Right out of the gate, this week's honors go to Anthropologie for their subtle invitation to revisit their fall catalog. Dust off the dog-ears. is one of the most creative subject lines I've seen in a good month. I loved the SL so much that I was actually a little nervous that maybe the email wouldn't deliver on such cleverness. But it definitely did. It featured torn pages out of the fall catalog with even a dog-ear on one (talk about detailed!) and the copy simply stated: Isn't it time to revisit your favorites?. Yes, Anthropologie. I think it is.
August 22, 2008
From: Old NavySubject Line: Time to Play Favorites
Date: July 31, 2008
In keeping with the theme of this month's Smith-Harmon Loveletter, I want to take a minute to talk about preference centers.
Personalizing the inbox is no longer as easy as just including a Dear Jane as a greeting to your email or adding a name to your subject line. These days if you really want to deliver personalized messages that stand out in the inbox, you have to find out what your customers want. And you do that by building out your preferences center. Find out what interests your subscribers and you'll be better able to deliver the right messages to the right people.
Piperlime includes a banner that's dedicated entirely to preferences in every email. Pretty cool, right? Only problem is that the landing page felt like they were trying to get me to sign up for more Gap Inc. emails vs. finding out what interests me. I was hoping for questions about my age, shoe size, fave colors, sense of style, etc. etc.
Taking a giant leap, Old Navy actually dedicated an entire email to finding out what interests their subscribers. I was excited! Unfortunately their pref center landing page was as sparse as Piperlime's page. When I clicked-through, it simply asked me if I wanted info on Men's, Women's, Plus-Size, etc. clothing. Nothing else. Oh wait, it also asked if I wanted to sign up for more emails from any other Gap Inc. brands. Wish they'd asked me about my favorite colors or personal denim style. Or maybe at least what age bracket I fall in!
It comes down to this: The more you know about your audience, the more you can personalize the message. Check out Sephora's Beauty Insider profile experience to see a really cool pref center in action.
July 31, 2008
From: eleVAteSubject 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 site, which inspired me to actually keep and file the email away.
(2) Welcome emails are sometimes made to do too much, which turns into a law-of-diminishing-returns, over-messaged mess. This one is super-simple, which makes the three icons and buttons to book, edit preferences and view routes POP!
July 30, 2008
From: J.CrewSubject 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 didn't work on Safari for months last year. Two recommendations for improvement:
(1) I'd love to see signatures from Millard and Tracy. It would make it feel so much more personal.
(2) I want an incentive to revisit after my difficulty. I wonder whether - once the issues are resolved - J.Crew will send a discount code to entice the disappointed to return?
July 10, 2008
From: Pottery Barn KidsSubject 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, but still feels very branded. It does not "scream sale".
(2) It uses a good balance of imagery and HTML text, but again still feels slick and on-brand.
I think this mail shows great balance. Yes, there is a sale going on; yes, images are disabled and therefore we need to use more rather than less HTML text...but at the same time, yes, this is Pottery Barn Kids, an aspirational brand. Great job incorporating sale, email best practices, and branding. See that? You can have it both ways!
June 24, 2008
From: MeSubject 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 with a small feeling of dread in the pit of our stomachs. “Did I forget something? Did I double-check EVERYTHING? Will my message render properly? Will I have a job in two hours?” The eec feels your pain.
Ever wish you had a buddy to rely on—someone competent, steadfast and efficient who would remember to help you double-check all the key elements of design and QA success? Well, now you have one—in the form of two email checklists from the eec’s Email Design Roundtable. Both checklists are available in the eec’s Whitepaper Room—and all this week you can download them for free. Check out the checklists >
June 11, 2008
From: NordstromSubject 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 to "Nordstrom." I am such a fan of "The Nordstrom Way" that I have to give them a little love punch on this one. They recently launched this redesigned template and the entire preheader/header area is one big flat image-mapped JPEG. Which means that not only will the links not work in some email readers, but none of the elements - the nav items, the FREE SHIPPING promo...or the "view with images" prompt! - will render with images disabled. I've seen many a "FakeTML" emails before, but this one shocked me into blogging after a 2-month hiatus!!! So actually I have another reason to thank Nordies other than being an obvious place to spend most of my discretionary income - for inspiring me to blog once more!
April 10, 2008
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 click the thumbnail to experience it at full size.) It's impossible to tell what the messages are about - and just as tough to find a point of click-through - without scrolling down. Now, a question arises in my mind: is Burberry repeating this not-best practice because it's actually working for them!? Perhaps their data shows that, despite popular belief, the mystery actually encourages scolls and clicks. Burberry - reveal your secret to the email creative community!!!
All - please share your thoughts. Have you done any testing to support either my initial instinct or my new re-think?
From: Burberry
Subject Line: Arrive in Style with Accessories from Burberry.com
Date: Thursday, February 7, 2008
View the email >
BTW: This shoe is frickin' awesome.
From: Burberry
Subject Line: Shop our New Handbags & Accessories Online
Date: Friday, March 14, 2008
View the email >
BTW: Crazy/Beautiful?
From: Burberry
Subject Line: The Latest Selection of Outerwear plus Complimentary Shipping!
Date: Tuesday, March 25, 2008
View the email >
BTW: Am I interrupting something?
From: Burberry
Subject Line: Shop Women's & Men's Spring Styles at Burberry
Date: Friday, April 4, 2008
View the email >
BTW: How nice of those British boys to keep her standing.
From: Burberry
Subject Line: Shop Online - The NEW Burberry Spring/Summer 2008 Brochure
Date: Tuesday, April 10 2008
View the email >
BTW: How many iterations of two guys and a girl can we actually tolerate?
P.S. This blog is dedicated to Nicole Cobble :)!!!
February 6, 2008
From: west elmSubject 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 us have to say about the brands and products we shop. But what to do if you're just not there yet technically, and/or you're a more aspirational/less democratic brand?
west elm has found good ground by including quotes and images of people like us (only perhaps slightly cooler!?) in their emails and catalogs. Alex brings personality and perspective to this mail, no Web 2.0 required. I actually read her quote, spending perhaps 10 seconds more with this message than I otherwise might have.
January 25, 2008
From: HorchowSubject Line: Want fewer Horchow e-mails?
Date: Monday, January 14, 2008
This email was brought to my attention by the fabulous Megan Regard. Thanks Megan! I say: snaps to Horchow for giving their recipients more control over the number of messages they receive. I like the idea of sending a dedicated mail totally focused on updating communications preferences, although I'm not sure I'd recommend framing it like this. I feel like the subject line "Want to receive fewer Horchow e-mails?" could potentially plant the idea into subscribers' minds that they receive too many emails, while something like "Customize your email experience!" seems more positive and open-ended, and doesn't potentially make the opt-down (or out!) decision for the recipient.
But that's just my opinion; the proof is in the pudding! It will take months to measure how this mail ultimately effects subscriber behavior, but if anyone from Nieman Marcus would be willing to share the initial results, I'm sure many of us would be grateful to benefit from your learnings.
Thanks and Happy Friday :)!
October 24, 2007
From: Me
Subject Line: WhatCounts to Publish Holiday Loyalty Marketing Practices Whitepaper
Date: Wednesday, October 24, 2007
This just in:
Visit WhatCounts.com this Friday to download their hot-off-the-press whitepaper on Holiday Loyalty Marketing Best Practices. I got a sneak peek earlier this week and was impressed by some of the innovative ideas included, particularly around RFM data and points-based email loyalty programs. There's been a good deal of talk about loyalty lately, and of course a huge emphasis on holiday, but this is the first time I've seen both topics considered simultaneously. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the paper!
Enjoy,
Lisa
Subject Line: WhatCounts to Publish Holiday Loyalty Marketing Practices Whitepaper
Date: Wednesday, October 24, 2007
This just in:
Visit WhatCounts.com this Friday to download their hot-off-the-press whitepaper on Holiday Loyalty Marketing Best Practices. I got a sneak peek earlier this week and was impressed by some of the innovative ideas included, particularly around RFM data and points-based email loyalty programs. There's been a good deal of talk about loyalty lately, and of course a huge emphasis on holiday, but this is the first time I've seen both topics considered simultaneously. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the paper!
Enjoy,
Lisa
July 24, 2007
From: Me
Subject Line: In the meantime :)...
Date: Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Greetings all :),
I have been woefully absent-blogged lately, as I'm sure you've noticed. It's not for lack of wanting :)! Things have been super-busy and exciting for all of us at Smith-Harmon; we've taken on a number of extremely exciting new projects, and also just moved into a new office space in Belltown, so I've had my hands full! I hope to hop back on the blog in August, but until then I thought I'd direct you to two of my other favorite email marketing blogs:
- Chad White's RetailEmail.Blogspot...also make sure to check out Chad's cutting-edge and super-useful Retail Email Subscription Benchmark Study
- BeRelevant: Tamara's Email Marketing Best Practices
Enjoy!
Lisa
Subject Line: In the meantime :)...
Date: Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Greetings all :),
I have been woefully absent-blogged lately, as I'm sure you've noticed. It's not for lack of wanting :)! Things have been super-busy and exciting for all of us at Smith-Harmon; we've taken on a number of extremely exciting new projects, and also just moved into a new office space in Belltown, so I've had my hands full! I hope to hop back on the blog in August, but until then I thought I'd direct you to two of my other favorite email marketing blogs:
- Chad White's RetailEmail.Blogspot...also make sure to check out Chad's cutting-edge and super-useful Retail Email Subscription Benchmark Study
- BeRelevant: Tamara's Email Marketing Best Practices
Enjoy!
Lisa
From: Me
Subject Line: Attend a FREE Webinar!!!
Date: Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Greetings emarketers! I wanted to let you know about an awesome webinar happening this coming Thursday!
Delivering the Goods: Deliverability & Reputation Management for the Changing Email Landscape
Thursday, July 26, 2007
10:00 AM PDT / 1:00 PM EST
WhatCounts has assembled a panel of deliverability experts who work with some of the world's leading marketers to ensure that their email messages are successfully delivered to customer inboxes. Here's a sneak peek at some of the topics they'll be covering:
- General overview of deliverability - defining deliverability
- Common deliverabilty myths - separating fact from fiction
- Overview of sender reputation & the reputation 'ecosystem'
- Vital reputation variables - what causes reputation risk?
- How different ISPs handle reputation differently
- How marketers can manage reputation for three scenarios
- Retention mailers sending primarily to in-house customer lists
- Retention mailers dabbling in acquisition (e.g. co-reg, list rental, append)
- Marketers moving to a new ESP/in-house solution/IP address
- Email infrastructure components and how they affect/don't affect reputation
- The role of/importance of authentication in message delivery
- Which top-tier ISPs use which authentication schemes
Register at www.whatcountsevents.com. Hope to see you there :)!
Subject Line: Attend a FREE Webinar!!!
Date: Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Greetings emarketers! I wanted to let you know about an awesome webinar happening this coming Thursday!
Delivering the Goods: Deliverability & Reputation Management for the Changing Email Landscape
Thursday, July 26, 2007
10:00 AM PDT / 1:00 PM EST
WhatCounts has assembled a panel of deliverability experts who work with some of the world's leading marketers to ensure that their email messages are successfully delivered to customer inboxes. Here's a sneak peek at some of the topics they'll be covering:
- General overview of deliverability - defining deliverability
- Common deliverabilty myths - separating fact from fiction
- Overview of sender reputation & the reputation 'ecosystem'
- Vital reputation variables - what causes reputation risk?
- How different ISPs handle reputation differently
- How marketers can manage reputation for three scenarios
- Retention mailers sending primarily to in-house customer lists
- Retention mailers dabbling in acquisition (e.g. co-reg, list rental, append)
- Marketers moving to a new ESP/in-house solution/IP address
- Email infrastructure components and how they affect/don't affect reputation
- The role of/importance of authentication in message delivery
- Which top-tier ISPs use which authentication schemes
Register at www.whatcountsevents.com. Hope to see you there :)!
June 17, 2007
From: Me
Subject Line: Come to our Webinar!!!
Date: Sunday, June 17, 2007
Greetings emailers! Why, you ask, has Lisa been so darn lazy with her blogging? It's because I've been working so hard on a free webinar! It is my pleasure to invite you to:
Designing for the New Email Landscape
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
10:00 AM PDT / 1:00 PM EST
Aaron and I will join expert panelists Justin Foster of WhatCounts and Michelle Eichner of Pivotal Veracity to discuss the changing email landscape and how it affects design, branding and development tools used in the creation of marketing messages. This webinar will allow you to take advantage of the professional resources used by some of the largest retailers on the web for free. Don't miss this opportunity to improve the design and increase the effectiveness of your email campaigns! Woo-hoo!
Register at www.whatcountsevents.com.
Subject Line: Come to our Webinar!!!
Date: Sunday, June 17, 2007
Greetings emailers! Why, you ask, has Lisa been so darn lazy with her blogging? It's because I've been working so hard on a free webinar! It is my pleasure to invite you to:
Designing for the New Email Landscape
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
10:00 AM PDT / 1:00 PM EST
Aaron and I will join expert panelists Justin Foster of WhatCounts and Michelle Eichner of Pivotal Veracity to discuss the changing email landscape and how it affects design, branding and development tools used in the creation of marketing messages. This webinar will allow you to take advantage of the professional resources used by some of the largest retailers on the web for free. Don't miss this opportunity to improve the design and increase the effectiveness of your email campaigns! Woo-hoo!
Register at www.whatcountsevents.com.
May 3, 2007
I hear it from email marketing managers all the time: email marketing delivers an amazing ROI, but their organizations don't put enough attention or resources into maximizing it. Loren McDonald reflects on this and more in his iMedia Connection article - "Find Your Email Mojo in 5 Steps". Check it out.
April 20, 2007
From: Bag Borrow or StealSubject Line: Love The Devil Wears Prada? Borrow the Earrings!
Date: Thursday, April 19, 2007
In a woman's world, you are your handbag, and status bags are pricey. Enter Bag Borrow or Steal. It's a brilliant concept: they basically rent you accessories you can't otherwise afford. With gals everywhere laying out weeks of salary for the right hobo, I can see this concept being huge.
I think they generally do a good job with their email creative, but I'd like to point out a few things they could do to optimize their campaigns, from top to bottom:
1) Go a little larger with the logo. Since it's such a delicate script font, it's somewhat tricky to read at this size. Granted my eyes are going from too much screentime, but I do have my glasses on.
2) Try bringing the menu items up into the brown tint bar, on the upper-right. This will help separate them out from the main message, as well as conserve vertical real estate.
3) Render body copy in HTML rather than graphical text so it's legible in email browsers with images disabled by default.
4) Cut linked graphics separately rather than using image maps. Several email browser strip image maps, thereby preventing users from clicking through!
5) Add a little humor. There's definitely a "wink-wink/nudge-nudge" element to accessories rental. "It's our little secret." I say play that up and have some fun with it!
April 18, 2007
Looking for inspiration? After closely monitoring, observing, applauding and, in some cases, trash-talking the creative efforts of over 100 leading online retailers since 2004, I'd like to take a moment to recognize a handful of shining stars. It's not just about one or two standout emails: this group consistently delivers creative, innovative and memorable campaigns.
From: Apple
Subject Line: Great gift ideas to surprise your valentine.
Date: Friday, January 27, 2006
Apple won our 2006 Q1 EDM vote with their January 27 "Love is in the ear" campaign. And looking back, it's no wonder. The copy, the imagery, the layout, the theme. They all work together in a beautiful harmony. It's clever, elegant and most importantly…effective. There's no arguing that Apple had a stellar 2006. Can't wait to get my iPhone.
From: Crate & Barrel
Subject Line: Greens that Wow
Date: Monday, April 10, 2006
Smart, fresh and simple. Nominated for an award in Q1 and Q2 of 2006, Crate and Barrel consistently delivers aesthetically pleasing creative throughout the winter, spring, summer and fall. Their campaigns are honest and hardworking, with no crazy hooks, no flashing animations and no groundbreaking, medium-altering innovations. In a nutshell, they keep it real. While basic sometimes means boring, in the case of Crate and Barrel it means consistent, on-brand and best-practices worthy. No gimmicks here.
From: UrbanOutfitters.com
Subject Line: Take an Extra 25% off. This time, we mean it.
Date: Thursday, June 22, 2006
It's always good to explore the lighter side of life, and Urban Outfitters has proven that humor always comes out a winner. They win the witty vote, for sure. They throw traditional production values out the window in favor of a few good laughs, and it really works. There is a refreshing, human element to their campaigns. As a matter of fact, it feels like you're funniest BFF wrote the copy and created the layout.
From: Barneys New York
Subject Line: Wedges, Platforms + Boots - Barneys New York
Date: Wednesday, October 18, 2006
The standing ovation goes to Barneys for their generous use of humor. Their silly imagery, casually elegant handwritten font and dashed-off calls-to-action (Shut up and shop!) project a fun, attractive, devil-may-care attitude. Their creative is clean, welcoming and aspirational. It's always good to see the upper-class crowd taking themselves a little less seriously.
From: J.Crew
Subject Line: $4.95 Shipping. Gobble, gobble.
Date: Wednesday, November 22, 2006
J.Crew really found their voice in 2006. Their copy is intelligent, sassy, direct and convincing in a non-intrusive wink-wink, nudge-nudge, buy-now sort of way. And we love it! They rely heavily on copy to float their creative, and float they do. Their messages are always timely to the holidays, the weather and any other national event that they can tie in. Their sale emails are effectively persistent, without being demanding, which conveys a sense of real urgency to shop before your co-worker, friend or neighbor gets that perfect sweater before you do.
From: AppleSubject Line: Great gift ideas to surprise your valentine.
Date: Friday, January 27, 2006
Apple won our 2006 Q1 EDM vote with their January 27 "Love is in the ear" campaign. And looking back, it's no wonder. The copy, the imagery, the layout, the theme. They all work together in a beautiful harmony. It's clever, elegant and most importantly…effective. There's no arguing that Apple had a stellar 2006. Can't wait to get my iPhone.
From: Crate & BarrelSubject Line: Greens that Wow
Date: Monday, April 10, 2006
Smart, fresh and simple. Nominated for an award in Q1 and Q2 of 2006, Crate and Barrel consistently delivers aesthetically pleasing creative throughout the winter, spring, summer and fall. Their campaigns are honest and hardworking, with no crazy hooks, no flashing animations and no groundbreaking, medium-altering innovations. In a nutshell, they keep it real. While basic sometimes means boring, in the case of Crate and Barrel it means consistent, on-brand and best-practices worthy. No gimmicks here.
From: UrbanOutfitters.comSubject Line: Take an Extra 25% off. This time, we mean it.
Date: Thursday, June 22, 2006
It's always good to explore the lighter side of life, and Urban Outfitters has proven that humor always comes out a winner. They win the witty vote, for sure. They throw traditional production values out the window in favor of a few good laughs, and it really works. There is a refreshing, human element to their campaigns. As a matter of fact, it feels like you're funniest BFF wrote the copy and created the layout.
From: Barneys New YorkSubject Line: Wedges, Platforms + Boots - Barneys New York
Date: Wednesday, October 18, 2006
The standing ovation goes to Barneys for their generous use of humor. Their silly imagery, casually elegant handwritten font and dashed-off calls-to-action (Shut up and shop!) project a fun, attractive, devil-may-care attitude. Their creative is clean, welcoming and aspirational. It's always good to see the upper-class crowd taking themselves a little less seriously.
From: J.CrewSubject Line: $4.95 Shipping. Gobble, gobble.
Date: Wednesday, November 22, 2006
J.Crew really found their voice in 2006. Their copy is intelligent, sassy, direct and convincing in a non-intrusive wink-wink, nudge-nudge, buy-now sort of way. And we love it! They rely heavily on copy to float their creative, and float they do. Their messages are always timely to the holidays, the weather and any other national event that they can tie in. Their sale emails are effectively persistent, without being demanding, which conveys a sense of real urgency to shop before your co-worker, friend or neighbor gets that perfect sweater before you do.
April 4, 2007
From: Customer ServiceSubject Line: Garnet Hill requests your feedback
Date: Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Customers have come to expect something from a marketing email. Whether it's a special offer or just an aesthetically-pleasing experience, we're opening campaigns with the hope of satisfying a need.
Here, Garnet Hill asks something of us. By now, almost all retailers occasionally use email to solicit customer feedback. But to do so without including a special offer, message personalization, or even a visually-appealing creative execution just doesn't cut it these days. If you really want customers' feedback, give 'em a little something for it.
April 3, 2007
From: west elmSubject Line: easy living with the Walton Sectional
Date: Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Here, west elm deals strategically with a high pricepoint item that's difficult to push via email: the sectional. They pulled out the double-combo: (1) free delivery (which is pratically a must-do at the moment for the furniture category) and (2) furniture diagrams, which engage the customer immediately in the process of selecting a configuration and envisioning it in their own home.
But of course, despite all the smart thinking here, when it still doesn't work, we've got the catch-all sale promo, which, for this campaign, will undoubtedly generate the most sales by a landslide.
From: shopbop.comSubject Line: Gleaming Accents: Sunglasses, Shoes, Handbags & Jewelry
Date: Monday, April 2, 2007
What could be smarter than an email promoting four low pricepoint, high margin accessories categories? Being prepared enough to coordinate it! I want to mention shopbop again as being one of the best examples of a retailer who approaches photo intelligently. They shoot product across a span of categories and sources in the same environment, allowing them to successfully weave disparate items into tight visual stories, thereby managing to avoid the dreaded "garage sale" look of a cobbled-together campaign that has the marketing message down, but not the assets necessary to address it cohesively. I am a big proponent of shooting specifically for the email channel; it makes sense to push for it as email marketing continues to drive a larger and larger percentage of ecom sales.
March 25, 2007
From: SephoraSubject Line: SNEAK PEEK: Fall's Biggest Beauty Trends
Date: Sunday, March 25, 2007
Sephora generally does a good job with making their emails timely and relevant. This one is a "TREND REPORT" highlighting looks that appeared on the runways. Red lips, bouncy hair and gunmetal eyes are all well-and-good in and of themselves, but framing them as recent runway trends give them much more relevance and power. What can you do to make your messages more relevant and powerful?
BTW, Sephora is also following current best practices: body text, product names and prices are all featured as HTML rather than graphical text.
January 31, 2007
What to HTML? As more and more marketers get browser-savvy (like Eddie Bauer) they start to use HTML text within their email creative. (It's not just for legal anymore!) This is because, in general, HTML text is less likely than graphics to be tagged as spam and it's visible in image-disabled environments. Here are a few guidelines to help you grapple with what to HTML.
1) DO HTML product names and prices. This not only makes product names clearer, but also cut-and-pasteable, potentially allowing customers to copy, paste and search your website for specific products more thoroughly. Additionally, it's much easier to update HTML rather than graphical creative in the event of last-minute product name changes or price markdowns.
2) DO HTML longer paragraphs. Full sentences are easier to read as HTML rather than graphical text. Compare the Blue Nile and Macy's examples and notice how much more readable the Blue Nile text is.
3) Maybe DON'T HTML super-big headline text. HTML fonts still look kind of wonky any larger than 15 unless you're on IE7 or a Mac. Blue Nile's "There's Still Time" headline would lose a lot of polish as HTML.
4) DO be consistent. In the Stride Rite example, they use HTML for only three of their four "shop now" call-to-action links. I'd recommend sticking with one or the other to avoid "junking things up" too much.
5) DO understand that HTML text requires far more rigorous email browser testing than purely graphical creative. The locations and colors (blue?) of the "shop now" links in the Stride Rite example indicate more relaxed browser testing. This is IE7 on a PC. I don't even want to know what this looks like in Outlook for Web on a Mac. Ieeee!
From: Blue Nile
Subject Line: Free FedEx 2Day Shipping at Blue Nile
Date: Thursday, December 14, 2006
From: macys.com
Subject Line: Get the best savings on our top-rated products at the Home Sale!
Date: Monday, January 29, 2007
From: Stride Rite
Subject Line: Toddler Tech - Technology for growing feet
Date: Wednesday, January 31, 2007
1) DO HTML product names and prices. This not only makes product names clearer, but also cut-and-pasteable, potentially allowing customers to copy, paste and search your website for specific products more thoroughly. Additionally, it's much easier to update HTML rather than graphical creative in the event of last-minute product name changes or price markdowns.
2) DO HTML longer paragraphs. Full sentences are easier to read as HTML rather than graphical text. Compare the Blue Nile and Macy's examples and notice how much more readable the Blue Nile text is.
3) Maybe DON'T HTML super-big headline text. HTML fonts still look kind of wonky any larger than 15 unless you're on IE7 or a Mac. Blue Nile's "There's Still Time" headline would lose a lot of polish as HTML.
4) DO be consistent. In the Stride Rite example, they use HTML for only three of their four "shop now" call-to-action links. I'd recommend sticking with one or the other to avoid "junking things up" too much.
5) DO understand that HTML text requires far more rigorous email browser testing than purely graphical creative. The locations and colors (blue?) of the "shop now" links in the Stride Rite example indicate more relaxed browser testing. This is IE7 on a PC. I don't even want to know what this looks like in Outlook for Web on a Mac. Ieeee!
From: Blue Nile
Subject Line: Free FedEx 2Day Shipping at Blue Nile
Date: Thursday, December 14, 2006
From: macys.com
Subject Line: Get the best savings on our top-rated products at the Home Sale!
Date: Monday, January 29, 2007
From: Stride Rite
Subject Line: Toddler Tech - Technology for growing feet
Date: Wednesday, January 31, 2007
January 29, 2007
From: Ann TaylorSubject Line: February's New Arrivals, and a Special Online Offer
Date: Thursday, January 25, 2007
In the past quarter-year or so, I've noticed a definite trend toward larger, more readable font sizes in email campaigns. Ann Taylor is on the extreme end - perhaps because their demographic is slightly older - but it's a good thing all around. We can't expect subscribers to strain to read our messaging. For instance, my mother subscribes to many of the emails I produce, and she socked me with a real eye-opener recently when she said, "I loved that sale campaign you sent last week." It was a pretty standard execution, so I asked what it was that she liked about it, and she replied: "The words were big. It was so easy to read."
OK then, here's the conundrum: how do you do both larger type and HTML text at the same time, tastefully?
January 23, 2007
From: Design Within ReachSubject Line: Final Week to Lounge for Less, plus Shipping and Champagne
Date: Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Here, Design Within Reach infuses some fun into a standard design template. Using basic rules and color blocks, it goes from generic to Mondrian-esque. Cute.
I also want to applaud the limited-time offer specificity in both the subject line and the headline.
Finally, I'd like to call attention to the footer navigation. Many multi-channel retailers include their website, telephone number and store locator information in their footer navigation, but I like how Design Within Reach umbrellas it with the phrase "3 WAYS TO SHOP." It's subtle, but it gives the information a sense of context and serviceability.
January 22, 2007
From: Eddie BauerSubject Line: Shop New For Spring | Spring Outerwear is here.
Date: Thursday, January 18, 2007
From: Eddie Bauer
Subject Line: One Week Only: Extra 30% Off Sale Outerwear.
Date: Monday, January 22, 2007
Eddie Bauer appears to be taking the dual "supressed images/preview pane" threat seriously: these recent campaigns use HTML for almost all text - including nav items. And you know what? I think they look pretty darn good. A lot of us have been skittish to follow the best practice - use as much HTML text as possible - because we lose a degree of creative control over how text renders. But (depending upon your brand and your audience) it might be better to have slightly-less-beautiful text read than no text at all. And with the introduction of IE7, which renders HTML text in a more appealing (read: aliased) way than it's predecessors, combined with the upsurge in Mac use, HTML text is looking better and better. Plus, as more and more B2B and B2C marketers make the switch, our eyes will adjust, and what once looked ugly might look just lovely.
January 19, 2007
From: GymboreeSubject Line: Gymbucks Ends This Sunday - Shop Valentine's Day Styles Today!
Date: Thursday, January 18, 2007
You have one nav, but many campaigns. Make sure your nav is flexible enough to handle every situation - regardless of any single campaign's content, strucutre or color. In this example, Gymboree's green nav doesn't play nicely with the pink Valentine's day creative, and the orange logo doesn't help much either. In order to avoid this issue, I recommend either using a more neutral nav that works with any palette, or implementing a flexible nav, which retains a consistent structure, but changes color from campaign to campaign to suit the creative. (Williams-Sonoma does this well.)
November 30, 2006
From: Crate and BarrelSubject Line: Gourmet chocolates ready to give
Date: Thursday, November 30, 2006
This is what I'd call a good old, honest, hard-working EDM. There are no crazy hooks, no flashing animations and no groundbreaking, medium-altering innovations. However, what this email does illustrate are several very basic, measured best practices, which, in combination, will match the performance of any gimmick. Crate & Barrel promotes conversion by:
1) Featuring relevant, giftable product.
2) Including "FREE SHIPPING" in red in the top nav.
3) Adding a link to their Holiday Delivery Schedule.
4) Submessaging a Gift Guide, Gift Cards and Free Shipping: three very trusty catch-alls for follks who aren't as interested in fondue.
5) Keeping the overal design clean, simple and digestable.
It's not rocket science, folks: it's good customer service. Make shopping easier for your subscribers by giving them real reasons to click through.
July 17, 2006
Some of you may be wondering why I haven't been posting as many reviews over the past two weeks. The reason is simple: I haven't seen much worth commenting on. I've received message after message, but very few of these have done much but clog my inbox. These are the email campaigns that "cried wolf": messages lacking a true message - ones that do not offer value to a subscriber - delivered just because they could be.
While I understand the allure of delivering a quick jolt to sales via email - particularly as sales are soft across many industries - we have to remember that email marketing is also about tending to long-term relationships with subscribers. Each time you "cry wolf" and send out a pointless campaign, you're eroding customers' trust, patience and interest. Think before you send, or else the big bad wolf will come and eat up all your list members!
While I understand the allure of delivering a quick jolt to sales via email - particularly as sales are soft across many industries - we have to remember that email marketing is also about tending to long-term relationships with subscribers. Each time you "cry wolf" and send out a pointless campaign, you're eroding customers' trust, patience and interest. Think before you send, or else the big bad wolf will come and eat up all your list members!
July 16, 2006
For those of you who haven't come across the EmailSherpa Ecommerce Benchmark Guide 2006 - or were wondering whether it's worth the $297 pricetag - I recommend picking it up; it's well worth the cost. Click here to check it out.
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