Smith-Harmon Email Creative Review

Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 07:09 PM
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From: Me
Subject Line: Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season
Date: Tuesday, August 26, 2008

This just in: the Email Experience Council just released the Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season! Last year, the eec tracked more than 3,300 emails from more than 100 top online retailers during the fourth quarter and released daily reports on strategies, tactics and trends via the Retail Email Blog. Based on that monitoring, they've created a helpful roadmap to the email holiday season so retailers and other B2C companies can better formulate their campaigns this year. This is a hugely valuable resource: make sure to make it a part of your holiday planning! Learn more about the Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season here >

You Had Me at the Subject Line

Posted by Darrah MacLean at 02:46 PM
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From: Piperlime
Subject Line: Brown bag it.
Date: August 21, 2008

Piperlime writers get to have some serious fun with their copy. They have developed a really strong brand voice and I love that they keep it dialed with every email. Last week, as I sifted through my cluttered inbox, this particular subject line jumped out at me. Maybe it had something to with the fact that I'm looking for a brown handbag or maybe it just brought back fond memories of school lunches (and considering it's back-to-school time this SL is even more appropriate). Either way, it got me. So I opened the email. While the headline fell a little flat for me because it didn't support the subject line sentiment, the body copy was right on – Nothing says fall like a gorgeous brown bag. I agree, Piperlime.

What's Your Preference?

Posted by Darrah MacLean at 08:52 AM
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From: Old Navy
Subject 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.

Blog Olympics: Passing the Baton

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 03:50 PM
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From: Me
Subject Line: Blog Olympics: Passing the Baton
Date: Wednesday, August 20, 2008

I was delighted to see that so many of the blogs we respect - and from which we derive so much inspiration - included us in their Blog Olympics picks! I am grateful for this fantastic, growing community of email experts who tell it like it is on a daily basis.

Of course we read and love all of these great industry resources...and so should you! Listed in no particular order:
(1) MediaPost's Email Insider
(2) The EEC Blog
(3) BeRelevant!
(4) The Retail Email Blog
(5) Brontoblog
(6) The Email Wars
(7) No man is an island

I'm also a big fan of Kelly Mooney's Mooney Thinks, as well as Splendora's "What To" Blog. Shoe Wednesdays are my absolute favorite.

Time for you folks to pass the baton! If your blog is included above, it's your turn to list your 7 favorites. No, they don't have to be email marketing blogs, but why wouldn't they be!? After all, anyone who's anyone is in email marketing ;).

Subject line collusion in the airline industry?

Posted by Aaron Smith at 11:42 AM
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From: Delta Airlines
Subject Line: Don't miss out on 1,000 bonus miles
Date: Thursday, August 14, 2008

From: Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
Date: Don't miss out on your extra credit promotion.
Date: Thursday, August 14, 2008

Talk about serendipity: these two messages with similar subject lines showed up back-to-back in my inbox the other evening. Not only are the subject lines similar, but the theme of both as well: each message offers bonus credits/miles as an incentive for engaging with the respective airline. With all the consolidation lately in the airline industry, I wonder if they are using the same marketing teams?

Using a Coupon to Entice Cutomers to Take Your Survey

Posted by Lyla Reinero at 02:23 PM
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From: Borders
Subject Line:30% Off Coupon for One Minute of Your Time
Date: Monday, August 18, 2008

I must be channeling my late Grandma Nixon: I am a sucker for a coupon. (She actually was more practical - she'd only clip them for things she was going to purchase anyways.) In any event, this was actual enticement for me. Despite the fact that I "hate surveys", I did click through on this, and there were only 4 questions, none of which were too personal. The subject line was spot on as well - normally Borders' Emails are too much visual overload for me and I automatically delete them. :)

Using Humor to Entice Cutomers to Take Your Survey

Posted by Lyla Reinero at 09:01 AM
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From: Daily Candy
Subject Line:DailyCandy SF - Open Water
Date: Tuesday, August 12, 2008

The Brown Cannon 3 Surfboards featured in this Email are beautiful, but the part that caught my eye, was the "SHARE WITH THE CLASS - Take the Daily Candy Survey". Surveys have been fresh on our minds at Smith-Harmon as we've just gone through the process ourselves. Personally I hate doing surveys. I know that in order to receive better service I should participate, but what can I say? I still hate them. I nearly always automatically delete them from my inbox (or throw them away if they come via snailmail). I thought the humor of "Share with the class" was witty enough to entice me. Then I clicked on it... and scrolled and scrolled and scrolled. 45 questions. Pass. :)

Love this coat!

Posted by Lyla Reinero at 08:20 AM
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From: Kate Spade
Subject Line: talk of the town: luxurious pieces for fall
Date: Tuesday, August 19, 2008

One of the biggest hazards of the job is opening these gorgeous emails and thinking that "I must have this!". Fortunately (or unfortunately) when I clicked on this thing of beauty it said "This product is temporarily out of stock." Which makes me wonder... why would they even send the email out if it's out of stock? I opened it first thing in the morning... Did they really sell so many of them already? Maybe, the coat really is just that beautiful! :)

Sometimes Sorry Does Cut It

Posted by Darrah MacLean at 01:05 PM
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From: Netflix
Subject Line: We're Sorry DVD Shipments Are Delayed
Date: August 14, 2008

From: Netflix
Subject Line: We're sorry your DVD shipment was delayed
Date: August 15, 2008

No, you're not seeing double. I received these back-to-back customer service emails from Netflix last week. Seems their shipping system was on the fritz, so they took action by stepping up to the inbox not once, but twice to simply say sorry.

At a time when prices are rising and savvy consumers are fine-tuning their buyers' intuition, it's in every retailer's and service provider's best interest to upgrade their personal, one-to-one interactions with their customers. Taking a few extra minutes and a few extra dollars to keep 'em feeling attended to is well worth the investment. IMHO.

My only copy critique is that they should have switched up the subject lines a tad more. I almost didn't open the second email because I thought it was simply a repeat. Lo and behold, it spelled out specifically what Netflix was doing to make up for the mishap; they were giving me a 15% credit on my bill! Pretty major, right? Something like "We're giving you a 15% credit for DVD delay" as the subject line would have done the trick and let me know that it was a follow-up to the first email.

One more little edit is about the casing in the subject lines; one used headline casing and the other used sentence casing. I've never seen any stats on one being better than the other, so it's more of a style consistency thing. Basically, pick a side and plant your feet.

Put Your Welcome Message to Work

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

Welcome messages show some of the highest open rates in the email world. Per yesterday's MINI post, we’re surprised by how many senders neglect to even send a welcome or, almost as bad, send lusterless messages that feel downright unwelcoming.

To help you make the most of your welcome, the EEC Email Design Roundtable have added a Welcome Message Checklist to our email checklist series in the eec’s Whitepaper Room. With so many details to think about, our checklist offers a collection of ideas that you can easily apply to your own message style. Check out the checklist >

Where's the Welcome?

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 07:07 PM
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From: MINIUSA
Subject Line: What's Your Carfun Footprint?
Date: Thursday, August 14, 2008

Two weeks ago I had an extremely positive customer experience buying a new MINI. It was quite honestly the first time I've gone through the car purchase process without feeling like I was being totally snowed. The sales and finance folks were friendly, fast and straightforward. And beyond that, the visit was enhanced with little touches that packed a punch. For instance, come pick-up time, the car was not only ready-to-go on the sales floor; it was also enshrouded in a car cover, which I ceremoniously removed, like opening an enormous present.

After being treated so well at the dealership, I was wondering what kind of "Congratulations!" or "Welcome!" message I'd receive via email that week. In fact, I was secretly hoping to receive a welcome series so I could revel in new-car-ness for weeks on end. But alas, the first mail I got was this (albiet cute) "Carfun Footprint" message.

Now I don't pretend to imagine that most consumers make big purchases and then impatiently wait to see what kind of email follow-up they'll receive. But I do think that MINI is missing an opportunity to reinforce my positive purchase experience and potentially upsell me on the auto-sense windshield wiper upgrade I'm so going to need come end-of-summer in Seattle.

Ugh!

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 10:02 PM
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From: Neiman Marcus
Subject Line: New UGG boots: Warm your feet + FREE SHIPPING
Date: Friday, August 8, 2008

Ugh! Are you serious!?!?

Despite the UGGs, for those of you who haven't read it, Mr. Stanley has infinite wisdom to share in Minding the Store: A Memoir.

The Evolved Offering

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 07:19 PM
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From: NORDSTROM
Subject Line: Ten Things: Transform Your Style for Fall
Date: Sunday, August 10, 2008

I'm late to The Experience Economy party, having just listened to the audio book last week. If you haven't read it yet, (1) read it, and (2) opt for the printed version; the audio sounds like a it's read by the same old dude who narrated our science films in grade school.

Anyway, I'm bringing it up because it looks like the Nordies' read the book recently too. Their fall campaign - across all channels - focuses on evolution and transformation, which - according to Pine and Gilmore - is the "highest", most evolved product you can put a price tag on. I agree, and am brainstorming ways to sell transformation, and use email in transformational ways. Read the book and let me know what you think!

Sign-Up Mix-Up

Posted by Sarah Milsow at 09:17 AM
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From: Anthropologie
Subject Line: Bask in summer's glow
Date: Friday, June 13, 2008

From: Anthropologie
Subject Line: Comings & Goings
Date: Thursday, August 7, 2008

I have recently received these two emails from Anthropologie basically telling me to sign up for their emails. The thing is, I already did! Back in August of last year! What's interesting is the one sent to me in June arrived after 4 months of no emails from them at all, very bizarre. Did something go wrong with their subscriber list? Do I have to sign up yearly? What's the deal?! If something happened to their subscriber list they should have sent out an email about it rather than these confusing emails. Does anyone have any inside info on this? I absolutely adore Anthropologies emails and definitely want to keep receiving them without having to continually sign up. Keep me on your list Anthropologie!

Old vs. New

Posted by Sarah Milsow at 08:34 AM
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From: lululemon athletica
Subject Line: Love your body at University Village lululemon!
Date: Wednesday, August 6, 2008

From: lululemon athletica
Subject Line: Come see the new colors fall in at lululemon with the Autumn season just around the corner!
Date: Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Lululemon athletica recently redesigned their emails and I must say I am pleased with the results. Although there are a few things I would change it is a big step up from their previous emails. Their emails now look like they come from an international retailer. I absolutely love the fact that they are continuing to use html text for their items descriptions. I also applaud them for taking on one of the EEC challenges to include an unsubscribe link at the top of their email. One thing I think that could benefit their emails is shortening the message a bit since it is a lot for the subscriber to scroll through. This could be done by easily condensing their product descriptions as well as condensing the first section of the email that has a lot of excess white space below the text. Overall I love the new design of their emails and I'm sure the rest of their subscribers will too!

Smith-Harmon Blog 2.0

Posted by Aaron Smith at 12:19 PM
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In true blogger fashion, I am happy to announce the launch of our newly redesigned blog via a blog posting :)

In addition to the fancy new look, the blog will include many more voices from the S-H team, providing a well-rounded perspective on email industry topics, from creative and strategy to copywriting and coding. Look for lots of new faces joining the blogging crew in the coming weeks!

A big thanks to all the hard-working members of team who contributed and helped make this happen!

Daily Double

Posted by Lisa Harmon at 08:19 PM
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From: Daily Top 10
Subject Line: CNN.com Daily Top 10
Date: Wednesday, August 6, 2008

From: Daily Top 10
Date: CNN.com Daily Top 10
Date: Wednesday, August 6, 2008

From a creative perspective, I am a major fan of the new CNN.com Daily Top 10. It's clean, simple and clicky. Two questions:

(1) I'm curious about the choice to make the "From:" read "Daily Top 10" rather than "CNN.com." Thoughts?
(2) If this is a "Daily Top 10", shouldn't we be getting it just once a day? Both yesterday and today I received it two times, which feels like one time too many.

Copy Cats

Posted by Sarah Milsow at 02:00 PM
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From: Abercrombie & Fitch
Subject Line: Sexy and Casual, The Perfect Pair Of Jeans.
Date: Thursday, July 24, 2008

From: abercrombie
Subject Line: You can never have enough Hollister jeans.
Date: Thursday, July 24, 2008

From: Hollister
Subject Line: classic cool jeans in every style and wash.
Date: Thursday, July 24, 2008

All three brands are all owned by the same company but to me that isn't a good reason for using almost the same creative treatment on all three emails. It is also worth noting that I received all three emails on the same day and around the same time even. Abercrombie and Hollister might want to take into consideration that they could possibly have some subscribers that signed up for all three of their brand's emails. It is possible to have ownership of multiple brands but still put out different email creatives, the Williams-Sonoma Brands are a great example of this. Another possible solution is segmenting their email list and only sending out an email from one of those brands to their customers that subscribe to all three emails, perhaps even the brand that they shopped with most recently. That way their customers won't be overloaded with similar looking emails :)