Isn’t it frustrating when you get an email, images are blocked, and you can’t see much of anything? Using alternative text for the images will help with that communication barrier. Use the ALT tag for important (if not most) images. When your subscribers have images turned off, the alt tag will provide a text view of the image. This is extremely important.
Site Opt-In Form from New York Life
May 18, 2009 No comments »While signing up for some insurance newsletter the other day, I noticed a clean opt-in form from New York Life.
Here, we see several good things going:
1. The subscription form is in a nicely contained box.
2. They ask for your name and email, and then give a preference option for HTML or text
3. They offer 3 reasons for why you should subscribe! This is a nice touch many companies don’t bother with. It’s good to focus on what’s in it for the user.
Three items to make it better:
1. The title ‘What’s New Email’ is somewhat difficult to read. I would make this really stand out. I would also have more direct copy here, such as: “Sign up of for our Newsletter” or “Exclusive Email News” — something to that effect.
2. It’s nice to have the bullets for ‘why subscribe’ — but I would also have a link for ‘view a past newsletter’ — so the individual subscribing can get a hint of exactly what they will be signing up for.
3. The thank you page after clicking ’subscribe’ was ok, but it would could have been better with additional options (after I already opted-in) for my newsletters. In a previous post we discussed email preference centers, and how they are great for the subscriber AND the marketer. I’m sure New York Life has some form of this, but it wasn’t easily available during the sign-up process.
Quick Tip: Link to a Web Version
May 15, 2009 No comments »Your subscribers may have trouble reading your carefully crafted email. With blocked image issues, emails rendering differently in various clients, and a list of other potential problems, it’s handy to provide an online hosted version of your email. This link and line of copy should go in the pre-header. All legitimate email platforms will have the ability to quickly and easily do this.
A few ideas for copy:
Click Here if you are having trouble viewing this email
To view an online version of this email, Click Here
Can’t see our email? Click Here to view it online
Subject Line from Overstock.com
May 11, 2009 No comments »I recently signed up for the Overstock.com email list and received a message last week with a simple subject line that grabbed my attention.
It read: EMAIL-ONLY SALE
A few quick comments here:
1. On a basic level, I like the focus and promotion of a special sale for email subscribers. Too often list members get fatigued and question why they are on a mailing list in the first place. Rewarding them, and providing a little something special for letting you into their inbox is a very nice gesture.
2. ALL CAPS: On a first view, this grabbed my attention, however I wouldn’t recommend it. Some email filters may view this as spammy and it may never get to the inbox. There goes the nice promotion and simple subject. I don’t think anything is lost with just having: Email Only Sale
3. One way to make this more enticing would be to add some time sensitivity. e.g. Email Only Sale – 3 Days Left!
Not a bad effort though by Overstock.com. With subject lines in particular, it’s always good to do subject line testing to achieve higher engagement.
