January 10, 2009
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A previous post pointed out some design mistakes in Sephora’s welcome email. Taking a look at Olive Garden’s welcome email we see a much cleaner approach.
5 Things Olive Garden Did Well:
1. They kept the welcome email simple in design with a layout that would show with images disabled.
2. They established expectations by giving a preview of how often the email would be sent and what type of content would be provided.
3. They thanked the subscriber for signing up. People are picky about how they let into their inbox. It’s nice to show some appreciation.
4. They built trust by stating that they would never share personal information with anyone.
5. They kept it short and sweet.
- Forest Bronzan
January 4, 2009
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I recently saw an email from Quiznos, and while it had some flaws I won’t address in this post, it did a nice job with geo-segmentation to provide me relevant content.
Notice here we have “Visit These Quiznos Locations Near You“ – They obviously have my zip code and dynamically inserted 3 locations that were in my area. This has the obvious benefit of making this email more personalized and relevant, and at the same time making me aware of a location that I previously did not know existed.
To accompany the location targeting, they provided a clear call-out for coupons “valid at these locations”.
In Summary
1. This email segmented me by zip code to provide targeted location recommendations
2. Utilized dynamic content so they could execute this creative to a large list while providing personalized content
3. Provided a call to action that integrated with this personalization
-Forest Bronzan
January 3, 2009
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Looking back at an email that was sent by Toys R Us just before Christmas, they had a decent call to action in their subject line, with integrated copy in their creative.
The subject read: Today Only! 40% Off 2nd Day Shipping
I like the use of urgency by making the promotion available for only 1 day. Additionally, the actual promo (40% off the expedited shipping method) isn’t too bad. I’ve seen a lot of watered down promos lately, and given the fact that we all know 2-day shipping can get pricey — sometimes a deal breaker — this may make it a realistic purchase decision. Now what makes this promotion most relevant is the timing of it: 5 days before Christmas. If you’re like me, I really don’t care much for hectic store crowds when I’m shopping last minute for gifts.
- Forest Bronzan
January 1, 2009
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Taking a look at the welcome email from Sephora, I was definitely expecting a lot of imagery being that they are a high profile consumer cosmetics brand. While there are some decent elements to their welcome email, they are missing the big picture.
To start, in Gmail with images blocked, they have a very poor first impression. Being a brand that is concerned with their image, this introduction is poor. Below is a screen grab of the disabled image version of their welcome email.
At first glance this is chicken scratch. I do see some navigation links, and then a brief welcome note, but mixed up in a creative that was trying too hard to have visual appeal.
Note: The welcome email is a fantastic opportunity to establish that relationship with your subscribers. Open rate are likely to be sky high (they just signed up and are wanting your communication!) and you have a rare opportunity to establish expectations and get your communication with the subscriber offer to a strong start. Unfortunately, the welcome email is overlooked or very poorly executed.
Looking at this email with images displayed:
Here we see what we likely would expect from a brand like Sephora. But with images being disabled by default in so many email accounts, they are missing the mark and a great opportunity to connect with a new subscriber. One good element though to note here is the “Can’t see everything? Visit us here” above the header of the email. Definitely needed and let’s hope it was used.
-Forest Bronzan
