AM Inbox: Triggered email from Crutchfield
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The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:
Crutchfield, 9/19 — Blu-ray Disc Players: Our top picks
Crutchfield sent me this triggered email after I recently clicked through and looked at a Blu-ray player. The unit I clicked on is featured at the top, but they also include their top seller, customer favorite, newest arrival and biggest price drop, appealing to a wide range of shopping triggers. Realizing that I may not have converted because I was confused about the technology or what to buy, Crutchfield prominently highlights their customer service number, as well as links to articles about Blu-ray players.
Three other things worth noting: (1) They avoid appearing to be Big Brother-ish by not mentioning that they noticed me looking at Blu-ray players; (2) they sent this email instead of a regularly scheduled email to avoid oversending; and (3) they sent the email from a different address than usual, which I don’t see the advantage of. But overall, it’s a solid triggered message.
REI, 9/19 — Patagonia, The North Face and more - New for Fall at REI
Notice how the images of the fleece shirts go outside of the boxes in the email. When I was at Conde Nast we called that “breaking out of the box” or “breaking the box.” It’s a nice design trick for breaking up the boxy-ness of a design and drawing attention to certain content boxes. This is one of the few times that I’ve noticed it used in retail emails.
Barnes & Noble, 9/19 — Oprah's New Pick Just Announced
I assume that Barnes & Noble A/B tested this subject line, but when I saw it I immediately thought that it omitted some obvious interest triggers. Right now the subject line relies on being mysterious and the interest triggers of “Oprah” and the newsiness of “Just Announced.” That probably drove open rates, but I wonder what would have happened to their click-to-open rate and conversion rate if they’d used a subject line like “Oprah's New Pick: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski,” which was the pick. My guess is that it would have driven fewer opens but a higher click-to-open rate and more conversions because it told subscribers more and gave them two more interest triggers (the name of the book and the name of the author). Hopefully these are the kinds of conversations you’re having when you’re devising your subject line A/B tests.
SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Petco, 9/21 — PETCO / Shop our Howl-O-Ween Headquarters and get a FREE treat!
KB Toys, 9/21 — Enjoy Spook-tacular Free Shipping on Select Halloween Costumes!
Frederick’s of Hollywood, 9/19 — Hot Halloween costumes, plus free shipping.
DisneyShopping, 9/19 — 50% off and Free Shipping in our Halloween Boootique
SmartBargains, 9/21 — Staying in? 150 furniture styles on sale, plus 10% off.
REI, 9/19 — Patagonia, The North Face and more - New for Fall at REI
Lands’ End, 9/19 — Introducing Fleece Central @ Outerwear Headquarters
Costco, 9/20 — We're proud of these savings and you will be too!
Bluefly, 9/19 — Heels' Angels + Buy More, Save More - 3 Days Only
Williams-Sonoma, 9/19 — New: Shop Your Top-Rated Products
_____________________
SEARCH... By Post Category / By Selling Season / By Retailer / By Topic / Monthly Archive
The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:
Crutchfield, 9/19 — Blu-ray Disc Players: Our top picks
Crutchfield sent me this triggered email after I recently clicked through and looked at a Blu-ray player. The unit I clicked on is featured at the top, but they also include their top seller, customer favorite, newest arrival and biggest price drop, appealing to a wide range of shopping triggers. Realizing that I may not have converted because I was confused about the technology or what to buy, Crutchfield prominently highlights their customer service number, as well as links to articles about Blu-ray players.
Three other things worth noting: (1) They avoid appearing to be Big Brother-ish by not mentioning that they noticed me looking at Blu-ray players; (2) they sent this email instead of a regularly scheduled email to avoid oversending; and (3) they sent the email from a different address than usual, which I don’t see the advantage of. But overall, it’s a solid triggered message.
REI, 9/19 — Patagonia, The North Face and more - New for Fall at REI
Notice how the images of the fleece shirts go outside of the boxes in the email. When I was at Conde Nast we called that “breaking out of the box” or “breaking the box.” It’s a nice design trick for breaking up the boxy-ness of a design and drawing attention to certain content boxes. This is one of the few times that I’ve noticed it used in retail emails.
Barnes & Noble, 9/19 — Oprah's New Pick Just Announced
I assume that Barnes & Noble A/B tested this subject line, but when I saw it I immediately thought that it omitted some obvious interest triggers. Right now the subject line relies on being mysterious and the interest triggers of “Oprah” and the newsiness of “Just Announced.” That probably drove open rates, but I wonder what would have happened to their click-to-open rate and conversion rate if they’d used a subject line like “Oprah's New Pick: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski,” which was the pick. My guess is that it would have driven fewer opens but a higher click-to-open rate and more conversions because it told subscribers more and gave them two more interest triggers (the name of the book and the name of the author). Hopefully these are the kinds of conversations you’re having when you’re devising your subject line A/B tests.
SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Petco, 9/21 — PETCO / Shop our Howl-O-Ween Headquarters and get a FREE treat!
KB Toys, 9/21 — Enjoy Spook-tacular Free Shipping on Select Halloween Costumes!
Frederick’s of Hollywood, 9/19 — Hot Halloween costumes, plus free shipping.
DisneyShopping, 9/19 — 50% off and Free Shipping in our Halloween Boootique
SmartBargains, 9/21 — Staying in? 150 furniture styles on sale, plus 10% off.
REI, 9/19 — Patagonia, The North Face and more - New for Fall at REI
Lands’ End, 9/19 — Introducing Fleece Central @ Outerwear Headquarters
Costco, 9/20 — We're proud of these savings and you will be too!
Bluefly, 9/19 — Heels' Angels + Buy More, Save More - 3 Days Only
Williams-Sonoma, 9/19 — New: Shop Your Top-Rated Products
_____________________
SEARCH... By Post Category / By Selling Season / By Retailer / By Topic / Monthly Archive
Labels: A/B Testing, AM Inbox, Barnes and Noble, Crutchfield, Design Issues, REI, Subject Lines, Trigger Emails
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posted at 10:16 AM by Chad White
I love Smith-Harmon's enthusiasm. It's so great to have a connection with people who really "get" and get excited by email marketing. (Truly, there are not that many of us out there!) I count myself very lucky to have found such accomplished enthusiasts to collaborate with on the REI program. They are helping to bring amazing opportunities to fruition with panache.
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