AM Inbox: A special offer from a guy you've never heard of
The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:
SmartBargains, 12/16 — A special offer from our CEO.
Several retailers have sent emails from one of their CXOs this holiday season—some for serious reasons like debunking bankruptcy rumors, and others just to promote deals, as in this email. While it’s great to have your executives sign these emails to lend them more authority, don’t let this confuse you as to who the email is from: Your sender name should remain your brand name or whatever you typically use. That’s what your subscribers expect to see. Don’t disappoint them by changing your sender name to something unrecognizable like “Ben Fischman, CEO”—which is what SmartBargains did with this email. Apparently the change of sender name confused a significant number of subscribers, who either didn’t open the email or marked it as spam, because later in the day SmartBargains sent a second email with their usual “SmartBargains.com” sender name and the same subject line and same copy rendered in text-only to ensure that it was seen. Consistency in your sender name and address are very important, especially during the holiday season when consumers’ inboxes become more cluttered.
Toys “R” Us, 12/16 — Don't Miss Our Half Off Sale PLUS Get Free Shipping!
In this email, Toys “R” Us highlights their new desktop and web widgets. The landing page also includes information on mobile content and links to follow Toys “R” Us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
Staples, 12/16 — Will Office Depot closings affect you?
Ouch! It’s exceedingly rare that one retailer calls out another for anything other than price comparisons, but Staples takes it to Office Depot in this email, using a recent press release against them. In a holiday season of nasty rumors about retailers closing stores and questions about them honoring gift cards, Staples seems to play into that narrative of anxiety with the wording of this email. Not sure if this is clever or cutthroat. Probably both.
SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
KB Toys, 12/16 — Last Chance for Standard Shipping - Ends December 16
Petco, 12/16 — PETCO / It’s Your Last Chance for Guaranteed Delivery Plus FREE Shipping!
L.L. Bean, 12/16 — Last Chance: Holiday Delivery + FREE Gift Card
Eddie Bauer, 12/16 — Last Chance: Free Shipping + Up To 50% Off!
OfficeMax, 12/16 — Last-Minute Gifts - Save up to 50%
Drs. Foster & Smith, 12/16 — There's Still Time To Order!
Costco, 12/16 — Great Gifts To Arrive In Time For Christmas!
Backcountry, 12/16 — Get Your Gear on Time
Abercrombie & Fitch, 12/16 — Sexy new styles, get them by Christmas.
Cooking.com, 12/16 — LAST 2 DAYS: Fantastic Gifts that Ship Free with Guaranteed Christmas Arrival
Harry & David, 12/16 — 2 Days Left to Order + 3 Ways to Save on Delivery!
REI, 12/16 — REI Member Coupon: Save 20% + 3 Days Left for Standard Shipping
Lands’ End, 12/16 — Free Shipping extended! (Just in the St. Nick of time)
Musician’s Friend, 12/16 — Musician's Friend: Get up to $125 in Bonus Bucks When You Buy Gift Certificates
_____________________
SEARCH... By Post Category / By Selling Season / By Retailer / By Topic / Monthly Archive
SmartBargains, 12/16 — A special offer from our CEO.
Several retailers have sent emails from one of their CXOs this holiday season—some for serious reasons like debunking bankruptcy rumors, and others just to promote deals, as in this email. While it’s great to have your executives sign these emails to lend them more authority, don’t let this confuse you as to who the email is from: Your sender name should remain your brand name or whatever you typically use. That’s what your subscribers expect to see. Don’t disappoint them by changing your sender name to something unrecognizable like “Ben Fischman, CEO”—which is what SmartBargains did with this email. Apparently the change of sender name confused a significant number of subscribers, who either didn’t open the email or marked it as spam, because later in the day SmartBargains sent a second email with their usual “SmartBargains.com” sender name and the same subject line and same copy rendered in text-only to ensure that it was seen. Consistency in your sender name and address are very important, especially during the holiday season when consumers’ inboxes become more cluttered.
Toys “R” Us, 12/16 — Don't Miss Our Half Off Sale PLUS Get Free Shipping!
In this email, Toys “R” Us highlights their new desktop and web widgets. The landing page also includes information on mobile content and links to follow Toys “R” Us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
Staples, 12/16 — Will Office Depot closings affect you?
Ouch! It’s exceedingly rare that one retailer calls out another for anything other than price comparisons, but Staples takes it to Office Depot in this email, using a recent press release against them. In a holiday season of nasty rumors about retailers closing stores and questions about them honoring gift cards, Staples seems to play into that narrative of anxiety with the wording of this email. Not sure if this is clever or cutthroat. Probably both.
SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
KB Toys, 12/16 — Last Chance for Standard Shipping - Ends December 16
Petco, 12/16 — PETCO / It’s Your Last Chance for Guaranteed Delivery Plus FREE Shipping!
L.L. Bean, 12/16 — Last Chance: Holiday Delivery + FREE Gift Card
Eddie Bauer, 12/16 — Last Chance: Free Shipping + Up To 50% Off!
OfficeMax, 12/16 — Last-Minute Gifts - Save up to 50%
Drs. Foster & Smith, 12/16 — There's Still Time To Order!
Costco, 12/16 — Great Gifts To Arrive In Time For Christmas!
Backcountry, 12/16 — Get Your Gear on Time
Abercrombie & Fitch, 12/16 — Sexy new styles, get them by Christmas.
Cooking.com, 12/16 — LAST 2 DAYS: Fantastic Gifts that Ship Free with Guaranteed Christmas Arrival
Harry & David, 12/16 — 2 Days Left to Order + 3 Ways to Save on Delivery!
REI, 12/16 — REI Member Coupon: Save 20% + 3 Days Left for Standard Shipping
Lands’ End, 12/16 — Free Shipping extended! (Just in the St. Nick of time)
Musician’s Friend, 12/16 — Musician's Friend: Get up to $125 in Bonus Bucks When You Buy Gift Certificates
_____________________
SEARCH... By Post Category / By Selling Season / By Retailer / By Topic / Monthly Archive
Labels: AM Inbox, Office Depot, Sender Lines, SmartBargains, Social Networks, Staples, Toys "R" Us, Twitter, Widget
If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe (RSS/email) or
posted at 12:22 PM 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.
1 Comments:
Regarding sender names - I noticed earlier in the season Bass Pro sent out a message promoting the Santa's Wonderland themes in their stores. The first send was from "Santa Claus" ... I got a second one less than a day later ... same email, only this time from "Bass Pro Shops". I'm sure they ran into similar issues.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link