AM Inbox: Short-form story-telling in email
>>The Email Design Look Book: Examples of Outstanding Email Design and Copy. Download this free report now
The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:
Neiman Marcus, 6/15 — What do pizza, origami, and TANO bags have in common?
After highlighting some nice long-form story-telling by Drs. Foster & Smith in yesterday’s AM Inbox, here’s a nice example of short-form story-telling around a product from Neiman Marcus. Just because inbox attention spans are short doesn’t mean that there’s no opportunity to capture subscribers’ attentions with a quick story that adds depth to a product. Neiman Marcus has been featuring quotes from designers in many of their emails this year and I think it’s been very effective at bringing the personality and authoritative voice of those designers forward, as well as highlighting the access that Neiman Marcus has. Featuring these blurbs by designers also gives their emails a little bit of a fashion magazine vibe. Do you have opportunities to be the conduit for the authoritative voice of your product designers and suppliers?
Omaha Steaks, 6/16 — $0.00 SHIPPING plus 4 FREE Steaks and 56% Savings - ENDS TODAY
People read from left to right so be careful about where you’re placing your copy. This is of extra concern if your emails are wider than the recommended 600 to 700 pixels (see Soon Even More Emails Won’t Be Optimized for Width). For instance, in this Omaha Steaks email, which is 750 pixels wide, they place a Father’s Day reminder in a dot-whack in the upper right-hand corner. In that position it’s less likely to be seen.
However, if you move it to the left—as it is in the mockup below—it’s suddenly much more apparent. If you have doubts about the placement of copy, it’s an easy thing to run an A/B test on to confirm the optimal placement for your subscribers.
SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Brookstone, 6/15 — Last Day for Free Shipping Sitewide—Shop our Top Father's Day Gifts!
RedEnvelope, 6/16 — Final day to save with Standard Shipping rates + 20% off for Dad
Kmart, 6/16 — Last-Minute Gift Savings for Dad and Two $5 Coupons
Barnes & Noble, 6/15 — This Week -- Coupons, Last-Minute Father's Day Gifts, More
NFLshop, 6/15 — Guaranteed Delivery for Father's Day + Great Gift Ideas
1800Flowers, 6/16 — Free Shipping Upgrade for Father’s Day! Limited Time Only!
Lands’ End, 6/16 — Extended: Fast Free Shipping for Father's Day + up to 50% off swim
Harry & David, 6/16 — FREE Father's Day Delivery on featured gifts!
Omaha Steaks, 6/15 — Father's Day Recipes for Beer-Cooked Mains + Krups Beer Tender Savings
Sears, 6/15 — Save On All Tools and Appliances. Plus Great Gifts For Dad.
Hanna Andersson, 6/15 — New Splash Landing - Swimwear Just Added To Our Sale!
Lands’ End, 6/15 — Click, save, swim: half off + Free Shipping ends today
Nordstrom, 6/15 — Everyday Sandals Get Sophisticated
Bed Bath & Beyond, 6/16 — Outdoor living. Everything for your pool, patio or deck.
_____________________
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:
Neiman Marcus, 6/15 — What do pizza, origami, and TANO bags have in common?
After highlighting some nice long-form story-telling by Drs. Foster & Smith in yesterday’s AM Inbox, here’s a nice example of short-form story-telling around a product from Neiman Marcus. Just because inbox attention spans are short doesn’t mean that there’s no opportunity to capture subscribers’ attentions with a quick story that adds depth to a product. Neiman Marcus has been featuring quotes from designers in many of their emails this year and I think it’s been very effective at bringing the personality and authoritative voice of those designers forward, as well as highlighting the access that Neiman Marcus has. Featuring these blurbs by designers also gives their emails a little bit of a fashion magazine vibe. Do you have opportunities to be the conduit for the authoritative voice of your product designers and suppliers?
Omaha Steaks, 6/16 — $0.00 SHIPPING plus 4 FREE Steaks and 56% Savings - ENDS TODAY
People read from left to right so be careful about where you’re placing your copy. This is of extra concern if your emails are wider than the recommended 600 to 700 pixels (see Soon Even More Emails Won’t Be Optimized for Width). For instance, in this Omaha Steaks email, which is 750 pixels wide, they place a Father’s Day reminder in a dot-whack in the upper right-hand corner. In that position it’s less likely to be seen.
However, if you move it to the left—as it is in the mockup below—it’s suddenly much more apparent. If you have doubts about the placement of copy, it’s an easy thing to run an A/B test on to confirm the optimal placement for your subscribers.
SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Brookstone, 6/15 — Last Day for Free Shipping Sitewide—Shop our Top Father's Day Gifts!
RedEnvelope, 6/16 — Final day to save with Standard Shipping rates + 20% off for Dad
Kmart, 6/16 — Last-Minute Gift Savings for Dad and Two $5 Coupons
Barnes & Noble, 6/15 — This Week -- Coupons, Last-Minute Father's Day Gifts, More
NFLshop, 6/15 — Guaranteed Delivery for Father's Day + Great Gift Ideas
1800Flowers, 6/16 — Free Shipping Upgrade for Father’s Day! Limited Time Only!
Lands’ End, 6/16 — Extended: Fast Free Shipping for Father's Day + up to 50% off swim
Harry & David, 6/16 — FREE Father's Day Delivery on featured gifts!
Omaha Steaks, 6/15 — Father's Day Recipes for Beer-Cooked Mains + Krups Beer Tender Savings
Sears, 6/15 — Save On All Tools and Appliances. Plus Great Gifts For Dad.
Hanna Andersson, 6/15 — New Splash Landing - Swimwear Just Added To Our Sale!
Lands’ End, 6/15 — Click, save, swim: half off + Free Shipping ends today
Nordstrom, 6/15 — Everyday Sandals Get Sophisticated
Bed Bath & Beyond, 6/16 — Outdoor living. Everything for your pool, patio or deck.
_____________________
SEARCH... By Post Category / By Selling Season / By Retailer / By Topic / Monthly Archive
Labels: AM Inbox, Design Issues, Neiman Marcus, Omaha Steaks
If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe (RSS/email) or
posted at 2:16 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.
4 Comments:
Just discovered your blog. Good stuff. Question re: Neiman Marcus. Have you ever come across any stats that show this personalized approach (as opposed to personalization; Hi It's Me vs. Hi Dave) has a lift on open rate, clik-thru etc?
Thanks
Bob, I haven't seen any research on that, but it would be easy enough to A/B test.
Chad, I just read your article in Email Insider newsletter. I actually did subscribe to the email programs you recommended because I like seeing really good email execution and having some good case studies on hand for my clients.
However, I notice that most of these programs, Neiman Marcus in particular, are using image heavy emails that don't display well when images are turned off. Everything I know about email tells me that this is a no-no.
What are your thoughts on dealing with imaging blocking and balancing that with cutting edge design.
Steve
Steve,
You want to look for all reasonable opportunities to use HTML text, alt text and preheader text to compensate for image blocking. However, there are plenty of brands where image-heavy emails are necessary to accurately convey their brand. As a general rule of thumb, the more premium the brand, the more image-based the emails become.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link