AM Inbox: Missing the promotional opportunity in polls
The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:
Petco, 11/8 — Tell Us What You Think + FREE Shipping!
Polls can be a great way to engage subscribers without the expectation of them spending money, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t leverage them to boost conversions. For example, in this Petco email, they include a poll and even call it out in the subject line.
However, when you click through and cast your vote, the landing page consists of only this “thank you” message:
There was no navigation bar and no product promotions. Hopefully they’ll at least leverage individual subscribers’ answers to target them with either a triggered email or dynamic content in a future promotional email.
J&R, 11/6 — BLACK FRIDAY DEALS -- Every Weekend in November!
J&R is celebrating Black Friday all month long, highlighting deals each weekend. The creative makes it clear that there will be four emails in the series and uses reverse type as a play on Black Friday. The white text on black background really stands out. Unfortunately, when they coded the email they had the white text start at the beginning of the preheader—which rendered all the text in the preheader white except the hyperlinked “Click Here.” The full preheader said:
Having trouble viewing? Click Here!
To ensure receipt, add "promos@email.jr.com" to your address book.
Costco, 11/7 — Family fun this holiday season! Arcade Hoops $50 OFF!
Until this email, it had been more than six months since I’d seen a major online retail use a video gif. Honestly, I’ve been pretty surprised by the low usage. In this email, Costco gets the video gif into the preview pane to try to boost engagement with the video. However, they make the mistake of using a fade-in, which means that anyone viewing the email in Outlook 2007 (which blocks animated gifs) will only see a black box.
You can see the video gif in action here.
SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Toys “R” Us, 11/6 — We've Got Zhu Zhu Pets, the Hottest Toy of the Year!
Neiman Marcus, 11/6 — Warning: CASHMERE may cause sensory overload
Crate & Barrel, 11/6 — Best Buys for the Thanksgiving buffet. Free Shipping...see details.
Williams-Sonoma, 11/6 — Personalize the Thanksgiving Table: Exclusive Glass Hurricane and More
RitzCamera, 11/6 — Pre-Black Friday Special Offers
TigerDirect, 11/6 — Early Black Friday Deals: New 32" HDTV $339...3G Wireless Netbook $289...52-pack CDR $5.99...22" LCD $139...
Sears, 11/7 — Black Friday Now! 15% Off All Appliances
eBags, 11/7 — Holiday Gift Guide + FREE SHIPPING
REI, 11/6 — Introducing REI's 2009 Holiday Gift Shop + Mega Deals at REI-OUTLET
Lane Bryant, 11/6 — Find Great Ideas In Our Gift Guide + 30% Off Outerwear And Boots
HPshopping, 11/8 — Top Tech Picks for the Holidays
Abercrombie & Fitch, 11/8 — Coming soon for Christmas 2009
Fingerhut, 11/6 — Fingerhut: Donate to Toys for Tots this Holiday - Find Out How!
Musician’s Friend, 11/6 — Musician's Friend: Pre-Holiday Warehouse Sale Final Days + Heavy Gear Ships Free
Office Depot, 11/6 — Amazing Holiday Deals + $10 Coupon.
Avon, 11/6 — NEW for the Holidays - ONLY $.99 & Up + FREE Shipping
Coldwater Creek, 11/7 — $30 off + New Holiday Values...Making wishes come true!
Blair, 11/7 — Get your home holiday decor with 99¢ per item shipping.
Lillian Vernon, 11/8 — Free Shipping in the New Christmas Catalog
Alloy, 11/6 — 4 Days Left: 15% Off + New Holiday Arrivals
_____________________
SEARCH... Recent Posts / By Selling Season / By Topic / By Retailer / Monthly Archive
Petco, 11/8 — Tell Us What You Think + FREE Shipping!
Polls can be a great way to engage subscribers without the expectation of them spending money, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t leverage them to boost conversions. For example, in this Petco email, they include a poll and even call it out in the subject line.
However, when you click through and cast your vote, the landing page consists of only this “thank you” message:
There was no navigation bar and no product promotions. Hopefully they’ll at least leverage individual subscribers’ answers to target them with either a triggered email or dynamic content in a future promotional email.
J&R, 11/6 — BLACK FRIDAY DEALS -- Every Weekend in November!
J&R is celebrating Black Friday all month long, highlighting deals each weekend. The creative makes it clear that there will be four emails in the series and uses reverse type as a play on Black Friday. The white text on black background really stands out. Unfortunately, when they coded the email they had the white text start at the beginning of the preheader—which rendered all the text in the preheader white except the hyperlinked “Click Here.” The full preheader said:
To ensure receipt, add "promos@email.jr.com" to your address book.
Costco, 11/7 — Family fun this holiday season! Arcade Hoops $50 OFF!
Until this email, it had been more than six months since I’d seen a major online retail use a video gif. Honestly, I’ve been pretty surprised by the low usage. In this email, Costco gets the video gif into the preview pane to try to boost engagement with the video. However, they make the mistake of using a fade-in, which means that anyone viewing the email in Outlook 2007 (which blocks animated gifs) will only see a black box.
You can see the video gif in action here.
SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Toys “R” Us, 11/6 — We've Got Zhu Zhu Pets, the Hottest Toy of the Year!
Neiman Marcus, 11/6 — Warning: CASHMERE may cause sensory overload
Crate & Barrel, 11/6 — Best Buys for the Thanksgiving buffet. Free Shipping...see details.
Williams-Sonoma, 11/6 — Personalize the Thanksgiving Table: Exclusive Glass Hurricane and More
RitzCamera, 11/6 — Pre-Black Friday Special Offers
TigerDirect, 11/6 — Early Black Friday Deals: New 32" HDTV $339...3G Wireless Netbook $289...52-pack CDR $5.99...22" LCD $139...
Sears, 11/7 — Black Friday Now! 15% Off All Appliances
eBags, 11/7 — Holiday Gift Guide + FREE SHIPPING
REI, 11/6 — Introducing REI's 2009 Holiday Gift Shop + Mega Deals at REI-OUTLET
Lane Bryant, 11/6 — Find Great Ideas In Our Gift Guide + 30% Off Outerwear And Boots
HPshopping, 11/8 — Top Tech Picks for the Holidays
Abercrombie & Fitch, 11/8 — Coming soon for Christmas 2009
Fingerhut, 11/6 — Fingerhut: Donate to Toys for Tots this Holiday - Find Out How!
Musician’s Friend, 11/6 — Musician's Friend: Pre-Holiday Warehouse Sale Final Days + Heavy Gear Ships Free
Office Depot, 11/6 — Amazing Holiday Deals + $10 Coupon.
Avon, 11/6 — NEW for the Holidays - ONLY $.99 & Up + FREE Shipping
Coldwater Creek, 11/7 — $30 off + New Holiday Values...Making wishes come true!
Blair, 11/7 — Get your home holiday decor with 99¢ per item shipping.
Lillian Vernon, 11/8 — Free Shipping in the New Christmas Catalog
Alloy, 11/6 — 4 Days Left: 15% Off + New Holiday Arrivals
_____________________
SEARCH... Recent Posts / By Selling Season / By Topic / By Retailer / Monthly Archive
Labels: AM Inbox, Black Friday, Coding Issues, Costco, J and R, Landing Pages, Petco, Polls, Rendering, Video
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posted at 1:30 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.
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