Week-End Trends: Back-to-school messaging approaches peak

Email activity and seasonal trends during the past week:

The Retail Email Index: Top online retailers sent each of their subscribers 2.7 promotional emails on average during the week ending July 30, 2010. That’s down 3% week-over-week, up 2% from where it was four weeks ago, and up 9% year-over-year.



The Retail Email Participation Rate: Monday and Friday were the most popular day to send retail emails last week.



The Retail Email Seasonality Meter: While Christmas messaging is set to disappear for August, back-to-school messaging should peak in mid August. In the next couple of weeks or so we should also see our first references to Halloween. I don’t know, perhaps on Friday the 13th (Aug. 13)?



Selling Seasons on the Horizon:
Back to School (June-September): Back-to-School 2009 Season Finale
Labor Day (9/6): Labor Day 2009 Season Finale
Columbus Day (10/11): Columbus Day 2009 Season Finale
Christmas (12/25): Christmas 2009 Season Finale and the 2009 Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season (2010 Holiday Guide coming soon)
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Ping Time: Personalization vs. dynamic content, Yahoo Mail fix, etc.

My latest spin around the mediasphere turned up the following nuggets:

>>Dela Quist of Alchemy Worx discusses the difference between personalization and dynamic content and the benefits of the two elements. >>Follow the ping

>>Amy Hamilton of Smith-Harmon shares the fix for the change at Yahoo Mail that’s changing links blue. >>Follow the ping

>>Simms Jenkins of BrightWave Marketing digs into the hubbub around the misinformation that Ben & Jerry’s had ended their email program. >>Follow the ping with sprinkles on top

>>Mike May of Real Magnet talks about the spectre of more marketing regulations. >>Follow the ping
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AM Inbox: Bluefly launches product reviews

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

Bluefly, 7/29 — Are You Ready For Sweater Weather? NEW Cashmere At 30% Off!‏
In this email, Bluefly announces the launch of a Ratings & Reviews program. Launching it now gives them some time to build up reviews ahead of the holiday season, although I was surprised that they didn’t have a sweepstakes or anything to spur reviews here at the launch. If you’re looking for great examples of product review request emails, check out Northern Tool’s (see Feb. 16 AM Inbox).



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Hanna Andersson, 7/29 — Ends This Sunday - Don't Miss The Backpack & Lunch Bag Sale!‏
Nike Store, 7/29 — Hypercool: Stay Cool. Stay Dry. No Distraction.
Ann Taylor, 7/29 — LISA LOVES: Shop Our Head Designer's Favorites + Free Shipping On Everything Ends Friday!‏
J&R, 7/29 — Monster Power - Protect Your Valuable AV Equipment‏
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Season Finale: Father's Day 2010

A look back on seasonal trends, email activity and standout B2C marketing:

Start to finish: The first reference to Father’s Day was on Mar. 3. The final reference was on June 25. The biggest day for Father’s Day emails was Sunday, June 13, followed by Monday, June 7. Retailers sent the majority of their Father’s Day-themed emails after June 6.



Most interesting emails: In this June 1 Bed Bath & Beyond email, a fun subject line—“Clip. Snip. Buzz. Gifts for the well-trimmed Dad.”‏—and a fun animated gif support what many would consider a not-too-exciting Father’s Day gift: an electric shaver. The right messaging and creative can definitely change someone’s impression about a gift, making the staid seem exciting.



And here’s the animated portion of this email:



With a June 20 email, Eddie Bauer makes the most emotional appeal of the season. With the subject line, “An Inspiring Tribute To Dad‏,” the email’s main call-to-action is a link to a video where mountain climber Leif Whittaker says thanks to his deceased father, Jim Whittaker, the first American to ascend Everest. Touching.



Email 2.0 angle: In a June 11 email and in subsequent ones, Kohl’s promoted their Facebook page in a banner as a destination for ideas of things to do with dad on Father’s Day. The banner is paired with a great gift services footer.



Standout subject lines:
Bed Bath & Beyond, 6/1 — Clip. Snip. Buzz. Gifts for the well-trimmed Dad.‏
Neiman Marcus, 5/31 — Cheat Sheet: The easy-does-it GIFTS FOR DAD‏
NFLshop, 5/23 — Design Your Own NFL Gear For Father’s Day‏
Walgreens, 5/30 — Oh Snap! Get 10 cent 4x6 Prints & 25% Off Photo Gifts for Dad‏

Read previous Father’s Day Season Finales: 2009, 2008, 2007

Explore Father’s Day tag.
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AM Inbox: Image alignment continues to be problem

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

TigerDirect, 7/28 — SSD Storage Sale...Plus: 28" HD LCD $249...1TB HD $59...2GB USB $5.99...Hurry‏
Year after year, image alignment problems—like the ones in this TigerDirect email—land plenty of retailers in my Oopsy Hall of Fame. Honestly, the problem is even more pervasive than those posts indicate, as I refrain from publishing them all because of space considerations. Last year’s Unabridged Oopsy Hall of Fame, which we only share with clients, was 52 pages long and contained many more examples of image alignment mistakes. It’s especially unfortunate because this mistakes to easily caught if creatives are previewed in the major email clients and browsers, or with a rendering tool. It takes a little extra time to do this, but you can avoid poor brand impressions like the one here.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Dell, 7/28 — As seen on TV - Save big on this campus-ready laptop‏
eBags, 7/28 — Final Day: New Semester Sale - Extra 20% off + Free Shipping‏
Target, 7/28 — Major deals: Save 10% when you spend $100 on college finds.
Neiman Marcus, 7/28 — Forget business as usual! Our looks for THE NEW 9-5‏
Staples, 7/28 — 15% off coupon? $75 off coupon? Both!
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AM Inbox: 2nd retailer promotes Android app

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

Barnes & Noble, 7/27 — Save up to 90% on Summer Reads + Our Android App is Here!‏
B&N is only the second major online retailer that I’ve seen promote an Android app, despite the rapid growth of the mobile platform. Walgreens was the first (see June 14 AM Inbox).



JC Whitney, 7/27 — Shop Everything Automotive $50 Off Your Order!
I missed it earlier this month, but JC Whitney has redesigned their preheader text, dropping their whitelisting request and shortening their “view with images” language. They also added branding on the first line of the preheader and a preheader message as the second line. It’s good to see them already experimenting with discount codes in their preheader message so soon after adding it. All together, the changes also made the preheader about 15 pixels shorter, so a little more of the body copy rises up into the preview pane. Here’s their new preheader:



And here’s the old design from a July 13 email:



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Sports Authority, 7/27 — Free Shipping On All Backpacks - Gear Up For School‏
L.L. Bean, 7/27 — 20% Off School Backpacks + NEW Monogramming Styles‏
Lillian Vernon, 7/27 — A Free Gift + Free Shipping to Help Enjoy Back to School Shopping‏
Dick’s Sporting Goods, 7/27 — Save 15% on Your Back-to-School Shopping - Today Only!
Newegg, 7/27 — STARCRAFT II Available Now! Plus, Coupon: Extra 10% OFF on NVIDIA FERMI Video Cards‏
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AM Inbox: Default text link color and legibility

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

Staples, 7/26 — Our top 10 deals of the week. Up to 50% off!
When I announced the launch of the Boomer Legibility Initiative for a New Decade I neglected to discuss the dangers around links. Depending on what the background color is in your design, you may want to format your HTML text link color to aid readability. As you can see in this Staples email, using the default link colors on a red background is very difficult to read. It actually gave me headache trying to read it.



Loft, 7/26 — Get Your Color On + Free Shipping On Every Order!
I’ll skip the rant about Ann Taylor sending an email from a sister brand to me without my permission (see Cross-Promoting Sister Brands Safely) and instead point out that Loft places their logo on the right-hand side of their header. None of the retailers that I track do this—in fact, only a few buck the traditional left-hand logo placement by centering their logo. I don’t believe that we’ve ever tested this placement, but it seems counter to creating a highly scannable email as the logo draws my eye to the far right, away from the start of text on the left. Has anyone tested logo placement?



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Art.com, 7/26 — $4.98 Posters + 25% off SITEWIDE = A+ Back to School Sale!
Bed Bath & Beyond, 7/26 — Enter for a Chance to Win a $15,000 Shopping Spree in the Home Sweet Dorm Sweepstakes‏
Office Depot, 7/26 — Back-to-School Supplies + Get a 6-pack of Notebooks for only 50 cents!‏
Walgreens, 7/26 — Back to School Savings 15% OFF Contact Lenses + 33% OFF Prints‏
Dell, 7/26 — Buy today and we’ll ship it tomorrow!
Toys “R” Us, 7/26 — Save up to 20% off with our Cyber Monday Sale!‏
Finish Line, 7/26 — Try & Keep Up! Shox Turbo 11 Now with Free Shipping!
Dick’s Sporting Goods, 7/26 — Get Free Shipping on the Football Deal of the Week‏
Diamond.com, 7/26 — Elegant Peridot - August Birthstone‏
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AM Inbox: I've hurt my arm

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

Ralph Lauren, 7/23 — Introducing Our New Team Of Fragrances‏
What stands out for you in this email? (Go ahead and take a quick look at the creative below.) For me, it was the guy in the sling. What’s up with that? Did he hurt himself during the photo shoot? Is the third fragrance for guys with fractured arms? Whatever the case, pondering the possibilities drew me in—and the Ralph Lauren belt as a sling is a nice on-brand touch. Are your images interesting enough to break through the clutter?



Sears, 7/25 — Midnight Madness -- Tonight Only! Don't Miss out!
I’m not sure why it’s under the Sears Catalog name, but Sears’ new product review–wish list hybrid is cool. With echoes of Netflix’s review system, Sears allows you to not only indicate which products you like and dislike (a kind of product review lite), but also if you already own or want it (a kind of wish list lite). Less of a time commitment compared to writing a review, the new system is likely to give them much more data to potentially use in product messaging this holiday season: “Shop the Most-Wanted Gifts.”



Buy.com, 7/23— Alert: New Buy.com 45-day Return Policy‏
Especially as we enter the holiday season, it’s important to use your email channel to community brand strengths and points of differentiation. What changes have you made that make shopping with you more appealing. In this email, Buy.com introduces a 45-day return policy, pointing out that 30 days is the industry norm. This would be a great message to reiterate in a banner in November. And if you have a more generous return policy during the holidays, then that’s worth pointing out as well.



LIVESTRONG, 7/23 — Last Chance to share your message of hope on the Nike Chalkbot‏
I very nearly marked this email from nike@official.nike.com as spam. I never signed up for emails from LiveStrong. Nike would have been wiser to send this email under their usual sender name and header as some might think that Nike sold their email address to LiveStrong.

SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
TigerDirect, 7/23 — Christmas in July: 3 Day Special Event‏
Kmart, 7/23 — Save 30% on Christmas Lane Items + Free Shipping Online only‏
Toys “R” Us, 7/23 — Black Friday Savings in July! Huge 2-Day Deals on Games, Action‏
Target, 7/23 — Daily Deals presents Back In Black Friday: Only Today‏
eBags, 7/23 — New Semester Sale - Extra 20% Off + Free Shipping‏
Old Navy, 7/23 — School Uniforms at Our Lowest Prices + a Gift for the Grownups!
Target, 7/25 — College savings: Major deals in College Essentials 2010.‏
Dell, 7/23 — Big back to school savings! Up to 65% off select items.‏
Sephora, 7/23 — New!‏
Avon, 7/24 — 5-STAR Customer Fave is a Great Start‏
Kohl’s, 7/25 — Meet Paprika, the Newest Fiesta Ware Color. (Which Happens to be 30-40% Off.)
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Week-End Trends: Holiday messaging about to go on vacation

Email activity and seasonal trends during the past week:

The Retail Email Index: Top online retailers sent each of their subscribers 2.8 promotional emails on average during the week ending July 23, 2010. That’s up 9% week-over-week, down 3% from where it was four weeks ago, and up 17% year-over-year.



The Retail Email Participation Rate: Friday was the most popular day to send retail emails last week.



The Retail Email Seasonality Meter: Back-to-school messaging should continue to climb over the next three weeks, while Christmas messaging disappears for pretty much the whole of August, returning with a trickle in September.



Selling Seasons on the Horizon:
Back to School (June-September): Back-to-School 2009 Season Finale
Labor Day (9/6): Labor Day 2009 Season Finale
Columbus Day (10/11): Columbus Day 2009 Season Finale
Christmas (12/25): Christmas 2009 Season Finale and the 2009 Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season
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Ping Time: Product review request emails, inbox of 2012, etc.

My latest spin around the mediasphere turned up the following nuggets:

>>Gabrielle Shea Stevens of e-Dialog gives advice on post-purchase product review request emails. >>Follow the ping

>>Ed Henrich of Responsys discusses the inbox of 2012. Best advice: “Marketers need more control over themselves, and need to view consumers and the marketplace the way a surfer views a wave.” >>Follow the ping

>>Loren McDonald of Silverpop discusses triggered emails around (1) pre-transaction, (2) purchase process, (3) post-purchase and (4) relationship/loyalty/account status. >>Follow the ping

>>Mashable talks about a new Microsoft plug-in that integrates Facebook (and Windows Live Messenger) into Outlook. >>Follow status updates in Outlook (h/t Anna Yeaman of Style Campaign)

>>Michael Thom of ExactTarget talks about image maps and their limitations. >>Follow the ping

>>Mark Brownlow of Email Marketing Reports gives us another of his “Famous Inboxes”—this time it’s 007’s inbox. >>Follow the ping

>>In my latest Email Insider column, I talk about leveraging minor holidays, sharing some of my favorite retail email campaigns that do so. >>Follow the ping
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AM Inbox: Educating subscribers about how and why to SWYN

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

Newegg, 7/22 — Full-System Savings! $499.99 4GB RAM Laptop, $169.99 23.6" 1080P LCD Monitor...
Newegg has added SWYN links to the top of their emails—but more interestingly, along with that change they included a banner toward the bottom of the email that seeks to educate subscribers about the links and to give them motivation to use them to share email content with their friends on Facebook and Twitter. To date, I’ve seen very little subscriber education around SWYN links.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Diamond.com, 7/22 — Christmas In July - Get 25% Off PLUS Free Shipping On select Items - 48 Hours Only‏
Sam’s Club, 7/22 — Instant Savings on Back to School Electronics‏
Abercrombie & Fitch, 7/22 — Check out new Classic Looks for back to school!
TigerDirect, 7/22 — Top 10 Back to School Deals: $399 Laptops...$299 PCs...Much More...
Kohl’s, 7/22 — Got Your Summertime Blues? [promoting Levi’s]
Finish Line, 7/22 — Reserve the Hottest Shoe of the Summer--Reebok Zig!
Bluefly, 7/22 — Be The First To Shop NEW Fall Cashmere...
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AM Inbox: Tactics for reusing images in emails

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

Spiegel, 7/21 — Chad, PRE-FALL SAVINGS! Today Only, Take 25% Off Seasonless Stretch Sateen!
When I see images repeated in a creative, I assume it’s a mistake. This one from Spiegel really caught my attention because of the adjacency, but Macy’s also repeated a product image in an email yesterday. Spiegel is promoting “10 Seasonless Silhouettes” so I know they would have preferred to promote another look rather than duplicate.

On the other hand, when I see hero images used again and again, I can’t help but think that laziness is behind it. Earlier this month, Abercrombie & Fitch was again reusing hero images, a crime against creativity that they’ve committed repeatedly in the past (see Apr. 6, 2009 AM Inbox).

All that said, image reuse isn’t all bad. Reusing/updating a successful creative from past years is a good use of past learnings. If you have a particular kind of sale that you run periodically—I’m thinking of Bluefly’s “Blue Door” sales—using the same imagery can quickly communicate that the sale is. Also, turning hero images into images for secondary messages is a tried-and-true tactic that provides continuity and repeated exposure to a call-to-action. Lands’ End uses this tactic regularly, featuring a promo in one email and then using the image from that primary message in secondary messages in future emails.



Target, 7/21 — Daily Deals presents Back In Black Friday: This Friday‏
Riding the coattails of “Christmas in July” campaigns, over the past couple of years there have been a growing number of Black Friday campaigns run in July, like this one from Target.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Sportsman’s Guide, 7/21 — Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube!... From The Sportsman's Guide...
Dick’s Sporting Goods, 7/21 — One Day Only - Stay Connected & Get 15% Off Your Online Order!‏
Barnes & Noble, 7/21 — Huge Kids Sale -- Books, Games & More. Happy Halfway to the Holidays!‏
Neiman Marcus, 7/21 — Don't miss our TREND REPORT: the list‏
Nordstrom, 7/21 — Anniversary Sale Alert! Coats & Other Sold-Out Items Back by Popular Demand‏
Sephora, 7/21 — Stop counting calories‏ [promoting food-flavored and -scented products]
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AM Inbox: 7% of retailers have begun their holiday email campaigns

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

Blair, 7/20 — Merry Christmas in July! Celebrate with free shipping.
Including this email from Blair, 7% of major online retailers have now become their holiday email marketing campaigns by referencing Christmas or the holidays in at least one email. This pace is faster than it was last year, when only 5% of retailers had begun their holiday campaigns by this time. As in past years, most—but certainly not all—of the campaigns have been “Christmas in July” campaigns, like this Blair promotion.



The Company Store, 7/20 — College Lesson #1: Get covered with XL Twin bedding‏
Looking to educate their subscribers, the Company Store has begun a “College Lessons” email series to promote back-to-school products. Pitching their products under the banner of education will likely resonate more strongly with some subscribers and certainly makes the messaging stand out among all the straight-forward promos around back-to-school.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Newegg, 7/20 — Back-to-School Pre-Sale: Get your new build for the new school year ready!
Office Depot, 7/20 — Before the School Bell Rings: Save with Buy 2 Get 1 FREE School Supplies‏
HP, 7/20 — Ready Built PCs at Back to School Prices Ship for FREE in 2 Business Days‏
Finish Line, 7/20 — $10/$20 Off Your Back to School Essentials!
OfficeMax, 7/20 — Free Digital Camera with QuickBooks Pro + Shop for Back to School‏
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AM Inbox: Segmenting preference update messaging

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

Newegg, 7/19 — We haven't heard back from you yet- Tell us what kinds of e-Blast deals you prefer!
Since sending a June 29 email with a preference update call-to-action in it (see July 13 AM Inbox), Newegg has been running a banner toward the bottom of their emails reiterating that CTA. During this preference update campaign, Newegg has been keeping track of which subscribers responded and for those that didn’t, they sent them this follow-up email dedicated to this preference update message. It’s a smart segmentation tactic that spares those subscribers who have already updated their preferences from receiving another message about it.



Old Navy, 7/17 — Last Chance to Save 15% + Free Shipping‏
Old Navy has been big on experimenting with their navigation bar. In this email, they increase the number of navigation bar links to 10 from 8, exploded their “Baby” link into links for “Newborns,” “Baby Girls” and “Baby Boys.” As a consequence, the width of their email increased from their usual 610 pixels up to 835 pixel (ignoring the dot-whack that breaks the grid). While that’s much wider than we recommend, I was intrigued by how they used that extra width—they simply made their usual creative bigger. In the wake of launching the Boomer Legibility Initiative for a New Decade (BLIND), the increased readability of this email caught my attention. The words were nice and big and very easy to read. While I hope they decrease the width of their emails back down, perhaps they’ll start experimenting with bigger text next.



Cooking.com, 7/19 — Summer Cake Recipes: Banana Bread, Zucchini Cake + More‏
Cooking.com has launched a Flickr pool. They’re one of the few retailers to take advantage of this photo-sharing social network.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Drs. Foster & Smith, 7/19 — Update Your Email Subscriptions‏
Kmart, 7/18 — Christmas in July! Free Shipping on Christmas Lane orders of $39‏
Toys “R” Us, 7/18 — Christmas in July Sale! Save on LEGO, Games, Baby Gear & More!
Target, 7/18 — Great back-to-school looks + shipping offers.‏
Sam’s Club, 7/19 — Back to college savings: laptops, backpacks, microwaves and more‏
Abercrombie & Fitch, 7/17 — Check out what's new for back to school!
HP, 7/19 — 3 Day HP Sale: Get Your Students Set For School‏
Dick’s Sporting Goods, 7/18 — Get Free Shipping on Everything in Our Back-To-School Collection‏
Dell, 7/17 — Up to 75% off select school essentials. Weekend sale is here!‏
Hanna Andersson, 7/19 — Hurry, Backpack Sale Ends Soon (Lunch Bags, Too!)...
Bluefly, 7/19 — Office-Ready Looks + Tell Us How You 'Work It' For Work!
Avon, 7/19 — Whatever Your Age... Look Up To 5 YEARS Younger in Just 14 Days!
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AM Inbox: One instance where alt text was best avoided

>>I’m still bringing us back up to date after my time away. This post covers emails sent July 13-16.

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

Ralph Lauren, 7/15 — Iconic Summer Polos, Including Limited Editions‏
Ralph Lauren has changed their email address, which means that email clients will block the images in it by default. The retailer has cleverly designed an “add to address book” request that really stands out with images blocked, using a table cell with a light gray background and HTML text. With no alt text in the email to distract, the request really pops. Here’s the email with images blocked:



And here’s the email with images on:



eBags, 7/14 — 10023439, eBags Friends & Family Back to School Event Starts Now‏
Personalized greetings are supposed to indicate that a marketer knows you on some level—if only your name. In this eBags email, the first name personalization breaks, inserting numbers where the name should be. Ouch! I’ve been reduced to a number.

Saks Fifth Avenue, 7/14 — Saks Fifth Avenue Men's Collection: Wallets, Cases & More‏
Starting with a July 12 email, Saks has added links to their Facebook and Twitter pages to the top of their emails, simply bumping their forward-to-a-friend link to the left to make room. Interestingly, they render the icons in black and white instead of their usual colors. Not sure if that makes them stand out more or less.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Bluefly, 7/13 — It's A Haute Wave! Extra 10% Off EVERYTHING - Today Only!‏
JC Whitney, 7/13 — Keep Cool This Summer With Free Shipping!
L.L. Bean, 7/13 — Beat the Heat in Our NEW Shirts + Save 20% on Summer Favorites‏
Diamond.com, 7/14 — Stay Cool With This Hot Selection - Get 20% Off‏
Kohl’s, 7/14 — Know a school that needs $500K? Spread the word.‏
Hanna Andersson, 7/15 — School Deals Sale On New Fall Hannas - Save Early!‏
Linens ’n Things, 7/16 — 20% Off Back to School!‏
Ross-Simons, 7/13 — Special Offer for Facebook Fans – 2 Days Only!‏
Ann Taylor, 7/14 — The New Casual: Shop Our Laid Back Wear-To-Work Styles‏
Victoria’s Secret, 7/13 — Calling All Cheeky Girls!
J&R, 7/15 — Headphones for your SmartPhone!
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AM Inbox: Leveraging side-by-side comparisons

>>I’m still bringing us back up to date after my time away. This post covers emails sent July 8-12.

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, 7/8 — Think your ''premium'' factory sound system sounds good?‏
Convincing folks to upgrade a product that’s in working order is a tough sell. Crutchfield takes a smart approach to making this argument by explaining the difference between factory components and aftermarket ones. This side-by-side comparison is a familiar setup for consumers. The design could have better broken up the messaging more clearly into chunks, but the idea is great.



Kohl’s, 7/12 — SUMMER ESSENTIALS: Limited Quantities Left!‏
Kohl’s has made some cosmetic changes to their header, as well as moving their social media links up to the top of their email—which is a growing trend. They also abandoned their Kohls.com logo in favor of their retail brand, Kohl’s. Here’s their new header:



And here’s the previous design from a July 11 email:



Newegg, 7/12 — Guerrilla Deals! 5 explosive deals available for a limited time only‏
Hmm…I guess I misunderstood the messaging in Newegg’s last email that said that I wouldn’t receive anymore Guerrilla Deals emails unless I updated my email preferences (see July 15 AM Inbox). This email doesn’t contain that opt-in messaging. Not sure if they’re abandoning that idea or if that was really meant to be an opt-out campaign.

SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Target, 7/11 — College savings: Great offers on what they'll need for dorm life.‏
Kohl’s, 7/8 — Your school could win $500K. Dream Big. Act Now.
Dell, 7/10 — Campus essentials, up to 40% off select items‏
eBags, 7/11 — Back to School Kickoff: 4 Days Only - Extra 20% Off + Free Shipping‏
Hanna Andersson, 7/8 — New Backpacks Just $25 In Our Pre-Season Sale!‏
HP, 7/11 — HP's Top Rated PCs In Time for Back to School‏
Sam’s Club, 7/12 — Take a new netbook back to school; Dell Mini $349‏
Urban Outfitters, 7/9 — Let's Make Up!‏ [promoting Beauty Night event]
Barnes & Noble, 7/8 — Got a BN eReader? Get a Free Coffee!
Ann Taylor, 7/12 — Ann Taylor Loves FACEBOOK: Fans Enjoy A Special Offer‏
Northern Tool, 7/12 — Northern Tool Product Experts Share Their Favorites‏
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AM Inbox: 3 retailers redesign their email templates

>>I’m still bringing us back up to date after my time away. This post covers emails sent July 5-7.

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

Dell, 7/6 —Two days only - Bonus savings on already great deals‏
Starting with a July 1 email, Dell redesigned their email template, using a much lighter color scheme. It’s perhaps a bit too light in the header area, with not enough delineation between that and the body copy. I’ve been critical of Dell’s use of reverse type, so I was pleased to see that element dropped in the new design. Also, with this redesign, Dell is one of the few retailers to use two columns for their administrative text. It’s a configuration that opens up some nice recovery possibilities.

Here’s the new design (left) and the previous design from a June 29 email:



GameStop, 7/6 — Final Fantasy XIV announced; plus 20% off all in-stock games!
Starting with a June 30 email, GameStop redesigned their email template, making significant changes to their product grid. While the new design is slightly less scannable, it allows them to give more space to certain games, establishing a clearer hierarchy within the product grid. The redesign also clearly differentiates the various calls-to-action with different color text—as well as using a button add-on to highlight when exclusives are available.

Here’s the new design (left) and the previous design from a June 22 email:



Staples, 7/5 — 3 limited-time computer offers!
Starting with a July 1 email, Staples redesigned the preheader and header areas of their email template. In the preheader, they drop their whitelisting request and forward-to-a-friend link, and add a preheader message and “view on mobile” link. And the changes allow them to reduce their preheader text to just one line. These are great changes. Other changes include (1) strengthening the branding by increasing the size of the logo and adding their slogan; (2) dropping their search box, which likely wasn’t seeing much action; (3) moving their weekly ad link out of the navigation bar and giving it dedicated space opposite the logo; (4) moving their navigation bar under their logo, which allowed them to add another nav link, bringing their total to eight; and (5) adding carets to their nav links to strengthen those calls-to-action. Overall, the changes make the new header about 50% taller than the old design, but the changes are likely more than worth the extra space.

Here’s the new design:



And here’s the old design from a June 28 email:



Newegg, 7/7 — GUERRILLA DEAL ATTACK! 4 exclusive deals available for 48 hours only‏
Newegg is giving their subscribers more control over the emails they receive by making their Guerrilla Deal emails opt in going forward; to this point, all subscribers were receiving them whether they wanted them or not. The only problem here is that Newegg buries this opt-in message at the bottom of this email and doesn’t mention it in the subject line. This would have been a perfect opportunity to turn this banner message into a preview pane banner, getting that opt-in call-to-action into the preview pane.

Here’s the email (left) and a mock-up on what it would look like with that messaging as a preview pane banner:



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Hanna Andersson, 7/5 — Horns Please -- Our New Fall Website And School Deals Are Here!
Ann Taylor, 7/7 — Get Swept Away In Our New Sea-Inspired Styles + Free Shipping On $150 Or More‏
Neiman Marcus, 7/7 — Our handbag buyers: What caught their eye & why!‏
Toys “R” Us, 7/5 — Join us for a Thomas Playdate, July 10! PLUS Thomas Mega Bloks Coupon Inside‏
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AM Inbox: Using a sweeps-powered quiz to launch a sister brand

>>I’m still bringing us back up to date after my time away. This post covers emails sent July 1-4.

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

J. Crew, 7/2 — Win a Madewell shopping spree‏
In introducing their new Madewell brand to their J. Crew subscribers, the retailer uses a sweepstakes-powered quiz to encourage engagement, leaving only model shots to give readers the gist of the brand. It’s impossible for me to see this style quiz without thinking of Spiegel’s and how they did theirs (see Mar. 17, 2008 AM Inbox). It makes me wonder if this Madewell style quiz would have performed better if the email permission request had been made at the end of the quiz. Since the quiz is really exposing subscribers to the Madewell brand, putting an administrative/permission page in the way may have stifled engagement. I also wonder about the “Enter Now” call-to-action in the email and the “Submit” CTA on the landing page. That language puts the focus on the sweepstakes when a “What’s your Madewell style?” CTA would have perhaps attracted higher quality email sign-ups in the end. Here’s the email:



And here’s the landing page:



Ralph Lauren, 7/4 — Happy Fourth of July From Ralph Lauren‏
As in a June 20 email, Ralph Lauren uses a different header in this email, one that abandons their usual logo, which makes the top of the email seem unanchored, like it’s floating away. Perhaps they’re relying on the branding at the top of the body copy, but all the empty space in the header is really distracting. In this email, they also cut their “Shoes & Accessories” navigation link and add a “Search” button, a move that probably didn’t pay off. We’ve found that search boxes and buttons tend not to perform well in emails.



Here’s their usual header from a June 17 email:



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Kohl’s, 7/1 — Use Code TOPSECRET for ...
Dell, 7/1 — The most powerful 11" laptop in the universe‏
Banana Republic, 7/1 — Happy July! Take a fourth off sale items + free shipping.‏
Gap, 7/1 — Happy 4th! Enjoy 25% Off + FREE SHIPPING‏
Coldwater Creek, 7/2 — Happy 4th! 25% off EVERYTHING. Shop Spirited Summer Style‏
JCPenney, 7/4 — Happy Fourth Of July! We'll Ship Your Order For FREE‏
Oriental Trading, 7/2 — Save 20% - 4 days only! Happy Independence Day‏
Dick’s Sporting Goods, 7/2 — You're Free to Choose Your Offer This Fourth of July Weekend!
Lands’ End, 7/2 — Win a $100 Gift Card during the Red, White & You Sweepstakes‏
RitzCamera, 7/3 — Celebrate The 4th! Get 5 Cameras For The Price Of 1!‏
Old Navy, 7/4 — Patriotic Styles As Low as $5! Go Fourth & Save!
Lillian Vernon, 7/4 — A July 4th Celebration with 4 Deals Just for You‏
Old Navy, 7/1 — Star Spangled Sale! Save Up to 50%
Barnes & Noble, 7/1 — 20% Savings to Celebrate Independence Weekend‏
Cooking.com, 7/1 — Top 10 Fourth of July Dessert Recipes‏
Diamond.com, 7/1 — Incredible Savings For July 4th Sale - 50% OFF The ICE Price‏
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AM Inbox: First reference to Christmas

>>I’m back from vacation and will be bringing us back up to date over the course of the week.

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:

Hallmark, 6/29 — Sneak a peek at Keepsake Ornament Premiere!‏
Hallmark gives us our first reference to Christmas. For the past few years, they’ve delivered their first holiday message on July 1, so they decided to get a jump on Christmas in July messaging this year. HSN was also in early, sending their first Christmas messaging in a June 30 email. For insights and inspiration to help you with your holiday messaging, check out the Christmas 2009 Season Finale and the Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season—the 2010 edition of which will be released next month.



Newegg, 6/29 — INDEPENDENCE DAY SALE! Over 60 of our biggest deals of the summer inside-‏
Newegg works an “update your preferences” request seamlessly into this 4th of July email. This summer is a great time to start getting your subscribers to update their preferences ahead of the holiday season.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Fingerhut, 6/29 — Fingerhut: Answer this 4th of July Trivia + Get a FREE Gift!‏
JCPenney, 6/29 — The Fireworks Begin Here With Great Savings + Free Shipping!‏
Linens ’n Things, 6/29 — Star Spangled Savings with an Extra 20% Off!
Blair, 6/29 — Here's a firecracker of a free shipping deal!‏
Finish Line, 6/29 — Celebrate The 4th Of July In White! Get Free Shipping On The Newest Styles!
Chadwick’s, 6/30 — Double Your Discount! The July 4th Extravaganza is On!‏
PC Connection, 6/30 — Top 5 Notebook Deals For The 4th Of July From PC Connection Express - Starting at Only $319!‏
Crate & Barrel, 6/30 — Get ahead of the class: Back to School Outlet deals‏
Bluefly, 6/29 — Watch JOHNNY WEIR’S Closet Confession at 12pm & Receive a Special Bluefly Hook-Up!
Toys “R” Us, 6/30 — PlayStation Move & Kinetic for Xbox 360 are COMING SOON! Pre-Order Yours Today!
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The Most Popular Posts during June 2010

The posts that were visited the most during the month:

10. Retail Email Unsubscribe Benchmark Study 2010
9. Oopsy Hall of Fame: 2007 Inductees
8. Boomer Legibility Initiative for a New Decade launched
7. Alert: Sears testing potential new Gmail offering
6. AM Inbox: J. Jill's preheader redesign + preview pane banner test
5. Design Hall of Fame: 2009 inductees
4. AM Inbox: Dressing up a run-of-the-mill gift
3. AM Inbox: Bed Bath & Beyond's 5th video gif of year
2. Cross-Promoting Sister Brands Safely
1. Season Finale: 4th of July 2009

>>View the most popular posts from previous months.

Looking to get a jump on ideas for this month? Then check out the July 2009 archive for inspiration and trends from last year.
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