AM Inbox: An email inspired by mobile app content

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

Sephora, 5/27 — Today's Obsession‏
This email promoting the Sephora To Go app does a fantastic job of showing, not telling. The app delivers daily “obsessions” that highlight a beauty product, so Sephora uses the current product along with the previous six days worth to create this email. In a way, it’s an email inspired by app content. Perhaps you also have app content that can be repurposed for email. In addition to promoting the app, this email also has a Facebook call-to-action to get subscribers talks about their beauty obsessions.



Ralph Lauren, 5/27 — Save-the-Date For These Six Can’t Miss Events
A few retailers like Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and REI send store event emails, but they tend to be very text-heavy emails. This Ralph Lauren email takes a very image-centric approach that’s striking and stands out in comparison to those other event calendar emails.



Kmart, 5/29 — Free shipping + save up to 35%: Memorial Day sale ends TOMORROW!
I was a little confused by this Kmart creative, a version of which was also used in a May 27 email. Is it supposed to look like clip art thrown on top of Mr. Bluelight? His hand isn’t even gripping the spatula. It has kind of a retro paper doll aesthetic, but it’s not clear that it’s supposed to be that way, which also makes it look they just didn’t invest any time into making it look nice.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
OfficeMax, 5/27 — Halfway to Black Friday – New Deals Just Added‏
Cooking.com, 5/27 — Save up to 80% During Our Memorial Weekend Sale‏
Eddie Bauer, 5/29 — Memorial Day Sale Ends Tomorrow! Save up to 75%.
Dell, 5/27 — Memorial Day Super Sale – Save up to 55%
Toys “R” Us, 5/30 — Memorial Day Cyber Sale! Up to 20% OFF Thousands of Items, Monday Only!
Alloy, 5/28— Memorial Day Sale: Take 20% Off Everything (3 Days Only)‏
Macy’s, 5/29 — Memorial Day Sale ends tomorrow! Extra 15% off + shipping's on us!
HP, 5/29 — In time for HP's Memorial Day Sale - 3 Coupons For You‏
Old Navy, 5/29 — Act Fast! Memorial Day Sale + In-Store Only Clearance Blowout
Sam’s Club, 5/30 — Kick off summer fun with grills and gifts for Dad‏
Apple, 5/27 — iPad 2. The perfect gift for Father's Day.
Williams-Sonoma, 5/30 — Hot Father’s Day Gift Idea: La Plancha Cast-Iron Griddle‏
Saks Fifth Avenue, 5/30 — Dad's essential dress shirts & ties‏
Lands’ End, 5/27 — Up to 50% off swim + Free Shipping - surf now and save.‏
Lane Bryant, 5/27 — Free Tops, Crops, And Flip Flops. Really?
Sports Authority, 5/27 — It's Camping Season! Find Everything You Need Here‏
Target, 5/29 — This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. "Like" us on Target Style!
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Week-End Trends: Father's Day messaging to more than double this week

Email activity and seasonal trends during the past week:

The Retail Email Index: The top online retailers sent each of their subscribers 3.2 promotional emails on average during the week ending May 27, 2011. That’s down 1% week-over-week, down 5% from where it was four weeks ago, and up 14% 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: Memorial Day messaging peaked last week, although it will continue into the early part of this week. Father’s Day messaging will more than double this week to around 25%. Graduation messaging will start to peter out over the next couple of weeks.



Selling Seasons on the Horizon:
Father’s Day (6/19): 2010 Season Finale
Graduation (May-June): 2010 Season Finale
Back to School (June-Sept.): 2010 Season Finale
Independence Day (July 4): 2010 Season Finale
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Ping Time: Like this email, preferences centers, deliverability, etc.

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

>>Tweet of the Week: @aliverson: It Takes 12.5 Million Spams To Sell $100 Of Viagra - http://goo.gl/oCs9D

>>Bryan Quilty of MindComet shares an interesting design tactic from LA Fitness, which used their Facebook page as the framework for an email promoting their Facebook presence. >>Like the ping

>>Chip House of ExactTarget talks about the value of permission and preference centers when it comes to deliverability. >>Follow the ping

>>Rick Buck of e-Dialog exposes the top 10 deliverability misconceptions. >>Follow the ping

>>Pingdom reveals just how important webmail is to the web presences of Google, Microsoft and Yahoo. >>Follow the ping

>>Rory Carlyle of BombBomb urges marketers to take a data-driven approach to their email marketing decisions. >>Follow the ping

>>Matthew Hayes of Responsys discusses turning “triers” into loyal customers with retention lifecycle programs. >>Follow the ping

>>In my latest Email Insider column, I warn you about four pieces of bad advice I’ve heard email experts sharing. >>Follow the ping
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AM Inbox: Avon's email redesign

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

Avon, 5/26 — STARTS NOW! Memorial Day FREE SHIPPING Weekend‏
Avon has redesigned their email template, making some positive and negative changes. It’s hard to tell from just this one email, but Avon appears to be adopting a less busy design, with a single-column layout and less copy. The other really noticeable change is that they’ve reduced the width of their emails to 545 pixels from an already mobile-friendly 600. But oddly, their preheader is still 600 pixels wide, so it almost negates the advantage of the narrower design. That said, even though Avon’s template was quite narrow already, they tended to use a lot of copy with some pretty small font sizes, so their emails weren’t as mobile-friendly as their email width would suggest. The tiny text in their navigation bar might be an indication that they haven’t totally moved toward larger more readable typography. The borderless banner for their secondary message is also odd, as that content block bleeds into the footer.

Here’s the new design and the previous design from a May 23 email:



Sony, 5/26 — Game On: NEW Xperia PLAY Smartphone is Here | $25 Android Market Gift Card + FREE Shipping‏
For me, the coolest use of animated gifs is showing subscriber how products work. This Sony email is a fantastic example of this tactic in action. The animation shows subscribers how this new smartphone opens up into a game player, communicating it much more clearly than copy or multiple images would.



And here’s the animated portion of the email:



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
HSN, 5/26 — The Americana Event + Randy Travis' LIVE Concert TOMORROW on HSN!
Crutchfield, 5/26 — Reminder: Memorial Day Savings Event going on now‏
Home Depot, 5/26 — Huge Memorial Day Savings‏
HP, 5/26 — HP's Memorial Day Sale Starts Today - A Coupon for You!
Overstock.com, 5/26 — Memorial Day Sale + Free Shipping (NO MINIMUM)
eBags, 5/26 — Memorial Day Super Sale: 25% Off + Free Shipping!‏
Ralph Lauren, 5/26 — Enjoy 25% Off At Our Memorial Day Weekend Event
Lowe’s, 5/26 — Get $100 Off With This Memorial Day Money Saver
Bass Pro Shops, 5/26 — Save on the Basics Dad Likes+ Take 6 Months to Pay‏
Williams-Sonoma, 5/26 — Brew Your Own Beer — Kits from Brooklyn Brew Shop‏
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AM Inbox: Easy-to-scan newsletter design

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

Coach, 5/25 — Coach News: new arrivals for summer.
When Coach launched their Coach News emails back at the end of 2009, I wasn’t a fan of the typography, which was entirely in all caps (see Dec. 31, 2009 AM Inbox). Thankfully, they now use sentence case for the bulk of the body copy, with a very clear font style hierarchy that makes the newsletter easy to scan and makes the calls-to-action stand out. The current design is also essentially a single-column design, which also aids with scanning. And lastly, the table of content arrangement at the top of the email also makes navigation easier, even for subscribers on mobile devices since the TOC items are nice and finger tip-sized.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
OfficeMax, 5/25 — It’s Halfway to Black Friday – Save up to 50% Online Only‏
Williams-Sonoma, 5/25 — Burger Bliss: Tools for Every Shape, Size & Style‏
Crate & Barrel, 5/25 — Outlet Sale. Up to 75% off the affordable Memorial Day cookout.‏
Chadwick’s, 5/25 — Excited for Summer? The Memorial Day Sale Begins Now!
Lane Bryant, 5/25 — Free Tops, Crops, And Flip Flops Just In Time For Memorial Day‏
The Company Store, 5/25 — We have allergy relief covered!
Barnes & Noble, 5/25 — Introducing The All-New NOOK: The Easiest to Use, Ultra-Light Reader‏
Staples, 5/25 — Hurry, limited-time deals on eco office essentials
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AM Inbox: Hitting different notes with your copy and CTAs

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

Backcountry.com, 5/23 — Memorial Day Sale – Before It’s Too Late‏
Backcountry remains one of a small group of retailers that shuns the status quo “Buy Now” call-to-action and uses a variety of softer-sell CTAs. For instance, in this email, they use the largest text to tout their discounts, some supporting text to create urgency around the upcoming holiday weekend, and then the CTA makes a more emotional appeal for subscribers to “Make Memories.” Each block of text hits a different note, gets at a different potential motivation for the subscriber. And then there’s a second CTA for “Uber Deals” that’s not alluded to in the subject line, rewarding openers something extra.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Sony, 5/23 — Memorable Deals Start NOW | Save on Sony HDTV packages, PCs + more‏
Barnes & Noble, 5/23 — Save 30% on a Great New Read for the Long Weekend!
Cooking.com, 5/23 — Free Shipping + The Great Outdoors: Essentials for Picnics and Block Parties‏
Toys “R” Us, 5/23 — 2 Days Only! BIG Savings on Outdoor Fun from Radio Flyer, Little Tikes & Razor‏
Dell, 5/23 — Introducing the new XPS 15z – the thinnest 15" PC on the planet‏
Bed Bath & Beyond, 5/23 — Luxury reigns in your bath and bedroom‏
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AM Inbox: Even the model is interested in the CTA

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

Norm Thompson, 5/23 — TODAY ONLY: #1 Cardigan just $34.95 + FREE SHIPPING!
It’s human nature to look where others are looking. If the model in an email is looking straight out at you, your tendency is to stare right back. On the other hand, if the model is looking up, down, left or right, your tendency is to follow their gaze. Norm Thompson uses this human tendency to their advantage in this email design by having the model look right at the dot-whack with the price and free shipping offer in it. Lands’ End has also been using this tactic a lot lately.



Home Depot, 5/23 — Huge Savings Online: Today Only‏
Back in February, Home Depot experimented with updating the message in the primary image of one of its emails (see Feb. 8 AM Inbox). They use this same tactic again in this email, which was promoting another one-day sale. Considering that about half of subscribers take 24 hours or more to open an email, that’s a lot of folks reading emails about expired sales. And it’s an even bigger issue with emails about flash sales, which have been slowly growing in popularity. Taking the time to update image files like Home Depot did here allows you to avoid reaching out to subscriber with old information.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
PC Connection, 5/23 — Check out our Tablet Comparison page to find out what Tablet is right for you!
CB2, 5/23 — affordable memorial day must-haves.‏
Cooking.com, 5/23 — Memorial Day Cookout Recipes: Spare Ribs, Corn Casseroles & Chilled Pies‏
Crutchfield, 5/23 — Memorial Day Savings Event: Save up to 50% on hundreds of specials‏
Lands’ End, 5/23 — Red, White & You Event: $20 off $75 + big savings on summer classics‏
Coldwater Creek, 5/23 — What's Black, White, 25% off (& Ships for FREE)?
Dell, 5/23 — Students – get an Xbox when you buy your Dell!
Coach, 5/23 — Coach has the best gifts for grads.
Walmart, 5/23 — Surprise the Grad With a Special Gift + the Latest Electronics for Less‏
Orvis, 5/23 — Find the perfect gift for Dad + FREE shipping.
Kohl’s, 5/23 — Just $9.99! Pick up a Polo for Dad.
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AM Inbox: People buy from people

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

Lane Bryant, 5/20 — Save 50% Off Online Ends Sunday + Introducing David's Picks‏
Following in the footsteps of Neiman Marcus, J. Crew and Ann Taylor (see May 4 AM Inbox), Lane Bryant is highlighting picks from their fashion design director, David Albow. Major retailers are slowly embracing the need to show some personality and meet their customers face-to-face. If you believe that people buy from people, bringing staffers forward like this on a regular basis is a must.



J&R, 5/20 — Weekend Sale -- Biggest Savings of the Week!
J&R was the only major retailer that I saw openly mock Harold Camping’s followers, who spared no expense to tell everyone that the world was going to end this past Saturday. While reading tweet after tweet poking fun at them late last week, I was reminded of the fact that about 40% of Americans believe that the world will end during their lifetime. That means there were probably a lot of at least slightly disappointed folks out there on Sunday. Probably best not to poke fun at the end-of-worlders. As a class, they probably make up a good chunk of your customer base.

(While J&R was the only retailer to mention the apocalypse explicitly, I found great humor in Target’s “Game’s almost over.” subject line on Sunday.)



Banana Republic, 5/20 — Save 25% on Summer Styles + FREE Shipping Every Day
Banana Republic continues to explore the lure of the hidden with their email designs (see May 10 AM Inbox, May 3 AM Inbox, and Feb. 18, 2010 AM Inbox). In this email, they experiment with a design that emulates two photos laid on top of each other so that only one corner of the bottom photo is showing. This one is a bit more subtle play for subscribers’ curiosity than previous designs.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Target, 5/22 — Game's almost over.
Oriental Trading, 5/20 — 1 fish, 2 fish, red dish, blue dish‏
Blue Nile, 5/20 — Be in the Know About Buying a Diamond + $150 Savings‏
GameStop, 5/20 — Just announced! Pre-order Modern Warfare 3 at GameStop for an exclusive poster‏
Buy.com, 5/20 — Say Congrats to your Grad w/ something they'll actually use. Graduation Day deals you don't want to miss!
Sony, 5/20 — ACT NOW and SAVE | Amazing Deals on Graduation Gifts from Sony‏
Dell, 5/21 — Gifts for the digital Dad and Grad‏
Walgreens, 5/22 — 10 Cent Prints + 40% OFF Photo Books to Celebrate Grads & Dads‏
Sportsman’s Guide, 5/20 — Free Shipping!... Father's Day Gifts... More... This Week's Sale Events from The Guide‏
Lands’ End, 5/22 — Fun-in-the-Sunday: Save up to 40% on more styles.‏
JCPenney, 5/20 — POOL PARTY! Up To 50% Off Swim‏
Ann Taylor, 5/20 — OUR NEW COLLECTION IS HERE + 20% Off 2 Full-Price Items or 30% Off 3 Or More!‏
Ross-Simons, 5/20 — John, Manufacturer's Liquidation – Black Diamond Jewelry – Save up to $2600‏
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Week-End Trends: Memorial Day messaging to spike

Email activity and seasonal trends during the past week:

The Retail Email Index: The top online retailers sent each of their subscribers 3.2 promotional emails on average during the week ending May 20, 2011. That’s up 7% week-over-week, down 4% from where it was four weeks ago, and up 22% year-over-year.



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



The Retail Email Seasonality Meter: Memorial Day messaging will spike this week, with more than 20% of retail emails referencing the holiday. Father Day messaging, which has been below trend so far, should also increase significantly, likely breaking the 10% mark.



Selling Seasons on the Horizon:
Memorial Day (5/30): 2010 Season Finale
Father’s Day (6/19): 2010 Season Finale
Graduation (May-June): 2010 Season Finale
Back to School (June-Sept.): 2010 Season Finale
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Ping Time: New email metrics, CTA placement, etc.

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

>>Ryan Deutsch of StrongMail puts forward three email metrics that you should be tracking but probably aren’t. >>Follow the ping

>>UX Movement explains the best place to put your call-to-action in your email design. >>Follow the ping

>>Loren McDonald of Silverpop talks about humanizing your email content. >>Follow the ping

>>Return Path’s latest report looks at smartphone and tablet usage to read emails. >>Follow the ping

>>Email consultant Jeanne Jennings discusses how to create effective triggered birthday emails. >>Follow the ping

>>EMarketer reports on an AOL and Nielsen study finding that email is still the No. 1 way that people share content. >>Follow the ping

>>Anna Yeaman of Style Campaign discusses horizontal mobile email designs. >>Follow the ping

>>Kathryn Alva of Responsys discusses the art and horror of decapitating models…in images. >>Follow the ping
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AM Inbox: 1 SWYN = 5 FTAFs?

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, 5/19 — Friends & Family Savings Event -- Get Rewarded for Sharing!
The concept of rewarding the sharing of email content has been around for a while now; however, marketers are still experimenting to discover the best reward scheme. For instance, earlier this year, J&R rewarded the act of sharing itself, with an extra lure of a sweepstakes prize (see St. Patrick’s Day 2011 Season Finale). This email from Barnes & Noble also rewards the act of sharing, but is more flexible, rewarding sharing via email and social network. That said, they clearly place more value on a share-with-your-network action than a forward-to-a-friend action, requiring five FTAFs but only one SWYN to qualify for the reward. Petco shows us another way to reward sharing by looking at the outcome of that sharing in a 2009 campaign (see Aug. 24, 2009 AM Inbox). Rather than rewarding the brand impressions with no concern for what happens further down the funnel, Petco rewards conversions tied back to the sharing of the unique discount sent to each subscriber. These are just a few different approaches to consider when running a campaign that rewards sharing.



CB2, 5/19 — farewell to the world's best boss. you always left us wanting more.‏
There are clearly some big fans of The Office at CB2. The hook of this email is the departure from the show of Steve Carell, who starred in the role of Michael Scott. Besides the “Great Scott” reference, much of the email plays off the fact that there’s a character named Dwight on the show and they have an office furniture line by the same name. Subscribers who get it will be amused, but I wonder it will be over the heads of many subscribers.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
HP, 5/19 — They're Completely Redesigned - See What's NEW at HP‏
Walmart, 5/19 — Get Fired Up for Memorial Day With Heroic Savings on Outdoor Essentials‏
Sports Authority, 5/19 — Time for Summer Fun! Find Everything You Need Here‏
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AM Inbox: Spiegel's email redesign

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, 5/18 — TODAY ONLY! 50% OFF our Stretch Sateen Jacket!‏
Spiegel has updated their header and navigation bar design, synchronizing it with their website. The logo is slightly larger than before and now has color. The nav links were increased to eight from seven and the text for them was increased in size. In this email, the primary image is also longer, allowing a bit more space for the messaging, opening up the design a little. The width of their emails is unchanged at 650 pixels. Here’s the new design…



…and the previous design from a May 17 email:



Ann Taylor, 5/18 — IN-STORE ONLY! HUNDREDS OF NEW STYLES ADDED: Now Up To 40% Off!‏
Many marketers frame up the text of their sale promotions, but the sailor stripe-inspired frame in this Ann Taylor email really caught my eye. I think it’s because the stripes look like a mistake or that something’s missing on first glance (especially in a preview pane), creating an effect similar to the cropped-model tactic that Banana Republic has been using (see May 10 AM Inbox).



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Cooking.com, 5/18 — Give Dad the Gift that Keeps on Giving!
Cabela’s, 5/18 — Cabela's Memorial Day Kick-Off!
Eddie Bauer, 5/18 — Keep Cool With Our Top Picks for Summer.‏
Sears, 5/18 — Save up to 20% off of appliances + 50% off summer clothes for the family‏
Montgomery Ward, 5/18 — Step Lively: summer shoes from Wards‏
Omaha Steaks, 5/18 — Savings so good even employees are ordering from this sale! TODAY ONLY‏
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AM Inbox: Relevance is not just the products promoted

>>Email Design & Coding Recommendations: Download the free 26-page guide 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:

Kohl’s, 5/17 — Up to 35% Off Swimwear + Extra 30%, 20% or 15% Off!‏
I had a conversation with a colleague last week about relevance and she commented that marketers really struggle with “what they need to send” vs. “what customers really want.” It’s true: Merchandising has a strong role in dictating email content. But email marketers can control which subscribers receive the content, when they receive it, and also the context around that content. This Kohl’s email provides a good example of providing context. Rather than just promoting swimsuits, Kohl’s provides additional ways for subscribers to relate the products to themselves and their needs and concerns. There’s no fancy segmentation or dynamic content here, just thoughtful presentation.



Ralph Lauren, 5/17 — Ralph Lauren: The Oprah Interview
Getting your name and face next to Oprah’s is never a bad thing. In this email, the retailer promotes Oprah’s interview with Ralph Lauren that’s airing today. While it’s not unheard of to dedicate an email to a television appearance, I like how they provide a link to a clip and ask subscribers to set their DVR. I think this is the first time I’ve seen a call-to-action to record a show rather than to watch it. It’s a nice recognition of how many people watch TV now—which is to say, not live—especially those who buy from Ralph Lauren.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
JCPenney, 5/16 — Graphic Content Inside!‏ [promoting graphic tees]
Bed Bath & Beyond, 5/17 — Your place or mine? [promoting AeroBeds]
Art.com, 5/16 — You've been FRAMED! See your offers inside.‏
Tiffany & Co., 5/16 — With Honors: Timeless Tiffany Gifts for the Graduate
Barnes & Noble, 5/17 — Save 30% on Gifts for Grads of All Ages
Newegg, 5/17 — 100 Great Gifts for the TECHIE Grad! $119.99 3TB HDD, $19.99 24X DVD Burner...
Sony, 5/17 — Amazing Deals on Graduation Gifts | HDTVs, Cameras, Speakers + More‏
NFLshop, 5/16 — We Have The Jersey Dad Wants - Check Out Our Large Jersey Selection!
Ralph Lauren, 5/16 — Perfect Gifts For Father’s Day
Dick’s Sporting Goods, 5/17 — Stock Up for Memorial Day!
Bass Pro Shops, 5/17 — Memorial Day Sale + Take 6 Months to Pay‏
Sam’s Club, 5/16 — Kick off summer with savings on grills, outdoor furniture and more‏
Crate & Barrel, 5/16 — The any time, any place summer picnic table is now just $33.96.
Toys “R” Us, 5/16 — Free Transformers 3 Limited Edition Figure! Get’em Here First - New Transformers 3 Toys!
Ross-Simons, 5/16 — Ciao Italia. Our finest Italian gold‏
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AM Inbox: Unified communication preferences

>>Email Design & Coding Recommendations: Download the free 26-page guide 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:

Sam’s Club, 5/11 — Customize your communications from Sam's Club today.
Preference update emails can spur subscribers to reengage and provide you with valuable information to make your emails more relevant to them. They’re particularly important in the fall going into the holiday season. What I like about this email from Sam’s Club is that takes a unified communications preferences approach, not limiting it to just email. It’s been my hope for a few years now that more marketers take this approach with their preference centers as well, so customers can update all their preferences in one place and see the full spectrum of channels available to them.



Sephora, 5/11 — Playing near you‏
Pretty surprising that they didn’t already have one, but Sephora has now launched a YouTube channel, telling subscribers about it in this email.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Urban Outfitters, 5/11 — New Arrivals: Photographed by Peter Sutherland‏
Lands’ End, 5/11 — Linen that's washable, shipping that's free‏
Alibris, 5/11 — @Alibris today: Google eBooks!
Orvis, 5/11 — More than 25 NEW eco-friendly Patagonia footwear styles for men and women.
Sony, 5/11 — Great Gifts for Grads | Sweet Savings for You‏
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Season Finale: Earth Day 2011

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

Start to finish: The first reference to Earth Day was on Apr. 1. The final reference was on May 13.

In addition to emails explicitly mentioning Earth Day, I also tracked emails with eco-friendly messaging to provide a better picture of the messaging around the holiday. The biggest day for Earth Day emails was the day itself, Apr. 22. Retailers sent the majority of their Earth Day-themed emails after Apr. 21.



Most interesting emails: Earth Day campaigns this year pulled many of the usual levers: buy eco-friendly products; by products that help you reduce your consumption or waste; trade in or recycle your electronics and other products; for every purchase you make we plant a tree; etc. But this Apr. 22 Urban Outfitters email was perhaps the most interesting. First, it promotes Urban Renewal, a line that makes apparel out of vintage clothes, deadstock, and surplus material. Essentially it reuses material and uses cloth that might otherwise be discarded. Second, this email promotes their This Into That Contest , which asks subscribers for their best remakes of apparel and furniture. Overall, Urban Outfitters put a big emphasis on the second R, “reuse,” which tends not to get nearly as much attention as “reduce” and “recycle.”



In an Apr. 22 email, Overstock promoted the fact that their Worldstock Fair Trade Products now ship with carbon offsets. I believe that I’ve seen at least one major retail used this tactic in the past, but it’s certainly very uncommon.



Standout subject lines:
Dell, 4/22 — Earth Day. It's all about saving‏
JC Whitney, 4/22 — Protect Our Environment | $45 Off Fuel Saving Products!
Sony, 4/20 — Earth Day Offer: Trade in Old Electronics for Sony Credit + More Deals‏
Lillian Vernon, 4/20 — Celebrate Earth Day with our Environment-Friendly FREE Gift to you!
Buy.com, 4/22 — Earth Day Deals to make you and Mother Nature smile! Celebrate the day by going GREEN!

Read previous Earth Day Season Finales: 2010, 2009, 2008

Explore Earth Day tag.
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AM Inbox: Crutchfield joins clear trend toward cleaner email designs

>>Email Design & Coding Recommendations: Download the free 26-page guide 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:

Crutchfield, 5/15 — Sweet sound. Infinity car speakers- buy one pair, get one 50% off.
Crutchfield has redesign their weekly promotional emails, adopting a cleaner style with larger, easier-to-read text. The “featured gear” section is quicker to scan because of the one-column arrangement and they’ve added a clear, impossible-to-miss “Go” call-to-action. Crutchfield keeps all the links to associated videos, forum posts and articles, which is helpful and supports their brand positioning as a high-touch retailer. That position is further bolstered by the “New & noteworthy at Crutchfield” section, which includes the “Every call, every visit, every purchase” brand messaging. This new design uses even more HTML text than before, making it very friendly when images are off. And at 600 pixels wide, it’s also very mobile-friendly, especially considering the larger type that’s used now. There is definitely a trend toward cleaner emails like what Crutchfield has created. Here’s the new design and the previous design from a May 8 email:



OfficeMax, 5/13 — Preview Our May 15 Ad + Save $100 on Kodak Bundle‏
OfficeMax has updated their navigation bar, mirroring the style and links on their website. The changes increased the number of nav links to seven from five. While having your email’s style roughly mirror your website’s is wise, there’s no reason for the email’s nav bar to be identical to the website’s. Your email customers and website customers are not the same, and there’s potential value in changing up your email nav depending on the season or the content of an individual email. Here’s the new design…



…and here’s the previous design from a May 12 email:



Ann Taylor, 5/13 — STYLE FOR STUDENTS: Enjoy 30% Off Any Full Price Purchase In-Store (This Weekend Only)!‏
I continue to really enjoy Ann Taylor’s graduation messaging. Not only is there a large discount available to customers with a student ID, but there’s a strong call-to-action to forward this email to a student in the cases where the email reached a non-student (which should be case the vast, vast majority of the time). This is an extension of messaging earlier in the year (see Feb. 11 AM Inbox).



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Fingerhut, 5/13 — Fingerhut: Take Our Friday the 13th Quiz - Test Your Knowledge!
TigerDirect, 5/13 — 13 Deals...Only 13 Hours...Ends Midnight ET...Take a quick look...
Barnes & Noble, 5/13 — Friday the 13th Savings -- 13% Off One Item!
SmartBargains, 5/13 — Friday the 13th MYSTERY Sale | 13 Hours Only
Lillian Vernon, 5/13 — Say "thanks" to your child's teacher! Save $10 on your order!
Dell, 5/13 — Reward your graduate with great gifts from Dell‏
HP, 5/15 — HP's Graduate Bonus Savings Event - 3 days only!
Sony, 5/13 — Shop Now and Save with Great Deals on Graduation Gifts from Sony‏
Walgreens, 5/15 — Pick Your Print Price + 25% OFF Gifts - Perfect for Prom & Grads‏
Furniture.com, 5/13 — Get an early start on Memorial Day saving!‏
Neiman Marcus, 5/14 — Summer by the Numbers: 4 must-have sandals for pretty toes‏
Brookstone, 5/15 — Warning; your friends may never leave...
Target, 5/15 — Any weddings coming up? You'll love this.
Orvis, 5/13 — Share the Orvis Commitment to protecting nature and improving canine health.
The Company Store, 5/13 — Introducing New Organic Bedding + Duvet Sale‏
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Week-End Trends: Quiet period ahead of Memorial Day

Email activity and seasonal trends during the past week:

The Retail Email Index: The top online retailers sent each of their subscribers 3.0 promotional emails on average during the week ending May 13, 2011. That’s down 10% week-over-week, down 8% from where it was four weeks ago, and up 10% 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: This week should be relatively quiet in terms of seasonal messaging. However, next week Memorial Day and Father’s Day messaging will pick up significantly.



Selling Seasons on the Horizon:
Memorial Day (5/30): 2010 Season Finale
Father’s Day (6/19): 2010 Season Finale
Graduation (May-June): 2010 Season Finale
Back to School (June-Sept.): 2010 Season Finale
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Ping Time: Email Crisis 101, Active Views update, etc.

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

>>Tweet of the Week: @andrewkordek: who said subject lines dont grab u: @MensHealthMag 's was: 15 Facts U dnt Know abt yr Penis (AIK: opened & clicked) #emailmarketing

>>Derek Harding of Innovyx discusses the email logistics necessary to address a crisis such as a data breach. >>Follow the ping

>>Dick Craddock of Hotmail provides an update on their Active Views functionality. >>Follow the ping

>>In Responsys’ latest Email Insider column, Alex Madison and Lisa Harmon discuss cross-channel marketing and the upcoming presidential election. >>Follow the ping
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AM Inbox: Curves are sexy

>>Email Design & Coding Recommendations: Download the free 26-page guide 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:

Bed Bath & Beyond, 5/12 — Exclusive online coupon + Free Shipping on Weight Watchers‏
Because of ease and flexibility of construction, most emails are built like a stack of children’s blocks. Everything’s straight and squared off. It’s efficient but gets dull to look at. This provides a great opportunity to occasionally buck the trend and break the grid by throwing in some curves and rough edges and letting things stick out here and there. In this Bed Bath & Beyond email, they add a nice cinching of the design to support their healthy cooking message. HP (see Apr. 12, 2010 AM Inbox) and JCPenney (see Aug. 19, 2010 AM Inbox) have also provided great examples of breaking the grid in the past.



Williams-Sonoma, 5/12 — On the Menu: What’s New This Month at Williams-Sonoma‏
Williams-Sonoma announces the launch of their new blog, The Blender.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
HP, 5/12 — The Essential Student Pack from HP - a Perfect Graduation Gift‏
Linens ’n Things, 5/12 — $55.99 Dorm Comforter Set, 4-Piece Deal!
Neiman Marcus, 5/12 — Our stylists show new WAYS TO WEAR white‏
NFLshop, 5/12 — Just Released: New York Giants Stars & Stripes T-Shirts‏
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AM Inbox: Unified communication preferences

>>Email Design & Coding Recommendations: Download the free 26-page guide 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:

Sam’s Club, 5/11 — Customize your communications from Sam's Club today.
Preference update emails can spur subscribers to reengage and provide you with valuable information to make your emails more relevant to them. They’re particularly important in the fall going into the holiday season. What I like about this email from Sam’s Club is that takes a unified communications preferences approach, not limiting it to just email. It’s been my hope for a few years now that more marketers take this approach with their preference centers as well, so customers can update all their preferences in one place and see the full spectrum of channels available to them.



Sephora, 5/11 — Playing near you‏
Pretty surprising that they didn’t already have one, but Sephora has now launched a YouTube channel, telling subscribers about it in this email.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Urban Outfitters, 5/11 — New Arrivals: Photographed by Peter Sutherland‏
Lands’ End, 5/11 — Linen that's washable, shipping that's free‏
Alibris, 5/11 — @Alibris today: Google eBooks!
Orvis, 5/11 — More than 25 NEW eco-friendly Patagonia footwear styles for men and women.
Sony, 5/11 — Great Gifts for Grads | Sweet Savings for You‏
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Email Design & Coding Recommendations: Executive Summary

To be successful, marketers’ email designs must constantly evolve to meet the shifting needs and behaviors of consumers and adjust to email platform changes.

Best practices are always changing, so we have assembled the 2011 Email Design & Coding Recommendations, which addresses the emerging design impact of smart phones and Facebook Messages on email marketing campaigns.

The first of its kind, this 26-page guide offers marketers valuable design recommendations for HTML, mobile and text emails, including specific best practice coding guidelines, to ensure marketers' emails meet the needs of consumers, perform well on mobile devices, achieve higher inbox deliverability rates, and optimize the user experience via email, mobile and social channels.

The Email Design & Coding Recommendations include advice on:

● optimizing HTML email components such as the preheader, navigation bar, recovery module and footer, among others.

● mobile-friendly file sizes, email widths, button sizes and landing pages.

● elements to include and leave out of a text email, and how to handle calls-to-action.

● HTML and CSS coding to avoid and fixes to rendering issues caused by Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook 2007 and 2010, and the iPhone and iPad.

Read the Press Release
>>Read the press release, which includes comments on the email coding environment and on the impact of Facebook Messages.

Get the Full Report
>>Download the 26-page “2011 Email Design & Coding Recommendations” from Responsys for free.

Other reports available from Responsys:
Retail Email Year-End Trends for 2010
Black Friday & Cyber Monday 2010
SWYN, FTAF & Community Links
Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season 2010
Email Design Look Book 2010
…and you can find even more reports on Responsys’ Downloads page.
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AM Inbox: Grand new store opening email

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

REI, 5/10 — REI Yonkers Grand Opening: May 20 - 22‏
This is a nice, targeted store opening email. The subject line is clear. They use bullets to convey what’s happening at the grand opening. There’s a clear call-to-action to get more information. The store location is highlighted with an address, a map and GPS coordinates—which is very on-brand for REI. Plus, nearly every bit of text in this email is HTML text; only the headline and three subheads are graphical text.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Linens ’n Things, 5/10 — Biggest Dorm Store: 60% Off*
Williams-Sonoma, 5/10 — Introducing Butcher Shop: Specialty Artisan Meats Delivered‏
TigerDirect, 5/10 — Tiger Tablet Takeover: Samsung Galaxy, Motorola Xoom, HP Slate, Acer Iconia, Dell Duo & More! Tiger Knows Tablets...
L.L. Bean, 5/10 — The Comfort of Seersucker, from $29.50 + Free Shipping‏
Victoria’s Secret, 5/10 — Make Your Summer a BOMBSHELL SUMMER! Here's How...
Bed Bath & Beyond, 5/10 — Hold your breath until you see this.‏
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AM Inbox: Graduation messaging to pick up

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

HP, 5/9 — Meet the Class of Now - Plus Exclusive Student Packs‏
With Mother’s Day in our rearview mirror now, we should start to see more emails dedicated to graduation messaging, like this HP email, which ties student personas to individual products. Although graduation messaging hits inboxes starting in April and doesn’t end until June, it rarely appears in more than 6% of emails in any given week.



Banana Republic, 5/9 — Last chance for 30% off + the must-have crop
In this email, Banana Republic continues to experiment with cropping images so that models are cut in half. The tactic is very eye-catching, since readers instinctively recognize that something is missing. Banana Republic has played with this tactic on two past occasions (see May 3 AM Inbox), although this is the first time that they didn’t use it to support a call-to-action.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Norm Thompson, 5/9 — Why do women love Wolky Sandals? Get 15% OFF EVERYTHING!
Urban Outfitters, 5/9 — Introducing: UO Summer Dress Collection‏
Staples, 5/9 — 3 great tech gifts for graduates (and you!)
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AM Inbox: Who inspires you?

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. Jill, 5/8 — Inspirational women are all around us. Who inspires you?
Using a script font and no imagery, this J. Jill email has the feel of a Mother’s Day greetings card. With a non-promotional message, the sentiment and cause-marketing reference may encourage subscribers to act on the request to forward it along to a woman who’s important in their life. As they demonstrated with their season’s greetings email (see Dec. 27, 2010 AM Inbox), J. Jill is very skillful at using non-promotional messaging to keep subscribers engaged.



Neiman Marcus, 5/6 — Starts soon: 50% OFF Hunter Boot Handbags! + Free shipping‏
Most gift card redemption messaging appears in retail emails in the weeks following Christmas, so the messaging in this Neiman Marcus email caught my eye. Trying gift card redemption messaging after Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, in particular, is probably worth testing.



TigerDirect, 5/6 — 60" Sharp LED TV $1399...2GB DDR3 $9.99...New Intel Core Laptops from $429...640GB PC $299 & Much More‏
It appears that TigerDirect is looking to tap into the patriotic upwelling in the wake of Osama Bin Laden’s death with this “Star-Spangled Savings Weekend” campaign.



SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject lines
Buy.com, 5/8 — Save gas, money & time when you buy your Home Essentials online!‏
Dell, 5/6 — Think outside the candy box this Mother's Day‏
Williams-Sonoma, 5/6 — eGift Cards: Last-Minute Mother’s Day Gift Made Simple‏
Kmart, 5/6 — Save on great gadgets for Mom: TVs, cameras, MP3 players‏
Bloomingdale’s, 5/6 — Shop Our Mother's Day Sale Spectacular!
J. Jill, 5/6 — Perfect for Mom. Plus, 15% off.
Fingerhut, 5/6 — Fingerhut: Shop the Gift Finder + Find Great Gifts for the Grad!
The Company Store, 5/6 — Celebrate Mom with 20% Off‏
JCPenney, 5/8 — Happy Mom's Day! Shop Summer Sale + FREE Shipping‏
Lane Bryant, 5/8 — Happy Mother's Day - Last Day To Save 40% Online And In Store‏
Sports Authority, 5/8 — Happy Mother's Day from Sports Authority!
Walgreens, 5/8 — Happy Mother's Day! 50 Prints for $5 + $10 OFF Photo Gifts‏
JCPenney, 5/6 — CRASH! BAM! POW! Online Doorbusters Are Here!
Disney Store, 5/6 — KA-POW! Marvel Heroes Ship Free: Thor in Theaters Now‏
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