From: Banana Republic
Subject Line: TGIW. 40% off two items--today only. Plus get free shipping!
Date: Wednesday, July 28, 2010

I love this subject line! Mainly because of the 'TGIW', not even because of the amazing offer of 40% off. I think the TGIW breaks up the monotony of the other subject lines in my inbox this morning, and also made me smile and look forward to the summer weekend. Did this catch anyone else's eye?

The subject line is content heavy; it has a creative element (TGIW), offer (40% off) AND free shipping - what more can you ask for?

From: Eddie Bauer Subject Line: Annual Gear Up Event - Save Up To $40 On Packs & Duffels! Date: Monday, July 12, 2010 From: Eddie Bauer Subject Line: Free Shipping, 2 Days Only + New Ruffles Are In! Date: Monday, July 26, 2010

I love the latest look from Eddie Bauer. What I love: The use of environmental hero image to give the email color and personality The product image popping over the hero draws your eye down and adds dimension The zig-zagged product/text treatment creates nice balance and draws your eye around the page In the "Gear Up" example I love how the products fit together like puzzle pieces Nice use of gradients and drop shadows Variable header color so the template doesn't become stale and can work with any hero Includes many email best practices, including: preheader, view in web browser, FTAF, website navigation and social links Copy is short for a quick scan I give this email 5 out of 5 hearts! The only place I see room for improvement: the text could be HTML text, particularly in the call-to-actions.

From: Horchow
Subject Line: We can't believe we're saying this...
Date: Monday, July 26, 2010

So, I'd have to say it was the subject line that stood out first. "We can't believe we're saying this..." Intrigued, I opened the email to find a message that I wasn't expecting. "Don't buy furniture today." Really? Why? Oh! Thanks for the head's up Horchow, how did you know I'm a planner?

In an email inbox awash in a sea of "Ends Friday" and "Don't Miss Out" subject lines with post card emails announcing "15% off lighting," Horchow took a chance. They gambled on human curiosity and interrupting the norm with a bit of a sense of humor to cut through the clutter. And you know what, it worked!

Over the course of my career I have acquired a great deal of information regarding the retail industry by both conducting my own research and learning from the various retail clients I have had the opportunity to work with. (OR just by being a shopaholic and subscribing to every retailer to get the latest news, fashion and deals!)

I would like to share some of my knowledge through some of these blogs. Such as different programs or emails that retailers should be sending (which I will call therapy sessions), as well as some of my favorite emails, subject lines and programs as they come.

There is no better way to start a good retail program than with a welcome email - and since I am new to the company I thought it would be a great way to welcome myself to the blogging world by speaking to them. :)

First impressions are EVERYTHING. Just as someone who has been hired for a new job; you know you presented yourself well enough to get hired, but now you need to give a warm welcome, and show your peers what they can expect from you. Same thing goes for a welcome email.

Once a customer signs up for your brand you have them, you know somehow along the way you peaked their interest. So follow up! Acknowledge that they signed up, and thank them. Sending an email days after may cause a person to lose interest. Don't make them forget you! Stay top of mind while you are in the 'honeymoon phase'.

Below I have some of my tips and tricks, but one of the most important rules I would have to note when sending a triggered welcome message - keep the branding and marketing message CONSISTENT with your normal lines of business. Most retail companies never send out text based emails, so why are they sending out a text based welcome? Pure laziness maybe, but you would be surprised how many TOP retailers are still sending out poorly executed welcome programs.

My tips and tricks;
- Welcome emails should be sent before a customer is pushed into the business as usual email strategy
- Send within the first 24 hours - the more immediate the better (these messages should be auto-triggered)
- Encourage your customer to 'Add to Address Book'
- Set customer expectations; how often will you be contacting them? What types of emails will you be sending?
- Be CONSISTENT - From line, HTML and personalization should be consistent with the future emails you will be sending
- And last and most importantly, follow up the initial welcome email with a specially designed and targeted welcome series

A welcome series is a great way to collect data about your consumer; Who is the person? What are they clicking on? How can we keep them engaged?

Attached are also a couple of my favorites. :) Enjoy and be sure to follow me for more of my Retail Therapy!
(Next therapy session; Subject Line Testing)

From: Coach
Subject Line: Welcome. Thanks for signing up.
Date: Monday, July, 19, 2010

This email follows many best practices but what I like the most is the consistency of season, and the up-to-date product images that you can click through to view the product.



From: Shopbop
Subject Line: Shopbop Email Subscription Confirmation
Date: Wednesday, July 21, 2010

I love the look and feel, and the 'What To Look Forward To' section - however, I wish the subject line was more personable and made you feel part of a brand.

From: Gap
Subject Line: Thanks For Signing Up With Gap.com. Enjoy Your Special Offer
Date: Wednesday, July 21, 2010

While simple I like the 'TELL US WHAT YOU WANT' link to the preference center.

 

From: The Container Store
Subject Line: Hello, Summer - Hello SALE!
Date: Monday, June 28, 2010

Oh, The Container Store, how I love your emails, even though I rarely need to purchase any sort of container. This particular email has got all the stuff that summer calls for - fun, colorful design, banner ad for in-store events, image of and link to paper catalog, a personal dorm story ("Katie" makes it so much more interesting). I'm a fan.

From: Kate Spade
Subject Line: a father's day gift guide from jack spade
Date: Friday, June 4, 2010

Leave it to Kate Spade to come up with a fresh, fun way to feature products! It's so cute, I had to click through to the website (even though I already bought my dad a present). And, I always love the "gifts under..." option, so I don't waste time looking at products out of my price range.

Improve your customer retention program by instating a birthday email!

From: The Container Store
Subject Line: Happy Birthday! We have a special gift for you!
Date: Tuesday, June 1, 2010
The Container Store's email doesn't say what the gift is, you have to go to the store to claim it. Making your gift exclusively available in-store is a good way to drive traffic to your store, but I would prefer if the email said what the gift was.

From: World Market Explorer (Cost Plus)
Subject Line: Guess what? You've earned a Reward!
Date: Sunday, June 13, 2010
Cost Plus's email doesn't say Happy Birthday anywhere in the email or subject line, only on the landing page (thumbs down). Also note that you have to click in order to see your reward, which doesn't bother me and helps drive traffic to the website.

From: Disney Movie Rewards
Subject Line: Amy, Happy Birthday!
Date: Friday, June 18, 2010
My favorite. I was looking forward to this one after getting it last year. Although the movie selection is exactly the same as last year's. Offering an awesome reward like this can do 3 things: 1) Build customer loyalty. If the gift is worth it, you can bet people will stay subscribed to get the same perk next year. Until then, you have a better chance of reeling them in on other offers. 2) Build your List. If I got a great deal on my birthday, I'd tell my friends to sign up for your emails. 3) Increase your conversion rate. By giving a gift, you may be reminding an inactive customer just how great your products are -- and get them buying again.

From: ING Direct
Subject Line: Happy Birthday from ING DIRECT!
Date: Friday, June 18, 2010
I liked how this email gave 3 product suggestions for using my 15% discount.

From: Nature Made
Subject Line: Happy Birthday From Nature Made
Date: Friday, June 18, 2010
I like how Nature Made included my name in the email. They also used the opportunity to cross-promote a product.

From: Piperlime
Subject Line: Happy Birthday! Here's a treat.
Date: Friday, June 18, 2010
The offer on this one wasn't as great as some of the others ($15 off a purchase of $60).

From: Various Email Footers
Date: June, 2010

Way back in October 2009, when Smith-Harmon became Smith Harmon, a Responsys Company, we went through a change of email platforms. I kept telling myself that I would learn to like the change and/or just get used to it, but I have finally come to the reluctant conclusion that neither of these options are ever going to happen. I don't want to name names, but "old platform" = 1 click to create new folder, and "new platform" = many more steps and lots of clicks and changing of (ahem) windows to create new folders and organize emails. Once the number of emails in inbox passed the half-way mark to 5 digits territory (I probably shouldn't be admitting to the world how unruly I let things get), I decided it was time to take action; I opened a new email account to house my collection of Retail Emails, and am currently in the process of trying to switch my email address over on all the lists to which I subscribe.

Turns out, this is surprising difficult in some cases. Here is a random sampling and reviews of my experiences with attempting to change my email address (listed in no particular order):










• Victoria's Secret didn't have Email Preferences link in footer. As with many of the others, the unsubscribe link took me to an Update Your Email Preference Page. It made me laugh that that they have a Continue Shopping button on this page. Good for them for not missing an opportunity, but I was frustrated at not finding where to change my email, and not particularly in the mood to shop.










• Barney's did well over all. While they only had an unsubscribe link in their footer, it took me to the best preferences page of the bunch: 3 simple options to either reduce frequency, unsubscribe, OR change email address - all with Barney's trademark, super-sharp copy-writing, I might add. The follow-up "Thank You" page was spot on as well (and preferable to an email).







• Kate Spade's graphical unsubscribe link was unclickable, so had to take a long-winded approach to unsubscribe. But then on the bright side, they had a link to join their mailing list and get 15% off my "first order"... Hmmm maybe I'll just unsubscribe and resubscribe every time I want to purchase something from KS. ;)












• Urban Outfiitters had an Email Preferences link in footer, but it did not lead to an option to change email address. Also, IMHO their preferences page was too busy and asked too many questions.




















• Daily Candy had a link to "Change your e-mail address" in their footer, but no actual place to do so when clicked. What gives?











• Tablespoon had no preferences link in their footer nor an option to change email address when I clicked the unsubscribe link, but politely asked if there was a reason why I wished to unsubscribe, and wanted to know if there was anything  they could be doing better.





















• Horchow gets the highest marks from me for ease of email address change. Their footer had one link to change preferences or unsubscribe which led me to a nicely designed and simple page to do everything at once (which was perfect since Horchow was previously on my worst-offender list of over-sending!).

In summery, if I found it too difficult to change my email address, I simply unsubscribed, which is a pity, because that was not at all my original intent. (Plus, is there a retailer in the whole world wants to unnecassarily lose its subscribers?!). My suggestion to all email marketers, would be to add an email change and/or preferences link to your footers, and to make the following page is simple to use.

From: Moosejaw.com
Subject Line: Hottie Poster for Gentlemen who might be Dads
Date: Thursday, June 17, 2010

This Father's Day, I got my dad a special tea mug. It had a steeping basket and a lid built in. I thought it was pretty cool. But apparently I am kind of a square--the real cool kids get their dads...posters of "hotties." Their own dads (or husbands or brothers). Ew.

I know Moosejaw is well known (and celebrated) for their snarky, rambling, copy-heavy emails, and I usually enjoy them a lot. It's important to push limits once in a while so you keep your content fun and distinctive, especially for a brand like Moosejaw.

But this email crosses a line for me. It's a little too sleazy to be funny (who calls another human being a "random"?), and a little too gross to be good-humored. There's nothing wrong with speaking to particular segments of your readership, of course--but at the same time, you don't want to alienate a large portion of your list, which I would argue has been done here. I think this copy could have been spun in a more respectful, but still funny and edgy, way.

From: Origins
Subject Line: You're Invited
Date: Wednesday, June 9, 2010

I love getting these gorgeous emails from Origins every month. I was excited to learn from this email that they have a recycling program for their products. However, when I clicked on the banner to learn more about the program, I was directed to a store locator page and was prompted to enter my home address. I'm not a big fan of giving out my address, so in hopes of learning more about the program, I only entered my zip code (which ended up working!). Much to my dismay, I was only shown the nearest store -- the program info was nowhere to be found.

I'm not sure if this was a ploy to get home addresses or if it was a genuine mistake, but I was pretty disappointed.