Recently in Social Networking Category

In April of last year, Facebook launched Facebook Studio, a site showcasing the innovative ways that marketers use Facebook to support clients' business initiatives. As the site puts it, Facebook Studio is "a place to celebrate the agencies and marketers that are driving business growth through real connections and authentic conversations made possible with Facebook."

The Gallery makes it super simple to find sample campaigns, featuring a library of examples that are sortable based on filters like industry, target country, and Facebook features used by a given campaign.

And the Learning Lab is a helpful resource to reference when trying to understand the various tools & products available on the Facebook platform.

What a great resource for marketers! I'm really excited to be able to use Facebook Studios to find stellar case studies for client presentations, and I'm even more excited to have a go-to site for cross-channel inspiration.

Plus, how cool would it be to see your own work featured in the Spotlight?! Something to aspire to...

» Explore Facebook Studio

I haven't seen quirk queen Miranda July's new movie The Future, but I think its digital marketing campaign is pretty wonderful.

First, you visit the movie's website, which hosts an "oracle" in the form of a colorful spinning wheel that dispenses life advice. You do a little ritual, receive your advice (hilariously vague, but intriguing nonetheless) and ponder it thoroughly. Then, you have the option of signing up to receive email divination twice a week from Miranda herself. Or at least, from an email address bearing her name.



The email messages aren't what we're used to seeing: there are no images, no headlines, and no buttons. It looks, for all intents and purposes, like a personal email. I imagine some folks might see this as a wasted opportunity, but the pared-down design of The Future's emails makes for a surprisingly intimate experience, like you're in on a secret game. I love it.



Here's my first fortune. Pretty good, right?

From: The Limited
Subject Line: "Like" Us and Get Free Shipping! Today Online Only!
Date: Wednesday, May 25, 2011

A huge pat on the back goes out to The Limited for this email's simple yet smart approach to social acquisition. Opening this email was delightful—the clean, open layout (three cheers for white space!) with a bold offer leaves no questions as to what the sender is asking me to do. I love how they've used speech bubbles as containers for the copy to help reinforce the "tell all your friends" message in a subtle way.

To top it all off, a totally clever animation at the bottom of the email "counts" how many people have liked the deal. As if the rest of the email wasn't enough to convince me to take action! Click the 120 below to check out the animated count:



But wait—there's more! When you land on the Facebook page and click "Like" to get your free shipping code, the page refreshes with a headline that reads "We like you, too."
A very nice finishing touch.

Well done, The Limited!

Facebook has continued to roll out its New Messages platform to its 500+ million users. As many already know, users are provided an option of creating a Facebook (@facebook.com) email address that combines SMS, chat and email into one easily accessible location.

While there most likely won't be an immediate influx of customers opting into commercial email streams with their new address, it's something for marketers to be thoughtful of in the long term. Below is a list of considerations and potential impacts for B2C email marketers.

Speak to Your Audience

• If customer's opt-in to receive your emails with their new Facebook email address, consider analyzing their demographic and customer behavior. Based on the results, messaging can be catered to this specific group and potentially provide more relevant content.

Create Facebook Specific Emails

• With New Messages, your promotional emails will be received in a text format without subject lines. The HTML creative is not displayed unless the customer "expands" the email. If your list contains a fair amount of Facebook email addresses, it could be worth your time to create a Facebook friendly email message, similar to a text version. There are articles out there that provide tips on formatting to achieve the best result.
  
  Article Example: http://tinyurl.com/3wdkhg5

Move Me to the Messages Folder!

• Emails from bulk senders, groups, or commercial senders go directly to the Other folder. In "Facebook Land", the Other folder is viewed as a junk folder. In order for your emails to be received in the main Messages folder, the customer needs to move you there. One solution for combating the Other folder placement is to include verbiage in your HTML creative that encourages your customers to move your email to their Messages folder.

Consider a Confirmation Email Program

• If you have Facebook email addresses in your master list, there is a high possibility these are up-to-date email addresses.  However, it could also mean these customers are in your list twice (once with their new address and once with their old). Overtime, customers may favor one address over the other making one of their addresses obsolete. If your email list sees a spike in Facebook email addresses, consider implementing a confirmation email program and/or doing extra list scrubbing to ensure non-engaged customers are removed from the list.

These are just few things to consider if New Messages increases in popularity and your customers begin to opt-in to your email streams with Facebook email addresses. While the platform provides a hub of sorts for one's text, chat and email needs, the current email functionality is not on par with the current ISP's. Customers may not run away from their personal email address at this time, but it's always good to stay ahead of the game and consider the possibility.

From: Cool Material

Subject Line: Today's Cool Material

Date: April 20, 2011

 

I frequent CoolMaterial.com for the latest news on things from gadgets that I want but don't need to gear like the pair of high-end, leather Chuck Taylor shoes I've been eyeing for a while. I also subscribe to their emails, which give a round-up of the day's blog posts.

 

Cool Material is a blog that heavily relies on social media for market penetration. In their email, each individual post has links for sharing content via email, Twitter, Facebook and Digg. This is great thinking in their part because it allows subscribers to share only the sections they find interesting and not the whole communication.

 

Cool Material depends on subscriber interaction with its website, email and social media for marketing, advertising and brand-building. In the bottom of the email, a clever call to action encourages its target audience to forward the email along: "Real Men Share. Forward to your Friends." Here lies another example of how social media can be leveraged effectively in the email channel.

From: OshKosh B'gosh
Subject Line: Make a crane. Help Japan.
Date: Tuesday, March 29, 2011

This campaign by OshKosh B'gosh gave me the "warm fuzzies." Like my most recent post, this email does not feature a direct promotion, but does, however, offer a very unique show of support for the people of Japan.

For every paper crane (made by your own two hands) OshKosh B'gosh receives, they will donate an article of clothing to a child affected by the Tsunami. To see a store filled with paper cranes, showing support for those affected (specifically children) would be simply magnificent!

The landing page allows you to download instructions to make your crane, find a store to deliver it to, and even provides a link to their Facebook page to upload photos of your crane(s) (which is also magnificent as their wall is covered in photos of people of all ages with their cranes).

From: Bon Appétit
Subject Line: Unknown
Date: Unknown

How cute is this email from Bon Appétit? I love the clever use of cupcakes to represent social icons, while integrating their product at the same time. What a refreshing take on social email!

From: Yelp
Subject Line: 'Hood Spotlight: West Loop

Date: March 23^rd, 2011

As social networking begets different branches and types of engagements, Yelp takes an interesting approach when delivering content to its users. I received this email featuring a "hood spotlight" in Chicago.

 

With dynamic content, Yelp writes a friendly editorial that weaves user reviews of different local spots while focusing on a particular neighborhood. By mentioning the hyperlinked restaurants and bars in the editorial, the user can click and be taken to the establishment's landing page where more information is provided.

 

Since I use Gmail as my personal email client, I noticed that Yelp and Google list the establishments featured in the editorial blurb with neighborhood information, phone number, star ratings and review counts at the bottom of the email, which makes it easy to compare and choose local spots.

 

In an ever-changing world where people look to fellow buyers for reviews about stores or local services, Yelp delivers local and personalized content to the user while providing a nice way to discover new and interesting local hangouts.

From: Ancestry.com Monthly Update
Subject Line: Reconstructed Census Records, New City Directories, and a Free Class for Finding Iris Ancestors
Date: Thursday, Mar 10, 2011

From: Ancestry.com Weekly Discovery
Subject Line: Finding Your Irish Ancestors, plus Newspaper Tips
Date: Sunday, March 13, 2011

From: Ancestry.com
Subject Line: Explore new Irish records & enter to win a trip to Ireland
Date: Monday, March 14, 2011

As part of the subscription to Ancestry.com, one receives several bonus emails including Weekly Discovery and Monthly Update newsletters, which generally include information related to current events - for example these ones below that pertain to Irish ancestry for St. Patrick's Day. They are great examples of  "best practices" in action for HTML and templates - the emails have nice color and are on-brand even with the images disabled. My particular "likes" for the the Weekly Discovery email: the TOC & SWYN functionality. The Monthly Update has a personalized dynamic section letting me know that there are new "hints" for somebody in my tree! I also like the variety of different CTAs that are all very clickable. I get seriously sucked into these emails and can easily follow through on a 1/2 dozen different links or more. Ancestry.com provides a very solid Email Program for their members to enjoy, which ensures their customers continued subscriptions! Sláinte!

From: PETCO
Subject Line: PETCO | Summer Scavenger Hunt!
Win Prizes + FREE Shipping on $25
Date: Sunday, August 15, 2010

PETCO sent an email introducing a multi-day Scavenger Hunt. The hunt leads you through their facebook, twitter and blog pages, getting subscribers to follow them and familiarizing them with the content found on those pages. The hunt is loaded with incentives for the subscriber - play and you could win gift cards! How creative and fun!

My only gripes:

1) Timing
The email was sent on a Sunday and the first step of the scavenger hunt was for Sunday only. For those who didn't check their email that day, they lost out on the first opportunity to play.
A) One solution would be to send out an introductory email with an overview of how the Scavenger Hunt will work and when it will begin.
B) Another idea would be to make each step of the scavenger hunt span a week (rather than one-per-day). This would spread out the email reminders and would give the subscribers additional time to play on their schedule.

2) Segmented Email Series
So far I've only received one email - I'm anxious to see if I'll get more. If made into a series, I suggest announcing last week's winner in each email to entice subscribers to be the next big winner. I also caution against sending too many emails to subscribers that aren't interested. I would only continue to send the series to those who click on any of the first 3 emails.

3) Best Practices: HTML copy
HTML text would have been great on the hunt portion of the email. Nice job using it at the top though!

Overall, I love this concept - what a fun way to get your fan-base accustomed to using your social networks and grow your social subscriber base!

From: New Look
Subject Line: Open me quick for Free P&P - Ends Midnight tonight
Date: Tuesday, March 16, 2010

From: New Look Facebook Update


It's such a simple concept: One message - say it loud, say it proud. A fashion retailer from the UK has dug up this old tactic and executed it nicely with their new look. I love the time sensitive push in the subject line, it's so in-your-face. Hopefully, consumers are much like Alice in Wonderland who, when told to drink or eat something, will acquiesce in a heartbeat.

Free shipping as an offer is perhaps overused but do consumers still find it as much of a "treat?" Does it just concentrate revenue, which was already bound for your brand, into a single 24hr period? Possibly, but it also trumps the competition on that day by bringing in some extra cash which may have been spent elsewhere. They probably could have done with a bit more focus on the image, in fact, I can take or leave the two chaps who might be about to audition for some reality TV music show.

The balance of system text is also too much in favour of images - the personalisation at the top is a little hollow as it is not followed up or relevant to me. The email was supported by much Facebook and Twitter activity and created a dialogue around the offer and generated some community excitement, which is always well advised.

From: Virgin America
Subject Line: Next up: Orlando
Date: Thursday, March 18, 2010

There are so many things I love about this email. Let's start with the subject line, Next up: Orlando. In just three words, Virgin America has told me that they've added a new route as well as what the new destination city is. Brilliant. Next let's talk about the clean and simple email design. The use of white makes it easy on the eyes. It's not cluttered. And everything is organized in a way that's easy to scan. Dreamy. Now onto the words. The copy is succinct and informative. Nothing is screaming at me (notice the lack of exclamation points!!!). And best of all, rather than take the boring route with a button that says "book a flight" they had some fun. "Grab a Seat" is the perfect example of how buttons can have some personality AND be directive at the same time. Another noteworthy addition is the juicy "Tweet This" button sitting front and center above the fold. I haven't seen anybody else do it quite like that. Clicking on the "Tweet this" button landed me right in my Twitter account with my tweet already populated for me. And it went a little something like this: @virginamerica Next Up: Orlando. Starting August 19, fly from San Francisco or Los Angeles. http://www.virginamerica.com/flights/orlando

From: Fairytale Brownies Specials
Subject Line: Free Shipping...at your request!
Date: Monday, March 1, 2010

By now, most marketers understand that social media channels function like a user group of your most loyal or most outspoken customers. They talk amongst themselves, about your brand and sometimes even with company representatives. By asking the right questions and participating in the conversation, you can let these avid fans shape your promotional strategy for the benefit of your entire audience. That's why I love this Fairytale Brownies message; they participated with their social network and reacted by presenting the most requested offer... Free Shipping.

I also love that they didn't just react by sending a free shipping offer but instead made it clear where the conversation took place and where you as a customer can have a direct conversation with them. Notice the call-to-action for social media, "What would you like? Join the conversation." This shows much more dedication to the channel than the typical "follow us on..." that most marketers employ.

		From: Apple Subject Line: Fitness made fun with iPod and iPod gear. Date: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 From: Apple Subject Line: Sounds like love. Give iPod this Valentine's Day. Date: Sunday, January 31, 2010
There's no doubt that Apple has AWESOME design sense. Every email I get from them is breathtaking: They use vibrant, crisp and creative imagery Their newsletters have a great sense of flow and balance They're often using new creative treatments like having their images break out of the grid They include interactive/eye-catching treatments like ratings and videos They're not always about the "Hard Sell" -- Apple "Adds Value," as we would say at Smith-Harmon, by providing informative content with "Did you Know" sections They optimize for viewing without images by using HTML text in the majority of their emails But have you noticed that they're missing a few key best practices? Such as: A preheader A View this Email with Images link Social/Sharing Options I think a few of those small tweaks could show even more activity for them. But awesome job Apple, you are an inspiration!

From: kate spade
Subject Line: i resolve to wear out my passport
Date: Thursday, January 7, 2010

From: kate spade
Subject Line: i resolve to sing in the rain
Date: Thursday, January 14, 2010

Simple, clean and fresh. What a perfect way to start off a new year. Kate Spade is carrying this "i resolve..." handle throughout all their emails this month and I love it. Everything about this email gives me room to breathe. From the photography to the typography, and the free shipping top promo to the social footer. My fave is the "i resolve to sing in the rain". Given that I'm practically rowing a boat to my local coffee joint because of all the rain, the timing on that one was perfection. My only gripe is the landing page experience. When you click on the "Shop the Collection" link, it takes you to a pretty little landing page with a few rain essentials... and a few randoms (why is there a necklace on this page? is it waterproof?). Wish they had more of a selection to really tell the rainy day story. They have two jackets, one boot, two bags and an umbrella. Makes me wonder what a Macy's or a Piperlime or a Nordstroms could do with this type of story, since they have so much more to choose from.

From: west elm
Subject Line: Get exclusive west elm offers on Facebook and Twitter
Date: Saturday, January 9, 2010

Although this email was sent on Saturday, which according to The Retail Email Blog is the least popular day of the week to send emails, I was pretty excited to see an entire email dedicated to social. There isn't a sales pitch for product to be found, from preheader to footer. I was intrigued enough to become a fan on Facebook.

When I got to the west elm Facebook page, my excitement faded. Fast. There were all kinds of wall posts from other fans, but precious few content gems from the west elm team and only a few photos. And even after I officially became a fan, there wasn't a special offer to be found. Somehow I was hoping that once I got behind the secret fan curtain, there'd be some cool stuff waiting for me. No such luck.

This brings me to my big gripe with companies adding Facebook and Twitter experiences to their emails: Lack of content. It's not enough to just get people to your page, you need and want them to come back and participate. Two steps forward for the social-centric email. One step back for a disappointing experience.

From: Zappos
Subject Line: Toast The New Year With A New You! Plus, Get Free Shipping
Date: Monday, January 4, 2009

Thanks to the social revolution of 2009, Facebook, Twitter and/or YouTube buttons have become fixtures in the footer or top nav of just about every email in the inbox. While some companies do indeed put together a social strategy, too many companies add the social factor simply because everyone else is doing it. They don't actually invest time, talent and money into creating a true social experience. What I L-O-V-E about Zappos emails is that they raise the bar by including a recent tweet from Tony their CEO. Now that's what I call delivering on the experience. Rather than simply throw in a "Follow Us on Twitter", Zappos creates content around the social experience by including a sample tweet. Very clever. Just wish it wasn't so buried at the bottom of the email.

From: Business.com
Date: Friday, December 18, 2009

B2B magazine's recent "2010 Outlook" indicates social media marketing will be of rising importance for business-to-business (B2B) marketers.

This was proven with the experience of one of my B2B clients who focus on a professional market. They indicated that Facebook was the winner when it came to driving engagement and Twitter was the winner when it came to driving revenue. What was surprising to me was that professionally focused LinkedIn was well down on their list when it came to engagement and driving revenue.

Their social campaigns have been running for just a few months and they consider the jury to still be out regarding long-term trends. However, their initial campaigns have proven that social, as an important channel to increase engagement, drives sales and provides user generated content to enhance their email programs.

B2B marketers, have you included social media as a part of your 2009 marketing mix? If so, what channels and which have been the most effective in driving engagement, sales and/or leads? Are you using this User Generated Content to enhance your email content? I am interested in your comments.

From: Victoria's Secret
Subject Line: Our Way of Saying Thank You: Special In-Store Offers.
Date: Wednesday, November 25, 2009

From: Victoria's Secret - Facebook
Date: Wednesday, November 25, 2009

From: Victoria's Secret - SMS
Date: Friday, November 27, 2009

Victoria's Secret is leading the way with their strategy for integrating cross channel campaigns to engage their audience at multiple touch points. Case in point, their Black Friday free bag giveaway message was delivered via email, mobile and social. However, in order to be successful, great strategy needs to follow through with great execution. Timing is everything and their timing was off.

Their email should've been a specific Black Friday reminder. The email was sent out Wednesday and included offers for the whole weekend. It's important to map out the timing of your marketing messages against the timing of when your customers are shopping, while also giving them enough time to plan in advance if the call-to-action is a retail store.

Once I received their SMS message, I was already done with my shopping for the day. Don't they know that people start lining up at 4am to get the best deals and by noon most people are back home taking a nap? As for Facebook, they should've talked about the in-store offer for Black Friday, not the Fashion Show. I realize they posted content on the 25th, but a reminder on the 27th would've been more important than the Fashion show, which was several days later.

Overall, they need to close the loop. The SMS link does not take you to a mobile site, nor do they have a mobile store app. There are also missed opportunities with the email and Facebook pages - both are prime locations to encourage mobile sign up, but the only place I could find mobile sign up was on their website. (I understand they do have in-store signage but I've never seen it - and I shop there often).

A great cross channel strategy will only get you so far - the key is making sure the execution ensures the success of the campaign.

Blogger's note: Hours after I finished this blog post, I received an SMS message that Victoria Secret has now launched a mobile website. Glad to see they're headed in the right direction!

From: Fresh Pair
Subject Line: The 12 Thongs of Christmas + Shop Our Biggest Sale of the Year
Date: Friday, December 9, 2009

I want to thank the Smith-Harmon team for building a great blog and allowing us to contribute. It's an honor.

I don't know about you, but I have a ton of emails pouring into my inbox right about now and it takes a lot to get me to open them. The subject line of this particular email made me smile, but more importantly, it got me to open it. 12 thongs of Christmas is a funny theme and it definitely made me want to find out more - isn't that the perfect formula for a winning subject line? 80 percent of respondents decide whether to click the "Report Spam" or "Junk" button without opening the actual message, while 69% base their decision on the subject line. (Source: A survey conducted by the ESPC and Ipsos).

Once I opened the email, the theme and the copy "Getting a little cheeky for the holidays" made me laugh. I'll admit the ornaments in the wreath are racy - and the landing page made me blush - but my level of engagement was up. I would have posted this to my Facebook page, had Freshpair included a SWYN (Share With Your Network) option next to their other social options in the email. I really wanted to talk about this email, so I forwarded it to three friends instead.

Another feature that I really like about this email is how Freshpair created a sense of shopping urgency, and then anticipated my questions about shipping dates for getting my order processed in time for Christmas. Contact information for their Customer Care Specialists is also very easy to find.

I'm looking forward to the next Freshpair email. :)

First off, let introduce myself. I am a Sr. Strategist in the Chicago Responsys office and a loyal reader. I am happy that Smith-Harmon has joined forces with Responsys and now I can contribute to this blog on a regular basis!

Email is the online channel of big shoulders, like poet Carl Sandburg's Chicago. Social media may reach your prospects with your brand message, but email needs to be integrated with your plans, toiling, "under the smoke, dust all over his mouth," to perform the heavy lifting of informing the prospect about your brand, helping them become comfortable with the purchase decision and ultimately drive the conversion.

If you still don't believe that social media and email marketing are partners in crime and not adversaries, Facebook is about to make it very easy for brands to collect email addresses from their fans, pages and applications as soon as next month. This functionality is scheduled to go live this year or early in 2010. (The best guess is in mid-to-late January, according to Michael Lazerow's December 8 commentary published on MediaPost.com.)

Emerging channels are not killing email - they're actually making the channel even more dynamic and powerful. Be sure to include a quick sign up on your Facebook brand pages and landing pages for content linked from Twitter, Digg and Delicious, a vanity URL pointing to an email sign-up form at the end of your YouTube videos, LinkedIn groups and profiles, and other social media content to keep your email program "strong and cunning."

As you're wrapping up 2010 marketing plans, don't forget about email. It is there - a "tall bold slugger" working as hard as ever to help you meet your marketing goals. Treat social as a natural extension of your email and lifecycle marketing strategy and harness the power of multichannel marketing in 2010.

From: Chase
Subject Line: Your Communities. Your Vote. Our $5 Million.
Date: Friday, December 11, 2009

As we're all rushing to buy and wrap presents, decorate our homes and offices, snap that all-important family picture and figure out what to do with Great-Aunt Esther's annual fruitcake [insert your choice of atrocious holiday tradition], I'm reminded to take a breath and appreciate the small things that bring us holiday cheer. I was jolted back into a true appreciation of the season with an email forward from a coworker on a viral email that was making the rounds. Many of you have already seen this email or read about it on the blogosphere, but if you haven't - I urge you take a look at video.warmup.com.

I was reminded of this effective strategy today. My bank teller at Chase wished me a happy holiday, but instead of her usual reminder of other Chase products and services, she asked me if I supported any local charities and if so, to check out Chase's effort on Facebook to give away $5 million dollars this year to customers' favorite charities. When I signed into my bank account, I saw the following banner ad. Chase has set up an ingenious effort to generate "fans" and spread this goodwill and holiday cheer by asking users to "vote" for their favorite local charity and put them in the running for a $25,000 grant. I voted for my favorite local organizations as well as spread the word throughout my network by posting my "vote" on my wall.

I was grateful for Chase's effort to help me slow down and think about these other acts of giving. I won't ever receive the much-needed gift of time from an email or an online marketing campaign, but they can cement my brand loyalty and loosen my purse strings. Now, if only a company could figure out how to email me idiot-proof instructions to assemble my kids' dollhouse ...

From: Facebook
Subject line: New Privacy Settings
Date: Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Great job by Facebook making it easier to share and not share. Once you have lots of people on Facebook you are bound to have a mixture of who you know (from college buds to in-laws). You need to post on a "need to know" basis. Now you can.

The "Specific People" option lets you choose friends individually or from your predefined Friend Lists.

So for a small business, you could do social posts just like you send targeted email. Don't think you can do that yet for a large business due to restrictions on Friend List sizes.

From: MGM Grand
Subject Line: Tweet your sins for a free night at MGM Grand
Date: October 28, 2009

Been meaning to blog about this one since... October 28. Don't let my tardiness in posting it tarnish the brilliance behind the idea. LOVE the clever use of Twitter here. The subject line absolutely draws you in and the fact that Las Vegas is involved makes it that much more tempting. Being the angel that I am, I confess that I didn't tweet my sins, so I can't speak to the total experience. However, I do think this is a really interesting approach to integrating social in a whole new way with your email program. On the best practices front, this email has some work to do, but the concept is sinfully genius.

From: The Zoe Report
Subject Line: Ain't No Jeans Wide Enough
Date: September 28

I am an admitted Rachel Zoe Project addict. I can't get enough of the fashion antics and celeb appearances. If you haven't seen this decadent indulgence, check it out on Bravo. In the meantime, let's talk about Rachel's daily emails. As far as blog-type newsletters go, hers just rock. IMHO.

Glamour shot aside, what I love about the emails is that they truly read the way Rachel talks, complete with her fave fashionisms and all. Why is this such an important thing to note? Because it feels like a conversation. As an occasional ghostwriter myself, it's also worth noting that there is a chance that Rachel is not always writing these on her own, and understandably so. She's a busy gal with a lot on her plate. So the coup d'etat here is that if a copywriter is penning these precious gems, she (or he) is a writer who truly understands voice and how to carry it through. Love that.

I'm also drooling over the clever FTAF language: Glamour is contagious. Share with friends. See, SWYN doesn't have to be boring.

I find that the emails I tend to click on and forward the most are the ones containing the most outrageous products, just for the humor of it. So if you sell something along those lines, don't be shy to put it in your email - it may just be your top shared and/or clicked email of the year! This is also a great place to use social networking links to give the opportunity to easily share with even more people. If you have found this to be true with your email/s, please share your story!
From: Buckle Subject Line: Shop Fall's Latest Footwear! Date: Thursday, September 17, 2009	From: Forever21 Subject Line: Animal Instincts - Shop Animal Prints Date: Wednesday, September 9, 2009	From: Abercrombie & Fitch Subject Line: Looks and a sense of humor! Date: Thursday, August 20, 2009

From: The Gap
Subject Line: Get Up to $15 Off Cords
Date: September 10, 2009

Really, really bright yellow type aside (you may want to get out your sunglasses), this email feels so clean and directed. They kept the fluff at a minimum and focused on the offers, keeping them front and center with clear shopping CTAs. The only thing I'm confused about is the subject line. Wondering if this should actually be a "Save" vs. a "Get" story. To me, "Get" implies that I have to do something, like use a coupon code. That's not the case in this situation as the cords are already on sale. Hmmm. I'm sure someone could argue the other side of it, but if it were me, I'd go with Save.

I also like the way they've added some movement to the SWYN banner at the bottom. It's hard to tell from a jpeg, and I didn't catch the right phase here, but they used a rotating copy story to draw your eye. The full sequence starts with "What were you born to do?" (this jpeg shows it mid-sequence) and the social buttons say "Tell Us on FaceBook, YouTube, Twitter." What a clever way to get the conversation going. A lot of folks simply say "Follow Us", which feels very one-sided. Keep it on the down-low, but I'm going to have to borrow this idea. It's a goodie. To see the animation, click here.

From: Tobi
Subject Line: 20% Off, Happy Friday!
Date: Friday, August 28, 2009

Just when you thought you were out of clever ideas for how to spin a sale...check out Tobi. They're TGIF approach is refreshingly simple and cleverly executed, not to mention that it's 20% off regular-priced merchandise...not sale and clearance! While most retailers are waiting to use the Labor Day handle for their big fall savings push, Tobi's smart approach makes sure all their loyal fans spend their hard-earned cash on their site first. Nice thinking. Still wishing they had a preheader and FTAF in their emails, but they do have the SWYN icons at the bottom, so that's a step in the right direction. And let's not overlook the straightforward subject line that tells the entire story in only four words and still has personality. Well done.