The abc and 123 guide to effective email marketing campaigns

You think email is dead? It’s not.

Recently, I received an email marketing campaign from Dollar Shave Club. You remember these guys right? Anyway, I’ve been a customer for a while and think they do several things really well when it comes to marketing efforts. One of which is email.

Email marketing isn’t as shiny and new as some of its kin like social media, but it’s still one of the highest ROI tactics (around $35 return per $1 spent) in the digital marketing bag of toys. In fact, it’s a no brainer compliment for any digital marketing  tactic. So, I thought I would share why this email works.

The ABC

A) Great use of being personal and complementary without being disingenuous:

Thanking a customer for their business is almost never a bad idea. DSC also is offering customers first dibs at a new product which makes them feel special.

B) Tells a story:

I like this paragraph of copy because it talks about a commitment to quality and the benefits of this product they’ve spent a year formulating.

C) Quality product photography:

The design as a whole is simple and on brand. This shot of the bottle shows us what we’re being offered.

D) Good call to action:

Subtle enough to not compete with the product shot (design hierarchy) and crafted to fit in and stand out at the same time. This is hard to do. Anyone can slap a red button somewhere, but to make it look like it fits and draw attention is fantastic.

Now that we’ve looked at the email itself, let’s see the landing page.

The 1231) Again, good copy layout:

Aspirational headline, benefits focused subheading and “bullets.” I love the illustrations in place of big black dots or arrows. More stellar product shots, including one of the actual creme, and the concept with the butter knife is solid.

2) Clear call to action:

It stands out and get’s down to business. “Add for $8” tells me what I want to know and shows me exactly what they want me to do.

3) Include benefits:

The issue I see a lot with copywriting is that it focuses on the benefits (like it should) but leaves out the features all together. It’s still good to let people know what they’re getting in the bottle.

There you go. Email marketing done well. Nice work Dollar Shave Club. What say you?


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