5 companies with great email marketing campaigns

We understand that engaging, exciting or reconnecting with your subscribers is arguably one of the most frustrating and challenging jobs a marketer can have. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of five companies that did an awesome job with their email marketing campaigns and why they were so awesome.

Here’s what these companies did right:

• They didn’t sound boring
• They had catchy subject lines
• They turned tried-and-true into why-have-I-tried-this
• They included tantalizing, relevant offers inside

Let’s take a look:

1.  ModCloth

“That thing you wanted? It’s on sale.” Who wouldn’t drop everything to click on an email with a subject line like that? Getting subscribers to open emails is often the biggest hurdle for businesses—and not one that many can easily overcome.

Inside, ModCloth makes great use of three things that earns them a 10/10 in our books for attention-grabbing emails:

• A brightly-colored, animated graphic in the center spread of the email
• A smaller, but still noticeable, banner for free shipping and exchanges
• Deadline-driven copywriting in the graphic and CTA that instills urgency in the reader

A free pro-tip: When your products or services are priced at a market premium, subject lines like this one are supremely effective for cart abandonment campaigns. Bravo, Modcloth, bravo.

2. GEICO

GEICO’s not just known for their gecko’d mascot. They offer competitive rates and emphasize customer service—all while being entertaining in their GEICO way.

While not as flashy an email as ModCloth, GEICO also targets a drastically different audience that requires a more formal touch. That’s not to say they don’t still keep things interesting. Here’s what GEICO did well:

• Obvious emphasis on the neon CTA as the main focus of the email
• Clear-cut, straightforward and informative hyperlinks
• And if readers should so choose to read the email copy, they’ll find it full of charming allegories and empathetic sentences

A job well done, GEICO.

3. Nordstrom

This juggernaut of an upscale retailer is widely hailed for their great loyalty programs. And a big reason behind why their loyalty programs are so effective is the email campaigns powering them.

Here’s what Nordstrom did well:

• Original subject lines for cart abandonment emails
• People expect unoriginality in subject lines. When you don’t give that to them, it piques their interest, and perhaps a bit of respect for going the extra mile with personalization, eh?
• Complimentary copy—who doesn’t want to be complimented on their taste?
• Employing best practices for cart abandonment emails: Including free shipping and returns offers, including images of abandoned cart items in the email and if you can afford them, including a discount or promotion as a further incentive

4.  American Eagle Outfitters

This clothing and accessories retailer did something not many others are willing to do when addressing inactive subscribers: A willingness to let them go. The entire design of the email below is orchestrated in an unassuming way; AEO aims to rekindle a relationship and start a dialogue rather than push their subscription on a recipient who has likely turned a deaf ear.

What AEO did well:

• The “Let’s Hang” email copy. It’s not about re-subscribing to their emails, no. It’s about “hanging out” with a community of like-minded individuals who are as model-esque and well-dressed as you.
• Having very direct “Shop Now” and “Unsubscribe” CTAs. Sometimes there’s just no persuading people who want to unsubscribe. That’s fine. But other times, having a “Shop Now” CTA as the other choice—people don’t like making decisions with too many choices, especially when none of the choices are particularly appealing—those who are still wavering between unsubscribing and being reminded that they can still make other purchases can easily do so.
• Offering a rewards program. Sometimes an incentives program is just what inactive subscribers need.

5. BarkBox

For the dog-lovers of the world, Bark & Co’s monthly subscription service, BarkBox, offering all products and technology pet-related is a blessing. With approximately 200,000 monthly subscribers, this pet-themed provider needs fresh email copy to keep its readership coming back for more.

The things BarkBox did well:

• A personalized sender address like “From: Scout at BarkBox” works much more effectively at grabbing attention than merely “From: BarkPost Newsletter.”
• Keeping up with the “listing” trend. Easy, consumable content about unconventional topics will always encourage a click-through.
• Visuals—and in their case, a visual of a delightfully adorable dog—are great ways to capture reader interest.

If we could think of some reasons why marketers have nightmares, one of them would be the wasted time and cost associated with unopened emails and the other would surely be having spent the time crafting ingenious emails only to have them reach undeliverable destinations due to inaccurate and incomplete addresses. That would just be a crying shame.

Did you know that 78 percent of marketers have had email deliverability problems in the past 12 months? That’s up 11 percent in just one year. Understand the reasons behind why that could be happening to your email campaigns and get tips and strategies on how to ensure your emails get delivered. Find out how in our white paper – Email deliverability: The good, the bad and the ugly.