Examples of Companies Mastering Email Marketing Campaigns
In the realm of digital marketing, the question of whether email marketing is on its deathbed is frequently posed. This inquiry becomes increasingly valid in the wake of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), calling for a significant investment of time and effort to cultivate customer lists and create a brand that elicits genuine interest. Yet, when executed correctly, email marketing remains a highly valuable channel capable of transforming undecided prospects into ardent customers.
A multitude of emails cluttering one's personal inbox might lead one to think that various companies are wasting their resources by emailing them. However, there are certain brands that manage to consistently bypass the spam filter and arrive in the 'focused' inbox. For these brands, their well-executed email marketing efforts contribute significantly to their customer loyalty.
Here are several examples of brands that have mastered the art of email marketing, ensuring that their messages are not only received but also welcomed by their subscribers.
Dancing Leopard
Dancing Leopard demonstrates a keen understanding of why its customers purchase its clothing. The brand focuses on the occasions where one could wear its garments, such as parties, barbecues, and sunny days. By selling a feeling rather than a specific item, Dancing Leopard successfully connects with its customers on an emotional level. Using visually appealing photography, engaging gifs, and annotations, Dancing Leopard showcases the intricate details of its clothing range.
Additionally, the brand employs clever reminders when it detects that a customer has shown interest in a particular item but hasn't completed the purchase. This thoughtful technique has proven effective in converting potential sales.
Bloom & Wild
Bloom & Wild's email marketing campaign is a testament to its excellence in this area. The company strategically sends timely emails for key events like Mother's Day and Father's Day, and also offers enticing 'just because' gifts. Furthermore, Bloom & Wild employs automated emails to remind users of past purchases and utilizes discount codes in a strategic manner, adding a sense of urgency to its offers. The copywriting used by Bloom & Wild is always impeccable.
The Marketing Meetup
Joe from The Marketing Meetup never fails to put a smile on his subscribers' faces. His weekly emails are filled with engaging, humorous, and uplifting content. The subject lines are carefully crafted to entice the recipient to open the email, and the content provides genuine value, making users feel as though they've made a friend rather than just subscribed to a newsletter.
Deliveroo
Deliveroo skillfully employs email marketing to persuade users to indulge in a takeaway. By sending timely emails with great offers, excellent imagery, and well-coordinated delivery timings, Deliveroo succeeds in capturing the attention of its subscribers at the right moment.
Pizza Express
When discussing email marketing with clients, Pizza Express is often cited as a prime example of effective birthday email campaigns. In the past, the restaurant would consistently attract customers like the writer for their free Prosecco on their birthday. With countless pizza restaurants to choose from, Pizza Express ensures that it remains a top-of-mind choice for customers, particularly those who appreciate a freebie.
BuzzFeed
BuzzFeed has excelled in personalization, offering users the choice to subscribe to newsletters tailored to their specific interests. This approach not only caters to individual preferences but also complies with GDPR guidelines. With a broad range of content options available, BuzzFeed caters to the diverse tastes of its audience.
Spotify
Spotify's email marketing strategy reflects its commitment to design, branding, inspiration, and creativity. The company sends weekly updates, artist recommendations, merchandise drops, and promotional information for its campaigns, thereby keeping its subscribers engaged and invested in its brand.
Litmus
As an email marketing platform itself, Litmus places great emphasis on maximizing the potential of its platform through eye-catching designs. Utilizing GIFs, embedded video, and other moving elements, Litmus effectively captures the attention of its subscribers. However, it's advisable to have design and development experience before attempting such an approach, as moving elements can be more complex than they appear.
The Hustle
The Hustle takes a slightly different approach to news sites by providing deep dives into stories within its emails. This strategy enables users to consume the content without having to navigate to the website, thereby building user loyalty and increasing engagement.
Airbnb
Airbnb demonstrates excellence across multiple aspects of email marketing, starting from its welcome journey and extending to its retargeting efforts. By streamlining the user experience and focusing on engagement, Airbnb effectively invests its customers in the Airbnb experience, particularly during the long and mentally taxing research phase for booking a holiday.
Tuft & Needle
Abandoned cart email flows are an essential tool in an email marketer's arsenal. However, creating effective abandoned cart emails can be challenging. Tuft & Needle has accomplished this by creating abandoned cart emails that resemble a three-part story, offering advice and guidance rather than resorting to salesy language.
Patagonia
Patagonia seamlessly blends its promotional email marketing with campaigns that represent its brand values. This approach not only showcases its commercial ventures but also promote schemes that do not financially benefit the company, a move that resonates with its most loyal customers.
Glossier
Glossier's minimalist approach to email marketing mirrors its brand philosophy – 'less is more.' While the company does engage in various sales, promotions, and abandoned cart flows, it also periodically sends emails that focus solely on building its brand image and fostering customer loyalty.
Uber Eats
Uber Eats consistently sends well-timed emails with discount codes to encourage users to order food when they're feeling lazy or unable to cook. While many of these emails may end up unnoticed or ignored if they're not relevant, users are unlikely to unsubscribe completely due to the utility of such content in saving them money at critical times.
Mob Kitchen
Mob Kitchen's email marketing strategy is built on community engagement. The brand periodically shares subscriber-exclusive recipes, which users appreciate as a sense of being an insider. Furthermore, the recipe is provided within the email, eliminating the need for users to navigate away from the message.
Thortful
Thortful values its users' feelings during specific occasions and empathetically asks them to self-identify their interest in certain events. This approach not only caters to users' preferences but also demonstrates empathy, which users recognize and appreciate.
Her First $100K
Her First $100K, a platform promoting Financial Feminism, focuses its brand messaging on its founder, Tori Dunlap, who enjoys a significant social following, particularly on TikTok. This strategy effectively resonates with its target audience.
Headspace
Consistency is key to Headspace's brand voice, and its emails exemplify this commitment. The company strives to convey positivity, help, guidance, and support to new users, thereby meeting their expectations.
In the GDPR era, brands must prioritize compliance with data protection laws, transparency, and user consent while employing the latest best practices for engagement and deliverability. Some key strategies include obtaining explicit, documented consent, providing transparent communication, simplifying the unsubscribe process, securing data handling and storage, maintaining low spam complaint rates, and authenticating emails. Additionally, it's essential to audit one's database, use granular consent, and educate one's team to ensure GDPR compliance and best practices in email marketing.
By adhering to these strategies, businesses can run effective, compliant email marketing campaigns that respect user privacy, foster trust, and maximize deliverability in the GDPR age.
Technology plays a pivotal role in the success of email marketing campaigns, as brands such as Dancing Leopard, Bloom & Wild, and Spotify use it to create visually appealing email designs, deploy automated emails, and incorporate engaging animations for increased user engagement.
Branding, on the other hand, is crucial in creating a connection with subscribers and differentiating a brand in the inbox. For instance, The Marketing Meetup fosters a sense of camaraderie by delivering humorous and engaging content, while Glossier keeps its email marketing minimalist and on-brand with its statement, 'less is more.' In this way, technology and branding go hand in hand for an effective email marketing strategy.
