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12 Phenomenal Email Marketing Examples You Have to See

Name a day of the week and just about anybody can guarantee their email inbox is overflowing with messages.

We are all constantly bombarded with emails upon emails that do little for us besides giving us some boxes to tick as trash when mid-afternoon rolls around and the office is quiet. But…

Every now and then we get an email that’s so good not only do we read it, we share it with friends and tell them why they should subscribe, too. They’re top-notch and often breathe new life into our inboxes. For that, we are thankful.

What separates a top-notch marketing email from the rest of the pack?

Top notch email marketing campaigns are often

  • Cleverly written
  • Filled with interesting graphics
  • Personalized & responsive

They also tend to feature a meaningful and highly actionable call-to-action (CTA). If marketers are going to fill our inboxes with messages there better be a  point. Right?

Schedule some time with a specialist to learn how to build a successful email marketing strategy.

12 Examples of Excellent Email Marketing

We know you already get enough emails and it’s not easy deciding if you should subscribe to another list. However, if you’re feeling froggy, we’d love to show you some of our favorite email marketing examples just so you know they’re out there and can get in on the good stuff too.

  1. Blue Bottle Coffee

    Blue Bottle Coffee is the bomb. They’re all about delivering the most delicious and sustainable coffees they can find right to your doorstep. And their emails never fail to deliver a delicious experience in your inbox.

    It’s a win-win.

  2. Charity Water

    Charity Water is a non-profit organization near and dear to Paige’s heart. For those of you unfamiliar with Charity Water, they’re  a non-profit whose mission is to bring clean and safe drinking water to people in need around the world.

    Their newsletters keep you in the loop regarding current projects and where your money is going if you’ve donated. They also have a knack for delighting subscribers with the occasional “profile feature” email as seen in the example below.

  3. Paperless Post

    “Paperless post helps you create online and paper stationery that reflects your individual aesthetic.” Their dedication the helping customers create distinct and custom designs that make it easy to communicate on any occasion consistently comes through in their emails.

    Any Paperless Post email we’ve ever received has been so easy to skim and so pretty to look at it’s ridiculous. Enjoy!

  4. Litmus

    “Litmus makes your email better.” Truth.

    Of course their own email marketing messages are going to be fantastic. The example below features a solid content hierarchy that looks great on desktop and mobile. As it should.


  5. Moo

    We wouldn’t be surprised at all if you say you’ve heard us say it before but we’re total fangirls and fanguys of Moo and their newsletter (or any other email they send).

    Who can say that getting something called The Moosletter on a regular basis isn’t dope? No one. If you’re not subscribed you’re missing out.

  6. REI

    Every time an REI email hits our inbox we’re ready to lace up our hiking boots and head out into the wild. So in short, they know exactly what they’re doing with their marketing. Respect, REI, respect.

    Everything about this email example is great. Icons, images, typography. Name any element of the email and it’s just great. We’re taking notes too.

  7. Huckberry

    Huckberry delivers some seriously cool gear and some seriously good deals. It’s one of those sites that you have to sign up for before entering but it’s totally worth it. Promise.

    We’ve been members for 2+ years now. We’d never recommend something without trying it ourselves first. The Huckberry newsletter (featured below) is amazing and often inspires us to lead more adventurous (and stylish) lives.

     
  8. The Hustle

    We only discovered The Hustle recently and my word how did we not know about this before? The copywriting is phenomenal and it’s a treat every day when the email hits our inboxes with all the tech and business news we need for the day.

    The Hustle is the best we’ve ever seen at writing personal, in your face copy that resonates with their audience. Plus, everything they write is just plain fun to read.

    Hat’s off to the copywriters here.

     
  9. Spartan Race

    If you’re never really sure what to do once you get to the gym or you’re just looking for a little motivation in your life, we highly recommend subscribing to the Spartan Race Workout of the Day email.

    If you’re looking to go to school in the art of writing copy and crafting CTAs that inspire people to get off their butts and change their lives, we highly recommend subscribing to the Spartan Race Workout of the Day Email.

  10. Modcloth

    Modcloth does a phenomenal job with their CTAs. They’re easy to spot and easy to click whether you’re at your desk or on your phone. Their copy is always light and airy which is perfectly on brand. Love.

     
  11. Chipotle

    One: Chipotle’s emails are packed with just as much flavor as their burritos.

    Two: Chipotle’s subject lines never disappoint. The sub for the featured email below was: “The Best Tasting Email You’ll Receive.”

    Three: Sorry for making you hungry.

  12. Fitbit

    How to showcase a featured product via email?

    *enter Fitbit*

    This email is a prime example of how to do a product feature email. It’s also an excellent example of CTA basics:

    – compelling copy under 5 words
    – contrasting colors
    – clear message

These are just a few of our favorite emails. We could go on all day but nobody’s got time for that.

We will stick around long enough to say that these examples all have a resounding message though: Don’t just follow best practice when it comes to your emails. Throw in some personality too.

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in sticking to best practices that we forget how email best practices get to be best practices in the first place. In order for best practices to be established in email marketing, there must be email specialists out there who aren’t afraid to push boundaries and try new things.

Take notes from the examples above and try experimenting with your emails. Toss in a GIF every now and then like Moo or get a little saucy with your copy like The Hustle if it’s on brand and you think it’d work with your audience.

Have a question or just want to share some of your own favorite email marketing examples with us? Drop it in the comments. We’ll be like besties sharing secrets. But on the internet.

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Salespeople: How-To Write Better Email Subject Lines That Get Results

Email subject lines can be the beginning of closing a great deal or the reason your email winds up in the trash bin. Sales reps know this better than anybody.

While most people spend time agonizing over the copy in the body of the email, salespeople never forget one of the most important ingredients of sending an email:

If your subject line sucks, it doesn’t matter how great your email actually is because it’s never going to be read.

However, what we’ve seen a lot of sales reps struggle with (and we struggle with too from time to time) is the fact that there isn’t a whole lot of space to work with when trying to craft an action provoking subject line.

Today, we’re going to help you become a boss when it comes to writing subject lines for emails that get your foot in the door and help you meet your lead quota.

How to Write Better Subject Lines Than Other Sales Reps

First things first, make sure you’re familiar with all the points on the checklist below so you know what to look for when assessing if you’ve written the best subject line for your email or not:

  • Summarizes the intention of your email
  • Clearly, connects to the first line of your email
  • Reflects the type of email you’re sending (initial, reply, forward, or follow up)
  • Grabs the attention of prospects and stands out when they scan their inbox

Because if your subject line doesn’t meet all of that criteria, it’s not going to mean anything if you’ve written the perfect email that’s the perfect fit for the prospects needs and sent it at the perfect time. Why? Because like we said before, it’s most likely going straight trash.

Phrases Salespeople Should Avoid In Subject Lines

Tip of the day:

AVOID THESE PHRASES IN YOUR SUBJECT LINES
Join Us For
Webinar
Appropriate person?
You’re invited to
Exclusive invitation to
This week’s call
Something of interest?
Can you chat
Trying to connect

According to Yesware, on average, all of these have open rates less than 38% and a reply rate that’s virtually non-existent.

If you’re using any of these phrases, you’re sabotaging your email from the start.

Phrases Salespeople Should Try in Email Subject Lines

Ditch the list above and try out these phrases in your subject lines instead:

PHRASE AVERAGE OPEN RATE AVERAGE REPLY RATE
Follow-Up 68% 48%
Contact Info 70% 43%
Check In 70% 49%
Next Steps 71% 50%
Today’s Call 70% 51%
Status Of 73% 57%
Meeting Today 71% 55%
Introductions 77% 58%
Confirming 72% 53%
Catching Up 71% 52%

Other techniques you should try and avoid:

DO TRY THESE TECHNIQUES DON’T TRY THESE TECHNIQUES
Include numbers (Subject lines with numbers has an average open rate of 53% and average reply rate of 32%) Assuming things based on your own needs (i.e. they want to connect too or you just need to find the right time.)
Mention your prospects name in addition to another customer’s name the recipient likely know and respects Asking a question and expect a response when you haven’t earned their trust yet. Reply rate for initial emails with sub lines as questions is 18%.
Get Creative – find an interest of theirs and connect to it Using exclamation points. It lowers opens rates and can get you flagged for spam.
Try sending a blank subject line – research shows blank subject lines have a >60% open rate. Using “free consultation.” If the inbox spam filter doesn’t grab it first, your recipient is sending it straight to the trash.

Now that you’ve got an idea of some of the big dos and don’ts of crafting a sales email subject line we can give you some brilliant examples to help get you started.

Best Subject Lines For Salespeople

5 of the Best Email Subject Lines for Salespeople to Try

  1. “I hope all is well”

    The reddit user who suggested this subject line says that “it gets a lot of reads from decision makers who are tired of people trying to serve their own self interests.”

    In other words, demonstrating genuine concern isn’t something people see a lot of and it’s refreshing when it happens.

    Sales reps who focus primarily on building relationships rather than just trying to make the sale are more successful in the long run. Prioritizing the relationship from the beginning is what will set your message apart and help you score more in the end.
  2. “[Name] referred me to you”

    Smart salespeople know that referrals are pure gold. According to NoMoreColdCalling.com, referred prospects have a whopping 50% close rate.

    Why? Because salespeople who get referred to new prospects “borrow trust” from the person who referred them. The relationship between the rep and the prospect is automatically warm thanks to the relationship between the prospect and the referral source.
  3. “You aren’t alone”

    Most of your prospects only have visibility into their own organization. As a salesperson, you often have a broader vantage point that spans innumerable buyers and customers.

    The Reddit user we mentioned in the first subject line suggestion also pointed out that “You are not alone” provides a good opening to an email containing a case study or testimonial from an organization similar to the prospect you’re emailing.

    This works because nobody likes to think they’re the only one. The fact that other people have faced the same problem as them and found a solution for it (in you) is often enough to sway opinions and drive action. It’s called the bandwagon effect.
  4. “Possible meeting [date] at [time]”

    A Reddit user who’s trained with Kate Kingston disclosed that she recommends sending with subject lines such as “Possible meeting at your office Tuesday, August 1st at 10:45.”

    Setting an appointment on the :45 is much less pressure than setting it on the :00 or even the :30 because it gives the illusion you’ll only take up 15 minutes of your prospects time.

    It’s also been noted that specific subject lines convey more valuable information to the email recipient, which draws them like a magnet into the content.
  5. “Can I help?”

    To be successful as a salesperson, you must practice Always Be Helping. Use subject lines like “Can I help?” shows prospects you don’t just view them as dollar signs.

    As soon as recipients see this subject line in their inbox they’ll immediately wonder, Help me with what? To find out, they’ll read your email. The well-written, personalized content inside will prompt your prospect to respond.

Most email subject lines have two to three words. Subject lines under 5 words are generally the ones that win open rates above 50%.

Final Thoughts

Never forget, if you’re going to crush it when it comes to writing better email subject lines that get results you have to know your readers and you have to deliver value.

Take the time to provide your recipients with relevant sources. Remember, you need to give in order to get. It’s also beneficial to toss in a compliment, pick at a pain point, and not be afraid to think outside the box of traditional sales emails.

Did you find this post helpful? Have some sales email subject line tips of your own you’d like to share? Leave us a little somethin’ somethin’ in the comments.

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20 Sizzling Email Marketing Stats (2017 Edition)


What’s the best day of the week to send emails?

We get this question a lot. The truth of the matter is, when you get down to the nitty gritty of it, it all depends on your audience.

Plenty of folks have done studies to give you a good starting point to run tests though that can help you determine if certain days of the week really do work better than others for your recipients.

For example, MailChimp, HubSpot, and GetResponse have conducted multiple studies over the years to discover that across all industries on average:

  • Tuesdays are the best days to send emails if you’re shooting for high open rates; Thursday comes in second
  • Tuesdays and Fridays are the best days to send emails if you’re shooting for a high click through rate (CTR)

The same deal applies to send times as well. It depends on who you’re emailing and where they’re located. However, if you don’t know where to start, we suggest you start testing the following times to find your sweet spot:

  • 12NN – 4:00PM if your goal is to achieve the most opens. Inbox traffic slows down in the afternoon so your recipients are more likely to see and open your email if you send it someone between Noon and 4 o’clock in the afternoon.
  • 6:00AM – 8:00AM if your goal is to up your CTR or get a response from your recipients. The best time to send an email that requires action is to send it when your recipient’s inbox isn’t seeing a lot of action. We also recommend testing out some evening times between 8:00PM and Midnight as well.

Again, we can’t stress enough that while these serve as a good general rule of thumb, best practice is to use analytics to determine the best email send days and times for your market.

How important is mobile really when it comes to email marketing?

Extremely. Exceptionally. Tremendously. Remarkably. Pick your adjective. If your emails aren’t mobile friendly, you’re missing out on a big chunk of your market.

In Litmus’ recently released State of Email Report [2017], it was revealed that:

  • More email is read on mobile than on desktop – 54%
  • Mobile unfriendliness is the leading cause of opt outs (5%) while 43% of consumers have marked email as spam due to mobile unfriendliness
  • 1 out of every 3 clicks within an email occurs on a mobile device

So what can you do to ensure that your emails are mobile friendly? Make them responsive!

Responsive email designs expand or contract the layout based on the device being used by the reader.

If a reader opens the email you sent on their laptop, the email will appear at its widest size. However, if a reader opens that same email on an iPhone or Android, the responsive layout will immediately shift to accommodate the smaller screen size without effective legibility of your content or graphics.

If you’d like to learn more about how responsive (and hybrid) email design works, we suggest you check out this article by Jason Rodriguez over at Litmus:

Understanding Responsive and Hybrid Email Design

Why Personalize Emails?

We’re glad you asked! Email personalization goes beyond just calling someone by their first name in your salutation. Surprisingly though, according to Kissmetrics, only 5% of companies take the time to personalize their emails beyond just including a first name.

Why do you think that is when 94% of companies say they know that personalization is critical to success? It seems the answer lies in the fact that 60% of marketers admit they struggle with personalizing content in real-time.

Personalizing emails is important because it makes your emails more relevant to your subscribers. When you personalize an email you’re appealing to the individual interests of your recipients.

Where can you start?

  • From Name – The From Name is one of the most prominently displayed elements of your campaign when it arrives in your subscriber’s inbox. It’s not surprising that 68% of Americans say they base their decision to open an email based on the From Name.
  • Subject Line –  This is the second most prominent element in the inbox. Make the most of it! Depending on the type of email you’re sending this is a great place to include the recipient’s name or location.
  • Email Copy – If you know your subscriber’s first name, t-shirt size, birthday, or any other information you can use to personalize the content of the email they’re receiving, use it!
  • Imagery – Personalizing your emails go well beyond text. Dynamically changing your images in your email marketing campaigns is a great way to better appeal to your subscribers and increase CTR.

If you take the time to invest in good quality email marketing by getting to know your audience and their habits, and provide them with personalized content in a personalized format, it’s going to pay off.

Like we mentioned in the infographic above, email marketing has a 3800% ROI, but 77% of all email ROI comes from well-segmented lists and personalized campaigns.

 

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A Recipe for Restaurant Email Marketing Success

Today, we’re going to cover the basics of email marketing for restaurants. We’re already hungry and we haven’t even started cookin’ yet. Cookin’. Get it?

Let’s just skip the rest of the bad food jokes and get right to it. Bon Appétit.

Why Restaurants Should Invest in Email Marketing

As a restaurant owner, email marketing is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal. It’s also one of the fastest, easiest, and cheapest ways to reach people who want to hear from you. All you have to do is give people the option to sign up.

Think of it like the first ingredient of your email marketing recipe. A simple place to start? Your own website. Dedicate some digital real estate to a sign-up form for your mailing list.

The sooner you start collecting emails the better. Start with friends and family if you have to and encourage them to forward the emails they get from your restaurant to other people in their contacts. You never know what might happen.

 

Whats-the-Secret-Ingredient-to-Good-Email-Marketing

What’s the Secret Ingredient to Great Email Marketing?

Once you’ve got a list you can’t just let the people who have signed up for your emails sit there and go bad like milk left on the counter overnight. That’s never pleasant for anybody.

The secret ingredient to any awesome email marketing plan is the cadence at which you email your lists. You’ve got to find the right cadence for emailing your subscribers. Keep ‘em warm and keep ‘em happy.

If you’re not sure where to start, a good rule of thumb is to aim to email your list one to two times per month. Make sure you stay on brand by using your restaurant’s logos, graphics, and other images often and always proofread your messages before sending them out.

It’s also a good idea to remember to stay conversational and not get too promotional with your emails. Hospitality is about people right? Use your emails to connect with people and show them a little extra warmth; give them something else to relate to.

What’s On The Menu?

Okay, you’ve got your list and you know how often you want to email everyone who signed up but what should you send them? They obviously have great taste and you don’t want to disappoint them.

No worries! There’s no reason to overthink this. People signed up to get emails from your restaurant because they’re obviously big fans of your food so give the people what they want!

We’re talking:

  • Menu Items: Tell them about seasonal specials, specific dishes, and newly added items to your menu.
  • Press: You got a good review in the local newspaper? Atlanta Magazine? Don’t be afraid to share it with your subscribers!
  • Private Dining/Catering: If you offer these services, they go particularly well around holidays, graduation season, and summer vacation.
  • E-Commerce: Gift card giveaway anybody? Don’t be shy about promoting restaurant swag either. Nobody ever has enough t-shirts. Nobody.
  • Special Events: Think fundraisers and happy hours.
  • Seasonal Promos: There ain’t no shame in playing the seasonal promo game. Use Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, National Doughnut Day, whatever to whet the appetites of your subscribers.

We’ll even be as bold to suggest sharing cooking tips and recipes (especially if your restaurant already has a blog where you publish stuff like this).

There are plenty of hungry college kids and even grown adults (like us) out there who would happily subscribe to a restaurant’s email newsletter if it meant it might save them from another night of frozen dinners.

 

Don’t Forget Images

Once you’ve got the messaging down make sure you include some big beautiful photos in your emails. People eat with their eyes. Including quality images in your emails is important for every business who sends emails, not just restaurants.

Folks like photos. Wow them with close up shots of signature dishes, break down recipes, show off the best booth in the house. Get creative with it! But most importantly…

Follow the golden rule of email marketing and only send the people who have opted in to all the awesome emails your restaurant has to offer. It doesn’t matter how pretty your images are or how awesome that happy hour event is going to be, if they never wanted to see your email in the first place, it won’t do your restaurant a bit of good.

And there you have it! Cooking up an awesome email campaign to help get the word out about your restaurant isn’t hard at all. Try it out for yourself and let us know how email marketing is going for your restaurant in the comments below.

–Z Coast Team

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How to Not Suck at Email Marketing

Email marketing is an artform. It’s also an important tool for your business because you can use email marketing to build awesome relationships with prospects, leads, current customers, and past customers.

Email provides you with a direct line of convenient communication to the people you want to talk to.So you better not suck at it.

It’s not easy being an email marketer

We know. It’s tough out there. You have to keep up with new email marketing terms and trends on a daily basis. There’s always some new technique or tactic to try that will make you better at what you do—we’re not even going to get started on software.

And while we encourage trying new email marketing tactics and techniques that are proven to work, we also believe in avoiding the 7 sucky email marketing practices below that absolutely drive us up a wall when encountered in the wild of our own inboxes.

So you have two options with this list of worst email marketing practices:

  1. Follow this list like the yellow brick road, suck at email marketing, and keep wasting opportunities to communicate with past, prospective, and current clients.
  2. Print off this list, tape it above your desk, and remind yourself to avoid this shiznit like the plague every day.

We’d really appreciate it if you went with option two. So would your subscribers.

These are pet peeves we should have in common so feel free to comment below about your biggest email marketing pet peeves and we’ll complain together!

You want to know how to not suck at email marketing. This is how: avoid everything on this list 👇

 

7-bad-email-marketing-practices-to-avoid

7 bad email marketing practices to avoid

  1. Emailing people who don’t opt in.

    Do you know why they didn’t opt into your emails? Because they don’t want to receive them! It’s pretty simple.

    Emailing people who don’t want your emails leads to nasty unsubscribe rates that can put the deliverability rates of future campaigns in jeopardy. Just don’t do it.

    Here’s a fun fact for you: According to Litmus, roughly 52% of people, regardless of age, have marked an email as spam because they didn’t knowingly and willingly subscribe to receive it.

    But if you’re having trouble grasping the concept, maybe you need to take another look at CAN-SPAM laws. If that doesn’t deter you then—well you’ve got some other issues that need to be addressed outside of email marketing.

  2. Making it hard to unsubscribe.

    Newsflash: Even if your email marketing is superb you’re going to have someone who wants to unsubscribe every now and then.

    It happens. Maybe they moved and your business only serves people in the southeast.  Maybe they’re just tired of getting so many emails and they’re spring cleaning the emails they subscribe to.

    Whatever their reason, there’s nothing more irritating than scrolling to the bottom of an email and not having an option to unsubscribe.

    Not to mention the fact that it’s kinda, sorta, super illegal.

    Don’t do illegal things. Always give your recipients the option to unsubscribe. Make it simple and leave it at that.

  3. Bombarding inboxes.

    Speaking of unsubscribing, there’s no better way to ensure a mass exodus from your mailing list than to bombard your subscribers’ inboxes.

    It takes time, effort, and a whole lot of testing to find the sending frequency for your subscribers. But you can bet your bottom dollar doing something like sending the same email day after day won’t help you figure it out.

    That’s just bad email marketing. It’s lazy. We don’t like lazy. If you’re not sure how to start scheduling your email sends, check out this article from Smart Insights.

  4. Sending emails infrequently.

    Sending emails once in a blue moon is just as bad as bombarding your recipients’ inboxes. That’s why it’s important to get your send frequency down.

    Have you ever subscribed to a newsletter that you expected to receive on a monthly basis and wound up only getting three over the course of the year?

    It sucks. Eventually, you probably stopped caring. And finally, you unsubscribed. (And when we say you we really mean us ‘cause we’ve totally done that.)

    We’ve all been there. Don’t be a flaky email marketer. Leads need to be nurtured so they stay interested in your company. You’ve got to find some balance so you don’t pester your leads but they don’t forget about you either.

  5. Sending emails that aren’t mobile friendly.

    Your emails have to be mobile friendly. If your emails are not mobile friendly then you have no business sending them. Let’s go over that one more time:

    If your emails are not mobile friendly then you have no business sending them.

    According to Email Monday and Litmus, 55% of all email is opened on a mobile device now. Part of providing a great email experience is taking the time to make sure that your emails look beautiful across all devices.

  6. Forgetting to proofread.

    We’re all human. Spelling errors slip into our copy sometimes. Grammar mistakes happen. But not taking the time to proofread your emails before hitting send is again, lazy, and disrespectful to your recipients.

    Inboxes are personal spaces; respect them. Proofread your emails, test to make sure all your links are working and your subscribers will appreciate your emails more.

  7. Not optimizing for HTML and plain text.

    Your email looks bomb when HTML is enabled but there are people out there who have their emails defaulted to only show plain text. In fact, we’re willing to bet you have a few of those people on your email list.

    If your email is only optimized to look stellar in HTML, your plain text readers are going to wind up with jumbled message in their inbox. Be a good email marketer and optimize your messages for both HTML and plain text enabled inboxes.

    Not sure how to do that? Don’t worry! We’ve got your back. Here are a few tips that will help you craft emails that look great no matter what type of inbox they end up in:

    – Always include a link to the web version of your email
    – Use light background colors so text doesn’t disappear
    – Don’t copy and paste from different word processors
    – Make your email comprehensive without images
    – Always assign clear alt text to your images

We hope you enjoyed the post and will avoid these bad email marketing practices.

What gets on your nerves about email marketing? Let’s talk about what bugs you in the comments!

 

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