Essence of Email Weekly - #FlashbackFriday

SEPTEMBER 23, 2022 • 13 MINUTE READ

We all love a good ol’ trip down memory lane, so we decided to dedicate a special edition of our Weekly to the previous editions of our Quarterly report. We are featuring the best tips and tricks from our experts and partners from each edition, which will jog our memory and come in handy just right before the busiest period of the year for marketers!
In case you missed our newest Q2 edition, which was launched 2 weeks ago, you can download it here. And the next *special* Q3 edition is coming to your inboxes on October 7!
Stay tuned!

Q1 2022

Essence of Email Quarterly: Spring/Summer Preparation Guide

Our Q1 2022 edition was dedicated to how to get ready for summer/spring campaigns and ensure that you use them to your advantage. These are some of the best tips from our partners:
“Sell the experience of spring and summer. Use on-site messaging to display concise, persuasive messaging alongside lifestyle images - influencers and UGC work great here. Use copy that speaks to seasonal activities and how your products add to those experiences. If you’re an apparel brand, show your most popular outfits throughout the site paired with imagery of spring and summer activities. Lastly, use cross-sells with as many products as possible to make sure your customers aren’t forgetting anything, as though they’re going to the beach without sunscreen.” - Michael Wadsworth, Partner Marketing Associate @ Justuno
“Promote your SMS program everywhere. Drop it in an IG story, send out a newsletter asking subscribers to opt into your program, promote it on TikTok—leverage every marketing channel to grow your list during your peak season. Message your subscribers regularly and use a mix of sales texts (e.g., new drops and promotions) and straight content (e.g., summer playlists and quizzes). And don’t stop messaging in the fall and winter! You don’t want them to hear from you for 6 months and then go radio silent in your off-peak season if you want to maintain a healthy list.” - Laura Serino, Senior Content Marketing Manager @ Postscript
“Create a seasonal quiz where you can offer incentives based on certain holidays that are approaching. In the quiz, recommend the seasonal products on the results page and promote the quiz on your owned channels, from social media accounts, to email and SMS.” - Olivia Harrell, Partner Manager @ Octane AI
To get the full edition, check out this page.

Q3 2021

Essence of Email Quarterly: The Ultimate Guide to BFCM 2021

In our Q3 2021 edition, we were talking about how to audit and prepare your email channel for the BFCM period. Dive into some of the best tips and tricks from this edition:
“We tell two things to our clients: get creative but keep it simple. Whether your offer is $ or % off, a free gift, time-exclusive products, or charitable discounts, make it easy for the customer to take advantage of. Auto-applying coupons and banners for relevant, site-wide information coupled with personalized product recommendations will drive higher AOV and time on site.
Additionally, ensure that your off-site campaigns have a complimentary on-site experience to reinforce messaging and personalization. Social shopping is more and more popular among consumers when discovering and buying products, so make sure all channels are aligned and ready to maximize profitability.” – Brian Ronalds, Director of Agency Partnerships @ Justuno
“Most common mistakes we see are improper offer communication or not prominently displaying the offer. Everyone is expecting sales, and everyone is getting a ton of emails; so in this period, it is best to go with the offer directly in the Subject Line, followed by any additional offer (free shipping, extended warranty, 30-day money-back guarantee, etc.), or emphasizing the urgency in the Preheader. If you go without it in the opening line or if you’re too subtle in the Preheader, you risk the chance of a subscriber not seeing it and converting, no matter how good the offer is.
Lack of information on when the promotion ends AND lack of urgency in those reminder and last-chance emails is another mistake. While it may work for some brands that have amassed a big community that’s constantly engaged, for most eCommerce shops, the fear of missing out (F.O.M.O.) is a huge factor when it comes to purchasing.
There is a huge difference between “Last Chance to Save Big" / "Hours Left to Save" and "The Biggest Sale of the Year Is Ending" / "You Won't See These Prices Anywhere Else" / "Don't Miss Out on Our Blowout Sale", etc. Of course, this only works if it actually is your biggest sale of the year, or if there won't be a larger sale for Christmas/New Year’s.”Milos Rakic, Head of Operations @ The Better Creative
“More and more eCommerce brands are using product quizzes and conversational pop-ups to learn about their customers directly (zero-party data) and then leveraging that data to segment their SMS messages based on what their customers are looking for: size, fit, style, skin type, age, preferences, etc. The brands that collect zero-party data and leverage it for smarter SMS will see the highest conversion rates and the lowest opt-outs.” – Ben Parr, President and Co-Founder @ Octane AI
For more tips, download this edition here.

Q2 2021

Essence of Email Quarterly: State of Email in Q2 2021

In this edition, we took a look back at the state of email in Q2 2021 and the key digital transformations that happened in that quarter. Here are some interesting insights:
“The shifting ways of life and social attitudes during COVID-19 have impacted the way brands communicate with their audience via email. Customers now expect brands to align with the causes they care about, which explains why companies have focused more on sharing their brand’s mission and values and also have started highlighting different social and local initiatives in their email messages.
Over the past year, we’ve also seen an increase in email volume and email frequency, which has turned the inbox into an even more competitive space and has made email relevance even more important.” – Bea Redondo Tejedor, Head of Content @ Pathwire
“Third-party cookies are disappearing — and no longer supported by all internet browsers — as consumers demand increased privacy. This shift in the customer experience has placed an even greater emphasis on prioritizing first-party data for not only new customer acquisition, but also ensuring the lifetime value of your customers. In response to this news from Apple, brands must adapt and pivot their marketing strategy in order to fully access and intelligently activate their customer data. A crucial component of delivering meaningful, personalized customer experiences is having a platform that can unify and implement your valuable first-party data.” –Josh Francia, Chief Growth Officer @ Blueshift
Take a look at this edition here.

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