By
Bob Phibbs
Want to do a better job of marketing to your own customers? Then subscribe to all your competitors' email newsletters.
From the big boxes to the mom & pops you can learn a lot from what they choose to feature in their emails.
Once you read what they put out, you can formulate your own unique copy to include many of their elements.
Yes, most are still stuck in the 60's mindset that it should just be discounts and cheap stuff, but not all.
If they include links to their blog? Click on the links and find out what's on the blog.
What are they choosing to feature in their email blast? How often are they sending them out?
Next, ask yourself, What can I do to copy without copying the email itself?
The best retailers have a staff of creative professionals who have found the right elements to include in email marketing which include:
- A compelling offer
- Helpful tips on how to reuse or repurpose something customers already own for little or no money.
- Seasonal tips that describe how a product could work for the customer
- Forward to a friend.
Let's look in-depth at elements you can model from this example from Aaron Brothers
1) In this email blast above, you'll find a subtle marketing message to make your old art look new with new frames.
2) A coupon at the top to use on anything. Again, since this is only to people who are on their list - I would support this discount wholeheartedly.
3) The biggest part of the email is devoted to Mother's Day showing a great graphic, you can do a custom job for as little as $45 (but their salespeople will help you see how you could spend $85.)
4) The lower third is for stock framing for $12.95 so even a kid can afford it and we see a mom with kids to reinforce all of the messages to "get ready for Mother's Day."
5) Just about the last thing we read is about a free fingerpainting event in-store the day before Mother's Day. Implying Dads this would be a great gift idea!
6) Next to the last thing we see on the page? The address of the store. The last piece of information they want is where you can find all this.
Learn how to pitch your local media your success story here
In Sum
Let the other guys do the heavy lifting with design and copy then tailor what they've done to your audience. Look at the elements they include, not the least of which is the forward-to-a-friend.
