3 Excellent Email Marketing Examples
You’ve grown your email marketing list. Great!
Now you just need to make sure your newsletter actually gets opened, read, and that your content helps you generate more brand awareness and helps you drive sales.
Here’s the challenge--a lot of businesses (and I mean a lot) are jumping onto the email marketing bandwagon.
That means you’re going to have to bring your “A game” if you’re going to stand out.
Highly effective email newsletters are ones that immediately add value by providing educational content and other helpful information that’s relevant to your target audience.
They’re visually interesting, easy to navigate, and in the case of the example from Burgatory that follows—can sometimes make you salivate like Pavlov’s dog.
In this post, we’ll look at 3 of my favorite business-to-business and business-to-consumer email newsletters including what I think really sets them apart.
1. Grainger
For all of you business-to-business companies out there that are struggling to find a way to generate content, you should definitely take a look at Grainger.
They could just use their newsletter as an electronic flyer but they don’t. They always do a great job of figuring out how to provide helpful information first, and then tie that information back to their products.
In this example, they lead with an update on the second phase of the Department of Energy’s Lighting Legislation which could have a huge impact on businesses as they transition to more energy efficient bulbs. They also mention their strategic partnerhship with GE to help make the switchover more seamless.
After the lead article/update, they included a quick highlight of a new sharing feature on their ecommerce site (which helps raise awareness of the new feature and also increases the likelihood that people will click through to their site to check it out).
2. ExactTarget
This ExactTarget email newsletter initially caught my attention with the subject line “10 Podcasts You Should Listen To.”
Their design is crisp and clean. Great visuals to complement their newsletter copy and enough white space to make it incredibly easy to scan.
They cluster their content into a few different buckets which increases the likelihood that you’ll engage with additional content beyond just checking out the lead story—a key outcome for any effective email marketing strategy.
3. Burgatory
Right out of the gate, Burgatory grabs your attention with a catchy subject line. In this case the email was a word play tied to a broader 4th of July theme.
When you open the email, you’re greeted by an image of a woman holding a giant firecracker. The “Don’t Blow Your Fingers Off cuz how are you going to hold your burger?” messaging immediately draws your attention while also having a little fun.
The big payoff is letting patrons know they’ll be open on July 4th so you can “Declare Your Independence from Grilling.” They wrap things up with another holiday themed message.
Visually interesting. Informative. And fun. And since it’s about burgers, I know I was super excited to see it land in my inbox.
As you think about your email marketing strategy, always start by asking yourself what you want your customers to do. From there, you can map out your design and content strategy and look for ways to get your readers excited to see your messages in their inbox.
Which email newsletters are you excited to see in your inbox? Share some of your favorites in the comments below.
[Image: Flickr user JOHN LLOYD]
More:
5 (More) Highly Effective Email Newsletter Examples
Avoid This Common B2B Email Marketing Mistake
How to Write an Engaging Email Newsletter
Smart Email Marketing Strategies for Businesses
6 Email Newsletter Best Practices For Small Businesses
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