Email Marketing | Best Practices

I never thought I'd say this, but I'm disappointed because I haven't received my promotional emails that I've signed up for. I only have the welcome email from Vail Resorts and Nike. Even after three tries in three weeks, my "welcome" email hasn't arrived from Topgolf. My examples may not be the greatest, and I've had to branch out from my targeted companies to analyze the design, user experience, and compliance of an email.

The first email is from Vail Resorts. Interesting, because they also brand themselves as "snow.com"
Their welcome email is seen below.

First of all, their email is CAN-SPAM compliant. The sender is recognizable, the current mailing address of the HQ is listed, and there is a clear opt-out. As for the user experience and design, this email is visually appealing and simple. The pre-header echoes the subject line message, this area may show as a preview in some email clients, and can help open rates. Although not very big or obvious, there are also social links. The call to action in this email is to visit the site and explore the various resorts that Vail owns, so users can find their next destination. They also provide a link to their award winning app, Epicmix. Epicmix adds value to every visit by tracking the vertical feet that a visitor skis, stores all of the pictures taken by professional photographers on the hill, and keeps track of all awards earned on the hill. Since this is a welcome email, the main goal is for awareness. However, I could see a goal conversion being an app download for Epicmix.

By the design, it looks like Vail used a Constant Contact template to develop this welcome email. This looks very familiar.

The next example is a promotional email from Sprint. The subject line on this email is "Happy New Year! Happy New Phone!" Below is the email:

This email is also CAN-SPAM compliant. The sender is sprint@sprint.delivery.net. The opt-out, confirmation that it is an ad, and HQ address are listed at the bottom. The subject line is a bit spammy, but it's clear that the recipient could have instructions on how to get a new phone. As far as design, the call of action is a bit small compared to the glittery image, and does occur after the fold on a mobile device. However, clicking on the glittery image does go to the same landing page as the "upgrade now" button, even though there is no call to action on the image. I would have had an issue with the actionable item being below the fold if I was testing this email, especially on mobile. Since Sprint is trying to reach audiences on these mobile devices, I would have put more weight on this. 

Obviously, the goal conversion is to get a customer to upgrade the phone. The landing page experience is pretty good, takes the user right to a page where they could choose from a selection of new phones. However, since new phones are a big purchase, I believe this campaign would be more of an assisted conversion for conversion to happen later. This would be more of an informational campaign for a purchasing decision down the road.

The last example I will use is the Nike welcome email. This was delivered from nike@official.nike.com. The subject line was "Thank You for Signing Up for Nike Emails"

The email was lengthy, so it had to be split into three screenshots. However, the design of the email does match the design of the "shop now" landing page. The Nike site is designed just like this email, simple, lots of white space, and user friendly. The call to action is above the fold, and does offer add-on items below the fold as well. The email is a great introduction into the product mix without being too overwhelming. I believe conversion goals for this email would be to get a user to sign up for a Nike+ membership, or downloading the Nike+ app. Building brand loyalty is the main goal, there are no product offerings on this campaign.

The email is CAN-SPAM compliant by offering a clear opt out and headquarters address. There are clear instructions on what do to or who to contact if a user has questions at the bottom.