Usability: Email Newsletters
Not too long ago, I did a post on “Welcome” emails. Since I had to sign up for all those accounts — and newsletters — it only makes sense that I take a look at newsletter emails sent by ecommerce Web sites.
Email newsletters offer great opportunities for highlighting products and services, as well as creating a sense of urgency for a potential customer (special 24-hour Internet-only sale!). And, if done with personalized linking, it is possible to offer customers great deals on products and services they actually want. Unfortunately, most of the email newsletters I received did not address my personal preferences.
One of the exceptions is Amazon. When my husband bought me a piece of jewelry off Amazon, the company began sending me email newsletters geared toward the jewelry line:
Other aspects of this email newsletter that I enjoyed include the following:
- Ability to go to shopping cart from the email.
- Additional products I might be interested in.
- Visible savings.
However, despite the fact that this email was aimed at a personal preference, it wasn’t personalized with my name. That sort of bothered me, since the point of personalized email newsletters is to personalize them.
Perhaps PacSun did a better overall job with its email newsletter. It offers full ecommerce Web site navigation, as well as options for better email viewing, signing up (in case a friend forwarded the email) and to unsubscribe to the list. Additionally, there are customer service links in this email newsletter, including to live help.
Cafe Press sent this email in a timely fashion, advertising its St. Patrick’s Day merchandise. This is a smart idea, since the email newsletter arrived early enough that I can receive any ordered items in time for the holiday. Timeliness is a good trait for email newsletters. Additionally, note the “send to friend” option:
Ace Hardware offers a full search function from the email newsletter, which is something I like.
One that I thought interesting was this from the Food Network store. I’m not sure whether it was my browser or what, but something went awry with the picture.
Here are some more email newsletters. What do you think of them?
Tags: eCommerce, ecommerce design, ecommerce usability, ecommerce Web sites, email newsletters, linking email newsletters, personalized linking
Posted by Miranda | February 28, 2008
Linda Bustos February 28th, 2008
Hey there Miranda! Nice work. I know how much goes into subscribing for every single email account
Of course this is so subjective, but I quite like 1-800-Flowers’ “Need a Gift Fast?” messaging - it communicates the speed of their service and solves a customer problem. If the email recipient does not need a gift right now, the reinforcement of the brand and service is a nice touchpoint.
I also like how they show a variety of options (special birthday bouquet, fruit basket and more) vs. the one general choice featured in FTD’s.
Adam Creare February 29th, 2008
I tend to find e-commerce emails quite annoying and often unnecessary. They’re rarely nothing more than ‘look how cheap our prices still are’ - which is something I already know, otherwise I wouldn’t use that shop.
They should only cover new releases and new special offers in my opinion. That’s all the user wants to know. They don;t need an email to tell them to start shopping.
Miranda February 29th, 2008
Thanks Linda! It’s always nice to see one’s efforts are appreciated :0) I do like the specificity of the 1-800-Flowers newsletter as well. And the urgency! Oh, the urgency! Very catchy. Made feel like I WANTED a reason to get an emergency gift…
And Adam makes a good point as well. I do agree that sometimes the email newsletters are rather superfluous. I once got three different email newsletters all giving the same message, and sharing the same deals. Overkill. It would be nice if companies confined themselves only to new deals and special offers…Internet only promos, maybe?
Although I wouldn’t mind an OCCASIONAL (maybe once every couple of weeks if nothing is new) newsletter that does nothing more than remind me that the store is still there. After all, one never knows when an email newsletter will remind you of something you need — or, more likely, want.
10 Blog-Lesetipps der Woche für Shopbetreiber » Tipps, Muster, Checklisten, News, Urteile für Online-Händler » shopbetreiber-blog.de March 14th, 2008
[…] Usability: Email Newsletters von Varien […]
Bloggers Digest - 2/29/08 - Get Elastic Ecommerce Blog April 18th, 2008
[…] Retailer’s Hot 100 ecommerce sites and presenting usability reviews on welcome emails, newsletters and more. Worth a look, and expect more to […]
Irina September 11th, 2008
I have to agree with Adam once again. My personal observations let me believe that there are some major flaws in some companies’ email strategies such as bombarding customers with the email offers that claim to be exclusive for the subscribers only, but turn out to be available for everyone as soon as you go to the store’s homepage, or not having to offer enough new merchandise for a long period of time, but sending emails several times a week with the same offers.