Emails with Live Updates

October 17, 2018 Amy Hamilton

From: Panera
Date: 10/13/18
Subject Line: Amy, vote for your favorite Mac & Cheese!

We’ve seen it before: emails that refresh the content each time you visit. Mostly it’s been used to count down the time until a sale ends. Well, Panera has come up with an innovative way to use live email updates. They ask subscribers to vote for their favorite Mac & Cheese creation, with the email displaying the live results! What a cool way to get customers up-to-date information that’s also interactive. In this case, it was also a fun way to let customers know that new fall “Soups and Mac” have arrived.

The live results aren’t the only thing Panera is doing right in this email. They also animated the hero to grab my attention, used my name in the subject line and email to make it feel personal, and made the design mobile friendly. Nicely done!

I could see this strategy being used for other types of retailers. For instance, Gymboree recently had a vote-for-our-next-toddler-model contest. Wouldn’t it have been cool to see which child was “in the lead” in the email? I could also see a clothing retailer having shoppers vote on their favorite fall outfit. What about having subscribers vote what the next holiday “deal of the day” should be? The possibilities are endless!

Get Your Catalog Moving

September 17, 2018 Amy Hamilton

Are you trying to create awareness of, or drive traffic to your online catalog? There’s an email for that! Sure, you can throw a graphic in your header or footer, but if that’s not cutting it for you, go for gusto with an animated hero! What better way to grab someone’s attention?! Here are three retailers that did just that.

From: Michaels
Date: 8/26/18
Subject Line: Your Fall Lookbook Is Here! 👀

Michaels did a good job placing their message above the fold. They also included images of leaves which continue throughout the design, tying it all together nicely. However, it’s missing a call-to-action and the animation begins without mention of the catalog. If the viewer doesn’t take the time to watch the entire gif, they might miss the objective entirely. Our next email has a solution for this exact issue.

From: Mark and Graham
Date: 8/26/18
Subject Line: 20% Off Sitewide + Over 100 NEW Arrivals Starting at $29!

Mark and Graham placed their headline “View the New Online Fall Catalog” and CTA above the animation. This way, wherever you start watching the gif, you’ll know what it’s about and will always have a place to click-through. If I were to change something, I would remove the photo that’s next to the headline, allowing the title to take less space, moving everything up. The use of the picture and horizontal line also make it feel like 2 separate messages – I would like them to feel better integrated.

From: Target
Date: 8/05/18
Subject Line: Your new Weekly Ad is here.

I saved the best for last. One noticeable difference that Target implemented: instead of flipping through the Weekly Ad, they animate the cover. I LOVE this! It brings the cover to life, making it fun and drawing your attention. You know they had to plan ahead to achieve this, and it pays off! They also fit their headline and call-to-action next to the animation, above the fold. I wouldn’t change a thing. Here are a few others they’ve done in the recent past.

My Mother’s Day Picks

May 17, 2018May 17, 2018 Amy Hamilton

Did your Mother’s Day email fall short this year? Help add life to your message with use of authenticity, originality and humor. Check out the emails that made my list this year.

From: Hot Topic
Date: 5/14/18
Subject Line: Newsflash: It’s Mother’s Day. Get your cool mom a cool gift.

This email animates a phone conversation between a mother and daughter. It not only grabs your attention with the animation, but also makes it fun by adding some humor when the mom asks for Slipknot tank for Mother’s Day. It’s smart that they added in the typing […] graphic to the animation to allow time for reading while also making it feel more genuine. I also love how they manipulated the keyboard and word-suggestion area to call attention to the sale.

From: aerie
Date: 5/08/18
Subject Line: You Got It From Your Mama!

Aerie sent out an email asking their models what they got from their mothers. The design features loving quotes and pictures of the moms and daughters together. What makes this one extra special though, is that all of the women are wearing aerie swimsuits and (as is the aerie way) are shown in untouched photography. It’s refreshing to see women of all ages and body types together, having fun and confidence in their natural forms.

From: Anthropologie
Date: 5/13/18
Subject Line: Isn’t Mom the best?

Anthropologie sent out a series of emails highlighting their female staff with their kids. It’s a different angle to feature the employee as the mom. The photography is really what brings these emails to life. They are shot outside of a studio and look very authentic — Moms hugging and tickling their kids and playing on the beach. It just warms my heart. The script fonts, shadows and ripped edges add to the natural playfulness.

From: UncommonGoods
Date: 5/08/18
Subject Line: Gifts for Woman Warriors (aka Moms)

Finally, this email from UncommonGoods caught my eye. It defines Moms as superheroes and lets you choose which comic best fits your mom’s style. The unique hand drawn covers portray different super-abilities that match shopping categories. For example: “Dr. Brainiac” leads to geek gifts, “Mother of Gardens” goes to garden gifts and (my favorite) “The Gray Tornado” features gifts for grandma. The theme overall is original and fun.

Holiday Hits

December 5, 2016 Amy Hamilton

Looking for a way to spruce up your holiday emails? Here are a few tips, sure to catch the eye!

1) HOLIDAY SHAPES

These emails cluster products together to form holiday shapes. You can go many directions with this idea — snowflakes, stockings, presents, etc. The sky is the limit!

From: Charming Charlie
Date: 11/30/16
Subject Line: Wrap up all the GIFTS on your list today!
See it animated

Charming Charlie took the extra effort to add twinkling lights on their “tree.” I also like that they chose products with coordinating colors.

From: Ulta
Date: 11/27/16
Subject Line: Favorites for Under the Tree + Cyber Monday Preview

Ulta created a tree out of gold gift boxes and stacked the products on top. In a brilliant move they list each product individually below with a CTA. The products are also staggered and tilted for great flow. Awesome job.

2) FESTIVE FONT

Even the smallest change, like a font, can make a big statement.

From: aerie
Date: 11/29/16
Subject Line: 40-50% Off & FREE All End Tonight. For Real.
See it animated

Aerie introduced a new font for the holiday season. The capital letters now give the feel of a magical winter wonderland.

From: Starbucks
Date: 11/27/16
Subject Line: The Cyber Monday clock is ticking

Starbucks is using a new cursive font, minimally, in the key words of their headlines. It’s a sure way to make certain words POP and set a tone for the email.

3) HOLIDAY GRAPHICS

From: Gymboree
Date: 11/29/6
Subject Line: Cyber Deals On The Run! ENDS AT MIDNIGHT

I like Gymboree’s creative way of displaying their sale promotions. Each deal is listed as if it’s a road sign at the North Pole. The little characters at the base of the sign are a nice touch too. Very cutesy and on-target for a kids’ clothing store.

From: Sur La Table
Date: 11/30/16
Subject Line: Get Gifting with Our Holiday Catalog

Sur La Table’s red ribbons not only add a festive feel but also dimension and flow to the design. They’re precisely placed to accent each image and point to the next section. The staggered and tilted images also help to add to the flow. The white negative space really helps to keep all the images from feeling overwhelming. Love.

From: Michaels
Date: 11/26/16
Subject Line: Get Ready for Christmas – 50% Off Christmas Trees, Décor & More

There’s a lot going on in this email (it’s overly long with a mix of styles), but I do like how Michaels lists their categories on gift tags in this section. They are a great way to add a holiday feel while giving a pop of color, and making your call-to-actions stand out.

From: Starbucks
Date: 11/16/16
Subject Line: It’s spiced. It’s iced.

I love the chalk-drawn spruce & leaves surrounding the products in this Starbucks email. They are a nice wintery touch with sophistication. The monotone color doesn’t distract from the products, but works as a nice accent. They also create great flow between products.

4) ANIMATION

From: Anthropologie
Date: 11/28/16
Subject Line: Just hours left for free ship + extra 30% OFF sale!
See it animated

Anthropologie’s stacked, wobbling packages create a fun holiday feel. I love the hand-crafted look as if it’s cut and pasted watercolor gifts, complete with drop shadow. It’s a very stylized and unique look, sure to catch the eye.

From: HomeGoods
Date: 12/02/16
Subject Line: You have a gift for giving.

HomeGoods included this fantastic stop-motion animation of products being placed into a box and wrapped up. It’s so much fun to watch. It’s a nice way to show a variety of products available for gifting. I would love to see each product called out by name with CTAs below.

5) CLEVER COPY

From: Starbucks
Date: 11/20/16
Subject Line: The more Mondays, the merrier

What says festive more than ‘Twas the night before Christmas? Starbucks created their own version of this classic poem in this email. They continue the poem down the page as it coordinates with products:

Then $20 more bagged, brewed and poured
is 80 stars toward a free drink reward.

And finally something to sip and to savor
Half off any frappuccino size or flavor.

Creative and fun to read.

From: Uncommon Goods
Date: 11/16/16
Subject Line: You’re Going to Need a Bigger Tree…

What better way to make your email memorable than to plant an “ear worm” in someone’s head? Song lyrics for headlines or subject lines do just the trick. Uncommon Goods uses, “Make Spirits Bright” as a title to their message about a custom whiskey barrel.

From: Neiman Marcus
Date: 12/01/16
Subject Line: 12 gifts of Christmas: Candles, cashmere + more

Here’s a fun use of the 12 days of Christmas. The items from the classic song are replaced with products:

7 days of sipping (cocoa mix and mugs),
6 ballerinas leaping (ballerina shoes),
5 tiiiiiiiiny treasures…

I can’t help but sing it while I’m scrolling. I especially love that they took care to picture the correct amount of products. The design has nice flow with staggered products that overlap into the next section.

These are just a few ideas to inspire you. Don’t forget to have fun and be memorable. Happy holidays and to all a good night!

Take a Pico This Email

September 8, 2016 Amy Hamilton

From: UncommonGoods
Date: 5/23/16
Subject Line: Fire for Sale
See it Animated

UncommonGoods went above and beyond with their email promoting a hot sauce kit. Rather than just using the product image with a supporting paragraph, they went all out on creativity! This email shows the step by step process with fun supporting images that animate! Each section is easily scannable with minimal text. Even if this email didn’t have the numbers and animations to draw your eye, it also has great flow to keep you scrolling. The textures, colors, dancing chili peppers and festive pattern give it a fun fiesta feel. The supporting products are also spot on for the theme – they don’t feel like a last second add-on. This email is creative, fun, well thought-out and inspiring!

DOs and DON’Ts for Animated GIFs

November 5, 2015November 5, 2015 Amy Hamilton

Animated GIFs can be a great way to make your email stand out, but there are a few things to keep in mind when using them. Check out my DOs and DON’Ts for using animations in emails.

DO: EMPHASIZE YOUR CALL TO ACTION

From: Moosejaw.com
Date: 10/16/15
Subject Line: Win a Full Ski Outfit From Black Diamond
View the Animation

I LOVED this animated hand from Moosejaw. It not only moved in an up and down motion (pointing at the call to action), but it also changed into a variety of funny hands. There’s no way anyone would miss the button in this email.

From: LOFT
Date: 10/24/15
Subject Line: Everything’s on sale (so don’t hold back)
View the Animation

LOFT’s flashing call to action is also sure to grab your attention. I’m a little on the fence about this one though. Although it stands out, the flashing can get a tad annoying.

DO: USE GIFS TO DRAW EYES DOWN THE PAGE

From: aerie
Date: 10/30/15
Subject Line: 31% Off! All Treats For Our Girls. No Tricks!
View the Animation

I really liked Aerie’s dropping spider animation. The spider itself looked nicer than your standard clip art and the drop shadow was a nice touch. By having the spider drop down the page, your eye is drawn down so you don’t miss anything in the email.

From: Charming Charlie
Date: 10/27/15
Subject Line: Five new faves! Starting at $19.
View the Animation

Charming Charlie used a clever method to draw your eye downward. They used an acorn that rolled along the diagonal lines down the page, passing the products along the way.

DO: USE FLUID MOTION WHEN POSSIBLE

From: Aéropostale
Date: 10/12/15
Subject Line: ENDS TODAY! Extra 30% off during our bdayyy
View the Animation

Taking the time to add the extra frames can really make a difference. I like how smooth the GIF is of the candle blowing out — almost like a video.

DO: USE THEM TO ADD A LITTLE INTEREST

From: MoYou-London
Date: 11/04/15
Subject Line: ❅ New Festive Plates! ❅ This Friday!

Like in this example from MoYou London. The subtle snow falling and blowing hat adds value without being too flashy.

From: Moosejaw.com
Date: 11/04/15
Subject Line: Get 30% Back on Almost Everything
View the Animation

Or in this email from MooseJaw. Check out the banner near the bottom. A window washing dinosaur? Why not! It doesn’t take much to go from meh to magnificent.

DON’T: CUT A SINGLE GIF INTO TWO PIECES

From: Gap
Date: 10/30/15
Subject Line: news you’ll love: gap factory is now online
View the Animation

Here’s an oopsie from Gap. The animated GIF was cut into two pieces, resulting in out of sync images. In this situation, it was the top of the peoples’ heads that were cut separately so it resulted in humorous hairstyles atop the wrong heads.

DON’T: GET SLOPPY WITH YOUR ANIMATION

From: Charming Charlie
Date: 10/18/15
Subject Line: How you love to shop–by color!
View the Animation

This email from Charming Charlie animates between color swatches and products. Instead of using one large GIF, each color is cut and animated separately. This results in an unpredictable and somewhat chaotic flashing of images. Sometimes multiple products will show up at once and other times there will be seconds with no animation. When creating an animation, be very purposeful about where and when you want someone to look at something – draw their eye around the page and keep them engaged.

DON’T: ANIMATE TEXT TOO QUICKLY

From: Moosejaw.com
Date: 10/02/15
Subject Line: This. Is. BIG. 20% off Full-price and Sale Stuff.
View the Animation

I really liked the idea behind this email. The concept is clever and the animation is cute. However, the animation moves a little too fast to read. They do finish the animation with the text showing for a handful of seconds so they redeem themselves in the end. This is a good example for being aware of the speed of your animation, particularly when text is involved.

DON’T: MAKE YOUR FILE SIZE TOO LARGE

From: American Eagle Outfitters
Date: 10/14/15
Subject Line: Last day for up to $50 off your purchase!
View the Animation

American Eagle backed their headline with a time lapse sunset. Great in concept, but HUGE in file size. Due to the size of the hero and length of the animation, this image is a whopping 14 megabytes! This will dramatically slow loading times, particularly for those viewing on mobile devises.

DON’T: ANIMATE MORE THAN YOU NEED TO

From: Charming Charlie
Date: 10/14/15
Subject Line: Ends tonight! Last chance BOGO jewelry.

This example from Charming Charlie is a good reminder to cut your GIFs in the most efficient way possible. Only the call to action blinks in this email, but the entire email was cut as a GIF. This resulted in a very low quality, grainy image. Keep in mind that GIFs don’t have the same color range as JPGs. Think ahead and cut your design appropriately. (NOTE: The web version of the GIF was actually higher quality than the one in the email. To see how it looked in the email, see the larger image above or click here.)

Lastly…
DON’T: FORGET OUTLOOK!

Remember to include all of your pertinent information (or the best looking portion of your animation) in the first frame. Why? Because Outlook doesn’t support animated gifs — they will only show the first frame.

A Hauntingly Fabulous Email

October 23, 2015October 23, 2015 Amy Hamilton

JibJab is scoring some major design points! Their emails are always sure to grab your attention by including your photo in a hilarious setting and/or using fun animated gifs. This email in particular went the extra mile.

From: JibJab
Date: 10/20/15
Subject Line: The Halloween Collection is Here
See it in Motion

I love their use of graphics from top to bottom. The animated flying bats, JibJab logo in the glowing full moon, haunted house, night sky backdrop, and spooky graveyard all give this email a very fun and unified look. All of the videos are tied together, each appearing inside a window of the haunted house. The animated gifs really grab your attention and set the tone. I especially like that each animation is unique – from dancing characters to flicking film, swaying monsters and a spooky glow. The borders around each call to action are also a nice touch. They even did a fantastic job optimizing this email for disabled images by using HTML text. Love, love, love this email. Happy Halloween, JibJab!

Get Your Video Moving

October 22, 2015 Amy Hamilton

Do you have a video to share? As email retailers are painfully aware, videos can’t be embedded into emails. But don’t let that stop you from getting the next best thing. Converting part of your video into an animated gif has multiple clear advantages. Right off the bat, the motion is sure to grab your subscribers’ attention. Furthermore, showing part of the video will give them a better idea about what to expect by clicking. Not to mention that the teaser is a great way to leave them wanting more.

When going this route there are a few things to keep in mind.
1) Animated gifs don’t support audio, so choose a part of the video that works best without sound.
2) Select the section of the video that is most interesting. You can only show a few seconds, so make them count.
3) If your gif is playing on a loop, make sure there isn’t an awkward transition from the end of the video to when it replays.
4) Don’t forget your call to action. Make sure people know the video is clickable by adding a play button to the video itself or a button nearby.
5) File size. Try to keep your video around or under 1-megabyte if possible for quicker loading time.

From: LOFT
Date: 9/28/15
Subject Line: LOFT loves Busy Philipps
See it in motion

Here is one example from LOFT. They chose a section of the video that contained the most humor and least amount of talking. They also added the play button to the center of the video throughout the gif. Both good calls. My only suggestion — I personally wish this video played on a loop. While reading or scrolling through the email, it’s easy to miss the beginning of the gif. Having it replay will ensure it gets viewed in it’s entirety.

From: Sephora Beauty Insider
Date: 9/23/15
Subject Line: The #1 beauty secret?
See it in motion

Sephora also chose a section of video that was most interesting. They doubled up on their call-to-actions by having a “Watch the Video” link as well as a play button in the corner of the video. The more the better, I say. I also wish the videos looped in this email.

An Eye Catching Retention Email

September 10, 2015 Amy Hamilton

This retention email from Bath & Body Works was fun! The animated gif grabbed my attention right away. The theme was cute with the product playing hide-and-seek (peek-a-boo) and asking “Where’d you go?” The call to action in the heart with the wording “Let’s Play!” was a nice touch. My only suggestion — I could always use a little more incentive (eh-hem, a discount, or at least some enticing new products to check out) to get me to click through. Overall, nicely done!

From: Bath & Body Works
Date: 8/31/15
Subject Line: Something’s missing.
See the animation.

Why West Elm is Killing It This Year

July 27, 2015 Amy Hamilton

Hands down, my favorite retail emails this year are from West Elm. I strongly suggest you subscribe and take notes! Here are just a few reasons why they’re nailing it:

1. Ability to Stay Current

Date: 07/18/2015
Subject Line: #treatyoself #snoozeyoulose #thatsaletho

This email cashed in on current trends of mobile viewing and social media commenting. I loved how the comments they came up with both highlighted the discount as well as added cute takes on the products. My favorite: “My apartment’s gunna be like #yaaaassss.” The hashtags in the subject line were extra icing on the cake. Amazing.

2. Originality

Date: 04/01/2015
Subject Line: Thanks for your order!

“Your Receipt From the Future,” as the email states. It’s designed to look like a receipt, but it’s a promotional email. I’ve never seen anything like it and I found it so interesting. I’m sure anyone that saw the subject line “Thanks for our order,” had a double take – wait, did I order something? I loved how instead of listing products by name they used phrases like, “That sofa you’ve been eyeing.” Their incorporation of the links were also well implemented. It was a departure from their regular, graphic-filled emails and I found it very fun.

3. Clever Copy

Date: 04/20/2015
Subject Line: 1 day only! This one’s a no-brainer.‏

This is just one of many examples highlighting their fun wordplay. I have to admit, I got a little chuckle when I read the numbered list.

4. Fun Animations

Date: 12/08/2014
Subject Line: Snow joke! FREE just for today…
See the full email

I absolutely LOVED these “Gift of the Day” gifs that appeared throughout the holiday season! They were such fun and well made animations that I looked forward to seeing every time.

Date: 02/11/2015
Subject Line: 20% off is ON. Right now.‏
See the full email

It would have been easy to just use the image of the lamps, but West Elm went the extra mile. They really made this email stand out by making the lights switch on and off. Also, take note of the wordplay in the subject line.

Date: 05/20/2015
Subject Line: EVERYTHING’S on sale. Starting…NOW!
See the full email

The perfectly aligned square design is hard enough to achieve on it’s own, but West Elm took it a step further by animating and swapping words to give this email layers of meaning. I watched, entranced, waiting to see which combinations they had come up with.