Happy Mother's Day You Stink

With less than a week to go before Mother's Day (don't worry, US friends, we celebrate a little earlier in the UK; you haven't missed it!), my inbox is chock-full of suggested gifts to recognise the occasion.

And for good reason—Mother's Day brings in over £1.5 billion in sales in the UK alone, and eager marketing departments are keen to grab their a slice of the action.

Here are two that stood out... for different reasons.

First up, a surprising contender for the Mother's Day crown
​
Wild... a natural-deodorant brand:

I'm not sure Wild have quite thought this one through. I can just about hear the reaction I'd get handing my Mam a deodorant for Mother's Day, and it would cost me a bottle of gin to make up for it.

This approach just comes across as lazy. "Just stick a flowery image and say something about making her feel special."

And I get it—it can be tough to come up with new email ideas and angles to promote your product (it's what people pay me to do, after all!), and recognising key dates through the year is Marketing 101, but you've got to try harder than this.

Now don't get me wrong, Wild is a great product (I use it), but it isn't a great gift unless you are 1000% confident it would be well received. Happy Mother's Day, Mum! FYI, you stink is not going to make her feel special.

It could have worked had they leaned into the inappropriate gift message, with a wry nod to it not going down well, but no.

They could have highlighted why Wild is a better choice than a regular deodorant—again, no. They showcase a few scents and a case that's covered in hearts 🙄.

I really think they should have sat this one out.

Next up is Interflora. With flowers being the go-to gift idea, Interflora are the first choice for many (I'm not including the petrol station last-minute purchasers, here!).

Interflora are almost on the money here. A great image that isn't cliche or saccharine-sweet and an emotive headline.

They've got the date and a decent call to action, but there are two things that don't quite hit home for me.

First, the 'late night phone call.'

Is that a thing? In my mind, the late night phone call is likely to be a friend, not your Mum. How many Mothers are up chatting to their darling daughter until the early hours? Not that many I'd imagine.

I may be wrong here, but what was at first glance, a strong emotional lead misses the mark a little—especially as there are tonnes of other angles they could have gone with. Free baby sitter. Source of advice and support. Always available for a lunch date etc.

But they may have some market research that suggests otherwise!

And secondly, the tiny "Mum will thank you" eyebrow copy above the image. This appears as preiew text in my inbox and, in my opinion, is a terrible choice.

What started off as a way to mam Sunday super special, has now become an exercise of self-interest and highlighting that I'll get thanks out giving flowers.

There are so many other lines that they could have used:

Show her she's loved, or With a spectacular floral tribute, or even their age-old slogan Say it with flowers would be much more in-keeping than this strangely self-congratulatory angle they chose.

Overall, it's not a bad email, just not perfect (and it's certainly preferable to Wild's!)

So there you have it—two Mother's Day emails with neither quite hitting the mark.

Is this *really* the launch I've been waiting for?

One thing about me, is that I love music. Always have, and I've always got music playing in my house.

I know some people can't concentrate or be creative with their tunes on, but it's only a problem for me when I really need to focus—and then I turn to classical or brain.fm, which is weirdly effective.

And on my quest to fill every room with my house with music led me to discover SONOS many years ago.

These WiFi speakers aren't cheap, but they're ideal. They enable different music in different rooms and don't broadcast those annoying Slack notification chirrups throughout the house in the same way bluetooth speakers do.

So when SONOS sends a teaser email abut a new product launch, I sit up and pay attention.

But...

This one missed the mark.

Take a look:

Subject Line:
​The launch you’ve been waiting for

Preview text:

well... gobbledygook:

So the subject line is fairly effective... it teases something is coming and that's enough to get audiophiles to open up... but then they've done nothing about the preview text—just the HTML code from their email.

If you did open it, "Get ready for a new era of sound." is...Ok, but that's it.

Now I've got nothing against teasing new products and bulding excitment... it can be crazy-effective, but how can the good people at SONOS claim I've been waiting for this launch if they give me zero indication what on earth it's going to be for?

Is it Sets? Speakers? Home Theatre? Accessories? Something entirely different?

Then there's the timer—nothing wrong with it in principle, but I first looked at that on Friday when it was a little higher and has been tirelessly counting down since:

There's been nothing since. Radio silence.

Now as an email marketer who often charges by the email, I'll always tell you to send more (and with good reason!!), but here, SONOS are relying on their customers memories to do all the heavy lifting.

You can't maintain excitement for 4 days with zero knowledge of what you're getting excited about.

It's only weridos like me who intend to critique them who would even bother to hunt their email out again.

And then finally, there's that call to action.

Ok, extra points for more intrigue... and maybe a shout out to the classic Fugees' track, but the button takes me to their home page where there is ZERO mention of an impending launch.

Not a jot.

There's zero congruency–only confusion.

Is the hope that customers will click and buy something even knowing there's a mystery new product on the way?

Admittedly, they have no idea what's coming, but even the most savvy shoppers will expect a new era of music to be something of interest, or at least result in their current line being discounted slightly.

This email had so much potential, but unfortunately, missed the mark in a number of areas.

Such as:

1. Use the preview text! It's free real estate!

2. Give me something to go on - speaker? Soundbar? Software? Something else?

3. If you're counting down, send more emails! You could really get a bit of a fever pitch going and get some pre-sold customers chomping at the bit.

4. Relating to that, and fair play to try and sell in this email, but come on...! It's not going to be very effective. Instead, get people to jump on a waitlist, or even get the inside track an hour early or something! and...

5. If you're getting people to click, don't just dump them on the homepage. Have a landing page ready to really tease what's coming! Again, early access, a few mystery pics shrouded in smoke, an interview with some big-wig talking about how ground-breaking this product is.

Come on, SONOS! This is the launch I've been waiting for, after all. Put some effort in!

All being said, I will check out their site in a few hours...

I wonder what it could be?!

A great pattern-interrupt by SPOKE

SPOKE, a brand specialising in high-quality and (comparatively high) price points, have an interesting email game.

and:

and even:

But headline puns aside, they pulled a great pattern interrupt out of their pocket over the weekend.

I'll save the plain-text vs design-led debate for another email, but SPOKE aren't afraid of switching things up once in a while.

The image reads:

Hi there,

Hope you're having a cracking Sunday.

A quick non-trousering update from the product team here at SPOKE towers: you can now get £18 off when you buy two Oxford Shirts.

They're available in your pick of 40 sizes and five colours, all cut in a soft, premium stretch cotton. A smart-casual staple, and the perfect way to start your early season wardrobe refresh.

Click here to be taken straight to them. And if you have any questions at all, just shout.

Keep well,

Sallie

Product Guru

SPOKE

I think this email is spot on. The tone of voice is casual, friendly, and a distinct one-on-one conversation compared to the usual billboard ads that drop into the old inbox. It's brief, doesn't take itself too seriously and links directly to the product (twice). The discount is automatically applied, too.

I wouldn't be surprised if this email converts well—the plain text lends itself to primary inbox placement, and the discount, although not incredibly generous, may be enough to persuade people to buy.

SPOKE aren't Primark-style discount, and they're not high-end designer, but they offer a huge range of fits and high-quality fabric, but it comes at a price. 

£160 for two shirts isn't your multi-pack Next workshirts, the staple of many an office worker, but for those willing to pay extra for good fit and quality, SPOKE are a great choice—they know their market and play to it it.

Of course, there are changes I'd make...

• "Hi, there" doesn't get things off to the best start—especially when they have my details and could personalise the greeting. In my view, the benefits of personalisation outweigh the slight conversion hit asking for first and last names would bring.

• The product description is a bit cliche—I'd have tried to inject a little more personality into it and also talk about the benefits of this soft, premium stretch cotton. No one wants to spend all day in a shirt that's a touch too tight—it wouldn't have taken that much

• Finally, I'm not a huge fan of the "Product Guru" job title...

Now I get it, I’m fussy, and I'll always be on the lookout for things to improve, yet this is a great example of an email done right—more brands should take inspiration from SPOKE!

Brand Breakdown: Coffee Hit

This morning I got an email that made me smile.

It's from a Coffee Hit who sell coffee machines as well as coffee beans, so straight away they're in my caffeinated good books.

Coincidentally, it came in just as I was formulating a plan to start to writing email breakdowns to showcase brands that are doing a great job with their email game.

Coffee Karma!

So, that's enough preamble, let's dig in!

Subject Line

Free Express Delivery For Today Only!

As subject lines go, it's a bit Ronseal. It does exactly what it says on the tin—no harm there. It doesn't hint at the fun they have in the email itself, though.

Could they have done more with it? Sure. Subject lines are a tricky beast, and there's always another angle you could try.

Personally, I would test this against a more creative route and see if there was a noticeable difference.

Hero Section

Opening up the email, at first glance, it looks like every other eCom email—design-rich adverts prompting you to buy.

Hero Section

I love their Great Coffee, Made Simple strap line—straight to the point.

But the best thing is their discount code—ESPRESSODELIVERY.

They're having fun with it while tying it into their brand and product. It's fun, and it raises a wry smile.

Great job.

Copy

Now the fun begins!

Hello Coffee Lover,

It’s December 16th already and you should be lapping up the mince pies and mulled wine in peace. Instead, you’ve had the dreaded realisation that you’ve missed a present off your list – oh, the panic. You’re not one to leave people wanting but ordering something this close to the big day and having it wrapped and under the tree in time feels like a bit of a stretch even for you!

This is a clever way to talk to the pain points of just about anyone this close to Christmas—the panic and guilt of forgetting to buy a present—or worse, being given a present and having nothing to hand back. But they don't lay it on thick. No one wants to feel that much pressure first thing in the morning—when they're probably drinking their morning coffee!

They also throw in a couple of compliments, too— You're not one to leave people wanting and feels like a bit of a stretch, even for you!

They didn't need to include this, but added to the Coffee Lover salutation, here's a brand looking to make their customers feel good without being fawning and OTT.

And who doesn't want that?!

They follow this with a nice pivot to their offer (plus a link to their site).

But worry not, because we at Coffee Hit aren’t ones to see you suffer… For today only, we’re here to give you the gift of…

FREE EXPRESS DELIVERY

But they don't stop there—there's more fun to be had:

We haven’t all got a magic sleigh that carts us around the world to drop off our Christmas presents, so we’re giving you the next best thing.

While we can’t guarantee next-day delivery (post can have a mind of its own this time of year!) we can do our best by offering you Free Express Delivery across our website.

In a country dominated by most public services going on strike today, they set expectations that they can't guarantee and offer to do their best.

And the image of a magic sleigh carting someone around the world to drop off presents is always going to go down well.

One thing I'd be careful about here is we haven't all got and while we can't guarantee in quick succession does leave a negative spin on this section (it's subtle, but it's there). I'd suggest reordering these paragraphs or rewording them.

Maybe Now I wish we had a magic sleigh, and while we'll get it on its way ASAP, it'll be in the hands of a courier, so we can't guarantee.

This positive reframing just removes any chance of a customer being talked out of buying as they can't be sure it'll make it on time.

One other thing I'd tweak is I'd add the discount code into the URL for Coffee Hit's site.

They use Klaviyo for their ESP (most Shopify stores do, it's pretty amazing), and it's a simple line of code they add to the link text—it's not the sort of thing you know off the top of your head, but there's an easy tutorial on Klaviyo's website.

This is a great extra step you can take, so the discount is applied automatically. It's one less thing to worry about, and for hurried Christmas shoppers who may not notice a delivery charge going on their bill when they forget to add the code, it reduces the risk of customer service issues.

There are also few S's in the ESPRESSODELIVERY that’s just asking people may accidentally misspell it.

(and don’t get me started on expresso 😖)

This is quite a short email, and Paul, the owner (and presumably the writer of the email), doesn't hang around in wrapping up—hey, we're all busy, so I'm sure customers appreciate him getting to the point:

​To make the most of this one-time offer, enter code ESPRESSODELIVERY at the checkout. But remember, this is only for today, so don’t take too long in deciding what to order. The last guaranteed shipping dates for Christmas delivery is Friday 16th December (48 hour) and Monday 19th December (24 hour).

Happy shopping!

Paul Radin

Owner, Coffee Hit

There's urgency (today only), a repeat of the delivery code that can be copy-and-pasted (nicely done!), and we've got a bold deadline disclaimer for shipping.

It may have been an idea to deviate from what I presume is the standard sign-off with a Merry Christmas message, but it's a small thing.

So, what are the key takeaways?

1. Have fun with discount codes

2. Inject personality into the copy rather than an image-only advert in my inbox

3. Short, clear, and to the point

4. If you're offering a discount code, have it apply automatically to make it easier on customers so they're more likely to spend with you!

Good job, Coffee Hit!