When Apple announced iOS 14’s upgraded user privacy ability, they — true to form — kicked off a trend.
It’s rumored that other tech giants like Google quickly followed suit with a more stringent usage of their consumer’s data, signaling, to watchful marketers, the coming of a cookie-less world.
(But before you panic, we’re not talking chocolate chunk here 🍪)
Without being able to use third-party data to effectively market your product or service, mastering email (which, today, is the marketing channel that will get you the best ROI) is now crucial to your growth strategy, making your email marketing campaigns are more important than ever.
If sending effective, relevant,engaging and consistent emails feels a bit like running on a hamster wheel, don’t worry — we’re here to help.
We’ve put together 5 email campaign examples from some of the top brands online to inspire you and get the creative juices flowing.
Campaign #1. Harry’s’ Happy Birthday to Us
Email Type: Event
Why We Love It: Harry’s avoids falling into the typical (and forgettable) “discounting trap” email with a campaign that approaches their promo in a non-promotional way.
Usually, when brands send out a birthday email “celebrating” the anniversary of their inception, it’s stacked with a coupon code promoting a special offer for email subscribers.
Not Harry’s. And that’s why this email is so great.
Coupon-stacked emails risk degrading their brand’s perception and trains customers to hold off on converting until they can nab a discount code.
Instead, Harry’s leverages this occasion to send a brand-building campaign email: highlighting customer favorites, and sharing their philanthropic wins.
Together, they’re helping build trust and goodwill with their audience,a quadruple whopper of a combo (yum).
Short, sweet and brimming with impact, this email effectively connects Harry’s with their audience with integrity.
Campaign #2. Warby Parker’s Social Proof
Email Type: Featured Reviews
Why We Love It: Warby Parker harnesses the power of their product and company reviews, using social proof to make subscribers feel safe and secure enough to convert.
Customer reviews play a critical role in consumers’ purchasing decision process — especially online, where over 90% of shoppers say that reviews are an important factor in their decision to make a purchase[*].
When you can’t interact with a physical product before you commit to it, this makes perfect sense.
As social creatures, we humans look to the behaviors of others to guide our choices. In this way, positive reviews offer a stamp of approval from our peers.
Plus, triggering a little bit of FOMO never hurts.
Here, Warby Parker’s review email campaign eases the risk of buying glasses online for their email subscribers.
Campaign #3. Magic Spoon’s Educational Sell
Email Type: Educational
Why We Love It: Don’t be fooled — educating their audience about milk types may seem unrelated to Magic Spoon’s core product line, but this email is actually extremely relevant.
I confess that, as a marketer, I rarely read an entire email, but this one was so educational, funny, and engaging, with gorgeous dynamic visuals, that the content sticks.
At first glance, you might be confused. Magic Spoon isn’t a milk company.
But if you look closer, it makes perfect sense.
Like peanut butter and jelly chocolate, cereal and milk are made for each other: most people use milk with their cereal, which means, for Magic Spoon, their customer’s enjoyment of their product depends on how well it pairs with their milk of choice.
Their customer retention hinges on this kind of education.
While educational, Magic Spoon keeps their email copy cheeky and a little quirky, exactly what loyal customers expect and love from the brand.
Campaign #4. HalfTee’s Engagement Email
Email Type: Engagement
Why We Love It: To engage their subscribers, HalfTee asks a “This or That” question in this email.
Quizzing your audience might seem shallow, but it actually kickstarts momentum and helps to segment your audience.
How?
Because, like the personality assessments we love to take, product recommendation quizzes serve to satisfy our very human desire to identify with a group.
As a bonus, marketers benefit from gaining information to segment your audience and personalize your customer’s experience: leading to healthier relationships and, in turn, more conversions.
In this email, HalfTee asks subscribers which color is their favorite by clicking on either Black or White.
Another win: when users tap on their favorite color, the interaction acts as a positive signal for email deliverability.
Campaign #5. Headspace’s Start Small Email
Email Type: Promotion
Why We Love It: Have a product with a learning curve? Take a page out of Headspace’s playbook, encouraging engagement with their product by helping email subscribers understand how to start small with their platform .
Meditation, a daunting concept for beginners, is made simple through their short and sweet email campaign. By encouraging users to start with 10 minutes of meditation per day, Headspace makes their product more accessible and approachable, enabling adoption and kickstarting habitual, daily practice (the ultimate gold standard for customer retention).
They also soft sell Headspace Plus, their paid plan, in a natural, contextual way.
Use These Email Marketing Campaign Examples to Inspire Your Own
Between understanding email deliverability, building your email list, and setting up automated onboarding and abandoned cart emails, email marketing is a critical focus for most growth marketers.
But writing, designing, and sending awesome email campaigns consistently can be overwhelming.
Struggling to come up with ideas for your email campaigns?
Get inspired by looking at what other brands are doing, and use these 5 email marketing campaigns as a launchpad for your next brainstorming session.
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