E-mail Applied: Effective E-mails That Sell

Every e-mail has Sephora’s brand name in the upper-left corner followed by a major department listing that links to its most important site areas. Sephora uses a mix of hand-drawn images and product shots to create a distinctive look. It also uses variations of a multicolumn design.

Notice that there is a good amount of text in the e-mail. If readers experience image blocking, some of the product information still will be displayed.

The subhead for Sephora’s e-mail program is “Expert Tips and Tricks.” This is a smart move, because women generally want information on how to use make-up products. As long as Sephora delivers on this promise, its audience is likely to open its e-mails.

Directly above is a different implementation of Sephora’s distinctive look.

What you can’t see: Sephora wisely uses ALT tags to name each image. If recipients position their mouse over a product, the name of the product is displayed. Also, ALT tags may still be visible, even if there are display problems with pictures. Each product shot is linked directly to the appropriate page on the site.

3. Mix it up.

You’ll probably run special offers, such as sales or free shipping. Use these offers strategically and sparingly. Special offers represent the perfect time to depart from your regular template and employ a “postcard” style format.

Of course, your subject line is your first line of defense, but your e-mail can use a different approach.

Here are some examples.

This Coldwater Creek e-mail (below) is a typical example of promotional e-mail. The offer dominates the e-mail; it includes branding and links to Coldwater’s most important shopping categories, so shoppers immediately can navigate to their area of interest.

This e-mail is all one image, but Coldwater didn’t use ALT tags. So, if there’s a display problem due to image blocking, recipients only will see the dreaded red X and an empty e-mail.