DJ Waldow, director of community at Blue Sky Factory, gives an email anatomy lesson and "dissects" the various parts of an email. Includes many examples and suggestions to improve.

1. Baltimore, Maryland
Blue Sky Factory
Driving Email Marketing Performance
The Anatomy of an Email
September 24, 2009
1:00 to 1:45 PM ET
DJ Waldow
Director of Community, Blue Sky Factory
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

2. About Blue Sky Factory
Blue Sky Factory is both a full & self service ESP.
Design, execute, and track your email marketing campaigns
with Publicaster ( that’s the name of our application)
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

3. About Blue Sky Factory (bonus)
We’re also a fun company with cool people
Fruitcakes
Talent
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

4. About DJ Waldow
DJ Waldow
@djwaldow
• Married, no children (yet)
• Salt Lake City, UT
• Dog, 3 cats
• U of Michigan, NY Giants
• Beer, coffee, people
• Former middle school teacher
• Director of Community, Blue Sky Factory
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

5. 30 Minutes of Anatomy, 15 Minutes of Q&A
• A thorough understanding of the various parts of an
email
• Examples of "good" and "bad" email designs
• Tips and advice on where to spend time when planning
email campaigns
• Suggestions to increase opens, clicks, and conversion
What I’m hoping you’ll leave with today:
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

6. 6 Parts of the Human Body
1. Head (Hair)
2. Face (Eyes, Nose, Mouth)
3. Neck & Upper Body
4. Abdomen (Guts)
5. Legs
6. Feet & Toes
6 Parts of an Email
1. Preheader
2. From Name/Subject Line
3. Header, Navigation, Hook
4. Main Call-to-Action
5. “Other Stuff”
6. Footer
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

7. Image Credit: http://images.mirror.co.uk
Human Body Email
Face (Eyes, Nose, Mouth) From Name/Subject Line
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

8. The Bad – From Name
1. David Axelrod: Who is David? (also too long)
2. concierge: Am I at a hotel?
3. register.welcome: Lazy. Lazy. Lazy.
4. data: Oops (see #3)
5. tim.westergen: I don’t know who that is. Do you?
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

9. The Good – From Name
Perfect. Why? Simple. Company name.
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

10. From Name Takeaway
The From Name
is a representation of
your company and/or brand.
Keep it simple. Be proud of it!
(Test)
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

11. The Bad – Subject Line
1. Don’t miss this: Spammy!
2. A Message from…: I still don’t know who Tim Westergren is.
3. Your upcoming…: Use the data you have.
4. Your receipt…: See #1 and #3.
5. TwitBacks Newsletter: Boooooring.
6. EasyUpdate…: I have no idea what that is? Brand?
7. djwaldow…: Be careful with first name personalization.
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

12. The Good – Subject Line
1. WEEKEND CLOSEOUTS…: It works. Trust me (they test)
2. 9 hours only!...: Sense of urgency.
3. Save up to 87%: Random number is catchy.
4. Miles or discount…: Intriguing. I have a choice?
5. 3 Minutes, 52 Seconds: Interest piqued (think: video)
6. REI Subscriber Exclusive…: Exclusivity.
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

13. Subject Line Takeaways
1. Length
2. Exclusivity
3. Call-to-Action
4. Sense of Urgency
5. Dare to be Different
6. (Test)
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

14. Image Credit: DJ Waldow (really)
Human Body Email
Head (Hair) Preheader
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

15. Preheader Options
• Snippet Text
• Whitelisting/Address Book Instructions
• View Images
• Call-to-Action
• Mobile Device
• F2F and/or SWYSN
• Advertising
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

16. The Bad
Too much preheaderNo preheader
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

17. The Good
• (2) Calls-to-action
• Mobile/Text
• View with Images
• Fun icons
• Bonus: “secondary preheader” above navigation bar
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

18. Preheader Takeaways
• Include it, but don’t over do it
• Size matters
• Be different
• Include call(s)-to-action
• Whitelisting option overrated?
• (Test)
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

19. More Preheader Information
Reportlet: Many Retailers Not Optimizing Preheader Text
Download the study
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

20. Human Body Email
Neck & Upper Body Header, Navigation, Hook
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

21. The Bad
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

22. The Bad
• Header: Weak
• Navigation: None.
• Hook: Appears to be “Hello DJ.”
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

23. The Good
Fabric.com email – Images Off
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

24. The Good
Fabric.com email – Images On
• Bulletproof buttons
• Clearance in red
• Clear header
• Hooks everywhere
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

25. Header, Navigation, Hook Takeaways
1. Make it Pop (credit: Lisa Harmon)
2. Bulletproof Buttons (credit: Lisa Harmon)
3. Whitespace, but not too much
4. Clear hooks
5. Play with the colors
6. (Test)
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

26. Image Credit: http://pix.motivatedphotos.com
Human Body Email
Abdomen (Guts) Main Call-to-Action
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

27. The Bad
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28. The Bad
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

29. The Bad
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

30. The Bad
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

31. The Bad
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

32. The Good
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

33. The Good (and Main Call-to-Action Takeaways)
1. Consistency: Subject, Preheader,
Image, Call-to-Action
2. Bulletproof Button (credit: Lisa Harmon)
3. Image/Text Balance
4. Colors
5. Animated gif
6. Many options to click
7. Clean
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

34. Image Credit: Flickr - derpunk
Human Body Email
Legs “Other Stuff”
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

35. The Bad
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

36. The Good
Image Credit:
RetailEmailBlog
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

37. The Good
Image Credit:
RetailEmailBlog
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

38. “Other Stuff” Takeaways
1. Bulletproof Button (credit: Lisa Harmon)
2. Image/Text Balance
3. Colors
4. White space
5. Many options to click
6. Clean
Note: Very similar to “Main Call-to-Action” Takeaways
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

39. Image Credit: Flickr (vernhart)
Human Body Email
Feet & Toes Footer
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

40. The Bad
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41. The Good
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

42. Footer Takeaways
• Unsubscribe
• Manage Preferences / Update Account
• SWYN / F2F / Other Social
• Tertiary Calls-to-Action
• Don’t Make Them Work For It
• Simple, Straightforward
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

43. “…delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to
people who actually want to get them.” S. Godin (1999)
Send Timely, Targeted, Relevant
Emails To Subscribers Who
Have Asked For Them
If You’ve Learned Nothing Else Today, Know This “Secret”
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

44. Flickr Photo: a2gemma
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

45. @djwaldow
http://djwaldow.com/
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=DJ Waldow
@blueskyfactory
http://blog.blueskyfactory.com/
http://www.blueskyfactory.com/
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Blue Sky Factory
Let’s Talk
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory