1. 2013
The Best of the
Email
Swipe
File

2. The Best of the
Email
Swipe
File
A swipe file is a record of your top-performing campaigns that you return
to for learnings and ideas. It was this concept that inspired us to create the
Email Swipe File on Pinterest, where we share the emails and landing pages
that excite and impress us. In this report, we highlight the 20 examples from
the pinboard that we most hope you’ll steal, test, and make your own.
Explore bonus Swipe File content online →
On their own, the examples on the following pages are inspiring
and thought-provoking. However, together they represent five trends
that define where great email marketing design is headed:
Mobile-Friendly
The wide screens of desktops are being rapidly replaced by more modest
tablet screens and challengingly small smartphone screens, and the
pixel-precision of mice is being replaced by fingers on touchscreens.
This transition is having a dramatic effect on email design and ushering
in a variety of new tactics.
Personalization
In the era of email engagement, greater relevancy has become imperative.
Personalization is one of the key ways that marketers can make their
messages more personally relevant to their subscribers.
Triggered Sophistication
Triggered emails are among the most successful emails you’ll ever send.
Their outsized ROI has inspired some marketers to explore ways to make
them ever better—with longer campaigns, smarter content, and better triggers.
Editorial Voice
Content marketing is having a major influence on product marketers, who are
realizing that advice, tips, and customer inclusion create more engaging emails
with fewer discounts.
Kristina Huffman
Design Practice Lead
ExactTarget
@ETDesign
Inspired Fundamentals
While marketers are constantly gaining new tools to make their emails more
effective, they shouldn’t forget the fundamental design tactics that have continued
to be effective for years.

3. Mobile-Friendly
Kickstarter
Type:
Promotional email
Send Date:
January 8, 2013
Subject Line:
The Best of Kickstarter 2012
View the Kickstarter email on Pinterest →
View similar pins:
Tumblr →
Meetup →
The email is super simple and super straightforward.
With a headline, three sentences, and a threecharacter call-to-action, the email provokes interest
and propels the subscriber to the rich, slideshow
landing page.
- hris Studabaker, Regional Manager
C
4
2013 •
The Best of the Email Swipe File
pinterest.com/exacttarget/email-swipe-file • 2013
5

4. Mobile-Friendly
TOMS Shoes
Type:
Promotional email
Send Date:
April 12, 2013
Subject Line:
New Ballet Flats free shipping on all orders!
View the TOMS email on Pinterest →
View similar pins:
Starwood →
REI →
UGG →
The really interesting thing about TOMS’ use of
responsive design in this email is that the hero image
is animated only in the narrow screen version, with
the shoes changing as the feet push back and forth.
They are serving up a mobile-sized gif instead of
cramming a desktop-sized gif onto a mobile screen,
keeping load time as quick as possible.
- ristina Huffman, Design Practice Lead
K
6
2013 •
The Best of the Email Swipe File
pinterest.com/exacttarget/email-swipe-file • 2013
7

5. Mobile-Friendly
Moosejaw
Type:
Promotional email
Send Date:
January 7, 2013
Subject Line:
It worked for Obama...
View the Moosejaw email on Pinterest →
View similar pins:
Icelandic Tourism Board →
A catchy, intriguing, topical subject line introduces
a mobile-friendly, plain-text email that’s well-suited
to convey the concise message. Both this email and
the text-heavy emails of the campaign season are
reminders that plain text can still be very effective,
particularly in the age of mobile.
- Laura Earley, Associate Designer
8
2013 •
The Best of the Email Swipe File
pinterest.com/exacttarget/email-swipe-file • 2013
9

6. Mobile-Friendly
Reiss
Type:
Promotional email
Send Date:
April 14, 2013
Subject Line:
Textured Summer Knits + London Lives Video
View the Reiss email on Pinterest →
Designed in nice screen-sized chunks with large
images and big buttons, this “mobile aware”
email is perfect for tablets, but still functional on
smartphones. Unlike many brands, this UK retailer
also made their navigation bars at the top and
bottom of their email mobile-friendly.
- Abul Kashim Siddique, Senior Design Consultant
10
2013 •
The Best of the Email Swipe File
pinterest.com/exacttarget/email-swipe-file • 2013
11

7. Personalization
Jetsetter
Type:
Preference center
View the Jetsetter preference center on Pinterest →
View similar pins:
Fab.com →
Jetsetter’s preference center collects subscriber
preferences for ‘Destinations’, ‘Activities’, and ‘Scenes’,
all of which are vital to creating highly targeted
travel offers. Their preference center also addresses
three of the most common reasons that subscribers
opt out­ too many emails, irrelevant emails,
—
and change of address.
- ndrea Smith
A
Design Lead, Content Marketing Research
12
2013 •
The Best of the Email Swipe File
pinterest.com/exacttarget/email-swipe-file • 2013
13

8. Personalization
Fitbit
Type:
Notification
Send Date:
April 23, 2013
Subject Line:
Your Weekly Progress Report in Fitbit!
View the Fitbit email on Pinterest →
View similar pins:
LinkedIn →
Through their wireless trackers, scales, and mobile
tools, Fitbit collects a lot of information about
their users’ activities, diet, and sleep. To keep your
progress top of mind, Fitbit sends you a summary of
your stats from the past week. They also email you
notifications when you earn badges for reaching
certain milestones.
- Hannah Kleyn, Design Consultant
14
2013 •
The Best of the Email Swipe File
pinterest.com/exacttarget/email-swipe-file • 2013
15

9. Personalization
Lowe’s
Type:
Progressive profiling email
Send Date:
March 13, 2013
Subject Line:
Version 1: Personalize your savings this spring
Version 2: A Quick Question to Customize Your Emails
View the Lowe’s email on Pinterest →
Looking to gather data to power some segmented
seasonal messaging, Lowe’s sent this tablet-friendly
progressive profiling email asking subscribers about
their plans for the spring. The home improvement
retailer geo-targeted the email to areas where spring had
arrived and also ran a subject line A/B test to better
understand what would compel the most subscribers
to provide more information about themselves.
- Amanda Monroe, Associate Designer
16
2013 •
The Best of the Email Swipe File
pinterest.com/exacttarget/email-swipe-file • 2013
17

10. Personalization
IVCi
Type:
Promotional email
Send Date:
Q2 2013
Subject Line:
IVCi conversation
View the IVCi email on Pinterest →
While most emails work best as HTML emails,
we’ve found that drip emails are the most successful
when they’re in a rich text format, which makes
them appear as though they’re a one-to-one
communication between a sales rep and a prospect.
This email from IVCi is short, conversational,
and includes a personalized signature to enhance
the impression that the email is coming directly
from a sales rep.
- Mathew Sweezey, Marketing Evangelist
18
2013 •
The Best of the Email Swipe File
pinterest.com/exacttarget/email-swipe-file • 2013
19

11. Welcome 1
Triggered Sophistication
Welcome 4
Zulily
Type:
Welcome email series
Subject Lines:
Welcome 1: Get shopping credit! Invite your pals to join zulily too
Welcome 2: Go ahead ... play favorites
Welcome 3: Anytime. Anywhere. Take zulily with you.
Welcome 4: Calling all social butterflies
Welcome 5: Smart shopping is your superpower
Welcome 2
View the Zulily series on Pinterest →
Welcome 5
Welcome 3
View similar pins:
Target →
Crate Barrel →
With the vast majority of marketers still sending
a single welcome email, Zulily is well ahead of the
curve with this five-email welcome series that seeks
a closer relationship with new subscribers by asking
for referrals, asking about their favorite brands,
and promoting their mobile app and social presence.
- ndrea Smith
A
Design Lead, Content Marketing Research
20
2013 •
The Best of the Email Swipe File
pinterest.com/exacttarget/email-swipe-file • 2013
21

12. Triggered Sophistication
Foursquare
Type:
Welcome home triggered email
Send Date:
March 2013
Subject Line:
Welcome back from your trip! How was it?
View the Foursquare email on Pinterest →
Not only does this email use responsive design
to target Foursquare’s highly mobile users,
it is triggered by check-in patterns that involve
airports and locations outside of my normal
stomping grounds.
- ristina Huffman, Design Practice Lead
K
22
2013 •
The Best of the Email Swipe File
pinterest.com/exacttarget/email-swipe-file • 2013
23

13. Triggered Sophistication
Crutchfield
Type:
Browse abandonment email
Send Date:
November 2012
Subject Line:
Digital SLR Cameras: Our top picks
View the Crutchfield email on Pinterest →
This browse abandonment email tries to get at the
reason why you didn’t purchase in the same way that
a good store associate would. It features the product
you browsed, but then also suggests a new arrival,
featured price drop, top-seller, and customer favorite
in case you were looking for the newest product,
the best deal, or social validation.
- had White, Principal of Marketing Research
C
24
2013 •
The Best of the Email Swipe File
pinterest.com/exacttarget/email-swipe-file • 2013
25

14. Editorial Voice
Twitter
Type:
Promotional email
Send Date:
December 20, 2012
Subject Line:
See the most popular Tweet of 2012
View the Twitter campaign on Pinterest →
This email does a great job of drawing you in.
The subject line makes you wonder what the top
tweet was, and the email makes you wonder which of
the topics shown was the top tweet, all with the goal
of enticing you to click through.
- hris Studabaker, Regional Manager
C
26
2013 •
The Best of the Email Swipe File
View similar pins:
Barnes Noble
pinterest.com/exacttarget/email-swipe-file • 2013
27

15. Editorial Voice
J.Crew
Type:
Gender-segmented email
Send Date:
July 1, 2012
Subject Line:
Female Version: My favorite summer whites
Male Version: Shoes are required. Socks are not.
View the J.Crew emails on Pinterest →
View similar pins:
Neiman Marcus →
NFL Shop →
More marketers are taking a “content first” approach
to selling. This J. Crew email does an excellent job of
leading with advice on etiquette and style to build
trust and to give their subscribers the confidence
to move forward with purchases.
- Mike Diekhoff, Design Consultant
28
2013 •
The Best of the Email Swipe File
pinterest.com/exacttarget/email-swipe-file • 2013
29

16. Editorial Voice
Pandora
Type:
Promotional email
Send Date:
April 12, 2013
Subject Line:
Thanks to You: 200 Million Strong
View the Pandora email on Pinterest →
View similar pins:
JetBlue →
Barnes Noble →
Infographics were the biggest new trend in
B2B marketing last year. This year we’re seeing
infographics make their mark on B2C marketing,
as in this Pandora email, which includes interesting
figures on their growth.
- hris Studabaker, Regional Manager
C
30
2013 •
The Best of the Email Swipe File
pinterest.com/exacttarget/email-swipe-file • 2013
31

17. Editorial Voice
Levi’s
Type:
Promotional email
Send Date:
April 9, 2013
Subject Line:
Denim Die-Hards‫‏‬
View the Levi’s campaign on Pinterest →
Partnering with fashion website Refinery29 to get
their interpretation of 501 jeans for the photo gallery
presentation in this email is just the beginning of
this social-driven campaign. Subscribers are asked,
“What’s your interpretation?” and encouraged
to upload photos of themselves styling 501s,
and ultimately asked to vote on a Pinterest-inspired
landing page to determine which finalist is the winner.
- Tana Babcock, Design Consultant
32
2013 •
The Best of the Email Swipe File
pinterest.com/exacttarget/email-swipe-file • 2013
33

18. Animation
Inspired Fundamentals
Havaianas Australia
Type:
Promotional email
Send Date:
April 18, 2013
Subject Line:
Disney for BIG Kids!
View the Havaianas Australia email on Pinterest →
View similar pins:
Home Depot →
Bed Bath Beyond →
This Australian sandal-maker did a great job
of recognizing a wonderful opportunity to use
animation in a delightful way, making clever use of
the Cheshire Cat’s penchant for mostly disappearing.
- Lindsey O’Donnell, Design Consultant
34
2013 •
The Best of the Email Swipe File
pinterest.com/exacttarget/email-swipe-file • 2013
35

19. Inspired Fundamentals
Jack Spade
Type:
Promotional email
Send Date:
March 21, 2013
Subject Line:
Watch Out! $98 Graphic Watches Are In
View the Jack Spade email on Pinterest →
View similar pins:
Sephora →
Jonathan Adler →
Clean simplicity is the new sweet spot for email
design and this email delivers by keeping the
headline and call-to-action above the fold and using
a mix of illustration and product shots to intrigue
and get subscribers scrolling.
- Anna Meier, Design Consultant
36
2013 •
The Best of the Email Swipe File
pinterest.com/exacttarget/email-swipe-file • 2013
37

20. Inspired Fundamentals
CB2
Type:
Promotional email
Send Date:
December 1, 2012
Subject Line:
get her this
View the CB2 email on Pinterest →
View similar pins:
Canadian Tourism →
Tiffany Co. →
Gift guides are a major selling tool during the holiday
season. CB2 takes this concept and turns it into
a fun, interactive decision tree that all starts with
rating the gift-recipient on a scale of 1 to 10. It’s hard
to resist following every path to its recommended gift.
- Ryan Alvis, Design Consultant
38
2013 •
The Best of the Email Swipe File
pinterest.com/exacttarget/email-swipe-file • 2013
39

21. Inspired Fundamentals
Anthropologie
Type:
Promotional email
Send Date:
March 15, 2013
Subject Line:
Denim on the rise | Free shipping
View the Anthropologie email on Pinterest →
View similar pins:
Lands’ End →
The White House →
This email proves the adage that a picture’s worth
a thousand words by making it super easy to see
at a glance the difference between Anthropologie’s
different denim styles. For good measure, they also
include some words, offering advice on what to wear
with each style.
- had White, Principal of Marketing Research
C
40
2013 •
The Best of the Email Swipe File
pinterest.com/exacttarget/email-swipe-file • 2013
41

22. Images off
Inspired Fundamentals
Bendon Lingerie
Type:
Promotional email
Send Date:
May 8, 2013
Subject Line:
Something extra for you: buy any 2 items, get the 3rd free.
View the Bendon Lingerie email on Pinterest →
View similar pins:
Mothercare →
Orbitz →
Images on
Rather than seeing image blocking as an obstacle,
this Australian lingerie retailer saw it as an
opportunity to use a mosaic of color blocked table
grids to send a simple heart-shaped message.
While many marketers use mosaics to emulate the
images-on creative, Bendon Lingerie chose not to
be limited by that.
- irk Barlow, Senior Deliverability Marketing Consultant
K
42
2013 •
The Best of the Email Swipe File
pinterest.com/exacttarget/email-swipe-file • 2013
43

23. Want more?
View the Email Swipe File on Pinterest →
View the Facebook Swipe File on Pinterest →
exacttarget.com