Last week we teamed up with Really Good Emails‘ co-founder, Matt Helbig, to highlight the unforgettable emails of 2019. All in all, it truly has been a great year for email. We’re positively seeing entrepreneurs unleash their artistic skills creating all kinds of masterpieces on their email canvases.
If we needed to summarize this yr in email, we’d characterize 2019 as a yr that noticed an aggressive elevating of the bar—emails will not be solely visually beautiful, however they’re keying in on key attributes that hammer dwelling excessive engagement: enjoyable and precious content material, individualized and considerate messaging, and classy and chic UX design.
The Best of the Best
We sifted by a whole bunch (perhaps 1000’s?) of email submissions in preparation for this best-of-2019 webinar. To be trustworthy, it wasn’t straightforward narrowing down such a big pool and choosing categorical favorites. But we did it! And the outcomes have been superior.
In this publish, we need to shout out all of our nominees and acknowledge the email advertising and marketing groups who’re making the magic occur. We’ve constructed a gallery* of this yr’s unforgettable emails by class under—take a stroll by, browse, mirror, and discover your inspiration for 2020!
*Note: click on the hyperlinked firm names to go to Really Good Emails’ detailed evaluation of every email.
Best Welcome Message
By now we’ve all come to acknowledge the significance of an excellent welcome marketing campaign. These three examples from Glitch, Headspace and Hawthorne definitely knew make an inbox entrance.
Elements of memorable welcome messages:
- Colors, format, and visible cues to maintain the eyes transferring
- Friendly and welcoming copy, illustrations, and “feel”
- Interesting data that brings you into the product
Jump to: 3:41
Best Variation on the “Year in Review” Format
“Year in Review” emails are a good way to showcase personalization and remind your clients simply how a lot they cherished you. The New York Time and Fanduel took two very totally different, but equally efficient approaches towards recapping a yr’s price of engagement.
Elements of memorable “Year in Review” emails:
- New context purposes exterior of simply the calendar yr
- Interesting shows of how and the place you’re participating
- Ultra-personalized, dynamic content material
Jump to: 7:25
“Something Different”
In our advertising and marketing world, model means expressing your model’s “self” by buyer messaging. Baggu, Baboon, and WeTransfer did their factor and earned a spot in our minds as 2019 tastemakers.
Elements of memorable “Different” messages:
- Non-conventional design, stylings, and layouts
- Offbeat however pleasing makes use of of colours and fonts
- New approaches on methods of visually standing out
Jump to: 10:56
Social/Political/Charitable Efforts
2019 marked a yr the place manufacturers have been acknowledged for taking a stance and having viewpoints on cultural issues. Penzey’s, Airbnb, and American Red Cross used their email platforms to pursue endeavors that mattered to them and their clients.
Elements of memorable cause-based messages:
- Use of advertising and marketing to advocate for model views or initiatives
- Moving narrative or storytelling that builds sentiment
- Community-focused initiatives
Jump to: 15.58
Best Use of Dark Mode
Consumers rapidly flocked to “dark mode” settings throughout their gadgets this yr. Savvy email entrepreneurs like DesignModo, Bellroy, and Bose have been fast to leap on the pattern and play to client preferences.
Elements of memorable Dark Mode messages:
- Balanced use of distinction and shade saturation
- Product imagery that pops on darkish layouts
- Subtle design aptitude
Jump to: 21:37
Most Talked-About Email of the Year
Emailing with empathy is an attribute of manufacturers who actually perceive their audiences—some very self-aware advertising and marketing. Blooms & Wild made waves this yr by recognizing that sure holidays resonate otherwise with sure folks.
Elements of Most Talked-About messages:
- Showing clients the model cares about you
- Serving the buyer earlier than the model
- Easy management over messaging
Jump to: 24:36
Best Shark Week-Themed Email
Once a yr, the good people at Discovery Channel bless us with a week-long bingefest of fascinating shark programming. The energy of Shark Week is aware of no bounds and types like Joann Fabrics and Crafts weren’t afraid to check the shark-themed waters in hopes of tuning into client developments.
Elements of memorable Shark Week messages:
- Brand-applicable makes use of of shark themes
- Fun, goofy, and lighthearted tie-ins
- Appreciation of the Shark Week cultural phenomenon
Jump to: 31:18
Best Use of Illustrations
Oooooh, fairly! Brands positively introduced the artistic warmth in 2019 and located methods to maximise the visible attraction of their emails. Magic Spoon, Casper, and Today discovered their inventive muse and leveraged stunning illustration to inform a artistic model story.
Elements of memorable Illustration use:
- Fun methods of showcasing model persona
- New design spins for breaking apart sections and format
- Clever methods of complementing text-heavy messages
Jump to: 32:10
Best Interactive Email
Interactivity is the subsequent frontier of email advertising and marketing, and Harry’s is off any operating forward of the pack. We’ve given the 2019 Grand Champion award to the people over at Harry’s for this elegant and fascinating interactive email—their email had all of it: intriguing idea, elegant design, attention-grabbing copy, and in-message interactivity.
Elements of memorable Interactive messages:
- Delivering “surprise and delight”
- Tying collectively interactive email enter to product output
- Captivating copy to entice recipients to interact
Jump to: 34:41
The screenshots you see right here communicate for themselves. Email entrepreneurs are did some very, very cool issues in 2019. This recap solely scratches the floor of what we completely cherished about these unforgettable emails. If you didn’t get an opportunity to observe the webinar, you’ll want to catch the recording for detailed evaluation and dialogue!
As we shut out 2019, let’s study from our group and hold pushing the boundaries of email advertising and marketing! Cheers to you all, and let’s see what 2020 has in retailer for the world of email!