Get the Click: Winnie's Organic Animal Products
Preview without Images
Preview with Images
Winnie’s Organic Animal Products Email Grade: C+
Subject Line | 4 |
Preview Pane | 2 |
Eye Path | 4 |
Clarity of Message | 4 |
Call to Action | 5 |
Offer | 4 |
Sense of Urgency | 4 |
Credibility | 2 |
2/12/12 — This email promoting organic treats for horses starts off strong with a subject line that instantly grabs interest: “Winnie’s Cookies – Complimentary Samples.” Combined with the from line, “Winnie’s Organic Animal Products,” this effective subject line motivates recipients to open the email and find out how to get their free samples of organic pet treats.
The preview pane with images follows through and does a good job of telling the pertinent facts about this promotion. The preview pane without images, however, leaves a large empty space at the very top that is distracting.
Although the design of the email is quite simple, it’s straightforward and it works. The eye path is great – from the prominent company name to the “free sample” announcement, to the photo of a horse with the product – leading to a very clear call to action: “Click here to get your complimentary samples!”
The clarity of message is also good, until the reader gets to the part about Web requests having to be filled out within 48 hours of receipt of the email. Apparently after 48 hours, recipients then must call the 800-number to get their free samples. It seems as though the creative team working on this email was trying to create a sense of urgency by giving recipients 48 hours to respond via the Web. But providing two ways to obtain the free samples complicates the message. In addition, the ads at the bottom of the email are not effective, diverting attention away from the primary message of the email.
When it comes to credibility, we see a lot of information about all of the wholesome, organic ingredients used to make the cookies, but we don’t know why we should purchase from this company. How long has Winnie’s been in business? How many customers do they have? Do they have any awards or certifications? This type of information would give people who’ve never heard of Winnie’s Organic Animal Products more confidence in taking the next step of sharing their personal contact information in exchange for free samples.
Overall, this promotion is an excellent example of how an email with a very simple design can have the right ingredients to effectively communicate the message and likely drive open and click-through rates.
Disclaimer: FulcrumTech does not have access to the performance data relating to this promotional email, so any tests performed on this email can’t be reflected in FulcrumTech’s commentary.