Email Review: Does It Motivate You to Start Planning a Tropical Vacation?

Email Review: Does It Motivate You to Start Planning a Tropical Vacation?

AMResorts Email Grade: [B-]

Subject Line & Preheader

4

Preview Pane

5

Eye Path

3

Clarity of Message

4

Call to Action

3

Offer & Urgency

3

Congruency

5
Email grades are based on a 5-point scale: A = 5, B = 4, C = 3, D = 2, F = 1

October 10, 2017 —

Organization Overview

A subsidiary of Apple Leisure Group, AMResorts is a hotel management company that has a collection of luxury, all-inclusive beachfront resorts in Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Jamaica, Panama, Aruba, and the Dominican Republic. According to the company’s website, each one of their resorts offers “sun-soaked beaches, elegant accommodations, a world-class spa, gourmet dining, unlimited premium drinks, and many other pampering amenities.” Secrets Capri Riviera Cancun in Mexico was the company’s first hotel, which opened in 2003. Currently, AMResorts has 52 resorts, in 23 locations, totaling more than 19,000 rooms.

Subject Line Is Short and Sweet

“Destination: Costa Rica”
That was a subject line of a promotional email sent to a prospective customer who said that she likely joined AMResorts’ email list while searching online for vacation options. Because this subject line is short (21 characters), it will likely stand out in the inbox. It’s also a strong subject line, especially when combined with the preheader: “Start planning your trip to the happiest country in the world!”

Preview Pane Works Well, But Eye Path and Call to Action Could Be Stronger

The preview pane without images works well. It features 5 image boxes in different shades of green and blue that include prominent alternate text, in uppercase type: “BEACH,” “VOLCANO,” “RELAXATION,” “RAINFOREST,” and “ADVENTURE.” These brief descriptions, together with the introductory copy and call to action, pique interest and encourage recipients to download the images.

The eye path, however, could be stronger. The images are beautiful and enticing to recipients who long for a tropical vacation. But there are watermarks on the photographs, which may be distracting to some people. And to reach the call-to-action button, recipients must scroll far down to the bottom of the message. Having another call to action above the fold (e.g., in the masthead) would likely help drive more clicks. However, what’s great about this email is that every image is clickable.

The call-to-action button, itself, could also be stronger. In contrast to the size of the image blocks, it’s miniscule. Plus, making the color of the button bolder would help make it pop. The call-to-action copy, “Start planning,” is clear and congruent with the subject line, preheader, and the rest of the email content. But adding more description and personalization (e.g., “Start planning my next great vacation”) may help build excitement and garner additional clicks.

There’s an Offer, But It’s Hard to Find

At the very bottom of the email, a special offer is presented: “For a limited time, experience a complimentary excursion when you book any room category at Dreams Las Mareas for seven nights or more.” Although some urgency is created by using the “For a limited time” phrase, it’s likely not specific enough to drive clicks. In addition, the offer is difficult to find because of its location and small type size.

The online travel market is highly competitive. That’s why it’s so important for companies in the industry to create email campaigns that effectively reach potential customers, keep current customers, and make their businesses stand out. Overall, the content and images in this promotional email from AMResorts do a great job of appealing to a broad audience, as well as piquing the interest of potential customers to find out more about a Costa Rica vacation. However, we identified a few ways to improve this email message and help drive even more clicks and conversions.

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.

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