Archive: November 2008

We’re making Washington even *more* evergreen

by Edwin Acevedo | November 7th, 2008 | No Comments »

For every new customer that joins Emma, we plant 5 trees and let you decide where. For October, you told us to plant them in Washington and I thought, well, how appropriate. After all, it’s autumn, and when I think of Washington and autumn I think of apples (naturally), and when I think of apples I think of applewood-smoked bacon (not so naturally).

I also think of trees, apple trees, sure, but also evergreen trees because Washington is the Evergreen State. Thanks to the 411 customers who joined the Emma community in October, our tree-planting partner, Plant-It 2020, will have 2,055 new trees to plant. Half of the new trees will be planted in Washington; the other half in an equatorial region of Plant-It 2020′s choice.

Emma customers who’ve joined us this year have planted 18,105 trees so far. But we’re not done yet. Let us know where we should plant November’s trees. Thanks.

Where should July's trees be planted?

  • Ohio (34%, 12 Votes)
  • New York (29%, 10 Votes)
  • Oregon (20%, 7 Votes)
  • Rhode Island (17%, 6 Votes)

Total Voters: 35


Social responsibility, Stuff that's stylish

Yet another way to use the alt tag – ask your readers to load the images

Jim Hitch

by Jim Hitch, Director of Community | November 7th, 2008 | 3 Comments »

Part five in a multi-part series on alt tags (read parts one, two and three and four)

I kind of thought four posts on alt tags was approaching overkill, but when this email came in, I knew number five needed to happen. I realized that sometimes the images aren’t just part of the message, they are the message. Did you just breathe a sigh of relief? If so, this post is for you.

For NerdyShirts, no branding, styling or calling to action in the alt tag would quite do the trick. People only buy t-shirts after they’ve seen them (of course!), so they’ve dedicated the alt tag to encouraging just that – ‘Enable Images to View Pictures!’, it says.

I think they could take it to the next level, too. Something like, ‘NerdyShirts is having a sale! Enable images to see the featured t-shirts.’ Take a look at the before and after screenshots….

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All things email marketing, Stuff that's stylish

Pushing alt tags to the max

Jim Hitch

by Jim Hitch, Director of Community | November 6th, 2008 | 2 Comments »

Part four of a five part series on alt tags (read parts one, two and three)

For those who cringe at drab, electric blue alt tags, this post is for you. The alt tag doesn’t have to interrupt the brand experience you’ve worked so hard to create. In fact, with some html knowledge, your backup plan can actually reinforce it – color scheme, font and all.

Take a look at this example from the March of Dimes. The header space is shared between the March of Dimes and Shutterfly, and each logo has an alt tag that is styled – the font face, the color and the size. All done to match the feel of the email once the images load. If you haven’t turned images off in your inbox lately, give it a try for a few days and I think you’ll share my appreciation. This email stands out in a big way because it doesn’t have that ‘I’m looking at code under the hood until I click to view images’ feel. Know what I mean?

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PS If you’re uploading your own html and want to tweak your own alt tags, drop me an email. I have a screenshot of the code behind the March of Dimes email you can use as a guide.


All things email marketing, Stuff that's stylish

Making the most of your alt tags

Jim Hitch

by Jim Hitch, Director of Community | November 5th, 2008 | 1 Comment »

Part three of a five part series on alt tags (read parts one and two)

In part two, I pointed out that the alt tag is a great place to brand your message. It communicates who you are and connects with the recipient, even without the help of images or your logo.

Levi’s has taken the next step and added the offer* to their alt tag. It’s a link, too, so the image loading is really just icing on the cake for them. The message comes through, regardless. Nice work, Levi’s.

How about your own campaigns? Has the alt tag topic made it to your marketing meetings? Did you make a change that made a difference in your response numbers?

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*I also like how they’ve added the offer in text above the email. Even Outlook’s unique image blocking message can’t slow this email down!


All things email marketing, Stuff that's stylish

Show some love to your email subscribers

Jim Hitch

by Jim Hitch, Director of Community | November 3rd, 2008 | No Comments »

It’s an honor to receive a new email address, isn’t it? Each new address represents someone who knows and trusts you, and wants to stay in touch. In light of that, we can all take a cue from the PETCO marketing team and offer something unique to our email subscribers to say thanks. For them, it’s 15% off with no minimum order. What would make your audience feel appreciated?

I’m curious, have you ever sent out an email-only offer? What was it? Did you get good results?

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All things email marketing