• If they have “exclusive” offers – the offer isn’t strong enough to differentiate from their traditional advertising – so where’s the benefit?
• Content that doesn’t engage me – so where’s the benefit?
• Too much going on – graphically.  I’m superficial (there I said it), but just like when I’m walking through mall – if a store front has too many things going on and isn’t visually pleasing – I’m not going in.  Same with an email guys!
• Subject lines.  Period.  You know the saying “You have 5 seconds to impress” … that’s the subject line.  Tell me the benefit in 5 seconds.

Now the flipside … the 80/20 rule … I received an email with great takeaways on how to write emails … from Zappos.  I have a huge amount of respect and loyalty for this company – because they continue to improve and have a mission that includes passion for who they are!  And no, I don’t get paid to write about them.

Read the email …

Hello Friend!

We know you’ve got a lot going on this holiday season, so we’re ready to help!

Starting Monday November 15th, we’ll be sending out a Zappos.com email every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the next 6 weeks! That’s 3 emails a week until December 24th.

This epic holiday event gives you the chance to see our selection of products and brands without having to leave the comfort of your home.

You can choose from your favorite brands like UGG® Australia, Frye, The North Face, and Nike. Or browse by popular categories like boots, jeans, jackets, beautyand housewares.

My takeaways from it:

• I do have a lot of things going on this holiday season … thanks for acknowledging that and wanting to help me
• Thanks for the heads up that I’m going to start receiving more emails than usual (brilliant to tell me this, rather than just start receiving tons of emails)
• “Chance to see our selection of products” … translates to me – all I need to do when I get these emails is give a quick glance – if I see something I’m interested in – then I’ll go in with my wallet nearby
• The best aspect of this email is are the benefits … Even though I know they have delivery next day, free shipping, 24/7 customer service, 365 return policy and brands galore … They make it top of mind

Do you have an example of a company that does great with their newsletters?  I’d love to know that I can sign up for it!