The Litmus Team’s Favorite Emails of August 2021

Some of the team sent over their favorite emails for the month, and I’m sensing a theme here: food. Yep. So if you’re hungry, you might want to come back to this later. But if you’re hungry for email inspiration? Well, keep on scrolling ‘cause we’ve got some treats for you.

TLDR (that’s “Too Long, Didn’t Read”) in emojis: 🍞 🍫 🧁 🩳 🇦🇫

Shannon Howard, Customer Marketing Manager

What does Shannon love from her inbox this month… Raisin Bread? I mean, okay, I guess. Personally, I love this pumpkin chocolate chip bread from a baker at my local farmer’s market. So. Good. But I digress. Let’s see what makes this Raisin Bread so delicious (I could be convinced)…

Raisin Bread by MarketerHire

Subject line: 5 reasons not to quit your job

Can’t see the email above? View the screenshot →

Shannon said: “I love that they’re highlighting their own users in a subtle way (featuring them as subject matter experts). The short snippets about the content they’re linking out to are on point. Great brand voice—really enjoyable and engaging. And it’s just always great content. I know when I open this, there’s going to be some great reads inside.”

Okay, can I just get this off my chest first? Longest. Email. Of all. Time.

I mean, wow! But it goes to show that it works for some brands. I always love a good challenge to the status quo, so why not A/B test something like this for your own emails? The results might surprise you. Or infuriate you (as is usually my reaction). But hey, you’ll learn something either way.

Kimberly Huang, Content Marketing Specialist

Sometimes you just need a break. A KitKat break? Nope. Something far better is on Kim’s mind…

Rip Van

Subject line: Stop Working So Hard 😓 Here’s 15% OFF
Preview text: SALE! Chocolate Brownie SALE!

Kim said: “You know when a subject line makes you feel seen? That’s this one for me (and a big reason why I opened it). The email itself is short, sweet, and to the point—the announcement and offer made clear. Complete with subtle animations, and I can truly say this was a creative subscriber experience.”

Same, Kim, same. Get into my belly, chocolate brownie waffles!

Jaina Mistry, Senior Manager of Email Marketing

More treats? It’s like my team is trying to tell me something. Luckily, I just celebrated one of my kids turning 3 and got an awesome cake for him. It was very expensive. So you bet I’m going to eat ALL OF IT. But first, Jaina’s dream-a-licious email.

DreamHost

Subject line: Happy Dream-iversary
Preview text: You like us! You really like us!

Jaina says: “Loved the GIF. Super cute, effective, and only 2 frames. The GIF adds to the ‘surprise and delight’ feeling I got when receiving this email. Wasn’t expecting it, but it was a nice surprise in my inbox.”

If you wish you could see the animated GIF in the email, please tweet your complaints to @JainaMistry because she did not send me the live version of that email.

But okay, she did send me the animated GIF separately, here:

Cool, huh? If you want to make your own eye-catching animated GIFs, check out our guide to animated GIFs in email. P.S. Kidding about complaining to Jaina, but you should totally follow her!

Megan Moller, Director of Content Marketing

I have to preface Megan’s favorite email by saying she is a total brand nerd in all the best ways. And it shows in why she picked what she picked for this blog post.

Noted

Subject line: 25 Styles for 1 pair of shorts
Preview text: Style that cozy shorts 😎 😎

Megan says: “I’ll admit, I’m a Noted fan, so this may be a bit biased. The subject line caught my eye with the benefit, and in the inbox, the imagery immediately delivered on the promise (technically, it’s 24 ways, but maybe there’s a bonus one somewhere!). I love that the model in the imagery is the owner of the business. It really personalizes the brand experience and shows this isn’t just another clothing company.”

Megan shares more, “The copy continues to explain the benefits using language the audience would be interested in, but is also approachable for everyone. I like the single call-to-action. It’s clear, concise, and focused, but I also appreciate knowing there are other options if I’m interested (e.g., They don’t only sell shorts.) The bonus? They continue their personalized brand experience beyond the email. When you order something, they are wrapped in black and white tissue paper, sealed with a noted sticker, include a handwritten note, and often include fun stickers or other ‘surprise & delight’ items.”

Ah, there’s that surprise-and-delight again.

It’s so important that email doesn’t live in a silo. It’s just one part of a brand experience your audience gets from you. So thinking about the whole journey empowers you to create more effective emails (and the rest of your brand’s channels can benefit from email learnings, too!).

Magan Le, Content Marketing Manager

In case you didn’t know (or already forgot), that’s me. I’m going to end this blog post with an email that caught my attention because of its relevance to what’s happening right now.

Callie Danielle

Subject line: No One Left Behind
Preview text: ❤️ 🤍 💙

This is something I’ll be writing about in the upcoming 2021 State of Email report (hint hint), but marketing cannot live in a vacuum. It’s impossible to have a pulse on every single thing going on in the world, but at the very least, be attuned to what matters to your audience.

Callie Danielle is the only non-news brand in my inbox that I’ve noticed has even mentioned something about Afghanistan. While it may not make sense for everyone, I do appreciate her speaking up about it and supporting the people left behind by donating proceeds from the sale of a T-shirt with a meaningful message.

And if the shirt isn’t for you, the email does also have a call-to-action to learn more about the No One Left Behind non-profit charity she’ll be donating to. This way, you can see if it’s an organization you trust—and perhaps you may prefer to donate to them directly.

Design-wise, I like that the shirt is the focal point, standing out among all the pink. They could do better to optimize for email image blocking, but I’ll give them a pass for their message.

We shared ours—so share yours!

What emails caught your attention in August? I don’t know about you, but I saw a lot of back-to-school emails and, surprisingly, Halloween emails. Huh??? I now fully expect way more Halloween emails in my inbox this time next year as brands try to one-up each other for the fall frenzy. We’ll see!

Anyway, we love hearing from our email community and want to see the emails that stood out in your inbox. Let us know in the comments below. ⬇️