Effective Email

See the "After" Version and the website.

I got an email the other day form my parents(See "Before" image). Apparently this was being forwarded around asking folks to send a teabag in in defiance of Washington's taxing us. But there were a few issues I had with it.

Here is a list of some problems and how they could improve on their marketing:

1. Get to the point FAST. It took way too long to get to the point.

2. Provide web links. There wasn't a SINGLE link in the email.

3. Avoid saying things like, "Send this to everyone in your address book." The last paragraph made it feel like a chain letter.

4. Headers are nice. Use them. There was no layout. Provide some kind of hierarchy to organize the content.

5. There was no masthead. Image headers are a great way to pull your audience into your email and gives you a credibility that far surpasses text only emails.