Bronto Blog

BrontoFire is live once again, focusing on the important role subscription landing pages play in forging an immediate relationship with subscribers.

DJ and I discuss the importance of utilizing this very effective email marketing tool to “sell” and ultimately “seal” the subscription.

Together we dive into how major brands are incorporating subscription landing pages and how some are missing a great opportunity to build a strong relationship right from the beginning. So, check out this new episode of BrontoFire and look forward to next month, when we analyze Welcome Messages with another live version of BrontoFire.

Kimberly Snyder and DJ Waldow
Account Managers at Bronto

It was a lovely morning (8AM) in Durham, NC as Kimberly and I rendezvoused in the friendly confines of our local Starbucks Barista. Kimberly was sipping on a tall peppermint mocha; I was working my standard “medium” (I refuse to call it Grande) coffee. As we began brainstorming this month’s topic for BrontoFire, Kimberly suddenly shouted out, “Don’t Hide That Unsubscribe.” After I cleaned up the coffee I spit out in a fit of laughter, I told Kimberly: “Great idea. Let’s roll.”

Below is a recap of the 45-minute conversation that ensued. We reviewed some of the big boys - Barnes & Noble, Big Lots, Costco, Reebok, TurboTax (Intuit). Enjoy.

Barnes & Noble

DJ - I like how they have a bolded section, “How to unsubscribe.” However, why do I need to log in to my account in order to change my preferences?

Kimberly - Furthermore, DJ, I really don’t like the fact that I have to follow detailed instructions on how to manage my preferences. Don’t make me work so hard.

Big Lots

Kimberly - I like the phrase “we will promptly remove you from our list.” They are clearly telling me what they will do and then are doing it. I believe and trust them more because of this statement. To boot, I really like the fact that they list my favorite store and allow me to update it very quickly.

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On Monday, Chad White (one of the leading industry experts in on-line retail email marketing) and I discussed the good, the bad, and the ugly of four email designs by BlueFly, All Recipes, PajamaGram, and American Airlines.

What we uncovered may surprise you.

DJ Waldow
Account Manager at Bronto
(live from the Email Evolution Conference)

Two days before Halloween 2007, BrontoFire was Born. In the middle of November, we took it live. Last month, we debated the merits of a good “From Name.” Earlier today, Kimberly and I hunkered down in the green room and went back and forth on how 4 well-known online retailers promote (or hide) email sign-ups on their website. The results…
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We will be debuting a new screening of BrontoFire in early 2008, as we’ll be working to improve the technical aspects to match the caliber of our fierce debate. Look forward to many new topics pivoting around email marketing best practices. In the mean time we’ve provided our old school BrontoFire format:

Early Monday morning, with coffee flowing in our veins, DJ and I tackled the good, the bad and the truly ugly of online retail From Names. Here is a sampling from our heated discussion:

From:                                Date:
 HSN Holidays                         Oct. 17th
 HSN Weekly                           Oct. 25th
HSN                                  Nov. 26th
HSN Specials                         Dec. 7th 
 HSN Home Solutions                   Dec. 8th

DJ: First, I would not immediately recognize HSN in my inbox - I know the brand as Home Shopping Network. I also think they are watering down the power of their From Name with all these variations.

Kimberly: Actually I do recognize the brand - anyone who has shopped online or on TV refers to the company as HSN. However, I completely agree that they are depleting the strength of HSN by constantly changing their From Name. Keep it simple and strong by using only HSN.

From:                                      Date:
 BananaRepublic.com                         Sept. 4th & Dec. 2nd
 Apparel Feedback                           Sept. 21st

DJ: Who is Apparel Feedback? I was hesitant to open the message - it caught my attention in an unappealing way. In the end the email marketer in me had to open the message and uncovered that it was a Banana Republic email.

Kimberly: Why are they messing around with their From Name? Do they not believe in their own brand name? They quickly returned to using BananaRepublic.com I wonder how this affected their metrics?

From:                                 Date:
 Newport-News.com                      Dec. 7th, 8th, 9th

DJ: It works for me if this is their name brand, however when I go to their home page I see….

Kimberly: I know they would not print this From Name on the cover of their catalog. Thus they should keep it consistent across all channels.

From:                                    Date:
 Big Lots Stores Inc.                     Nov. 26th & Dec. 3rd

DJ: Why not keep it Big Lots; this is what their stores are called, not Big Lots Stores Incorporated.

Kimberly: Why are they so formal? This is not an internal corporate communication, the message highlights their weekly specials.

From:                                      Date:
 adidas Online Store                        Nov. 20th, Dec. 4th & Dec. 9th

DJ: They have such a recognizable name like Coca-Cola, Ford, or Apple….why differentiate the brand with ‘Online Store’? I only care about adidas.

Kimberly: I wonder if because they internally separate this channel they don’t even think twice to do it outside their corporate headquarters. I bet their consumers only look for the name adidas.

From:                                                 Date:
 eHarmony - You could Find Your Soul Mate Today.       Dec. 7th
 eHarmony - Sign Up & Start Dating today               Dec. 10th

DJ: These From Names are just terrible, as they are actually sentences. They mirror SPAM From Names like ‘AnexcitingofferfromOnlineStudentFinancialAid’.

Kimberly: The funny thing is eHarmony is currently sending me SPAM. I have never subscribed nor even visited their site. I am a happily married mother who is by no means looking to start dating today. They are lazy as well, by not keeping the formatting consistent with capital and lower case letters. What a true mess.

Continue to stay tuned for the next live version of BrontoFire.

DJ Waldow and Kimberly Snyder
Account Managers at Bronto