The humble subject line has long been an overlooked element of email marketing, often taking a back seat to design, copywriting, imagery and call-to-action refinement during the development of a campaign.

Yet, despite its lowly status on this list of specialist areas, the subject line has actually always been an important factor in email marketing. A good subject line, basically, can make the difference between an email flyer being opened and acted upon or ignored altogether. You can have the best looking email marketing in the world but without a decent subject line to back it up it’s never likely to fulfil its potential.

Now, with mobile devices becoming ever-popular, the subject line is more important than ever to email marketing because of one simple fact;

Smartphone inboxes only display subject lines and from fields.

No images. No preview panes. It’s all down to your subject line. So it better be good.

With the explosion of smartphone use in recent years - the ubiquitous iPhone and Blackberry, along with the rapidly phenomenal Android OS phones (which grew 350% in the last quarter here in the UK) - more and more of us are accessing our emails on the move, or even opting to use smartphones as in-office business devices due to their ever-increasing performance benefits. Smartphones aren’t the preserve of business or the technically-minded, they’re for everyone. And it seems everyone has got one.

Microsoft, which has stayed on the fringes of the smartphone market for the last few years, is moving closer to the launch of its “Windows Phone 7″ operating system - a hi-spec platform that will doubtlessly be backed up by a gargantuan marketing budget when it emerges before 2010 is out. The new Windows offering will present users with yet another super-capable handheld option - and it’s only going to get bigger.

Of course, email on the move simply presents yet another way to use email marketing to communicate effectively and efficiently with your target market. So it’s unquestionably a good thing.

But next time you’re crafting a campaign that will spring into life on iPhones, Androids and as yet unimagined super devices, make sure you don’t forget the importance of the element that has been around from day one of email - the subject line.

Email marketing is a direct and effective means of forging or cultivating a relationship with a customer, while simultaneously heralding the qualities of a company in a prodigious light. The format of an email is clean, bright and instantaneous, suspended upon a screen that creates an interface scenario, similar to the interaction experienced between people. This serves to mimic the steadfast loyalty that occurs within relationships, vital to the survival of any business.

Email marketing is also a cost effective way of distribution and is preferable to the concertinaed leaflet, pushed half-heartedly through a letterbox or shredded and scattered around the room by the family dog. The email is a more unobtrusive solution to marketing, softly stepping into an inbox folder, with a headline that halts skimming eyes rather than the dispassionate gaze that results from the bold invasion of indistinct flyers. Just as curiosity is maintained by snippets of information, the email’s elusive yet applicable headline will serve as a teaser that will initiate an insatiable curiosity. By enticing the customer through a digital door that will be unlocked in a click, the email’s interior will be decorated with eye-catching images, in keeping with a company’s tone and style that is key to granting the attention of the recipient. Uncompromised design that is lifted from the theme of a company’s existing website will ensure continuity, whilst reinforcing the essence of a brand. The information will be succinct in order to avoid a recipient from losing interest and exiting without a purchase.

It could be said that email marketing is a digital rework of the carrier pigeon, which was dispatched to specific locations, communicating information in a targeted manner with traceable results. Along with useful information the pigeon provided a frisson of anticipation, as the sight of the rolled paper attached purposefully to the pigeon’s leg drew nearer. This premise still exists with all forms of communication, as the prospect of new insight is coupled with the remedial effects of contact. Although the carrier pigeon was a revolutionary embodiment of effective correspondence; it is now a distant silhouette that flies way into the mists of time. However, the email has adopted some of the carrier pigeon’s unmistakeable charm as messages are personally gifted, with the attachment of a tailored message that perches itself at the top of an inbox.

The feedback that is available with the use of email marketing is also similar to that of a carrier pigeon, which would return without a message as confirmation of its delivery. Emails provide immediate feedback on a broadcast, as well as being able to target individuals on a global scale. The value of carrier pigeons was especially important in war, acting as a lifeline that transferred crucial updates. The famous French carrier pigeon Cher Ami is an example of the carrier pigeon’s resilience; awarded for its heroic bravery which was doubly impressive due to its serious injuries. Its name translates as ‘Dear friend’, which relates to the familiar opening line of many correspondences addressed to a comrade, as well as referring to the pigeons esteemed role as a dear friend who remained loyal throughout adversity. This demonstrates the valued position of communication, which is loaded with bridge building properties. It is therefore true to say that any communication between two parties, cements a bond. Email is no different; by communicating new offers and welcoming customers into the fold, a relationship takes root. It is true to say that people are more likely to respond to a familiar company who has kept in contact, just as if a familiar friend were to maintain contact, a trust would grow.

The vast distances pigeon carriers could fly, up to one thousand miles is exceeded by the world wide reach of the email, which does not rely upon the intended location remaining fixed. The private interaction that exists between a messenger and receiver seems to be an unrivalled approach, in terms of affectivity and impact. Although the carrier pigeon retains a romantic wistfulness, its return could not feasibly compete with email marketing, which delivers packaged beauty, appeal and machined efficiency.

This might sound like we’re taking something that’s not even old yet and giving revamped, resized and warm fuzzy brand appeal.

Nostalgic branding is now becoming an integrated part of many marketing campaigns, consumers are now hooked to the familiar sights and logos of yesteryear, and they can evoke feelings such as contentment, security, childhood memories and more. 

The blending of traditional brands in the new digital era has reenergised flagging brands and products that were heading for the scrap heap.

The associated feeling contributed with nostalgic marketing allows the viewer to delve in a moment of brand remembrance linked to their personal memory, enticing product purchasing through the power of emotion.

There is the fear that established brands are at risk of losing their identity through mass branding and over use of iconic logos and history.

So how can we sensitively merge historical brands through digital media?

The answer is through strategic and concise brand protection

These, in essence, can be the factors that can contribute to a successful campaign using nostalgic brands.

Digital marketing and media should be a predominant factor in marketing your product.

Take Audi, a credible luxury brand which even though highly well known; markets itself with the undeniable force of nostalgia when needed, the below campaign shows how powerful imagery can portray an innovative and forward thinking company and take it back to its roots, steeped in history and conveying memories of the ‘good old days’, this EDM combines a strong simulative image transferred to the present day relative call to action.

The ‘trick’ to nostalgic brand placement is creating balance between product credibility and relevant marketing message, the focus of the advertisement can be lost without direction and all content and imagery must link in a clear intended focus point.  

If well executed, Digital marketing combining your brand persona can intensify your marketing savvy, reaching new audiences and even attracting a generation that may not have noticed you before. Creating a nostalgic brand campaign through new media has a powerful effect on products and delivers you with the opportunity to reawaken ageing or forgotten brands through digital medium with the reference to new found identity; old becomes ‘classic’ and dated is now ‘retro’.

The impact is everywhere, as companies realise the unique power of the brand they already have; the persona created which becomes the driving force for marketing in 2010 and beyond,

Another recent example of this is Birds Eyes Artic Roll, shunned to the frozen foods graveyard for 10 years it has made an astonishing comeback with sales of this product forecast at £284 million for 2010*

In an age where we yearn for security and belonging; these readily identifiable brands of the past have been updated and configured to suit and satisfy our needs. The message may be communicated a little differently but they are still the familiar brands we remember and they are reaching us on a level we react to; the digital medium.

As we yearn for comfort, the big brands have caught onto reawakening forgotten product lines with tremendous success. The power of marketing nostalgia is that it can be found in the simplest forms and even new brands are using imagery, fonts and slogans that hark back to  ‘happier’ times. Through using advertising to embellish memories and thoughts you can really tap into the psychology of the consumer.

The key to creating a successful digital marketing campaign that embodies nostalgia is focusing on the right target group, creating the correct relative reflection of the product.

So ‘Classic’ brands are now an established part of our consciousness and have adapted to survive in the digital environment.

Take the recent revival of the Wispa bar, due to a massive consumer campaign the product was re-launched and now has a firm place on the confectionary aisle.

So traditional products do have a place in the digital world and have shown that they do have a place on the shelf even in today’s super-saturated multimedia advertising environment.

 * www.telegraph.co.uk

“How can it be better?”

Just a quick note to say a sincere thank you to all of our clients and partners of 2009 - we’re looking forward to making 2010 even more successful!

Next year is set to begin as busy as ever here at Green Media, with some exciting projects just about ready to go live and even more in the pipeline. Check back soon for updates.

Last of all - our studio is closed from Monday 21st December and we’re returning on Monday 4th January - we hope you all have a great Christmas and New Year.

See you in January!

We’ve written a lot about web copywriting here on the Green Notes blog over the last couple of years, mainly covering copy for search engine optimisation and the best way to write effective website content. One web copy theme that we’ve only briefly touched upon, despite it being part of all our lives on a daily basis, is copy for email marketing.

Email marketing copy is an incredibly wide-ranging concept, and like every other area of web copy the quality of everyday examples varies wildly from the sublime to the sub-ridiculous. Email marketing itself, when executed properly, remains a phenomenally effective advertising medium, however there’s a fine balance in getting it right and wrong. Take a look through your inbox and the email marketing flyers that you’ve received today - how many of them have you responded to so far? Chances are not many, if any at all.

We’ve been creating email marketing at Green Media for nearly ten years, and have seen the industry grow from simple plain text snippets into interactive visual showcase mailers that have more in common with high-end websites. The recipient type has evolved just as significantly, from lone network administrators receiving a few mails a day on behalf of their company, into super-demanding web users that mercilessly cull hundreds of emails from their inbox without as much as a second glance every single day.

Here are a few email marketing copy tips that we’ve found useful over the years, covering some of the issues that should always be prioritised in copywriting for this medium.

Imagine the recipient

Put yourself in the recipient’s shoes. If your data list is refined then you’ll have a pretty clear idea of who it is you’re marketing to, and the copy should be written accordingly. Selling Xbox360 games to teenagers clearly requires a different approach to marketing £100,000 Bentley cars to company directors in their 50’s.  Imagine the recipient. Imagine what they’re likely to respond to. Imagine what they’re likely to be turned off by. Once you’ve done your first mailing to any list, for any product, check out the click-through and response rates to see what worked and what didn’t.

Is the call-to-action sufficient?

The call-to-action (CTA) copy is effectively the most important part of any email marketing. Without a carefully crafted CTA the reader won’t follow-up on the message, and the whole exercise will be wasted.

Again, the requirements of a CTA naturally vary, depending on what you’re actually attempting to get the reader to do. If you’re offering a freebie that you know they’re interested in, then the CTA will need nothing more than a straight-forward line and link. If you’re presenting something completely new to the reader, or selling a high-value product, then the CTA will need to be suitably detailed.

Don’t accidentally disguise your email as spam

With so much unsolicited spam email these days it’s rare to find a company junk mail filter that isn’t anything less than rigorous. These filters are on the lookout for any number of indications that an email is spam, some of which can be found in the most innocent marketing mailers. Characters such as “£” and “!” are typical examples of spam triggers, along with terms like “Sale”, superlatives like “Best” and anything vaguely sensational. So, it’s important to avoid these in your email marketing copy - especially in subject lines - or face the prospect of your e-flyer heading straight into a virtual bin.

Get in touch with Green Media for more information on effective email marketing.

Check out the Green Media portfolio update for this month, featuring the new website for Digital Crayon as well as email marketing for Colebrook and Burgess, operators of the North East Audi Group.

We’ve also included our own email marketing mailshot, as a neat example of a flyer-style presentation.

We’ve updated the Green Media portfolio for June, showing a selection of work carried out during the month. The update features the stunning new Simon CGI website and an incredibly effective Audi Newcastle e-flyer.

Take a look

Take a look at our newly updated portfolio pages, featuring a selection of Green Media work completed during May. The update includes the new website for elite specialised security firm Bulwark Group, email marketing for Ferrari and a search optimised redesign for the HLA Services website.

Check out the updated Green Media portfolio, featuring a selection of April’s work - Beamish Hall’s fantastic new website, a typically stylish Liverpool Audi e-flyer and an exciting viral video for Northumbria Police. Take a look.