• by Lisa Harmon , Darrah MacLean , April 6, 2010

Many of us spend most of our waking hours thinking about marketing email, and like to fancy our subscribers not only printing but also framing and hanging our work on their office walls J... But we all know that this isn't generally the case. Studies show that subscribers will spend just eight seconds on most messages before clicking through or navigating away. Your emails will drive the most dollars if you take on the eight-second challenge and use that time (or even better, less time than that!) to answer your subscribers' three biggest questions definitively, ideally in the preview pane:

   1. What is this email about?

   2. Why should a subscriber care about it?

   3. What should a subscriber do about it?

We took a look at some of our favorite marketing emails to see how these big-buck questions are getting answered.

Promotional Emails

This email from The London NYC is sleek and simple, and it answers the three big questions at a glance. The strong branding at the top and the straightforward (and inviting - don't you want to take a nap in that bed right now?) images of the rooms let subscribers know what the email is about while the clear, above-the-fold offers and CTAs leave no room for confusion about the subscribers' next move.

Banana Republic's design is unique and more complex than The London NYC's. The copy and sequence of images work together to show subscribers that Banana Republic has chino and that subscribers will love wearing it in a range of day-to-day activities - that's questions #1 and #2 right there. While it's great that the email includes text link CTAs right up top, a subscriber in a hurry might like to see something bolder (perhaps in button form?) to help them sift through the copy and find the answer to question #3 more quickly.

Newsletters

Apple's fitness newsletter is awesome. It's packed with tons of handy info, cool photos and engaging customer reviews, and yet things don't get out of hand - just a quick scan of the creative answers our three big questions. This email is about iPods and iPod gear for your fitness routines, and you should care because Apple gear will make working out more fun (and here are reviews from customers who've tried it). The sharp, layercaked design layout guides the eye through the topics and lets subscribers choose what to do next - click the button at the top to shop iPods or focus in on specific areas.

Triggered Messages

When you purchase the "nook," from Barnes & Noble, the company sends a follow-up email to help you learn the ins and outs of your new gadget. Answering questions #1 and #2 is easy here, which is one of the big benefits of triggered messaging -- you already know that your subscribers care about the content. Of course subscribers recognize the nook they just bought and care about knowing how to use it. Barnes & Noble seamlessly answers question #3 as well, by listing three quick starting points for nook-exploration and the step-by-step process for getting up and running.

Amazon.com also consistently nails it with its triggered messaging. The company's simple copy formula always tells subscribers right up front why they're receiving certain promotions (because they match past interests); its designs show subscribers the goods and give clear opportunities to click through.

Transactional Emails

Williams-Sonoma sends transactional messages that are bastions of best practices. As with triggered messaging, answering questions #1 and #2 should be easy in transactional email. Williams-Sonoma's order confirmation uses a no-frills subject line that includes the important info up front, including the order number. The elegant, simple organization makes the message easy to use and lets the subscriber know that they don't need to do anything else, but that they can if they want to...the "You May Also Consider" items relate to the items purchased and provide a relevant next move for shoppers.

Twitter has some fun with its password reset message while still keeping it straightforward and simple. You know what it's about right away, you care because you are trying to access Twitter, and you know what to do next. The message includes strong branding in the design and in the clever copy: "Can't remember your password, huh? It happens to the best of us."

Creative Moves that Make Sure the Big Questions Get Answered

• Work toward designs that establish clear messaging hierarchies and guide subscribers' eyes exactly where they need to go.

• Strive for a balance of copy and imagery that gets the message across without overwhelming the subscriber.

• Make sure your most crucial info - especially headlines and CTAs (calls-to-action) - is kept above the fold. Remember that folks often read just headlines and CTAs, so they need to make sense together, independently of other content.

• Use easy-to-find, straightforward CTAs that tell subscribers exactly what will happen when they click.

• Consider strong, clear subject lines that get your offer across before the subscriber even opens.

The answers to the big three questions will look different when executed by diverse brands and across different message types, but starting with some tried-and-true best practices is a good way to make sure you're getting your message across (what is this email about?), conveying your value proposition (why should your audience care?) and providing a clear action opportunity (what should they do about it?)

We could all do better, probably, by simply copying the three questions below onto a post-it, and affixing it to our monitors:

   1. What is this email about?

   2. Why should a subscriber care about it?

   3. What should a subscriber do about it?