Example #2: Occasional emails from Innocentdrinks.co.uk

Return to Example #1: A fundraising email from WBFO

I love the emails I receive from Innocentdrinks.co.uk. I have never tried their drinks, but there is a refreshing innocence about their emails. I like how they choose their topics. I like their use of images. And I love how they write the copy.

Consider the first two lines: "Hello there. This week, by popular demand, we bring you more Shilpee, more bacon, more pinboard and the magic van. Exciting."

I have no idea what they are talking about. But there is an energy and mystery there that makes me want to find out.

Here's the opening from another one of their emails: "Hello. The sun is out, the sky is blue, there's not a cloud to spoil the view, but it's raining, raining in my heart. All true, apart from the raining bit. We're actually feeling quite chipper today."

You begin to ask, "Who ARE these guys?" And you want to find out.

Here's what I like about the copy. It feels like it was written by someone who is totally and genuinely enthusiastic. More important still, it feels like the writer, mercifully, has never taken a copywriting course or read a book on writing to sell.

And what a refreshing relief that is.

You don't need to be on your guard as you read this email. You don't need to activate your BS filters, even unconsciously. It's like listening to a child bubbling over with excitement about some new discovery in life.

To put it another way, it's like sitting down for coffee with someone who is a huge fan of these drinks and happens to have some snapshots in her purse. She chats merrily away about the drinks and presents the snapshots one by one. She's not trying to make a sale. She just loves the drinks and the company that makes them.

This level of "innocence" is very rare in email marketing.

Usually emails are professionally crafted, carefully written to engage the reader and generate a clickthrough. But as soon as one reads an email that is crafted consciously to generate a clickthrough, a small cloud is cast over the communication. Our intent as marketers is unveiled. It is understood that the writer wants us at least to click something, if not actually make a purchase. We apply filters. We are cautious. And the more formal, corporate and deliberate the email is, the more cautious we become.

The thing about the innocent drinks emails is that they do come from a company. And the company does want us to buy their drinks.

But someone in their marketing group was smart enough to say, "OK, we'll do an email campaign, but we won't burden our emails, or our readers, with a sales message. We'll just present ourselves as we are. We'll go for a long-term relationship, not a short-term sale."

Smart thinking.

I'll always read their emails, because they are always entertaining and never burden me with having to make the decision whether or not to make an immediate purchase.

Next: Example #3: A follow-up email from Rentalo.com