It’s no secret that I love TOMS. Obsessed might be the more accurate word, but I digress. I not only Love TOMS shoes, their one-for-one model, and their travel stories but I love the brand they’ve built around all of that. It’s those things and more that make me open almost every email that pops into my inbox.
TOMS has excelled at creating a brand you want to be a part of. How is it that a company that sells the same things that so many other company’s sells become my favorite brand? What makes TOMS the brand I never stop thinking about and love getting emails from? I’ll tell you!
Photography In Your Newsletter
Let’s start with my favorite topic, photography. TOMS provides high-quality photos in every email that show off the product and in most cases show off the lifestyle too. Every email has a product shot on a pure white background with shoes styled in different ways, usually showcasing an adult shoe with a matching child’s shoe (making me forward almost all of these to my sister-in-law so that she and my niece can be cute together).
The second image is always a lifestyle image if there is a second image. The product in the first image doesn’t have to be present but the same feel of colors, season, and style is. This photo says “You can be as cool and gorgeous as this girl right here when you buy a pair of TOMS” and I believe it.
Email Marketing Based off Past Purchases
Every email focuses on one thing. TOMS keeps track of what I’ve ordered in the past, what I view now, and which emails I click through to see where my interests lie. This makes every email fun to open because I know it’s tailored just for me and will be something I love!
Their emails short. There’s a line of text to give you context and the rests are buttons and photos. It takes two minutes to scroll through their email and make a decision. I want to see what’s out there, decide whether I can afford a purchase today, maybe forward it to a friend who would like it, and then I’m out!
Keep It Simple
Finally, there’s the simplistic design. TOMS loves white space and still finds places for their signature blue. The buttons are simple outlines to add white space, and the little-handwritten notes make you feel like it’s come from a friend. The care and thought that goes into each email is noticed in all of TOMS marketing and I’m even more amazed that they send a new email every day (Even more surprising is I open 90% of them!)
You don’t need to have an email for every day of the week. You might not have a significant email list or the tools to track interest, but you can be making your emails just as beautiful. Keep them simple. Avoid too much text (test things out and see how your click rate changes with the change of text) and highlight the specific product you want your customers to know about. Of course, only use the highest quality images in your marketing that proves you care just as much about your business as you think your customer should.
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