Did LasikPlus’s latest email stand out from the crowd like the big “E” on an eye chart or did it lead to a severe case of eye strain?
Posted by Rob Ropars on September 8th, 2009
In a recent email, LasikPlus let me know about a new limited-time offer. I couldn’t wait to look at it with both eyes and see if it made me finally take the plunge and go under the knife..err laser. The “From Name” clearly identified the sender (“LasikPlus”) and the subject line was right to the point (“LASIK Savings offer – $400 Off through 9/30”). As with any email I receive to my Yahoo address I can’t yet tell if there’s any snippet/preview text, but would soon see all. Or would I?
Upon opening the email I realized that like many marketers, no snippet text had been used. It is a newer concept so I’m not surprised that so many emails I see every day lack it. Repeating the subject line or a variation of the copy in the left column (“Save $400* on LASIK. Hurry Offer expires 9/30/09 – Schedule online now”) would add punch to email clients that show preview text (and for mobile device readers) and give a call-to-action right at the top.
Otherwise I was pleasantly surprised at how much and how well this email rendered with images off (which is the default mode for so many email clients). I think this is a great newsletter utilizing plenty of text (minimal imagery), clear sections and extra links to their site. It’s designed to be an informative piece of communication and it covers all the various elements a LASIK prospect (such as myself) would want to know: a special limited-time discount, some history, WIIFM, multiple ways to contact them, FAQs and links to their site.
What could they have done better? I see a few things that would make it really stand out, like those tricky color blind tests with the red “9” hidden in the green blobs)from the background mass of email marketing in my inbox.
• Snippet/preview text above the message as noted already
• Underline all links to reinforce that they are action items • Include information on how to add them as a safe sender to address books
• The “Share with a friend” is a bit lost on the left side potentially hurting the viral potential of the email • No information about Social Media-if they’re on Facebook or Twitter-get people to follow you via links in your emails
• Overall font sizes should be increased to improve readability as the online population ages, font sizes are a concern
• The “Schedule online now” button should be underlined text on a background color (rather than an image with an alt tag not everyone will see)
• The “Schedule now” link could also have been higher up in the preview pane, however they did have a link in the top left paragraph so not the end of the world Assuming many recipients will have images off and potentially not review the email beyond what’s in the preview pane, you want to really maximize what people are seeing and give them a strong call-to-action.
This email effort is very close to where they need to be and far ahead of many emails I see, and a little
adjustment would sharpen the result.
I’m assuming the small font size wasn’t a ploy to make me feel like my vision is so badly in need of correction only laser correction can save me. I would suggest they strongly consider increasing the font sizes upward to make things easier on the eyes. Enabling the images didn’t really alter the overall email as it was so well designed for images off. Their logo at the top and bottom is fine/standard and no issues there. The other two missing images (wow an email message with only 4 main images to load? Maybe I do need my eyes corrected I must be seeing things!) are ok I guess.
To me, the college guy with the skateboard and the generic doctor don’t really do anything for me. I’d rather see happy couples looking into each other’s eyes or parents and kids-something nice about seeing clearly up close without glasses or contacts (which I can’t do currently). The doctor doesn’t really do much for me and considering people’s natural inclination to avoid doctors and medical stuff-why not just lose him and have the call-to-action in that box area? Just a small bit of stock photo feedback.
Overall, LasikPlus did a great job at communicating to me their offer, its deadline, and a lot of good information about the procedure. Could they have tried anything else? We have seen some clients have great success experimenting with small, “postcard” emails that are basically a small rectangular design with a nice picture, strong engaging copy and a focused call-to-action. So short the recipient doesn’t have to dig into or scroll through anything to see the offer and take action. It would be interesting to see if testing a postcard against a newsletter layout would increase their email conversion rate.
