The Email Wars

This recent email from GQ Magazine gets right to the point. Here what we have to offer, this is what you get so take THIS action. Now the LARGE RED arrow does the trick of keeping you focused on the task they want you to take. No reason not to be completely clear of the intended purpose here. 

But I did not want to only show you how clear they were, but also make the point of how email is driving social media use. They want you to join them in Facebook and the driver is not an ad campaign in Facebook but an email to their opt in list getting you to come to them and participate in the events that they are promoting in this social media community. 

Getting to the point is what one off campaigns should be about. No confusion, not too much text, and clear explanation of the value and the actions you need to take. Now you could argue that there is so much unused space in this email and the other icons are not clear to someone scanning this, but you would be wrong. The goal is the one task. Keep it simple and don’t talk about things that have ZERO relevance to your goal.