Does Your Brand Attract Brand Ambassadors?

Since a part of life is an overflowing email inbox, what can brands do to stand out so that their emails are opened?

I've shared a myriad of memorable email marketing campaigns here on my blog with subject lines ranging from "A Special Thank You Gift" to "We love your social profile!" to "Life is short. Buy the artwork" from an artist, to "Thank you for attending our musical, we want your feedback" sent within an hour of a show's ending from a theater, to a message from a wildlife conservation nonprofit "written by" William Shatner. 

These emails stood out due to their subject lines, and as a result, I quickly opened them! However, for the hundreds, if not thousands, of other emails that find their way into my inbox, they are routinely ignored and/or deleted - except one.

Recently, I received an email from the kitchen accessories and cooking store brand Sur la table. Here was the subject line: "Be a Brand Ambassador. Cook. Share. Get Rewarded."

And here was the email's message:

"Calling all cooks and creators. Love creating food content? Apply to our brand ambassador program and earn up to 12 percent commission, gift cards, and exclusive opportunities with Sur la table.

Who You Are: You could spend an entire Saturday at Sur la table and not even notice; you love creating content almost as much as you love eating what you make; you have 500+ followers on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube; and you're over 18 years old and based in the United States.

How It Works: Fill out your profile, tell us about your cooking style, the content you create, and the platforms you're active on. Post what you're making, share kitchen moments, review products, and take on weekly challenges. Every action you take earns points toward your next reward. Unlock rewards at every tier. Every milestone pays out: gift cards, a growing commission rate up to 12 percent, and new levels of access."

In addition, Sur la table will provide brand ambassadors with content ideas, brand guidelines, approved hashtags, sample posts, and best practices for posting.

According to Envision Creative Art based in Maryland, "The best brands don't sell — they make you want to join the club. They don't chase customers. They build a vibe so clear, a message so magnetic, that people want in. It's not about pushing a product. It's about creating a world people want to be part of. If your brand feels like a community, not a transaction — you're doing it right."

What a wonderful way to attract fans who love to cook and also "live" on their social platforms - and it all started from an email.

What lessons can your brand learn from this unique brand ambassador program?

SHARE THIS: If your brand feels like a community, not a transaction — you're doing it right. ~Envision Creative Art #BrandExperience #BrandAmbassadors #DebbieLaskeysBlog

Image Credit: Sur la Table.

Read my post about a similar branding campaign from the Toronto Zoo (December 2025):

https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2025/12/why-be-social-media-influencer.html

Email Marketing Secrets from World Wildlife Fund!

Awhile ago, I received an email from World Wildlife Fund (WWF) asking me to help choose a cover for the nonprofit's 2027 calendar. As a lifelong supporter of wildlife conservation and also a donor to this particular nonprofit, I looked at the choices and made my selection. Then, I forgot about the email.

What a surprise to receive an email several weeks later with this message:

Hi Debbie,

Over 30,000 WWF supporters - including YOU - recently voted for their favorite wildlife photo for WWF's 2027 calendar. We've counted all the votes...thank you for voting and for everything you do for nature.

Then, an image of a large question mark appeared with a message: CLICK TO SEE THE WINNING PHOTO.

Once I clicked on the link, here was the message:

AND THE WINNER IS...

With over 15,000 votes, the winner is the photo of the sea otter mother and pup! Thanks to all of the supporters who recently voted for their favorite wildlife photo for WWF's 2027 calendar. As a special thank you for going the extra mile, you can choose to receive WWF's 2026 calendar AND our 2027 calendar when it's ready later this year.

(And of course, there was a donation request included.)

Will you help protect vulnerable wildlife and their habitats with your generous donation today?

Since everyone's email box and texts are overwhelmed with "noise" and useless content, it's incredibly challenging to stand out AND BE READ. So, when an organization, especially a nonprofit, stands out by engaging its fans/followers/stakeholders, it's a noteworthy accomplishment. Big applause to WWF for this campaign!

What can your brand learn and apply from this brand's effective email marketing campaign?

SHARE THIS: Email is possibly the greatest owned media channel for brands. ~@JoePulizzi #EmailMarketingTips #BrandExperience #DebbieLaskeysBlog

Image Credit: Telespiegel (email envelope), WWF (logo), and Suzi Eszterhas/Minden Pictures (otters).

Why Are Email Subject Lines Important?

We all receive so many emails on a daily basis, that, to be honest, how many do we actually read? There are emails from stores we never visit, people we never contact, and spam we delete without opening. So, how can a brand stand out in a crowded email box?

According to Statistica, "People send and receive around 333 billion emails every single day. And that number’s only going up — by 2026, it’s expected to reach a staggering 392.5 billion daily emails. Daily email volume varies significantly by country, with the U.S. leading the pack at 9.7 billion emails sent daily. European countries such as Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, the UK, and France each send over eight billion emails every day."

According to CRMGroup, "Nearly 50 percent of consumers made a purchase directly from an email in the past year. This confirms email’s direct impact on driving sales."

Without a doubt, subject lines must quickly grab the recipient’s attention. Think of a subject line as similar to a book's cover in that it strikes a balance between being informative and intriguing. 

Have you received any recent emails with memorable subject lines? A few weeks ago, I received an email with the following subject line and content:

SUBJECT LINE: Life is short. Buy the Artwork.

EMAIL CONTENT:

Life is short. Trim the tree. Buy the artwork.

30 percent off all Gray Malin Photography. Shop Now.

The subject line caught my attention, and I opened the email. While I read the email content and then clicked through to the website, I was immediately intrigued. While not a customer yet, I added this brand to my bucket list for a future purchase.

According to the brand's website, "Gray Malin is a modern day fine art photographer and New York Times best-selling author based in Los Angeles. Shooting from doorless helicopters, Gray has been a trailblazer in aerial beach, ski and park photography, and has photographed conceptual collections at historic properties including The Beverly Hills Hotel, The Plaza Hotel, Plaza Athèneè and The Colony Hotel in Palm Beach. Gray has an extraordinary ability to transport his audience to breathtaking destinations around the world with his distinct visual style. He invites you to Make Every Day a Getaway."

The photos were amazing (especially the ones of France since I'm a Francophile!) — the dogs are guaranteed to make you smile — but it was the email subject line that initially grasped my attention.

So, what can your brand learn and apply from this brand's effective email marketing?

Image Credits: Gray Malin.

Check out more stats about email marketing:

https://www.sixthcitymarketing.com/email-marketing-stats/

Meet Gray Malin and his fabulous photos:

https://graymalin.com/pages/meet-the-brand

How a Positive Customer Experience Erased a Mistake

I don't know about you, but I receive tons of emails from companies. Some I've purchased from, others I have not. The bottom line is that I get too many emails, so when I receive some in error, I get annoyed.

This past week, I received two emails from a company that I purchased items from. Based on the content of the emails, I realized that they were order confirmations from last year. Since I had purchased the items last year, I knew that the emails were not spam, but of course, you can never be too sure.

Since there were two emails, I decided to call the company. As I was preparing myself for what might be an upsetting situation - what if the company was in a state of flux and had charged me again for the same items I purchased last year? - I heard this message:

"Thank you for calling. If you are calling because of some odd emails you received, please accept our sincere apologies. We have upgraded our systems, and some customers received email confirmations of previous orders in error. Again, this was done in error as we upgrade, and we are very sorry. Please ignore the emails. If you are calling for another matter, please hold for a customer service rep."

All I can say is WOW. While this company was unable to stop the emails from being sent in error, someone had the good sense to record a voice message that would IMMEDIATELY address the situation when a customer called to inquire about the emails.

Crisis averted, and averted in the best way possible.

Of course, to add a little extra goodwill to this situation would be to send all customers a coupon for a 10 percent off a future purchase. That might result is some unexpected sales.

How would you have handled this situation?


Image Credit: YourDictionary.com.

Is Your Brand’s Email Marketing Effective?

 

Do you know what today is? On this date, I’m celebrating COFFEE DAY with an analysis of email marketing, but first, some history about the beginning of instant coffee and its branding.

According to TodayIFoundOut.com:

“Although instant coffee had been around before this date, the instant coffee we know and love was introduced on July 24, 1938. The Nescafe (a combination of the words “Nestles” and “café”) brand was the result of a more sophisticated coffee refining process than earlier versions of the product. The instant coffee odyssey began in 1901 with Japanese-American chemist Satori Kato, who introduced his version at the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. It was received well enough that in 1903, he formed the Kato Coffee Company. In 1906, an English chemist, George Constant Washington, created what he dubbed “a refined soluble coffee,” and began selling it under the name Red E Coffee.

By 1930, the Brazilian Coffee Institute asked Nestle to consider entering the instant coffee market but with a better tasting product than anything that was available. Brazil allegedly believed that an instant coffee that tested better with consumers would increase coffee sales. By 1937, a scientist, Max Mortgenthaler, had perfected a method of spray drying the coffee and adding carbohydrates as a stabilizer. These techniques led to an improvement in the taste of instant coffee.”

Recently, I received an email with the subject line as follows: Let’s Grab a Coffee. Once opened, the email read as follows: What to wear where, coffee date, grab a latte with the girls in effortless light layers you love.” Then there was a button to click: SHOP NOW.

However, that was it. This was a wonderful opportunity for brand-building around the color of coffee, perhaps, by showcasing clothing in different coffee shades. This was a missed opportunity to partner with Pantone, the color brand. This was also a wonderful opportunity to promote the concept of meeting for coffee, whether for groups of friends or family or for reading groups, sports groups, travel groups, etc. This was also an opportunity to partner and/or co-partner with coffee brands or coffee houses for the day. This was a missed opportunity to partner with Starbucks, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Dunkin, etc. And lastly, this was an opportunity for the clothing brand to create brand ambassadors to promote clothing in coffee colors on their social media sites.

What other branding opportunities did this clothing brand miss with this brief email? Chime in after you’ve had your morning cup of joe.


Image Courtesy: Chico’s.

How Has Your Brand Reacted to the #COVID19Pandemic?

Life has changed dramatically over the last few weeks since the COVID-19 crisis hit the United States. Also referred to as the coronavirus pandemic, most Americans have been directed to stay-at-home to minimize the risk of catching or spreading the virus. As a result, non-essential businesses closed their doors - which has led to an eruption of email marketing campaigns so that brands can stay in touch with their customers and fans.

Has your email box been overflowing? Mine certainly has. I have received emails from brands I regularly support - retail brands as well as nonprofit brands, as well as brands that I may never have communicated with via email.

The following resembles the content of the emails that I've received:
BRIGHTON - jewelry brand: Brighton your day. Faith. Hope. Love.

TALBOTS - clothing brand: A love note from your Talbots family - while our retail stores are temporarily closed, we'd love for you to still visit us online.

LOVEPOP - greeting card brand: At Lovepop, our mission is to create one billion magical moments by helping people connect with those that they love. In today's situation of isolation and social distancing, this feels more important than ever.

SKIRBALL - museum brand: It's an unprecedented challenge to serve as a place of meeting when we cannot meet in person. We look forward to welcoming you back. Until that time...we're all in the same boat! By staying safer at home for the common good, let's navigate this storm together. We invite you to #SkirballAtHome. We've compiled new content and resources to help during this time.

LINCOLN - car brand: Doing what we can, where we can. That's the Lincoln way. Nothing is more important than your well-being. And now more than ever, your home is your sanctuary. So, as the COVID-19 virus presents new challenges every day, we're taking steps to minimize direct contact, while making your Lincoln ownership experience as easy and flexible as possible.

CANINE COMPANIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE - nonprofit brand: When the world needs love, our dogs are there. Staying paws-itive during ruff times. (This nonprofit even provided a link to its puppy cam!)


According to Jeff Beer of FastCompany:

"There seems to be three tiers of brand emails at this point. First, the service message. This is the most important and helpful, the ones that inform us about a change in service, an updated policy, or a relevant discount. It’s the Gap telling you about store closures. It’s airlines keeping you posted on travel restrictions and flight updates. Tier Two is the Brand Friend. This is where brands who have built a direct line of communication with customers feel obligated to at least acknowledge the situation, even if it’s just to say hi with a “We’re all in this together.” The third tier is the seemingly completely random, we-just-happened-to-have-your-email-thanks-for-buying-our-cat-food-three-years-ago message."

In addition, marketing and advertising are changing almost daily. More from Jeff Beer of FastCompany:

"As the spread of COVID-19 began to rapidly increase, sports leagues like Major League Baseball and the NBA began suspending play, and the NCAA made the move to cancel the March Madness basketball tournaments. Ford had planned to boost ongoing campaigns around its Escape and Explorer models with ads during March Madness but now had to alter its approach, and quickly created two new ads that addressed the crisis, launching them just days later. In those spots, the company said that if customers were impacted by COVID-19 and were financing or leasing through Ford Credit, they should contact the company about payment relief. It’s a move that the company routinely does around regional emergencies, like hurricanes and wildfires — but typically doesn’t advertise."

So, what has your brand done or will do to make an impact during this crisis? What message has your brand communicated? If your brand does something truly memorable, it might just be regarded as a defining moment for your brand and will be remembered long after the pandemic ends.
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Follow along by AdAge: A regularly-updated list tracking marketers' response to coronavirus
https://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/regularly-updated-list-tracking-marketers-response-coronavirus/2244251

See an appropriate cartoon by Tom Fishburne (@TomFishburne on Twitter):
https://marketoonist.com/2020/03/communicate.html
 
From FastCompany: Why every brand you’ve ever bought something from is sending you coronavirus emails
https://www.fastcompany.com/90479646/why-every-brand-youve-ever-bought-something-from-is-sending-you-coronavirus-emails
 
From FastCompany: ‘We’re all in this together’? Why brands have so little to say in the pandemic
https://www.fastcompany.com/90483063/were-all-in-this-together-why-brands-have-so-little-to-say-in-the-pandemic
 
Image Credits: Brighton, Twitter, Budweiser, and Walmart.