E-mail Applied: Effective E-mails That Sell

Staples was promoting calendars and planners and pictured a month-at-a-glance appointment book in its e-mail. The pages of the planner were animated so that several months cycled through. It was subtle but eye-catching.

Lake Champlain Chocolates has tested animation on one of several products featured in its e-mails. A promotion for its hot chocolate mix, for example, might show the drink being poured into a cup. Marketing Sherpa reported that Lake Champlain’s sales increased 49 percent from this. It also tested a static image vs. the animated image and saw clickthroughs increase by more than 200 percent with animation.