I’m on a lot of different email marketing lists. Sometimes, I really want to get offers and updates. Other times, I’m just looking for good examples that I can use later for educational purposes.
Today, I received a promotional email from Calistoga, a restaurant chain started by Papa John’s founder, John Schnatter. It’s very similar to Panera Bread. Calistoga’s food is really good.
I wish I could say the same for their email marketing efforts.
Calistoga Cafe Chicken Salad Sandwich Promo
The email itself isn’t bad looking but there’s nothing compelling about it. It’s a picture of a chicken salad sandwich with the caption “…made from scratch in our restaurants using fresh and natural ingredients.”
That’s great. I hope that they make all sandwiches fresh in their restaurant. Isn’t this a given?
The only other thing they share in the email is their restaurant locations. I’m in Louisville, KY where they only have two locations. Why do I care about their four locations in Florida? This makes me feel like they’re just batching and blasting their emails.
The biggest problem (in my opinion) with this email is that there is no strong call-to-action.
I’m a big fan of chicken salad but there’s nothing in this email enticing me to come in and try the sandwich.
Offer me a discount. Make the email personalized. Tell me about their “club” where I could earn points towards free food.
If you’re anything like me, you have a very cluttered email inbox and don’t always take the time to open every email.
If you’re going to take the time to put together a promotional email for your business, give your subscribers a reason to open it.
You have to find a way to stand out. Otherwise, someone else will.
