Cornwall Winter Sales

January is a very quiet month for any hotel in Cornwall. It is therefore no surprise that many have decided to close their doors and re-open in February, ready for Valentine's Day. Nevertheless, the marketing departments never rest and are already setting up new promotions to ensure a successful 2014. As I enjoy receiving newsletters, I thought it is time for another Cornish email marketing post.

1. Boutique Retreats
The Boutique Retreats newsletter WOWs me because of the content used. Whoever wrote the copy seems to have truly enjoyed writing it. Here is an example of the feel good factor: “Feel snug as a bug in a rug curled up in front of a roaring log fire after a blowy beach adventure. What could be lovelier than escaping to the Cornish coast and bedding down in one of our sumptuous retreats?”. Exactly, what could be better? Now, it is a risky business to always assume that people will read the entire copy as we are all swamped with email marketing messages but I think in this case it works well. To illustrate the described feel good factor better, I would suggest using fewer images and making them bigger so that the reader can truly imagine what it would be like to enjoy a hot chocolate in front of a roaring fire place. Last but not least, I would also recommend to always try including text links because not everyone automatically clicks on the images to access the website for further information.

2. The Woolacombe Bay Hotel
The reason why I like the Woolacombe Bay newsletter is because it has a great flow to it. I do not need to read the copy to know what the various sections are about. This saves me time as a reader because I can pick out the information that I am interested in within seconds. The headers chosen are spot on and compliment the images used. There are call to action buttons for each of the sections who lead me to the relevant pages on their website. Some people might argue that call to action buttons are outdated as everyone knows where to click but I strongly believe that they still have a purpose and are functional. The Woolacome Bay is also one of the few brands who uses the footer to its full potential by including smaller images showcasing additional points of interest such as weddings, food and spa retreats. The only critique I would give is maybe increase the font size as reading on a grey background can be irritating and to choose a better subject line than 'Beat the January Blues'.  

3. The Rosevine
I have mentioned one Rosevine newsletter in my Christmas post before and therefore decided not to include another one in this post but the look and feel of the email marketing campaigns set up by the Rosevine differs so much from the rest that it stands out and in my opinion is worth talking about. In comparison to most of the email campaigns I receive at the moment, the Rosevine only focuses on one aspect of their overall portfolio. This is reflected in the way the newsletter is designed as it is only using one single image and a handful of sentences to bring their message across. This makes the newsletters very straightforward, clear and well structured without appearing to be boring. Due to this set up, only one call to action button and a few text links are needed. This improves the deliverability of the mailer tremendously which is what we are all after in the end.