We asked the email authority to peek at the emails from DTC perfume brand Phlur and what’s working and what’s not.
Take from it what you will, and use this advice to level up your email flows, creation, and imagery!
Note from the DTC Team: You’ll see multiple instances of broken image plugins in the images below. We still receive Phlur emails to this day, and we’re happy to report they’ve fixed the issue!
We left the broken images in to show the importance of testing and create a dialogue around email design and automations.
Happy reading!
👋 Well, hello there
👍 The good
The first email customers receive from a brand is so important.
It sets the tone for what’s to come and shows shoppers what the brand is promising to deliver.
The way the Phlur starts this email is fabulous. They immediately lead by telling you who they are and what they’re about. Getting to know the brand is an important first step in the customer journey. 🤝
You wouldn’t attend someone's birthday party without knowing their name and who they are (well, you could, but you’re probably going to have much less fun…), and it’s the same for purchasing a product.
Give your consumers a little introduction and tell them what's important to you.
Not to mention, shoppers feel more connected to a brand when they know who’s behind it! We love the “meet Chriselle section.”
It adds:
- Personality,
- A face to the name,
- And a touch of personalization!
Introducing your founder in your brand emails helps consumers form an idea of your identity. 🤗
Overall, this send is a fantastic example of a welcome email as it serves as a high-level introduction to the brand.
👃 The smelly
Most sign-up emails offer some sort of offer to help conversions, and we definitely think Phlur choosing not to include one is a miss.
Don’t get us wrong. Not all emails have to include a discount code or promo. Education only is great, but an offer might encourage first-time shoppers to purchase. 🤑
Did anyone spot something else a miss in the email?
That’s right, every email marketing specialist's worst nightmare: broken images.
This is us waving a big red flag 🚩to double-check your images if you’re using a plugin within your email builder.
Using automation to show people the images best suited for them is great, but it looks broken or unprofessional when they don’t work.
The Pilothouse email team suggests designing the products in the email instead of automating. ✅
We’d also suggest giving readers a few more options to click on. A menu of scents, collections, or gendered fragrances can help your brand put shoppers in the right email flows to show them what they’re interested in!
🌸 Missing person
👍 The good
In case you missed the Missing Person hype, the product went viral on TikTok… which meant a huge amount of shoppers wanting to source the product and an influx of new shoppers to the brand. 🛍💸
Sometimes, simple emails are better. We love the clarity here and think the straight-to-the-point messaging gets the point across efficiently.
Not to mention, the gif as the hero image is stellar. It’s very on-brand and polished but enough to catch the eye and stop perpetual email open and deleters in their tracks.
👃 The smelly
Most people are hesitant to commit to a scent when they can’t smell it in person, so we think showcasing the two sizes available is a smart move. However… we can’t see them due to the broken plugin. 🤷♀️
Additionally, we think the messaging could be more personal.
The email team suggests, “Your favorite fragrance is back in stock”, or “The fragrance you’ve been waiting for is finally back in stock.” The more personalized, the better.
And don’t forget, this is a twice-sold-out viral product, folks!
We suggest leaning heavier with the SOLD OUT TWICE. It’s a brilliant convincing point and adds urgency to buy now before it’s gone again.
Note: We received this email twice over two days. Two different subject lines but identical content once we’d opened.
📦 Body odor < a lot of orders
👍 The good
We think this send would do a fabulous job of pushing readers that have yet to convert down the funnel!
We love the use of written reviews as social proof to show people who aren’t yet convinced that the product is for them. Not to mention, they use that language that we love, “Reviews are in,” which is great, but…
👃 The smelly
They set themselves up for an excellent opportunity to leverage UGC content, but never did! 📸
Highlighting reviews or even a quick clip of people using the product under the “Reviews Are In” section would have been highly effective. People love to see a product in action, and there’s no shortage of Phlur UGC on the ‘net.
We’ve seen a lot of “Best Sellers” in their messaging, which can become a little tiresome if used consistently. This round, the email team suggests something a little more personalized like “Just For You.”
🙏 Spray don’t pray
👍 The good:
It’s always great when a brand can upsell or bundle their products together. It often makes people buy more things that could work as a set or pair!
We can’t say we’ve ever heard of layering fragrances, but it's a cheeky way of selling multiple products. Also, the “Not Your Baby” gave us a bit of a chuckle. 👶
We also enjoy how they provide a smell profile on their scents. It’s an enticing way to let consumers know what they can expect when buying the product.
👃 The smelly:
However, the Pilothouse team thinks this send could have been stronger with a bundle offer vs. trying to get people to buy two products separately.
Bundling the perfumes with a discount associated 👀 makes purchasing the product much easier.
Put yourself in your consumer's shoes. If you’re buying something, you want the process to be as easy as possible.
We would have used more copy for each section to describe what this pairing feels like or smells like, the ingredients, how and why they go well together, etc. Potentially even use cases, like scenarios where these scents make sense.
🤧 *Sniff* *sniff* smells like success
👍 The good:
Now, it’s hard to be sure, but we’re guessing that this email was sent after the release of their new body wash collection.
It’s awesome that they decided to showcase that people are buying products from the collection and have great things to say about the new releases. 🤩
👃 The smelly:
It seems that this email contains a lot of fluff. When we say fluff, we’re referring to a bunch of filler text that doesn’t add much substance in terms of selling value. 🥸
This send had the potential to build excitement in its openers. Get PUMPED. Your products are flying off the shelf. If you’re excited about how fast your products are flying off shelves, consumers will be just as excited, so reflect that in your language…
Use language like: 👇
- “The reviews are in!”
- “It’s a hit!”
- “See why customers are raving about our latest collection!”
We also see a bit of a disconnect between the content and the menu section at the bottom of the email. We’d suggest “More Customer Favorites” to tie everything together.
Well, well, well, that’s all for now, folks!
Shoutout to the team at Pilothouse for the killer breakdown. Same time same place next week for part three.
P.S. Know a brand that would be a perfect fit for the series? Respond to this email and let us know! 👋
