Emailing Around the World
Hi there.
I’m Michael, one of Intela’s Email Team members.
As Intela has grown, so has the scope of our email marketing. From our beginnings mailing just U.S related data and offers; we have expanded across the world, serving customers in the UK, Canada, and Australia. Further expansion into other European Union countries is already underway.
As the core of the company’s business, we must navigate the labyrinth of regulations and cultural difference between markets as we strive to expand Intela’s global reach and evade the Minotaur. Those cultural differences are more than just extraneous u’s in words like color and flavor.
Let’s talk about some of those differences today, shall we? Here are some observations on email creatives, the (usually HTML) email of images and text pitching an offer to the user on a mailing list.
The United States
* Creatives tend to be minimalist. Many creatives give as few details as possible while keeping to the main thrust of the pitch.
* Small, compact image-only creatives are common.
* Cheesy animated .gifs are also frequent sights. You can make anything dance. Anything.
* Very focused on grabbing attention, even at the cost of professional appearance.
The United Kingdom
* Creatives are larger. More details are given about the offer in the initial email before the landing page.
* A combination of images and text closer to the norm with many offers.
* Tend to look more professional, rather than a grab for attention.
* Animated .gifs are less intrusive, though the flashing “Click here!” button has infiltrated into offers across the pond.
When it comes to Australia and Canada, those countries’ offer creatives that are similar in style to the UK and US, respectively. These differences are the result of the greater advertising culture in each country. Here in the US of A, we’re inundated with ads everywhere we go. Have you ever just counted the number of ads you see or hear in one day? I did once. 208. Before lunch. The ability to stand out is paramount in American advertising even at the cost of a pristine, professional appearance. This is reflected in email marketing.
In contrast the UK and Australia markets, while still flooded with advertisements, are still an order of magnitude less flooded than what we see here in the USA. Since they don’t have to fight tooth and nail just for the customer’s attention (particularly in their inboxes), UK and AUS offers can take a step back from being flashy and apply a more effective, detailed pitch.
For those attending the upcoming Affiliate Summit East conference in Boston, you can learn more about international affiliate marketing at our CEO Jim Mansfield’s presentation there.
Finally, in other news, the Intela Email Team recently participated in an in-depth presentation on the revised e-marketing compliancy regulations in the United States and around the world.
Ciao!
–Michael.
–Grand Executor of International Online Exploration.