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Effective Marketing Email From AwayFind

Image by Frank Gruber via Flickr From time to time there are interesting SaaS marketing efforts that I land in my inbox. One such example comes from AwayFind . In case you aren'...

Marketing

Stop Checking Email with AwayFind.com Image by Frank Gruber via Flickr
From time to time there are interesting SaaS marketing efforts that I land in my inbox. One such example comes from AwayFind. In case you aren't familiar with it, AwayFind was a very useful service that alerted you via SMS/voice when emails deemed important by your own criteria hit your inbox. The service delivered you uninterrupted time to focus by eliminating the distraction of having to constantly check your inbox for important emails. I love efficiency applications and found AwayFind to be a very useful tool for me. Years ago, I received an email message from AwayFind that caught my eye and would still do the same today. From the short personal and informal copy used in the subject line to the unexpected content, it incited a response from me. Read the copy of the email and then see my breakdown of why I think this email was so effective below.
From: Jared Goralnick (AwayFind) Date: Wed, Jul 6, 2011 at 1:15 PM Subject: You and me... To: The Marketing Tactician Hi Scott,
I may not know you personally. You don't know me from any other tech geek with a web service or techie startup. And we'll probably never get the chance to meet. But let me tell you a quick story, and ask you a quick favor… I'm not just someone at a tech company.  My name is Jared.  I have several passions in life including swing dance and photography. But my real passion, and what I've devoted my entire career to, is helping people to use technology as a vehicle rather than an obstacle to getting stuff done.  For the past 3 years, I've been consumed by AwayFind and helping people to escape their inbox— not just to help them become more efficient at their jobs or run their business better, but to allow them to spend more time with their family or whatever it is that makes their lives more whole. So that's my passion and the reason I created AwayFind.  I think that we offer a pretty good service.  But I know that it can be better. And I know you can help me figure out how.  If you could spend two minutes and fill out a quick survey as a favor to me, it'd really help me to understand how we can do a better job…for you. <<Thanks in advance for taking our 2 minute survey.>> Here's to time well spent, Jared AwayFind.com
Things I really like about this marketing effort are:
  • The From Address includes a person's name and their company so it's easily identifiable and more personable
  • The subject line is short (only 13 characters!) and seems directed to me... I'm the "You" in the "You and me..."
  • The body copy is easily scanned and the bold text tells me what the message is about
  • Jared tells an authentic story that helps me understand why he needs my help
  • The content is unexpected. Most emails won't walk me through an internal dialogue like this email has done. And in this way, it doesn't come across as a marketing email to me. Jared is just asking for my opinion like a friend would ask me.
  • The email has one call to action... Fill out a quick survey.
  • Its messaging is on point. AwayFind is all about saving time and the closing really hits the mark by tying in the survey with "time well spent"
Kudos to Jared and the AwayFind team for a great product and a fantastic example of email marketing! What do you think about this email from AwayFind?