Now's the time for Cold Weather Boots?

The Hunt
For those of us that live in climates with four seasons, the first time we have to fire up the furnace is about the time we start surveying our outerwear to ensure that we are prepared for the long and chilly road ahead. Retailers often start trying to move the merchandise even sooner. Cold weather gear starts hitting the shelves often times before I've stashed my flip-flops in the back of the closet. For email marketers, it’s all about timeliness, relevance and your approach.

The Skunk
So as the greater Chicago-land area is pushing nearly 50 inches of the white stuff so far this year, the message below with the subject line "Now's the time for Cold Weather Boots!" seems to have come a few months too late since I can already approximate the current month we are in by the size of the man-made snow piles in the mall parking lot.

Another missed opportunity in this message is the lack of actual images of boots. This retailer carries quite a few brands and boots are not something that I frequently purchase. Simply naming the brands within the message doesn't give me enough information to want to do any further digging. I don't particularly know all the brands but I can identify what styles I would prefer by looking at a selection of supporting product images.


The Resolution
Take note of the seasonality of your message. The subject line needs to be relevant to the consumer - at the time they are receiving it. A better approach would be to have acknowledged that those recipients living in colder climates are still "knee deep" in winter rather than "now’s the time to buy" those boots. You would also want to verify that the message is reaching the right customers as well - Milwaukee vs. Miami - there is bound to be a difference in what they would find of interest.

Don't forget the product! Use product images to entice your recipients. If you are featuring boots, make sure that your call-to-action and message content reflects it.