3 Reasons Why We Read Every Fabletics Email
Many promotional emails go unopened because we just don’t have the time to look at them. But we have a secret inner circle of brands whose emails we open as soon we see them every day.
Fabletics, the athleisure brand co-founded by Kate Hudson, is one of the brands we love to follow.
Why? For the three same reasons that launched this brand to #4 in the 2021 Retail Personalization Index:
- Customers can see themselves in Fabletics email messages.
True personalization goes beyond mail-merging the customer’s first name into the subject line or parading a line of upsell recommendations based on past purchases. That’s table stakes in today’s email marketing game.
To fuel its efforts, Fabletics learns about and interacts with its customers through style quizzes, preferences, and browsing and buying activity flagged by its VIP subscription program. All of these activities deliver data points that drive the brand’s content decisions that shape its promotional email strategy and execution. But the results aren’t as obvious as “You bought that, so you should like this.”
The personalization is pervasive yet subtle, so much so that customers may not even realize they’re seeing an email designed just for them. These personalized messages prove that Fabletics understands its customers at a deeper, more meaningful level, even down to determining the right time of day to send an email.
Take apparel for example. Using what it knows about its buyers, Fabletics populates its emails with images and models that feature fashions, styles, and brands that the customer frequently browses and/or buys. iSo, customers see themselves whenever they look at the imagery created by Fabletics’ marketing team.
- Each email is personal, not just personalized.
Fabletics marries personalization to a personal brand voice—a cheery, upbeat vibe that uses we more than you. “Thinking about getting a new bra?” says one subject line. “Us, too,” says the preheader. That creates an irresistible conversation in any customer’s inbox.
Using “we” breaks a copywriting rule that says the message should focus on “you” (the customer) and not “we” (the brand). But it works here because it voices the inclusivity and community-building themes that run consistently throughout Fabletics’ messaging.
“We curated these looks for you” is a more personal and click-generating turn of phrase than “Looks curated just for you.”
“You” does show up in subject lines and message content because Fabletics regularly pulls customer reviews into its emails and pairs them with relevant products.
- Fabletics just gets email. Every part of it.
You can’t steal one of the top spots in the 2021 Retail Personalization Index by being good at only one part of the process. Fabletics’ email team has clearly thought through the mechanics that make up a successful email marketing program. Here are a few it’s currently personalizing and using to achieve success:
Abandoned-cart emails: Like other triggered messages, abandoned-cart and abandoned-browse emails require tight targeting, careful timing and strategic content to nudge the customer back to buy.
Fabletics’ abandonment emails include deep personalization—not just the customer’s name but also item sizes, photos, and colors—wrapped in clever copy to increase their purchase appeal. “Don’t forget about these cuties you were eyeing before,” and “This cute stuff would look better on you than in your cart.”
Subject lines: In short, we love them. They’re not getting clipped in inboxes, they’re long enough to inspire intrigue, and always in the Fabletics brand voice. Here are five of our faves:
- “The cure to Sunday scaries”
- “Deal delivery: Something special in your account”
- “Take me home with you”
- “Bryan, you look great in black”
- “Liza has something for you”
Engaging email technology: Fabletics incorporates many tactics that use real-time technology, such as countdown clocks that use time-of-open to show how many days, hours, or minutes are left before a promotion begins or ends. The email below shows how data from one Fabletics subscriber’s location at moment-of-open powers local weather conditions that tie into the email’s promotional angle.