Everyone loves free stuff, especially free food. Last week I got not only one email but seven emails from unlikely sources. The email was originally from Red Robin promoting their new Jim Beam Burger. If your name is Jim, James, or Jimbo you could get the new burger for free on December 6th.

I don’t know about you, but most promotional emails immediately go into the trash. I almost never pass them on, and I don’t think I have ever shared any of them on Facebook or Twitter. However, this email broke the mold. Not only did I keep it, I passed it on and I used it. So why was this particular email marketing campaign intriguing enough to me and the seven other people who passed it on?

No trickery

Red Robin’s promotion was simple. It didn’t require me to go find some random item or cut coupons, and it wasn’t a 25% off or even 50% off, they just wanted me to show up and get a free burger. Now I am not saying “free” is the ultimate promotion, it still depends on what you are giving away. If the promotion doesn’t appear as a good deal, then no one will go for it. With Red Robin I knew that I had to buy fries and a drink and even more importantly tip my waiter, but it is still a FREE BURGER. The deal was so tempting that I took my family out, when otherwise we would have stayed home.

Pretty

The way your email and promotion looks also plays a huge role in its success. If you look back at the Red Robin promotion, if there was a nasty looking burger or bad design, would it be as compelling? The design of your promotion also needs to be thought through. Websites, emails, Facebook pages, and other promotional materials are handled and viewed differently by users. If the design isn’t expertly created then it is less likely to be passed on or even viewed.

Easy to pass along

What is offered and how it is presented will make the promotion more likely to be shared. But if you don’t make it as easy as possible for people to post it on Facebook, tweet about it, or even put it on their blog, it will all amount to nothing. The majority of Internet users now use at least one of these three methods of social media. If your customers are here why not take advantage of social media marketing and extend your reach. Ensuring you have quick links to Facebook and Twitter on everything is especially important. Nowadays all you need is the icon and it is universally known as the “share it” link. Embed codes are also handy if people want to post it on their blog.

I received seven emails and the majority of them were through Facebook. My wife, however, received over 20 and they were all through social media. When a promotion is created with the right ingredients it’s hard not to create the lead generation you are looking for. For even more email marketing tips, be sure to check out this post.

About the author

James Rognon

James comes equipped with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing with an emphasis in visual communication from BYU-Idaho. James has managed several small businesses, and has the ability to see the larger picture in every project for our clients. When he isn’t conceptualizing campaigns, James is cooking, shooting photography, playing soccer, hitting the slopes, or playing with his kids.