We’re obsessed with political blast email — duh — and are subscribed to pretty much every list out there. But it’s important to remember that outside of the political world there are also a ton of creative people sending awesome emails. Here are a few of my favorite email lists that have absolutely nothing to do with politics.
For a hilarious brand voice – Eat24
If you’re not already on this list, you’re doing it wrong. First of all — weekly coupons for $2 off food? No complaints here. But despite Eat24 sending the same email (coupon!) at the same time every week (Friday morning!), their emails are never stale. They’re funny, compelling, and have some seriously sincere brand voice. Also what other newsletter can you name where the legal disclaimer is as exciting to read as the email itself?
For the most creative design – Kate Spade
I know, I know. But stay with me. The clever people at Kate Spade put a spin on what we’ve come to expect from email blasts from large retailers. They use amazing gifs, feature ongoing storylines that continue across blasts, employ super creative photos, make smart use of text-only email, and somehow manage to use consistent branding while still changing up the style and color scheme every day. Impressive and creative stuff!
For when I’m hungry – Food52
I’m not crazy — we all love drooling over pictures of food that appear in our inbox, right? Food52 is one of my favorite food blog lists to follow — they consistently have compelling pictures and recipes, all displayed in a very sleek and styled way. Food52 gets me to bookmark about half of the recipes they send out in each blast; whether or not I ever make them is totally on me.
For the best story-telling – Narratively
Looking for lunch reading? Narratively is great — a site devoted to longform story-telling pieces revolving around weekly themes (some highlights: Cats!!!, Lost Legends, That Song Stuck in my Head, Cheating Death). Their email blasts give a rundown of the week’s articles through short but insanely compelling descriptions — I always find myself clicking through to their site to finish reading.
For extreme personalization – 8tracks
Cleary I’m into emails that do the work for me. 8tracks takes a look at what I’ve been listening to and send me targeted emails with personalized recommendations of what to listen to next. On top of slick personalization, 8tracks emails are a fun read with their casual tone and corny jokes — they’re written in the exact voice I would imagine for the team over there. Wait, do people still use 8tracks or is that just me?