How to Leverage [your product] in Your Business

Save Money and Look Like a Star to Your Boss

How to Impress Your Cranky CFO - Save $1000

Increase Your ROI by [xx]%, Guaranteed

How to make it onto your buyer's short list

Complimentary Webinar: [insert webinar name]

Now you can do even more with your [xxxx]

Should your company outsource [insert thing to outsource here]?

Breakfast & Secrets for How to [insert problem you solve or product you sell]

Success Tip: 5 Ways to a Better [xxxx]

Register Today: [inert name of event] Nov. 5 2009

Entry deadline fast approaching

New White Paper: Best Practices for [Insert problem and solution here]

Success Tip #1: [Insert Tip Headline Here]

A gift employees and clients will love: [Insert gift name here]

Extended for a Day: Get Free Shipping Through Friday

Your Weekly Alert: [insert topic here]

Hear Exclusive Research Presented on [insert what your event is about] - Register Now!

Inside: [hot topic in your newsletter you think will get the most opens]

5 Ways to Maximize Holiday Sales

Save $200: [insert event here] Early Bird Registration Ends [insert date here]

Specific ones I think are good and why:

Marketing on a Tight Budget - Part 1 - Hits a pain point and makes it seem like there is even more information to help me, on its way.

Countdown to the Awards Gala: Reason #5 to Attend - This company did a series of 7 email campaigns in a row, to get people excited.

The Venture Capitalist Industry Isn't Broken: VatorNewsletter - Here they started with the hot topic in the front of the subject line and it was somewhat controversial.

Secure Your SaaS Application (White paper Included) - I like that they tell you there is something tangible in it for you right in the subject line.

Cognos Training: 50% Discount - Year-End Budget - I LOVE the way they use Year End Budget because in many companies if you don't spend the budget you have this year, you won't get it again next year. This also works well with "Quarter-End Budget"

Thank You From Dice - This was just a nice thank you for your business with a huge discount to get customers coming back.

Get a $30 Gift Card for 30 Minutes of Your Time - It was to take a demo of a new product.

Frustrated with Graphics in Microsoft Office? - This company sells a product to make it all better and they got to a real pain point for people.

Subject lines are so important since it's the reason your recipients are going to look to that to decide if they want to open your email. If you've got some B2B subject lines that have worked for you in the past, comment on the post, we'd love to know them.

We regularly give our small business customers a pat on the back for surviving and thriving in this economy, and recently President Obama mentioned that the small business sector has created 65 percent of all new jobs in America over the past 15 years. However, the VerticalResponse survey does show that smaller businesses may take longer to recover from the current economic downturn, as only 11% of businesses with 1-10 employees are planning on new hires in the next three months.

Read the rest of the story here, and stay tuned for some other findings in the State of Small Business Survey. Interested in surveying your own customers? Check out how we did it here.

So here is a list of ideas you can put to work now, and it doesn't have to be just for the holiday season.

1. Handwritten Thank You Notes - Gilt does a great job of this and even though it's not handwritten, it's a very nice gesture.

2. A Funky Hat - Wine.com included this very cool hat inside their shipping package along with nifty bottle neckers for you to take tasting notes on.

3. Candy - Who doesn't love a package of M&Ms or some Jelly Belly's? Just make sure it won't melt and ruin the product you're trying to ship! A great idea I heard from Andy Sernovitz, author of Word Of Mouth Marketing.

4. Samples - Do you sell products that you are able to give smaller samples of? Put samples of other products in the box when you ship. You're likely to see your customers come back and buy more from you the next time.

5. Get calendars for next year printed with your logo, url and contact information included. 

6. I got a book shipped from Andy Sernovitz, his new one coming out is really great, and in the packaging he included a bookmark with his info printed on it, a smiley face button and packages of yummy bacon salt! It had nothing to do with the book, but it got a group of us talking and tasting!

7. Logo'd Bag - Drawstring backpacks are great for the gym and who isn't using grocery bags these days? I saw both of them at Branders for about $2. You can't have enough of these!

8. Post-It Notes - Who doesn't love them? Have some printed with your information on them. I saw them at 4Imprint for 47¢ each.

9. Fun Games - I once got a package with a whoopie cushion in it! Ok, you don't have to go that crazy but what about a fun keychain puzzle, temporary tattoo, or a frisbee? It always gets people talking and puts a smile on their faces.

It doesn't have to cost much to go above and beyond, remember, it's the thought that counts. What are your ideas for this retail season?

What got me thinking about this was watching the television ads that Southwest Airlines has been running recently. In these tough economic times when many of the airlines are nickel and diming travelers for things like blankets and bags, Southwest is promoting "Bags Fly Free". They're not going for "most on-time arrivals" or "most legroom". They're hitting a pain point that's giving them some real differentiation.

I started to think of a few other big names that have done a great job at this. Enterprise Rent-a-Car picks you up if you can't get to the car rental location. Westin Hotels markets their Heavenly Bed to weary guests. Red Envelope sends everything they sell in beautiful red packaging. Heck, Playtex is even marketing their see through packaging so you can see what's inside before you buy it.

What do you think that you have in your arsenal that will make you rise above it all in a crowded messaging arena? Here are a few ideas I kicked around.

Wineries - Promote something off the wall like your wine is great with a burger.  Promote that your screw caps are better for the environment than corks or that you don't need a wine opener for your wines. OR vice versa, your wine will age better with a cork.

Jewelry Designers - Talk about how your jewelry clasps never break.

Nail Spas - Promote that your nail polish lasts 14 days or that you've got the most comfortable chairs and the best magazines.

Hair Salons - Talk about how you give the best 10 minute scalp massage with any haircut and promote a free "clean up" or bang trim two weeks after your cut.

Hotels - Is your property dog-friendly? Talk about it! Promote the steamer in the rooms so that your guests can steam their wrinkled clothes.

Auto Shops - Promote your kid-friendly shop and your free coffee, bagels and muffins in the morning.

Restaurants - Open for Thanksgiving? Promote a take-home baggie of a turkey sandwich for every patron.

Software - Talk about how you are saving the environment because your user guide is online or on a CD, or that your SaaS company loves the environment because there is no packaging.

Once you have your competitive advantage down, test it in your next email marketing campaign and in your messaging. You might be surprised what resonates with new prospects.

What great competitive advantages do you have to use? Share them please, we'd love to hear them.

The first subject line: Take Our Survey and Tell Us What You Think

We received 181 more opens and 35 more clicks than the following more specific subject line: Take 5 Minutes - See How Your Business Stacks Up

In this specific case it seemed to be that we had more opens and clicks from the generic subject line and more people taking our survey. This illustrates why it's important to be testing subject lines to get more opens or content inside your email to be getting more clicks.

First of all, I'm assuming at this point that your recipients will recognize you from your "From Label". I've written why your From Label is very important in your email marketing campaigns. If they are familiar with who the email is coming from, you'll have better luck getting your email opened with a catchy subject line.

As a retailer your email marketing campaigns are probably all about selling. If you sell your own products or products from other manufacturers, you'll be trying to announce new products, new seasons or discounts and sales. You'll want your recipients to act fast, so you may want to try expiration dates in your subject line. We even see businesses using hours in the day in their expiration time periods.

You'll see that some of these subject lines are a bit vague like "An Exclusive Offer for You", however sometimes that might get more opens than if you talk about a specific product. That's something that you need to test for yourself in your own campaigns.

Offer, Offer, Offer

Enjoy this Special Offer at Our New Location

25-40% off - Email-Only Offer – Today Only

Invitation-Only 2 Hour Event Starts 11:30 AM CT

Ends Today! 20% Off Friends & Family

Top 10 under $10

Free shipping - offer ends in 3 days

Free product with purchase of [product name]

[New Product] has arrived. Order now before we run out.

Earn double points for [insert product or action].

Last Chance: Get up to $25 now

Save 10% on your next order

Enjoy [season] with rates from $65

Service Notice: Exciting new changes at [your company]

An Exclusive Offer for You

[Your company] October Specials

Last minute deals, special offers, and new [product name]

Act Now to renew your [subscription name]

Online only: 25% off friends and family

Introducing our latest…[product/feature here]

[Product name] Promotion week. Save 25%

Extended for a day! Get Free shipping through Friday

Stock up and save 15%

Limited Supply: Limit 2 [product name] per customer

Ho-ho-ho: The [your company] holiday catalog is here!

Email subscriber exclusive: [Product name] sale is here

Ends Today: Take 20% off your entire order

Private Sale Ends Today

Your choice of amazing items $50 + under

Great gifts for [Dad, Mom, etc]

Best Sellers every [girl, boy, man, woman, dog, etc.]

Everything you need when the temperatures [rise, fall]

Free Shipping--Limited Time Offer

Catchy & Creative

Sometimes all you need is a little vase lift  (retailer selling vase's)

We've got you covered from head to toe (retailer selling hats, shirts, pants and boots)

How La Perla got its name (retailer selling lingerie, telling a story inside the email)

Temperatures Fall, Style Rises (retailer selling coats)

Celebrity Favorites (selling accessories that Hollywood is wearing)

Did you remember to get a gift? It's ok, we did. (retailer wanting to get people to register for gift reminders)

10 Gift Ideas for your little ones (retailer listing top 10 suggestions for kids)

Manhattan View for a Song in the Shower (retailer selling shower curtain with Manhattan skyline on it)

Take your pick: Our 9 Favorite Dresses (retailer suggesting by popularity)

Coolest modern desk on the job...for $149 (retailer including price in the subject line)

Score Great Savings on Game-Time Gear: HDTVs, Furniture & More (retailer selling TV's with a sports slant)

Party Like it's 1999 Aged Cabernet Special (wine retailer)

In our store: Last minute Mother's Day combo ready to go (retailer getting the last minute shoppers with a catch "combo to go".)

Adorn Your Home Now & Through the Holidays (Home decor retailer)

Mind-Blowing Grenache (wine retailer)

Bring this email to a Gap store and win! (retailer trying to get store traffic)

I hope this gets your creative juices flowing. You can also find some great holiday-specific subject lines here. If you've got some great subject lines that have worked for your business, comment and let us know.

I like the show because he gets down into the inner workings of a small business and peels away the onion to find any issues that might be hampering the business from growing.

So, I've outlined 6 things we can all learn from Gordon Ramsay, followed by a question you can ask yourself to see how you rate by his business strategy.

#1 - It all starts with the customer.

One of the first questions Chef asks the restaurant he is working with is how many people have reserved for the evening. More often than not, it's a pretty low number, so he observes for a night to find out why. In most cases (or there wouldn't be a TV show) there are serious issues with the way the entire restaurant is run.

He also takes to the streets; in many shows he walks the streets of the town to observe other restaurants and he'll stop people and ask what they think about the restaurant he's trying to help.

Question: When was the last time you surveyed your customers to find out what they think about your business, your product or your service?

#2 - Chef Ramsay gets at the foundation of the business.

He wants to get to know the owner of the place to find out how the business got into bad shape in the first place. He wants to see the owner's passion for what they do. He works with the staff to make sure they have a proper foundation and that the person leading the charge is truly leading the charge.

Then he gets into the real foundation of the business. According to Ramsay, success starts with a clean kitchen and in many cases that's the first thing that gets done.

Question: When was the last time you did a proper "cleaning" of your business to make sure it’s in order? It could be cleaning out old inventory lying around or it could be actually cleaning up your office environment. Spring cleaning is always a great idea for a fresh start!

#3 - The product needs to be good.

Chef wants to know who is making the food and what ingredients are being used. He wants to know if the staff is capable of doing what needs to be done. Then he works with them to make a great product (in this case, menu) and changes the way they think about what they're making and how they're presenting it.

Question: Is your product or service the best it can be? What would it take to get it to the next level? Do you need to change the way your staff thinks?

#4 - The experience needs to be good.

Ramsay will go to the extent of training the staff himself to make sure that reservations are being booked in a way that doesn’t overflow the kitchen. He'll make sure that the staff is offering entrées that the kitchen can make quickly and tries to get them thinking about the customer experience. Then he'll go to extremes and redesign the restaurant and give it a clean, friendly and updated look. Doing this has often given the staff a morale boost, which often leads to a great experience.

Question: When was the last time you looked at your location, or your website? Putting a fresh coat of paint on your walls, changing your front door entrance, or reducing the number of clicks your website visitors have to go through might be just the thing your business needs.

#5 - A business needs to market itself.

Obviously you can't get the word out without a great product and a great experience, but now there's something to talk about. My favorite thing about this show is that Chef knows how important it is to get the word out, from the signage out front to winning over customers on the street. For an Indian food restaurant, he had Indian dancers perform in the neighborhood and hand out food; for a Soul Food restaurant he set up an outdoor BBQ and gave food away. He's a true marketer at heart, which is what I love about him.

Question: What creative things are you doing to get the word out for your business?

#6 - Get back to the customer.

After it's all said and done, Chef Ramsay asks for feedback. After the dining experience, he wants to keep the business in check so getting comment cards back from the customers is critical.

Question: Are you asking your customers for feedback constantly, then acting on it?

There you have it, 6 reasons why I think there's a lot to learn from Gordon Ramsay. The meat of why he’s effective is laid out above; imagine what can happen when you interpret these tips with your own special sauce.