What’s the most irritating marketing trend you know?
I noticed a growing trend of businesses using Unicode characters in subject lines – snowmen at Christmas, hearts for Valentine’s Day, suns for summer sales.
And to me? It looks like something 12 year old would post on Facebook. But trusted retailers must be seeing success with these symbols, because they continue to use them.
That got me thinking about other trends and practices out there that seem really annoying but actually produce great results – whether it’s open rates, click throughs or new email sign ups.
The trend of using symbols in subject lines got us talking about other trends that seem annoying but really work, like USING ALL CAPS in the subject line or using a popover web form to attract new subscribers. Who wants their web browsing experience to get interrupted like that?
But surprisingly enough, these tactics seem to work and work incredibly well.
Have you tried any of these trends with similar results?
Have you come across any other trends that turn you off as a marketer but get results for your campaign? Do you use any of them yourself? Have you gotten surprising results?
