AM Inbox: Looking for friends in all the right places

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RetailEmail.Blogspot monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 of the top online retailers. Here are highlights from our inbox this morning:

AbeBooks, 7/27 — AbeBooks Avid Reader: Silver Screens, Kenyan Books, and June's Most Expensive Sales
AbeBooks is now on Facebook and is looking for friends among their subscribers. They appear to be very new to the social networking site as most of their groups have a few dozen members at most. Perhaps they are using secondary references in their emails to start to build up a critical mass, then move on to primary email references before pushing it on their blog and website.

Also worth noting: Normally AbeBooks uses the subject line “The Avid Reader:” and then lists a few key words and phrases to pique the recipient’s interest. However, in this email, they’ve started including their brand in the subject line: “AbeBooks Avid Reader.” (See Reportlet: Branded Subject Lines Underused by Retailers for more on branded subject lines.)



Macy’s, 7/29 — Introducing furniture - get 0% interest until 2009 with your Macy's card!
Macy’s announces to their subscribers that they’ve started selling furniture online.



Chadwick’s, 7/27 — Give Us 3 Minutes & Get Up To $30 OFF!
Sounding a bit like a Geico commercial, Chadwick’s tries to entice subscribers to complete a customer feedback survey.

SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER:
SmartBargains, 7/27 — Merry? Very. Just 1 week left of Christmas in July
DisneyShopping, 7/27 — Save Up to 40% in Our Back-to-School Shop
Sports Authority, 7/29 — Get All of Your Back to School Needs!
Kmart, 7/27 — Sales Sneak Peak + Dorm Essentials
B&H Photo Video, 7/27 — You are Invited: Photography and Video Seminars
Neiman Marcus, 7/29 — Shop Ken Downing's fall favorites + Fantasies become reality in his couture wrap-up
Sears, 7/28 — Midnight Savings: 20% Off Appliances + Free Shipping ends 6 AM
Drugstore.com, 7/29 — Up to 30% off Burt's Bees, Email Exclusive
Bloomingdale’s, 7/27 — Shop Our One Day Home Sale, July 28th. Preview Day, July 27th.
Staples, 7/27 — Save up to $200 on select all-in-ones
Ross-Simons, 7/27 — Only $95! Hammered Oval Pendant with Tiger's Eye Necklace.
Nordstrom, 7/27 — Anniversary Sale: Save on Top Trends for Fall
Drs. Foster & Smith, 7/27 — Email Exclusive: One Week Only Bonus Red Tag Sale
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