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    Uber Emails and how they can improve

    I'm a copywriter and tend to notice when people are screwing up on their email.

    This time I've noticed someone who has room to grow: UBER. 

    Love the service.

    Love the company.

    Meh on the emails.  

    I pulled a big list of the emails Uber has sent me since I signed up for Uber in July 2013 when I needed a looong ride from the Seattle airport to the suburbs:

    Uber email frequency

    Of all these emails, the only inherently interesting emails I really get are when they send my receipt.

    The receipt email is great because it's all about ME!  I even save them in a special expenses folder.

    These receipt emails are inherently helpful to me:

    uber-receipt

     

    But if you take a look at some of the other Uber email marketing attempts, they're not inherently interesting:

    uber-email-5-star

    This email I thought was actually on the higher-end of being interesting, but it fell flat.

    Problems with this email:

    • Doesn't particularly teach you anything useful.
    • There was a chance to tell a good emotional story, but it seemed like someone at Uber "wanted to keep the email short" and cut it off.  It lost all the emotions because it was so short.  (Guy gives ride to another guy to jump-start his car.  BFD).  If there's a great story to tell, don't worry about the length.  Keep it long if necessary to tell a good story.

     

     

    "Ok Neville, how do you KNOW FOR SURE these emails could be better??  You don't know their actual stats....."

     

    I started poking around to see if I could find some "pseudo-stats" from the emails.  Time-and-time again I found results such as this:

    Checkout this "#WomenMoveUs" campaign email:

    uber-women-email

    Ok, that's a noble cause.....but the message is all over the place and not correctly explained.

    But more troubling was that I checked the "psedudo-stats" from a lot of emails like this, and the numbers were surprisingly low for some of them....like the view count on the YouTube video from the email:

    Uber email video count

    That video is 4+ months old and barely has any views for a company on the size of Uber.

    Even if this video was only sent to Uber subscribers in Seattle, this number still seems jokingly-small for how much effort must've been put into that campaign.

     

    So how can we make Uber emails better....and actually get people to use the service more?

    Let's play a simple thought-experiment:

    Let's pretend you have been named Uber's VP of Email Marketing Growth, and you have to get people ACTUALLY READING the Uber emails or else Travis Kalanick will bitch-slap you.

    How would we do this?

    I think the key point is to make Uber's emails inherently interesting.  This means writing about topics such as:

    • Showing alternate uses for Uber people may not have thought of.  This helps ME.

    • Stories of people using Uber in unique and useful ways.  This helps ME think of new ways to use Uber.
    • Cool features customers may not know of.  This helps ME understand the product better.
    • How Uber dramatically improved someone's life.  This gets ME emotionally involved.
    • A case study of how much money someone saved because they take Uber instead of owning a car.  This helps ME make decisions about my vehicle situation.

    It's very tempting to "brag" about how cool your company is, but it's far more effective to show what the services can do for THEM.

    Let's take a couple of examples.

    In the blue boxes below I've made a sample email in the same format Uber currently sends it's emails:

    [[Headline]]

    [[image]]

    [[Text]]

    This email is meant to show the email subscriber some cool ideas for using an Uber Black (they may have never even THOUGHT of using the service for these):

    "Want to roll in style?  Order an Uber Black and get a luxury car picking you up."

    Uber Black Car

    An Uber Black will only cost you 20% more than an UberX, but you get a Black Car (either Mercedes, Jaguar, BMW, or Audi) picking you up.

    An Uber Black car is great for:

    • Date nights.
    • Looking baller at the club.
    • Transporting wedding parties.
    • Picking up VIP guests from the airport in style.

    Next time you want to feel like a million bucks, order yourself an Uber Black.

     

    This email shows some cool uses about Uber XL.  A lot of people may not even know you could carry this many people in an Uber.  This pops the idea into their brain that for their next group outing, everyone could take a single vehicle:

    "Did you know you can take up to 7 people in an Uber XL?"

    Uber XL

    When you've got a group of people going somewhere and don't want to split up, just select "Uber XL" on your app. We'll send a van or SUV capable of taking 7 adults.

    A taxi will normally take only 4 passengers.  But you my friend have FAR more friends than that to shuttle around.

    • Use an Uber XL when going out on the town with a group of friends.
    • Shuttle your big family around on a rainy day.
    • Have tons of bags from shopping?  They'll easily fit in an Uber XL.

    Just select "Uber XL" when calling your Uber, and a big SUV or van will come your way with plenty of room!

     

    This email shows "unique uses" of the service.  Most people think of Uber as only "a car service kind of like a taxi."  So giving real life examples like this of "alternate uses" expands someone's view of what Uber is:

    "Uber helped us move the big stuff!"

    uber-moving

    "All of our friends live in the city and no one has a truck or car big enough to move stuff.

    We only had a couch and a dresser that needed a large van to be moved.  We selected "Uber XL" and got a Honda Odyssey van big enough to fit the couch with no problem!

    The cheapest moving service we could find was $300.......but our Uber XL trip only cost $12!  Thanks Uber!"

    Sincerely,

    Ashlee Tacohm - Happy Uber Rider

     

    This is another "alternate use" email which people may not have even realized.  A large number of teenagers are using Uber with their parents permission, this could bolster more of that use by letting parents know some crucial info:

    "Jason's new ride home from school is Uber"

    uber-bus

    Our oldest son is 15 and part of over 6 different after-school activities.

    Between 3 different kids, we end up shuttling the kids across the city.....and sometimes literally couldn't make some activities.  Thanks to Uber, we sometimes have our 15 year old grab an Uber to wherever he needs to go.

    It's comforting to know that even when swamped with errands for the other kids, he can still safely get where he needs to.

    The best part is that Uber tracks the entire trip for us.  We know where his pickup location was, drop-off point, who the driver is, and the route they took.  As parents this is a must-have for our peace of mind.  We'd never let him take a random taxi.

    Thanks to Uber Jason can be active as he wants.

     

     

    Before these email marketing campaigns, a person signed up to Uber may think of it just in this little circle:

    uber-scope

    .....but after getting a bunch of USEFUL emails from Uber, someone's scope of what the product will be FAR LARGER like this!

    uber-scope-big

     

    Now you don't have to be a genius to figure out that the person who is well-informed of all the cool uses of the product will use it more.  

    Sincerely,

    Neville Medhora

     

    P.S. Comment below with some ways YOU think you could improve the Uber newsletter, I would love to help get them more feedback!

     

     

     


    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments



    I'm bettin' that the person at UBER who writes those emails is feeling either pissed at you or is looking for you on FIVERR...Nicely said Neville
    Link to comment
    Guest Kyle

    Posted

    Want to finally do those microbrew tours you and your crew have been talking about forever? No one wants to DD, and you were too lazy to find a shuttle service. No worries, Let UberXL DD. Save some $$ over that crappy shuttle service, and get your crew to the brews all through the Uber app. Cheers!
    Link to comment
    Guest Samantha Attard

    Posted

    I would do emails with "suggested uber rides." It would suggest that you visit a museum exhibit, have a picnic in specific park, or participate in an event, tell and you how much it would cost to uber there.

    Or - it could suggest an "uber tour" - give you a specific route to take in your uber with notes along the way about what you're seeing, and drop off points along to route to stop for a meal, or see other cool sites. So it's a way to tour your own city (or one your visiting).

    I love these "how to improve" emails! thanks Neville!

    Link to comment
    Guest Scott Barlow

    Posted

    Scott from England here... even our emails over here suck.

    I love the Uber XL advert you did - "How to look awesome in front of your date..."

    Giggity

    Link to comment
    Guest Sean

    Posted

    Uber could do a lot by promoting their community (ex. drivers of the month) or even their services. When Uber launched Uber Eats in NYC they sent me 1 email that was long and convoluted. They should have shown me the delicious food they could have delivered and a big call to action button
    Link to comment
    Guest Janelle @ Run With No Regrets

    Posted

    Hi Neville, it's amazing how much I learned about Uber's services based on your "fake" emails rather than the emails that Uber actually sends out! Just looking at some of the Uber emails that I've opened and essentially ignored, the copy just doesn't stand out. I'd recommend getting rid of the centered text and use more images and bullet points to break things out.
    Link to comment
    Guest Jonathan Brody

    Posted

    Subject: Why you DON'T tip with Uber...

    It's true.

    Uber is not just about conveniently making you a baller; it's about conveniently saving you cash, too. With rates cheaper than a yellow cab, never again waste time:

    - fumbling to take out your wallet.

    - handling loose change and calculating how much you need to tip.

    - worrying about whether your driver is happy or sad with the tip you're leaving!

    With Uber, we do it all. Ensuring both you *and* your driver's happiness.

    Never tip again. And never worry about the right way to travel, either.

    Link to comment
    Guest Liz Loftus

    Posted

    I just stumbled on your blog a couple of weeks ago and LOVE the content. I am always trying to make our marketing and emails more creative. Thanks for the great ideas and I look forward to reading and learning more!
    Link to comment
    Guest Allen

    Posted

    These are good. Another is to sell people on the value of their time, and more importantly what they could do with that time.

    Big cheese CEO has a personal assistant, a butler, and a DRIVER so that they can spend time focused on more important tasks, which makes them more money in the long term...

    Because Uber is so cheap even Joe can make a profit on Uber. Use the time you'd spend driving to make phone calls, get some uninterrupted time to plan, respond to emails, or just clear your mind.

    Is the stress of driving in rush hour traffic keeping you from the right state of mind before that big interview or event?

    What could you do with that extra half hour of you time?

    Link to comment
    Guest Saba

    Posted

    Funny enough I too thought that Uber emails weren't up to par. This is a great detailed example. Now time to send this to Uber?

    Thanks Neville!

    Link to comment
    Guest Jonathan

    Posted

    Awesome work Nev! The thing is, until you wrote those emails I'd NEVER thought of using Uber in the ways you just described. Okay, so NOW I'm probably going to start Ubering!
    Link to comment
    Guest Kelvin Liang

    Posted

    Maybe Uber can encourage their customers to take photos with Uber drivers and post them on social media for a discount in future use?

    I reckon this will help build the interaction between the customer and Uber....

    I think...

    Link to comment
    Guest Mladen

    Posted

    In addition to what you suggested, I would hire few design/writing interns and create Uberrama, a short comic book that features the Uber-driver as the main hero in the most funniest situations that actually happened during the drive.

    This will engage readers, make them want to open and read every email.

    It will make them laugh, and share the comic with their friends.

    Link to comment
    Guest Judy White

    Posted

    Neville,

    This was great!!!

    How about using Uber for a wedding?

    An email re that would definitely get people thinking!!

    Thanks for the nudge.

    Judy

    Link to comment
    Guest Tristan Roberts

    Posted

    Nev, I totally agree about making the emails inherently useful, and that's sometihng I've been working on. I try to ask, is this email taking up space or is it adding value? I'm currently working on a new autoresponder series where every email imparts some useful insights and gives a link to free info for more.

    And I second the commenter on the breakdown posts being cool. More of these, please. Try a b2b service.

    Link to comment
    Guest Charlie B

    Posted

    I started reading this email during my morning constitutional and it kept me on the can way longer than necessary...(a sign of an engaging email)... But all these ads told me was what Uber can do ,but assuming I know nothing about it ,they don't tell me what it is exactly...how much it costs and how to get it. Those are some things as a first time user I'd like to know.
    Link to comment
    Guest Glynis

    Posted

    Loved this post. Amazing lesson in how to think outside the box. The Nev Box..? ;)
    Link to comment
    Guest David Ruess

    Posted

    Don't ever worry about being stuck at a boring party again.

     

    Who else has carpooled with a group of people and only 1 hour later thought,

    'I wish I drove myself so I could leave?'

    With Uber, now you can...whenever you want!

    Leave the boredom behind and pursue excitement with Uber.

    Thanks for all your help Neville Medhora, looking forward to the box! :)

    - David Ruess

    Link to comment
    Guest Mary McD

    Posted

    Love the ways you highlight how this could work, and also make it so applicable for other industries - just how to think "outside the [Nev]Box" is priceless!
    Link to comment
    Guest Matt Sandrini

    Posted

    Great post. Uber could engage with their subscribers in exchange for a bonus (kinda like you're doing with this post Neville).

    So they could ask readers to send pictures via email or social media sharing new ways to use the service, and offer free luxury upgrade for a certain period of time. This way they would get engagement and TONS of ideas for their future newsletters!

    Link to comment
    Guest Eric

    Posted

    Holy crap you are good at this, Neville. I've never used Uber before, but after reading your version of emails, I really want to try it. That moving furniture bit is brilliant!!
    Link to comment
    Guest Robert

    Posted

    Hi Nev,

    This is great idea. You just inspired me to send emails to my clients. I have just sent a short email to Italian restaurant owner in Fulham in London, UK.

    I have added the image as you described and pointed out what the new website will give to his clients so he could benefit from it.

    I will send at least 10 of those emails to different restaurants to upgrade their websites.

    I can feel so much more power emailing my potential clients after reading your blog post.

    Thank you sooooooooooooo MUCH!!!!

    Robert

    Link to comment
    Guest Eric Dickman

    Posted

    It appears to me that Uber is trying to project the "Corporate" look, to overcome the "we're just a bunch of nutty drivers" image. So, in their attempt to look "Professional" they've lost that personal, more intimate, non-stuffy quality in their emails. Nev's going the less formal, light-hearted route, while still looking professional. And the pictures are essential to enhancing the professional image, in contrast to the copy. Professional, yet personal. It's a fine line.
    Link to comment
    Guest Robert

    Posted

    How could I improve Uber newsletter?

    You can also travel like Donald Trump.

    Picture of Donald Trump in a limo.

    Uber provides limo service. When you want to impress your date or a client get Uber limo and travel in style.

    Link to comment
    Guest Justin Kerby

    Posted

    I think that Uber needs to change up their subject lines as well - so many of their emails go straight to my trash. Their generic nature makes it seem like a robot is emailing me - something fresh and unique would go a long way.
    Link to comment



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