I just got an email from Qdoba Mexican Grill (click on the image at left to see a larger version) and it was a great example of creative permission email.

I signed up to receive emails from Qdoba when I became a member of their frequent purchaser card. I’ve received several other emails from them and they have all been very straightforward.

When I saw the Subject Line of this email (Stinky Brown Bag), my first thought was that the email was spam and I should delete it. Then I read it again and realized that it was from Qdoba. I’d bet that everyone who works in an office has received an email like this at some point in their career. By using a creative headline like this, Qdoba got me to open an email that I might not have opened otherwise.

I’d be very interested to see what Qdoba’s open rate was on this email. In addition to having a clever headline on the email, they followed up with clever content and offered a deal. This somewhat deceptive subject line is definitely not a tactic that should be used frequently, but Qdoba was able to highlight a special offer in a unique way.

This kind of creativity should be employed in more email campaigns. One of the most important parts of an email marketing campaign is the email subject. The better your subject is, the more people that will open up your email. Of course, you still need good content in the email, but can use good headlines to get your foot in the door.