'Hey.' How Obama Became Spammer-in-Chief:

Barack H. Obama's campaign organization has been opening the kimono on its techniques. Now that the election's over, is there anything enterprises can learn from their success? One area that's fascinated many is the campaign's unusual choices of direct email creative.

Now the story can be told:

On the one hand, here's a fascinating glimpse into how the Obama campaign raised hundreds of millions of dollars using bulk email. It should inspire all you direct marketers out there to spruce up your tired old email campaigns.

On The Other Hand, let's hope the massed ranks of illegal spammers don't get wind of these powerful techniques.

A bemused Joshua Green is fascinated at the campaign's odd choices for email subject lines:

“Join me for dinner?” “It’s officially over,” “It doesn’t have to be this way,” or just “Wow.” ... But they worked. Most of the $690 million Obama raised online came from fundraising e-mails. ...the product of rigorous...A-B testing.
...
It quickly became clear that a casual tone was usually most effective. ... [One] blockbuster in June simply read, “I will be outspent.” [It] outperformed 17 other variants and raised more than $2.6 million.

Graeme McMillan is surprised:

What one word worked best when it came to the Obama campaign? ... Here’s a clue: It wasn’t “Romney,” “Mitt,” [or] “Republican.” ... It was, apparently, a simple “Hey.”
...
If that seems surprising to you – I admit, if I saw something like that in my inbox from a celebrity, I’d be more likely to assume it was spam...you’re not alone.

And Justin Franz looks ahead:

There is no denying the Obama team's prowess when it comes to campaigning on...the Internet, but amazingly, even the simple choice of...subject line could result in hundreds of thousands of more dollars being raked in that day.
...
political strategists looking toward...2016 would be wise to examine this race. There is no doubt that...the Internet and social media will play an even bigger role next time.

But Ed Hallen noted a seemingly-minor point:

Very unexpectedly, 1 in 6...subject lines ended in colons. Here are a couple of examples:
• Real Quick:
• Urgent:
• This Matters:
• Deadline:
...my guess is that...ending a message in a colon makes people more likely to read it.
...
The email strategies of the political campaigns...are a great indicator of how...companies are getting better every day at knowing how to make you purchase.

So Alexis C. Madrigal twiddles the tone controls:

The Obama campaign...employed a team of 20 writers...a sophisticated analytics system to measure and improve their effectiveness [and] a high-powered viral media outfit lurking in Chicago.
...
your inbox...is always available for you...there are some things you'd like to read within it, and many more that you'll flip by. ... The first step for the Obama campaign was to grab your attention [and] get you to open the email.
...
Tone, on the Internet, is everything.

Meanwhile, Judd Lyon tries to grok the sums involved:

My guess is that over a billion dollars can buy you some pretty...sophisticated marketing. What email campaigns have more on the line?

More from NetAppVoice:

• How To Be A Great Place To Work
• Big Data and the U.S. Election: Some Surprising Stats.
• What if Big Data is Too Big? A Radical Solution May Be in DNA