Holiday Email Marketing Tips and Tricks
The holiday season is the busiest time of year for most businesses. Over the past couple of years, many retailers have seen an exponential jump in online sales. Because more people are shopping online during the holiday season, the holiday sale period has grown larger every year. We advise that you start planning your holiday marketing as early as possible to take advantage of the growing window. But how can you capitalize on this? What's the best way to get in front of those who are shopping online? In this article, we'll go over some of the best ways to use email marketing to get to those potential customers.
Why Email Marketing Works During the Holiday Season
In this day and age, nearly everyone has a mobile device they carry around with them during the day. Recent studies have shown that a majority of customers did all of their product research and pricing with a mobile device for the holiday season. Keep in front of your customers by sending out mobile-responsive emails that promote your deals that customers can easily view on their mobile device.
How to best use email marketing for the holidays
Email marketing can be used in a variety of ways to grab your subscribers' attention. Since everyone is unique, there's no cookie-cutter approach to how you design your emails. Below, we've outlined a couple of styles of holiday sends. In the end, you're the one who knows your customers the best, so design your emails with them in mind.
Create a Sales Email
Setting up an email that explains all of your holiday discounts is essential for the season. Subscribers are looking for those deals in their inbox daily during this time of year. If your email isn't among those promotions, some subscribers may never see what you have to offer.
Capitalize on mobile responsive design with large call to action buttons and vibrant images of your product or services. Interested in seeing some great examples of different holiday sends? Check out our earlier blog here.
Do More Than Sales
Besides sales emails, there are other styles of sends that you can use with your subscribers this holiday season. Some of those are:
- Exclusive coupons that can be used online and/or in-store.
- Email invitations to specific holiday events.
- Specialized guides to holiday shopping for everyone on their list.
- A "Happy Holidays" email that has no sale in it.
Don't forget that email marketing can be intertwined with your other digital marketing holiday campaigns. You could promote your social media through your email, send out a social post asking users to sign up to your email list for an exclusive deal, or use your PPC campaigns to promote your email list.
Creating Attention-Grabbing Emails for the Holidays
Designing holiday emails for your subscribers may seem daunting, so we've created some easy to follow guidelines. Below are just a few tricks to help you get more engagement, but there's always more to learn! Don't forget to put your own personal spin on your holiday sends.
1. Refrain from Reusing Last Year's Content
The most common mistake that businesses make when it comes to reaching out to others via email is rehashing old content. While content is king, reused material is not. You need to be unique in every holiday season. Consider new offers, new text, updated images, and other pieces of content that will draw your customers back for more.
2. Use Clever Holiday Themed Subject Lines and Openings
Emails with personalized subject lines are more likely to be opened than generic using ones. After all, first impressions are always important. That being said, adding your subscriber's name to the subject line can help boost engagement in your holiday emails. Other ways to grab their attention from the start is using emojis like stars, snowmen, and other holiday-related icons. Making your email designs festive for the holidays can help the chances that your subscribers open the email.
Aside from subject lines, the starting text of your emails can make or break your email. Generic greetings like "Merry Christmas" and "Hello" will turn off subscribers and throw away your email. Take the time to personalize each email with their first name, state, or something else. Using our Merge Tag system, it's easy to fill in your subscribers' data to truly make it a personal experience.
3. Don't Overdo it with Images and Text
While it might seem like a good idea to have a wall of text and a large, flashy image, it doesn't help the reader much. If anything, large images don't help consumers click on the call to action buttons or links that direct them to your goods/services. The same can be said for emails with walls of text. People's attention spans are shorter these days, and if you send them an email with walls of text and images, it's likely that they won't engage. Keep your holiday emails simple and to the point.
Is Your Email Marketing Ready for the Holiday Season?
Don't let the holidays sneak up on you, download our 2019 Holiday Email Guide! While you're at it, sign up for a free account now and get started today!
