The Season for Email Marketing- How to Spread Holiday Sales with Your Campaigns

Introduction

With consumers flooded with holiday promotions across channels like social media and search ads, email is often considered a more trustworthy and conversion-focused channel.

This guide will explore some best practices and innovative strategies to make the most of the holiday season with email marketing. Let's delve into some tips and examples for standing out from the crowd with your holiday email marketing.

Benefits of Holiday Email Marketing

An effective holiday email strategy can dramatically increase website traffic from new visitors during this peak buying season. Special offers and discounts distributed through email newsletters grab attention when inbox saturation is high. This provides a pathway for consumers to discover and engage with previously unknown brands. Holiday shoppers also tend to comparison shop more, providing an opening for brands to stand out and convert new leads.

Holiday-themed emails also have higher open and click-through rates compared to regular marketing emails. Capturing new subscribers through a viral holiday campaign gives brands the opportunity to convert them into loyal, repeat customers. Furthermore, holiday email generates data on customer interests which informs future marketing automation and segmentation.

Targeted Emails with Segmentation

Holiday email marketing campaigns can see higher engagement and conversion rates when marketers segment their email lists based on customized attributes. Dividing subscribers into smaller groups allows you to tailor your holiday promotions and messaging to their unique interests and needs.

For example, if you're an apparel retailer, you may segment your list by categories like women's clothing, men's clothing, activewear, seasonal items, and more. This allows you to send focused emails promoting your holiday deals on women's dresses to the women's clothing segment, and activewear holiday specials to the activewear enthusiasts.

Other ways to segment subscribers include by:

• Past purchase history - Send holiday offers based on items they've bought from you before
• Geography - Tailor messaging and promotions based on location
• Email engagement - Separate highly engaged subscribers from inactive ones
• Demographics - Age, gender, income level

Thekey is to get granular with your segmentation to serve your subscribers content that feels relevant. This helps boost open rates as subscribers see emails tailored specifically to their interests. Combine segmentation with personalization for a one-two punch.

Automated Holiday Email Campaigns

The holiday shopping season generates an influx of sales for most ecommerce businesses. With this spike in sales and website traffic, customer experience can easily take a backseat as stores struggle to keep up with demand. This is where automated holiday email campaigns come in handy. By setting up automated emails triggered by specific actions, stores can continue engaging with customers even during their busiest times.

Abandoned cart emails are a prime example of automation. With the shopping frenzy customers often add items to their cart but get distracted and leave the website before completing their purchase. Sending automated abandoned cart emails nudges these browsers into completing their purchase. Make sure to include relevant reminders about the items left in their cart and provide an incentive to complete the purchase like free shipping or a discount code. Time your automated emails well by sending the first one immediately after cart abandonment and additional reminder emails spaced a few days apart.

Lead scoring is another automation technique that allows identifying high intent holiday shoppers based on their on-site behavior. Visitors who browse specific holiday-related categories like gifts and decorations can be tagged as hot leads. Lead scoring then automatically sends targeted emails with related offers to nudge these high-potential shoppers down the sales funnel. The key is to provide hyper-relevant recommendations based on the visitor's interest. Automated lead scoring helps capture sales from potential customers who may otherwise slip through the cracks during the busy holiday season.

By taking advantage of email automation retailers can make the most of the holiday shopping spike without compromising on the customer experience. Pre-planned automated campaigns allow delivering consistent, personalized messaging even during periods of high sales velocity.

Personalized Holiday Emails

Personalization is key to engaging subscribers and boosting engagement rates during the holidays. By incorporating personalized elements into holiday emails, brands can provide a more relevant experience that resonates with subscribers. Some effective personalization tactics include:

• Using merge tags to include the subscriber's first name in subject lines and email copy. This makes the recipient feel acknowledged. For example, "Happy Holidays, [First Name]!"

• Segmenting based on past purchases or browsing behavior. This allows you to recommend specific products that align with their interests. If a subscriber has shown interest in baking, recommend baking tools and ingredients.

• Dynamic content blocks that change based on subscriber attributes like location. This allows you to tailor messaging and product recommendations. For example, include deals on snow apparel for subscribers in colder climates.

• Triggered messages when subscribers take actions like abandoning a cart. Send an automated abandoned cart email reminding them of the items they left behind.

• Wish list capabilities to encourage subscribers to create holiday wish lists. Follow up with emails suggesting gifts based on their list.

• Personalized product recommendations through algorithms factoring in past engagement and purchases. The more relevant the suggestions, the higher the response rate.

• Segmenting based on lifecycle stage like new vs existing subscribers. Welcome new subscribers with an email including holiday promos, and send exclusive deals to loyal customers.

The holiday season provides a prime opportunity to use personalization to strengthen relationships with customers. By providing a customized experience, brands can deliver more value and delight subscribers this festive season.

Eye-catching Holiday Email Subject Lines

The subject line is the first impression your holiday email makes on subscribers. An engaging subject has the power to pique interest and motivate recipients to open your email.

Some tips for crafting compelling holiday email subject lines include:

• Leverage FOMO (fear of missing out). Urge customers to act now before missing out on limited-time holiday sales, deals, and gift ideas. Subject lines like "24 hours left for 20% off!" create urgency.

• Use emojis and animated GIFs. These visual elements help emails stand out in crowded inboxes. Festive emojis like Christmas trees, gingerbread men or Santa hats add holiday flair.

• Personalize. Segment your list to include first names, location or interests for customized subject lines like "John, gifts for dog lovers are here!"

• Ask questions. Posing questions related to recipients' interests grabs attention, for example, "Sarah, need a last-minute gift for your foodie friend?"

• Highlight value. Communicate the value offered like exclusive discounts or free gifts to entice opens. "Score a free gift on orders over $50" is direct.

• Leverage trends. Capitalize on timely trends and current events like "Black Friday Starts Now!" or "Cyber Monday at Midnight".

With inbox attention spans shrinking, compelling holiday email subject lines are critical for subscriptions and sales. Test different approaches and keep optimizing based on open rates. The extra effort pays off with greater customer engagement.

Sharing Holiday Gift Guides

The holiday season brings a lot of stress and joy for customers as they search for the perfect gifts for loved ones. Brands can play an important role in making gift shopping easier and more enjoyable for their audience.

Creating bespoke holiday gift guides allows you to curate products that will truly delight your customers. The gift guide essentially does the difficult work of identifying what to buy for whom. Showcasing a curated selection of your products suited for gifting alleviates the overwhelm of endless browsing that customers often struggle with.

For example, you could create specific gift guides like:

• Gifts for Him
• Gifts for Her
• Gifts for Kids
• Stocking Stuffers under $25
• Experience Gifts
• Gifts for the Home

Get creative and develop gift guides that align with your brand identity and the interests of your target customers. Share the gift guides across multiple channels through emails, social media posts, landing pages on your website, and more.

Gift guides showcase your products in an aspirational manner to capture attention during the high-intent holiday shopping season. They enable you to increase basket sizes by suggesting complementary add-on items that boost perceived value. Ultimately, thoughtfully curated holiday gift guides that simplify gift selection for your customers can drive conversions and sales.

Campaigns on Lesser Known Holidays

The key holiday shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday attract intense competition between retailers. Consider standing out from the crowd by launching campaigns focused on lesser-known holidays and shopping events.

• Giving Tuesday: The Tuesday after Thanksgiving kicks off the giving season. Use this opportunity to give back while also promoting your business values through an email campaign. Offer promotions where proceeds go to charity or bundle products with donations.

• Small Business Saturday: The Saturday after Thanksgiving is dedicated to supporting small businesses. Craft an email campaign highlighting your small business status and unique offerings. Include special deals and personalized touches to connect with subscribers.

• Green Monday: The second Monday of December sees increased online shopping as people buy gifts missed on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Promote this day to attract deal-seeking shoppers who missed prior sales.

• Free Shipping Day: Launched to compete with Amazon Prime, this December event promises delivery by Christmas Eve with free shipping. Participate by advertising your own free shipping promotions.

• Last-Minute Holiday Sales: Don't neglect those who shop at the very last minute. Send emails in the final days before Christmas with fast shipping guarantees. Promote easy gift ideas and e-gift cards.

Leveraging lesser-known holidays in your email marketing provides fresh opportunities to engage customers, inspire action, and stand out from competitors.

Early Promotion of Holiday Sales

The holiday shopping season is highly competitive, with every brand trying to capture consumers’ attention and dollars. This makes it crucial to promote major shopping holidays and sales events early.

Start teasing and building hype for Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals in October, even if the specific products or discounts are still under wraps. Use countdown timers and banners like “Cyber Monday is coming” to spark interest. Send multiple emails talking about the big sale without revealing all the details too soon.

As early November hits, start promoting more specifics on the sale like the dates, items to expect, and any sneak peek discounts. This allows customers time to plan their holiday shopping and budgets around your upcoming deals. Continue the momentum by emailing again just before the sale goes live.

Getting the timing right is key - don’t wait until the last minute to announce a major deal or customers may miss it. Spreading promotional emails over several weeks leading up to the event gives you more touchpoints to capture attention. The anticipatory build up also makes shoppers more likely to take action once the sale arrives. Apply this same strategy to any holiday sales events your business offers.

Final Words

By focusing holiday email campaigns around delighting customers rather than hard-selling, brands can build loyalty and lifetime value. The festive season is about creating joyful experiences that reflect a brand's values. With careful planning and execution of these email marketing best practices, brands can achieve impressive holiday sales while spreading seasonal cheer. Spend the most unforgettable holiday with uSpeedo!