As Black Friday and Cyber Monday approach, along with the holiday season, launching a holiday email marketing campaign can significantly accelerate your sales.
This article explores email marketing, examines data regarding holiday shopping, and provides the best holiday email marketing tips for a profitable campaign.
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Holiday email marketing: Why and when?
An email campaign is a great way to increase sales. Many businesses consider it the best holiday marketing tool.
Why should you launch an email campaign?
- Profitable. In 2023, email marketing revenue surpassed $10 billion, proving that it’s an effective way to reach your target audience and promote your holiday sales.
- Personal. Engage with potential customers directly and entice them to purchase a product – 99% of people who use email check their inbox daily.
- Cost-effective. With a return on investment of 4400%, roughly $44 for every $1 spent, email marketing campaigns are effective and affordable.
When is the best time to start a holiday email marketing campaign?
The holiday shopping season in the United States kicks off with Black Friday, which falls on November 29, 2024. However, savvy businesses start promoting their holiday sales as early as the beginning of November.
This approach allows you to capture the attention of early shoppers and build momentum leading into peak holiday shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Make this the best holiday season yet!
Email software to use for holiday email marketing
The holiday season is a prime time for online retailers, and email marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach your audience without overspending the holiday budget. But you need the right email marketing tools to make the most of your campaigns and build customer relationships. Let’s look at some.
MailChimp
MailChimp is a favorite among businesses of all sizes for its user-friendly interface and comprehensive feature set. It offers solid segmentation tools, allowing you to analyze subscriber data and tailor your holiday email campaigns for better results.
Pros:
- Easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor
- Strong segmentation tools for targeted campaigns
- Detailed analytics to track performance
Klaviyo
Klaviyo stands out for its deep integration with eCommerce platforms like Shopify. It’s designed to help your eCommerce store create highly personalized email campaigns based on customer data, making it ideal for businesses looking to maximize sales during the holiday season.
Pros:
- Excellent eCommerce integrations
- Data-driven personalization for targeted marketing
- Powerful automation features
MailerLite
MailerLite is an affordable and straightforward email marketing tool that doesn’t compromise on essential features. It’s great for small businesses or startups looking for a budget-friendly option with enough functionality to drive effective campaigns.
Pros:
- Cost-effective with a generous free plan
- Intuitive design tools with a drag-and-drop editor
- Solid automation and segmentation capabilities
Constant Contact
Constant Contact is known for its excellent customer support and ease of use. It’s a great choice for businesses needing extra help getting their email campaigns up and running. Plus, it offers unique features like event management, which can be handy during the holiday season.
Pros:
- User-friendly interface with strong customer support
- Integrated event management features
- Ideal for beginners
Sendinblue
Sendinblue offers a comprehensive marketing solution that goes beyond just email. With options for SMS marketing, transactional emails, and advanced automation workflows, it’s a versatile tool for businesses looking to engage their audience across multiple channels during the holidays.
Pros:
- Supports multichannel marketing (email and SMS)
- Excellent for transactional emails and holiday promotions
- Advanced automation for personalized campaigns
10 holiday email marketing ideas to boost your holiday sales
The holiday season is profitable for businesses of all shapes and sizes. With some preparation and planning, anyone can create a holiday email marketing campaign that resonates with their audience – without needing to hire a content marketing team.
1. Plan the holiday email marketing strategy early
Shoppers begin searching for holiday gifts right after Thanksgiving, so don’t wait until the last minute to prepare your holiday campaigns.
Ideally, send multiple holiday emails to customers a few weeks before the big day to set the holiday feeling. They’re great for building excitement without being overbearing.
By starting early, you’ll have enough time to fine-tune the details based on the preferences of your target audience. This will increase click-through traffic and encourage customers to purchase a product.
Follow the ebb and flow of seasons when creating holiday email marketing campaigns. With our Marketing Calendar, you’ll always know when to start preparing and when your products will sell best.
2. Choose the right email type
When preparing a holiday email marketing campaign, consider drafting all three of these. Each type has specific goals and requires a different approach, so how you write them matters.
- Welcome emails. A great way to leave a professional first impression and connect with your target audience. They’re delivered after a customer purchases a product or signs up for a newsletter.
- Promotional emails. No campaign can succeed without email marketing promotions that inform customers about sales, free shipping, online gift offers, and limited-time deals.
- Abandoned cart emails. Consider creating an abandoned cart email flow. By doing so and making these emails festive, you can lure customers back with discounts.
However, don’t go overboard when you try to entice customers – brand communications shouldn’t be a burden. Send too many, and you’ll quickly be on the unsubscribe list. A good rule is to wait a few days between emails, but this can vary from one business to another.
3. Make the campaign mobile-friendly
The holiday email campaigns should be mobile-friendly. After all, 41% of emails are read on mobile devices.
Here are some simple yet essential tips that anyone can use to make their holiday emails more appealing to mobile users:
- Watch the subject line length. A typical inbox displays 60 characters, while mobile – 25-30.
- Keep content concise. The holiday email must be short, scannable, and concise so the customer understands your offer quickly.
- Pay attention to images. Not all mobile devices show images by default, so make sure the email still makes sense if the images don’t show.
- Position call to action strategically. Your holiday sale email should get to the point quickly. Place your CTA button near the top.
- Leave enough white space. Avoid clutter. Give enough white space around your call-to-action buttons so they’re easy to click on.
As mobile shopping sales grow, already reaching $2.2 trillion back in 2023, adjust your holiday email marketing campaign for smartphones so you don’t miss out on potential customers.
Test your holiday emails on multiple devices to see if you’re happy with the final result.
4. Structure the email
As you plan your holiday email marketing campaign, don’t forget you’re competing with thousands of other offers. A well-crafted email will build trust, attract customers, and stand out in the sea of holiday sales promotions.
What do the best holiday email campaigns have in common? These five things:
- Subject line. Keep subject lines short (four to seven words), be direct, limit punctuation (no more than three punctuation marks), and use emojis carefully (one or two).
- Preheader text. The preheader, also called email preview text, is an extension of your subject line. In short, email clients draw this text from the first few words of your holiday email.
Typically, it’s best to limit yourself to around 35 characters, ensuring that the preheader is fully visible on most mobile devices.
- Email body. The goal is to help your audience easily understand what you’re offering.
Try to keep the text concise and compelling. Explain how the customer will benefit and tell them what to do next. For example, if you remove shipping costs on all Christmas presents, say, “Free shipping on all orders from $50.”
- Images. Images have a vital role in any holiday email marketing campaign. They make it more memorable.
Make sure that images display correctly and look presentable.
- Call to action. The CTA is the part of the email that guides customers to their next steps after reading the message.
Avoid vague phrases and describe the action you want them to take. For example, “Check Out Our Christmas Gifts”, “Buy the Perfect Gift Today”, or “Explore Our Holiday Gift Guides”. If possible, provide instant buying options to drive sales.
Whenever writing an email, use power words in subject lines, seasonal phrases in the body of the text, and add a bit of your own creativity throughout the whole message.
When everything is ready, test your subject lines, preheader, and the email itself on multiple email clients.
Provide customer service contact details at the bottom of your email, even if you’re the only person managing the whole operation. Create a dedicated email address where people can reach out.
5. Use segmentation, make emails personal
If you want to improve open and click-through rates, segmenting your contact list is essential. Email segmentation involves categorizing your contacts into different groups based on certain criteria.
For holiday campaigns, segment customers into three categories:
- Seasonal shoppers
- Year-round customers
- Last-minute shoppers
Approach each of these groups differently.
- Offer loyalty programs for your regular customers.
- As the holiday season brings new customers, set up special offers for seasonal shoppers.
- Create a sense of urgency for last-minute shoppers.
Additionally, by establishing a personal connection through your holiday email campaigns, such as by addressing customers by name or sending relevant content based on their specific interests, you can create long-lasting relationships that will improve sales.
Make it happen today!
6. Clearly define the deadlines
When preparing a holiday email campaign, email marketers should set clear expectations and define deadlines. Increase sales by making customers feel at ease when they shop online with you.
Provide as much detail as possible: average production time, estimated shipping times, and real-time shipping updates.
Include the final delivery dates. For example, let customers know that if they order something by November 20th, it’ll arrive at their doorstep on November 24th. Or if they want an item by Christmas Eve, they should order by December 17.
Offer free shipping to encourage holiday shoppers to spend more. 68.2% of consumers worldwide were more likely to buy a product when offered such an option.
7. Create engaging holiday content
Creating meaningful content is a great way to provide value for your customers, gain their trust, and establish credibility.
Here are just a few ideas to include in your holiday emails to gain loyal customers:
- Holiday gift guides. A well-made holiday gift guide can easily attract customers looking for last-minute gift ideas and encourage them to make a purchase.
- Holiday blog posts. Tailor the content to your target audience and their specific interests, writing about topics important to them.
- Launch a hashtag challenge. Invite your email subscribers to post content using a specific hashtag: #HolidaySale, #BlackFridayDeals, or #CyberMonday. In return, enter them into a prize raffle.
8. Offer deals, discounts, and coupon codes
Offering deals, discounts, and coupon codes is a tried-and-true method to attract budget-conscious shoppers, especially during the holiday season when people are more likely to look for bargains. These offers drive immediate sales and enhance customer lifetime value by fostering customer loyalty and encouraging repeat purchases.
When crafting your holiday and Cyber Monday emails, consider offering:
- Buy one, get one free deals
- Student discounts
- Free delivery
- Gift cards
- Coupons
Whichever you choose, create a dedicated landing page, welcoming customers and nudging them to take action. Additionally, after the holiday season has passed, send out post-holiday emails to extend the positive results of your campaign.
9. Create a sense of urgency
If you want customers to act quickly, creating a sense of urgency is a surefire way to motivate them.
- Add a countdown timer to your landing page. A simple way to visualize how much time customers have before they miss out.
- Today-only deals. Drive impulse purchases and sell more.
- Limited-quantity deals. By offering these, you say two things: the product might sell out soon, and it’s in high demand.
Urgency is a powerful tool to draw customers’ attention, increase sales, and make more money.
10. Combine holiday email marketing campaigns with other strategies
Don’t neglect other marketing forms when preparing for the upcoming holiday season. Whether you’re a small business or a large brand, combining various marketing channel options can help you achieve better results.
Here are a few other ways to advertise a campaign:
- Social media marketing. In our ever-digital world, social presence is everything. With it, gaining new customers and growing your business is easier than ever.
- Influencer marketing. By teaming up with influencers who promote your products, you can gain better exposure and earn your audience’s trust quickly.
- Content marketing. By consistently publishing useful content, articles, or product reviews, you’ll build trust with your audience and authority in your niche.
Learn more from our Holiday Marketing Guide, which offers various marketing ideas and practical tips on selling on the most popular eCommerce platforms and marketplaces.
Make this the best holiday season yet!
Inspiring holiday email examples
If you’re looking for a fresh perspective on your email campaigns, explore how successful businesses create them. Here are a few holiday email marketing examples to inspire you.
Black Friday
As is customary with Google, their holiday emails stand out with a simple, clear, and elegant design, showcasing several products and emphasizing the savings holiday shoppers get.
Their subject line, “Last chance to shop Black Friday deals,” creates a sense of urgency, indicating that it’s time to make a purchase if the customer doesn’t want to miss out.
Cyber Monday
This holiday email campaign immediately gets to the point with an offer in the subject line. In addition, it offers a holiday gift guide for those still undecided.
By offering a discount code at the beginning, customers get what was promised. Afterward, they can continue their gift shopping by choosing between three categories, leading to a dedicated purchase page of the company’s Cyber Monday sales.
Thanksgiving
Of all the holiday email designs, this one’s truly great. In addition to providing value and promising to make their customers’ lives easier, it features a background with fitting seasonal colors, radiating calm and festivity.
With the subject line “Getting to the airport early?”, this is a great Thanksgiving email marketing example, showing how a brand can put itself in its customers’ shoes and identify a problem they can solve.
Uber understands that people spend a lot of time traveling during the holiday season and offers to book them a ride to the airport early.
Interested in creating holiday email templates? Check out this piece on Shopify email marketing.
Frequently Asked Questions
To send a professional holiday email, use a clear subject line, greet the recipient warmly, and include a concise, relevant message. Add visually appealing designs and a strong CTA, and make sure the email is mobile-friendly.
Yes, “Happy holidays” is appropriate in business emails. It’s an inclusive and respectful greeting that covers various celebrations during the holiday season, making it suitable for all recipients.
Engage subscribers by writing a catchy subject line that gets them excited. For example, “Halloween Is Here – Spooky-Good Sales!” If it’s for mobile users, try to shorten the message.
Then, in the email body, greet the customer, express your enthusiasm about the upcoming holiday, provide details about special offers, add beautiful images and a CTA button, clearly indicating the action you want them to take.
You should launch your holiday email marketing campaign at the beginning of November. While the holiday shopping season begins on Black Friday (November 29), many start shopping for Christmas Day before that.
However, you can start even earlier, in the middle of October, with Halloween email marketing campaigns. Explore the best Halloween marketing ideas to drive customers to your business.
Ready to launch your holiday email campaign?
Launching a holiday email marketing campaign is an easy and cost-effective way for an online retailer to promote holiday sales.
If you want to create a truly great campaign that drives sales, keep this in mind:
- Plan your holiday campaign early
- Choose the right holiday email type
- Invest in an email marketing tool
- Segment your customers and make emails personal
- Create valuable, engaging content
- Offer deals, discounts, and coupon codes to email subscribers
- Try various marketing strategies to maximize your reach
With a well-thought-out holiday email marketing strategy, the right message, and timing, anyone can take advantage of the holiday season to increase their profits and build long-term relationships with their customers.
