So, this is it. You’re in the most magical time of the year where everyone is in a cheery shopping mood, and as a business owner or a marketer, it’s the perfect time to take your holiday email marketing to the next level to drive in holiday sales.
But don’t wait at the very last minute to craft those holiday messages. You need to start as soon as you can, since early November up to early January are the biggest spending months of the year.
In this post, we’ll talk about useful holiday email marketing tips to rock your sales this holiday season:
Write Appealing Subject Lines
So, you want your email to stand out in your customer’s inboxes. Having the right subject line is as important as the email’s content itself. For you to stand out from the rest of the pack, you need to focus on improving your email subject line. Ask yourself, what exactly resonates with your already existing and potential customers? Crafting engaging subject lines receive higher click-throughs, which can translate to higher revenues.
- Personalize: Use your subject’s first names, to humanize your emails. Personalized subject lines generate 50 percent higher open rates which translate to an excellent revenue opportunity.
- Re-evaluate triggers: These are relevant and timely emails that are based on what a customer has said and done previously. A perfect example is when a subscriber signs up for a brand email.
- Keep it concise: The maximum number of characters read on a mobile device is approximately 35 characters. Tell the full story on the preheader, instead of trying to cram everything in the subject line.
- Focus on industry and timely trends: A great way to capture your subscribers’ attention is focusing on time events and topics that will stay in their minds. The subject line, ‘Fun Ideas for Christmas Eve + FREE SHIPPING,’ is bound to capture their attention.
Consider Making your Emails Interactive
It’s tough getting noticed via e-mail. However, a smart way to stand out is using interactive content as it has the power to delight your readers while eventually improving your email engagement.
Crafting interactive content actively engages your subscribers. As a result, encouraging them to share vital information with you. According to the Content Marketing Institute, a staggering 93% of content marketers agree that interactive content has the power to grab an audience’s attention better as compared to static content.
So, as much as you can, try to include interactive experiences such as memes, GIFs, and videos in your messages. By thinking outside of the box and getting creative, not only will your audience love you for it, but there is also a higher chance that they open your emails and click-through your website. To boost your results, understand what’s your audience’s motivation to click, read and share your content.
Fuse Email Marketing and Social Media Together
A lot of people think that email is just a thing in the past and all the hype is on social media. For instance, if you want to create an effective social media strategy, you can opt to advertise on Facebook while you integrate email into it. In other words, you can’t focus on creating an email marketing campaign, while completely writing off social media, and vice versa.
Social media can help you create a friendly brand image. Email, on the other hand, remains one of the most highly profitable marketing channels out there. A lot of businesses get a majority of their revenues in from email. These two have to go hand in hand so that you can take your customer relationship to the next level, and maximize your results.
Ensure your Emails Are Also Convenient for Mobile Users
With an increasing number of mobile users, it just makes sense that one of your priorities should be optimizing your email design so that it can work perfectly on mobile devices.
Chances are, people will be opening your emails through their smartphones and tablets. They’re also using it to click through your website as they make purchases as well. So to achieve optimal results, make sure your emails are appropriately formatted for mobile phones.
Create Urgency by Using Countdowns
Another tool that you can cleverly incorporate in your email marketing campaign is an email countdown timer. This tool will dramatically increase your click-throughs and engagement and will help boost your ROI.
Countdown emails are a fun and engaging way for subscribers to open your emails as they eventually take action. Here is a guide on how you can improve your e-commerce conversion rates.
Create Recovery Emails for Abandoned Carts
During the holiday season, there are three primary reasons why people abandon their carts:
- shipping costs
- better deals from elsewhere
- item is out of stock
At this stage, it’s crucial to see what caused those abandoned carts, as you specifically address these problems. Set a separate abandoned cart series for first-time customers and returning ones. Also, consider the timing of your emails. You can also opt to offer a special discount or free shipping to inspire the shopper to make a purchase.
According to this ecommerce email marketing guide, transactional emails could be a huge difference from getting that sale and getting ignored. Transactional emails are those emails sent when the customer checkouts and purchased a particular item.
Sending follow up emails whenever cart abandonment occurred can win back customers and make them finish their transaction. This has to be on your email marketing strategy at the same time.
Send Out Real-time Updates in Your Inventory
You need to send out relevant content that gives something of value to your readers. Otherwise, that email will go directly to the spam folder. You can create a contextual, relevant email experience through live content. This type of content can be usually in the form of an image, animation, or video content and is displayed using data that is hardly known until the recipient opens the email.
By sending emails that are relevant and contextual to your subscribers, it helps you achieve your goal of turning them into potential buyers.
In Summary
With the holiday season just around the corner, you need to come up with the right holiday email marketing strategy. By applying these tips and techniques, you’re well on your way to increasing your conversions and boosting your sales.
About the Author — Andi Croft is a frequent traveler and freelance writer. She is passionate about covering topics on travel, business, and technology. In her spare time, she enjoys baking and spending time with her dog named Akira.