No matter what your holiday email goals are: to increase sales, drive donations, promote an event, or simply share a festive greeting with your customers; these tips will help you develop a thoughtful email marketing strategy.
Set your holiday email goals.
What do you want your holiday emails to accomplish? What are the main messages or offers your customers will connect with this holiday season? How can email support what you’re planning offline?
Plan your sending frequency and volume.
Think about your email frequency carefully. Remember, every fatigued subscriber who opts out in December is someone who won’t see your emails at all next year.
Keep your emails social.
People are never too busy to keep up with their social networking. So make sure your subscribers have an easy way to share your emails with their friends and followers. Consider adding easy-to-spot links to your organization’s social networking sites too.
Consider special holiday creative.
Since your subscribers get more and more emails in their inboxes during the holiday season, fresh and festive design can focus even the most frazzled attention spans. Rework your standard stationery with a few holiday touches, or put together a memorably designed holiday card or greeting.
Plan targeted follow-up campaigns.
Consider sending follow-up campaigns to special segments of your audience. Targeting the right message to the right group can create that little nudge some folks need to take action. For example, send more product information to people who click a certain product in an email but don’t eventually buy it.
Give folks a reason to join your list.
Are you planning on sending exclusive offers and content to your email subscribers during the holidays? Update the language on your web site’s email sign-up form accordingly. That way, your casual site visitors will spot that juicy incentive and become loyal email subscribers.
Welcome new subscribers right away.
Build a strong relationship with new subscribers right away with an automatic welcome note. Set a great foundation now, and you’ll have more loyal subscribers through the holiday season and beyond.