This holiday season, send email campaigns that bring joy and value to subscribers!
Black Friday is coming to an end pretty much everywhere and we’re already looking forward to the festive season. We’re just a few days away from the start of the holiday email marketing campaigns! Most start a few days before St. Andrew’s Day. Have you started your preparations?
We at NewsMAN are in the midst of preparations and right now extra resources are being added for 0 downtime and 100% deliverability of the booming holiday email campaigns.
If you have an online store and don’t know where to start planning your holiday email marketing campaign, you can do so by browsing this article. It’s a good starting point if you want to send campaigns that bring joy and value to subscribers.
We saw in the previous blog post, 5 holiday newsletter ideas. In this article, we define what steps to take to create valuable holiday campaigns for customers. From structure to follow-up there are 6 main steps. After that, we present 8 email ideas you can send to subscribers this holiday season. We end with summary ideas to remember, plus some bonus tips.
How do you create holiday email campaigns that add value for readers? 6 steps.
Create emails in simple format: What, Why and What to do
The best structure for holiday email marketing campaigns is simple: 1) What are you offering, 2) Why is it interesting or why should the subscriber care? And 3) What to do. As they say, “keep it simple” is best and don’t skip any of the three steps. We know sometimes you get carried away about offers and products, but if you really want results from email marketing and not just views, then focus on all 3.
Simply structured holiday email campaigns: What, Why and What to Do
- Make a clear offer in your newsletter
The offer in the email is quickly highlighted with minimalist design, festive colour and short, well-formatted text.
- Highlight key benefits to the reader
The key benefit for the subscriber and highlighted from the start: Buy now, pay later, followed by details on the discount percentage and variety of products for various budgets. In the second example, the advantage is free shipping plus the substantial discount. And in example 3 of the newsletter, customers have multiple benefits: preferential discount for X value, 6 products at a promotional price, variety of gifts in various amounts.
- Tell the subscriber how to act
Each specific offer is accompanied by a CTA (call to action) button, which gives one-click access to details. The button has an immediate prompt: Buy now and takes the reader directly to the product category in the budget mentioned.
Examples of holiday newsletters with a clear and simple structure:
Valuable content: send emails that cover shoppers’ key needs
Send holiday email campaigns with valuable content to subscribers. Valuable content is based on people’s needs. Focus on shoppers’ most important needs: price, quality, choices and convenience.
Mention prices and specific product differentiating attributes directly in the newsletter. Offer similar product variants and end with details of how easy it is to buy. When you deliver, offer something extra (surprise samples, personalised greetings, etc).
Examples of newsletters from the festive season:
Scannable content: send festive, easy-to-read emails
The newsletter is like a ramp to the website. Attract and convert on the site. In newsletter content, what’s too much spoils. Don’t over-add content to your newsletter, even if you have lots of holiday offers. Email campaigns don’t have to be extremely long and text-heavy. At a glance the reader should be able to see the main things.
Examples of festive newsletters with easily scannable content:
The above newsletters have little but relevant text, a clear offer and attractive design. We can see at a glance what the benefits are and move on to the website.
Read more tips on how to create a holiday newsletter that resonates with your audience.
Post-click engagement from the newsletter: Website personalization and beyond.
If they clicked into the email and ended up on the site, it means the newsletter was effective. To smooth the customer’s path to conversion, however, you need to make sure they have a great experience on the site. That is, there needs to be post-click engagement from the newsletter. To achieve this, you can use festive design and thematic product categorisation. This way, you maintain the joyful atmosphere of the holidays and make it easier to search for items at the same time.
Thematic product categorisation in holiday promotions is best done in new, separate categories. Then you put them front and center on the site, along with banners and other shortcuts to key promotions. Also make sure that site visitors can search the site in advance and that there are seasonal tags under filters: e.g. Christmas gifts, women’s gift, shopping cart gift, etc.
Last but not least, make sure that the quick support section with phone number or live chat is well highlighted.
Simplified check-out with multiple payment options, including installments and later payment
In addition to an attractive newsletter and a good website experience on the product page, you need to have a streamlined check-out page. It’s important that it’s as easy to use as possible and saves the customer time.
As for payment methods, be flexible and offer as many as possible, including the possibility of payment in installments or payment after 30 days of ordering (buy now, pay later).
While we’re on the subject of simple things, we’d like to take this opportunity to invite you to try the NewsMAN newsletter platform. Click on the button below to directly edit a newsletter template without an account. You can save and create your email marketing account afterwards.
Automate abandoned holiday cart emails and follow-up emails
In order to increase product sales in your holiday email marketing campaigns, you need to remember to enable automation. Activate a series of abandoned cart emails and at least some follow up emails after ordering (e.g. automated review emails).
Nowadays, people are busy to the max and often tune out of their searches because of this. Another reason they don’t complete is that they need a discount or another product, and you can offer these things by automating emails.
In addition, consumers are not like they used to be, as they now have easy access to information. We’re talking about smart buyers, looking for the best products at a good value for money. They add to their wishlist, activate notifications for when the price is lower, etc. In times of shopping fever, they sign up in advance for promotions via pop-ups and pre-order some products already. These kinds of customers expect automatic emails anyway after they take an action in the store, browse products, add to cart or purchase directly. It would be a shame not to provide them with an experience they like and expect.
What kind of email campaigns can you send for the holidays? 8 types.
Email about the holiday campaign program
Everyone’s busy over the holidays. It’s best to send your subscribers a holiday campaign schedule email ahead of time. Details about the campaign period, what discounts are expected, and how the campaign is running. It doesn’t have to be a very detailed email, just informative and give an overview of the festive campaign.
Email campaigns of encouragement, exhortation, commencement and gratitude
The most eagerly awaited emails are always the ones leading up to marketing campaigns, which are also the most successful in terms of results. Send email campaigns to encourage and exhort subscribers: e.g. Get ready for…, Sign up for the pre-sale campaign, Add to wishlist, Almost there, Are you ready?
Also add to your email marketing calendar and kick-off campaigns, e.g. It’s on!.., We’re kicking off in..
Don’t forget the thank you email to subscribers. The ecommerce market is vast and people have plenty to choose from. Emails they get from many brands, but few make a difference in their hearts. Be one of them. If they subscribed to your holiday promotion, don’t forget to thank them in an email. You can also send thank you emails to those who have bought from you before. People will be more than happy to read them and see that they are appreciated.
Informative-educational email campaigns, guides, gift ideas and more
Send informative and educational email campaigns to inspire subscribers and help them in their purchasing decisions. The most popular educational newsletters are:
- ”How to Choose Product X” shopping guide;
- Tutorial: How to use search, filters and comparison to find the right product;
- Inspirational email: X gift ideas for him/her.
Email campaigns with top trending products, bestsellers, with reviews
Who doesn’t like to be fashionable and wear what items are trending! This holiday season, send email campaigns with top trending products. They can be festive-themed or bestsellers, new arrivals, etc. The more options you give them, the more grateful your readers will be.
Another type of newsletter you can send for the holidays is the classic bestseller email. They can be seasonal, from the last few months, from all times, etc. Don’t forget to create holiday gift packages too.
Email campaigns with a featured product and complementary products
Another idea for a holiday email campaign is a simple one with a large picture of a star product and then underneath that, complementary products.
Here are 2 examples of email newsletters with a star product:
This is also where product launch emails come in during the height of the seasonal campaign. Take advantage of the opportunity and launch new products via a featured product newsletter. People will be receptive and appreciate the novelty of the premiere.
Email campaigns focusing on positive emotions and savings
This holiday season we need positive emotions, spirituality and empathy. Try to create a good mood with the tone of your newsletter. And to stay on subscribers’ minds, combine magical holiday décor with the right words.
Also try to highlight the original or unique part of your offer. One idea would be a behind-the-scenes video of your team working and preparing orders by arranging them nicely in gift boxes.
Deliver
excitement to subscribers with festive, storytelling newsletters
Invite people to a relaxed and entertaining festive atmosphere, while offering them affordable shopping solutions. Emphasize that the holidays are for spending time with loved ones, while from the comfort of your own home you can choose from offers received by email. Include in your holiday email campaigns contain exclusive offers that are the solution to convenience, saving time and money for your customers.
Most importantly, don’t forget to make clear your payment facilitation, extended return and customer support solutions.
End and post-holiday campaign emails with activity summary and thank-yous
One last type of email you can send for the holidays is the end of season and post campaign emails. In it, you can present a small summary of your shopping activities. Include statistics about the top most purchased product categories. In the same email you can also include the last pieces of the top products if there is a last chance offer.
A few days after the above festive shopping summary email, you can send the post-campaign thank-you email to those who bought from you. Write them a few personalised words of thanks and appreciation and send them a loyalty voucher for their next order. They’re sure to be delighted, and you and your online shop will only benefit.
What to remember to create successful holiday email campaigns
If we were to sum up the route to a successful holiday email marketing campaign, it would go like this:
- early preparation as early as November with your email marketing plan;
- customising the website with the festive theme and specific product categorisation;
- early start of email marketing campaigns: announcement of campaign schedule, incentive emails, kick-off, reminder, follow up, mid-campaign, end-of-campaign and post-campaign;
- content that is simple: what offer you have, why the subscriber is interested and what to do;
- put the customer at the center of attention and talks more about the benefits and solutions for them, rather than the technical product attributes they can read for themselves on the website;
- successful formula: clickable headline + scannable email with unrefusable offer + interesting landing page + simplified check-out page with multiple payment facilitation options.
- email automation activation: e.g. abandoned cart series, automatic email after subscription.
And if you have the time, ideally you should also include sms campaigns to promote your holiday product offers.
Key tips for successful holiday email marketing
So start early, get them to sign up for the campaign, send out add-to-wishlist invitations and then kick off the pre-sale shopping. Personalize emails based on the data you have from newsletter sign-ups or website activity, segment and AB Testing. Send rewards emails based on customer status or type of new, returning, etc. Attract, incentivize and maintain subscriber engagement. Promote both on email, social media and sms.
We hope you found the educational content in the article on how to send holiday email campaigns that add value and joy to subscribers helpful. We welcome your questions on our live chat. Click below and try the NewsMAN email marketing platform if you’re not already a user.