During the holiday season, many companies kick their email marketing efforts into overdrive, seeking to capitalize on the frenzy of end-of-the-year shopping.
This is certainly a season in which email marketing can get results—but it’s not the volume of emails you send that matters. What matters is your strategy. In this post, we’ll offer five best practices for sending holiday season emails that truly move the sales needle.
Make Things Easy for Your Customers
First and foremost, make sure that your marketing emails make the sales process easier—not harder. If your email simply functions as another cumbersome step on the consumer’s journey, it’s only going to aggravate, not entice.
Your emails need to clearly encourage customers to buy your products or services. This means adding a good-quality, attractive image if you can. It also means outlining the benefits the customer can expect—addressing their concerns and highlighting your value. (Always ask: what’s in it for them?) Make sure to include links to your products and services, making it simple for your readers to click and complete their purchase.
Don’t Forget Content!
Your emails should always be selling your products, your services, and your brand—yet it is also important to educate and inform. Build trust, and show your authority.
There are several ways to achieve this. You can share holiday shopping guides, add videos for product demonstrations, or reuse blog content that you believe will benefit your readers. The key is to ensure your emails go beyond simple sales pitches. Offer some free value, even to those who don’t buy from you immediately.
Send Coupons
During the holiday season, promos, sales, and discounts are everywhere—and if you want to remain competitive, it’s important that you sweeten the deal for your customers, however you can. Coupon codes are great for ensuring your emails are read, not flat-out discarded.
Target Your Emails
It’s always important to match your emails to your audience. Segmenting your contact list and sending emails to different groups—those who have bought products before, hot leads, different demographic groups—allows you to be precise in your messaging and specific in your value proposition.
Consider Your Timing
We said before that you don’t necessarily want to barrage your audience with one email after another. As such, it’s important to get your timing right, as you’ll have limited opportunities to engage your readers. Waiting too late into the season risks that your recipients are burned out on the holidays, while emailing too early might mean your emails get discarded by buyers not yet ready to consider the shopping season.