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'Tis 105 days before Christmas so what should you be doing?
The answer to that question is getting your Christmas promotional emails ready, of course!
Procrastinating on Christmas emails means lost sale
opportunities, especially if you're in a retail business. You want make
sure you catch people like my sister-in-law who starts shopping in
October and is done before you've even thought of unpacking the Christmas
ornaments.
Type of Campaigns
Your
email strategy will depend greatly on your type of business.
TYPE A Campaigns
If you're in retail
or a service business that depends on Christmas sales, you need to
maintain a decent frequency leading up to Christmas.
TYPE B Campaigns
If you're in a
business that doesn't get Christmas traffic, then your job is easier. You just need to send a few emails to acknowledge your customers'
loyalty throughout the year and remind them that you'll be around when the
Christmas frenzy is over.
When To
Send
TYPE
A campaigns need to going out by late October, especially if purchases need
to be shipped. On average, top retailers began sending holiday emails as early Oct. 19, but the bulk of the
emails began arriving at the end of October.
TYPE
B accounts can send an email in late November wishing customers a Happy
Thanksgiving and then in December wishing them a Happy Holiday. You're real
campaigning will start in January, when you can have your customers' attention
again.
Most
Popular dates to
send emails
Thanksgiving
Day (one-day only specials)
Black
Friday (day after Thanksgiving)
Cyber
Monday (Monday after Thanksgiving)
Cyber
Sunday (getting to the inbox one day earlier)
Day
after Christmas (for sale items)
These times are optimum, since people are expecting to hear from you, but it's
also when you'll encounter the most competition. Another strategy would be to send
just before these dates, which may not have as many eyeballs, but would have less email traffic.
How Often To Send
Last
year, top retailers sent a whopping 14.3 emails to each subscriber per month
during November and December. Now that kind of frequency can backfire, causing
you to lose subscribers.
You should send no more than once a week. If you've been sending less than once a
month, let your customers know that you plan to send more frequently during the
holidays.
You
can do this by sending a pre-holiday email giving customers an opportunity to
update their profiles to indicate their preferences.
This may seem hard to do, but it's actually very easy. This is one of the topics I'll cover in my Christmas Email Course.
What To Send
With
so much email traffic during the holidays, you need to make sure you can stand
out in the inbox.
Segment
Your List
Make
sure your content is relevant by segmenting your list based on customer interests or types. (For example, single vs. family.) You can do this through your point-of-sale software. If not, you could send a pre-Holiday survey.
Write
Effective Subject Lines
Subject
lines that include an offer, a deadline or a convenience tend to attract more
attention. Free shipping is also very popular for online offers. To get an idea
of what subject lines are working, check out Retail Email Blog's AM Inbox posts.
Ready to get going? Then sign up for my Christmas Email Marketing Course and you'll be ready just in time.
>>Sign me up!
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| Sandi Abbott
Xpresso Marketing
Join My Network:
Have a question about email marketing or social media? Send me your question and I'll include it in my next email or on my fan page: Ask Me a Question! |
 Early Christmas Gift
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Free Christmas Email Marketing Course
Want to get ready for Christmas but don't know where to start?
Take advantage of my FREE 9-part e-course that will walk you through the steps of setting up your first Christmas Campaign. The lessons will go out every 4 days and will get you ready in just one month.
So hurry up and click!
>> Sing me up!
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Great Connections
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Here are some great South Florida connections for you.
Michelle Villalobos
is a business skills trainer, educator and speaker specializing in fun, never-boring, interactive events that help you network and grow your business both online and offline. Connect with Michelle:
Sunny Fraser
is the owner of Sunbox Eleven Winery, a boutique, Miami-based California winery creating small batch productions of award winning, handcrafted, superior quality, artisan wines. Sunny is also one of my subscribers. Hi Sunny! Connect with Sunny:
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Client Spotlight
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SO.CAP. ORIGINAL
 My client, Sobe Hair Extension of Paris
is the exclusive distributor of SO.CAP. ORIGINAL in the United States.
They supply hair salons with the highest quality hair extensions, made of 100% natural Remys hair.
I help them with their retail emails and also manage their social media. We just launched a Bridal contest offering one lucky bride a wedding makeover. Know any brides? Pass it along!
Bridal Diva Contest
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