The holidays present wonderful opportunities to email marketers. They give you another reason to connect with your subscribers at a time when offers and the promise of savings are more enticing than ever. If you have a product or service to promote, they can be an integral part of the strategy that helps you generate more sales.
The intimacy, immediacy, and proven impact of email makes it the ideal tool to couple with your holiday marketing initiatives. However, making an impact you can be proud of is easier said than done. Incorporate these tips in your strategy, and you will be well on your way to increasing your sales during the holiday season.
1. Divide and Conquer Your List
Segmentation is a vital part of email marketing success. It is even more important when you are trying to get attention in the midst of a busy and competitive holiday. Segmentation is all about dividing your email list into smaller lists that contain groups of subscribers with similar needs, preferences, and tendencies. Here are some ideal segments to target with your holiday marketing efforts:
- Big spenders
- Budget spenders
- Male spenders
- Female spenders
- Spenders shopping for children
The point is targeting these groups with content that is most likely to get them to take action. So whether it’s sending special offers to your local customers or treating new subscribers to something nice, identify the segments within your list and treat them to exclusive email experiences.
2. Make Your Subject Lines Count
If there is one thing you take from this article, it needs to be the importance of composing compelling subject lines. Whether it’s Thanksgiving or Christmas, email activity is sure to increase around a holiday. The very same subscribers you are trying to convince to buy your product or service will be under the same pressure by legions of other email marketers. Whether directly or indirectly, this is the competition you must content with.
So how do you make your subject lines stand out? Treat them like headlines that sum up what your message is all about. If you are giving away offers or discounts, let the subscriber know that savings are waiting for them on the other side.
3. Optimize Your Landing Pages
Convincing subscribers to open your message is good. Getting them to click a link is even better. Both are feats to be proud of, but opens and clicks don’t automatically translate to sales. Once the subscriber clicks through, you need to make sure they are arriving at a destination that is specifically designed to convert. In most cases, that destination will be a landing page.
An optimal landing page helps complete a seamless transition from the inbox to your website. More importantly, it should be consistent, meaning it serves as a follow-up to the content the reader saw in their email. So if you promoted web design services in your message, don’t try to sell them cloud storage space once they get to your landing page. Last but not least, it must provide an easy way to purchase whatever you’re selling. Fail to keep these points in mind and you will probably lose that sale.
4. Prepare for the Post-Holiday Rush
Even after the holidays have come and gone, there are still plenty of opportunities to be had. People are out returning gifts, making exchanges, and making new purchases with the credits on their gift cards. If you truly want to end things on a high note, you will make sure your email marketing strategy is ready to go into overtime.
Send out emails that outline your return policy in crystal clear clarity. Many consumers will be on the hunt for the annual post-holiday deals, so if you’re still running sales during that time, make sure your subscribers know how to take advantage. You can put a pretty little bow on your email campaigns and wrap things up early, or you can milk the holiday season for all its worth. If boosting sales is your goal, the latter is probably more your speed.
Business is sure to boom during the holiday season. But it isn’t just the big three (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s), holidays in general are primed for marketing. Are you ready to seize the moment? Hopefully so because it is very possible to grow both your business and your sales with a little planning and sound execution.
What methods are driving your email marketing strategy for the holidays? Don’t be a scrooge. Share some knowledge with the rest of us.
Aidan Hijleh is a freelance copywriter and serves as the Non-Profit Partnership Liaison for Benchmark Email. Aidan advocates free email marketing services to assist with the flourishing of grassroots organizations.