4 Tips To Successful Email Marketing During The Holidays

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October 27, 2016 |

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By: Julia Archer and Rebecca Teaff, Redstart Creative

We can now officially say the holidays are upon us and with them come holiday sales and donations. During this time, email campaigns will be a strategic part of meeting your end-of-the-year goals. You have probably noticed the increase in sales emails coming to your inbox and for good reason. 48% of holiday shoppers said they did the majority of their shopping on or before Cyber Monday, which is just one month away. (Via: TopRank) Also, if you’re a nonprofit, nearly ⅓ of annual giving occurs in December. (Via: Neon CRM) It’s safe to say that this is an important time of year for businesses and nonprofits alike and your email campaigns should be optimized for the best results. Here are some top tips to assure successful email campaigns:

 

  1. Craft excellent subject lines. The subject line is by far one of the most important parts of your email. If it’s not compelling, there’s a chance your audience won’t even click on your email to see the inside content. Here are some key points to creating a subject line with a great clickthrough rate:
    • Personalize it with the recipient’s name
    • Keep it short and sweet
    • Avoid using overused or salesy words
    • Use buzz words such as: secret, special, surprise

2. Create a compelling call-to-action. Once you’ve gotten your audience to click your email, you need to make sure that they take action. Your call-to-action should:  

    • Be crafted with actionable language
    • Drive a sense of urgency or is time-sensitive
    • Include a clear value proposition
    • Have a clear access button or link

 3.Develop fascinating content. Of course, the actual content that you include in your email campaigns has to be on point, as well. Long-winded, drawn out content can lose your audience’s interest before they even get to your call-to-action. Your content should:

    • Inspire readers to share what they’ve just read or create action
    • Be short and to the point
    • Solve problems, offer a deal, entertain or improve their lives

4. Optimize it for success. Once you’ve put in the work to assure that your email is destined for email marketing greatness, you’ll want to make sure it goes off without a hitch by optimizing the email. You’ll want to:

  • Send between 10AM-12PM
  • Schedule it for a Thursday or Friday, which are the days that receive the highest open rates
  • Make it visually appealing and clear to read
  • Test the email in both HTML and text format, as well as on several different devices

We realize the holidays can be a stressful time for businesses and nonprofits. Handling email campaigns along with everything else can be time-consuming. Contact us to find out how we can assist you with your marketing efforts this holiday season.