The Perfect Guide to 2020 Holiday Email Marketing

07.Oct.2020 Keerthana Selvakumar - Email Marketing, Email marketing automation

The Holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year for your eCommerce stores. It’s the last opportunity of the year for that final push to generate the maximum revenue and end the year with a bang. It’s important that you add Email Marketing to Ecommerce Holiday Checklist. 

Holiday sales every year have surpassed the previous years’ records and surprised everyone. You might think this is the year when shoppers are going to be tired of the Holiday season but never! Holidays are celebrated more than ever now. And especially with the pandemic, everyone is holding onto these little celebrations to reinstate hope and positivity in their lives. This again leads to the inference that you have an amazing opportunity up for grabs to scale up your holiday sales. But it’s not going to be that easy!

Holiday email marketing has always been ‘the most productive marketing strategy’ for e-commerce stores, and this year was no exception as well. BayEngage is a full-fledged Ecommerce email marketing solution from Targetbay, which aims to help e-commerce brands achieve above-the-benchmark delivery rates as well as high click-through-rates. Check out how TargetBay’s BayEngage Helped Its Clients To Make The Most Of 2019 BFCM Sales

If you aspire to make your holiday sales the merriest and brightest of all, you’ll need a solid Holiday email marketing plan. Holiday marketing strategies without Email marketing can never exist. Emails are the best way to establish a personal connection with your loyal customers and also attract new shoppers with exclusive promotions and rewards programs. 

Why email makes the best holiday marketing tool

Holidays turn out to be the best time of the year to reach out to your customers. It also provides an excellent opportunity to generate more leads by promoting the need to share the offers and discounts you offer to your shopper’s family and friends.

Emails are perfect for our mobile world

Your customers and shoppers are glued to their smartphones and tablets most of the time. They rely on mobile devices for all kinds of information. Research shows that a growing number of consumers complete their holiday shopping online on their mobile devices. According to active research, in the past four years, purchases made on mobile devices jumped from 3.4% to 36.7%. Not just that, one of the researches by Movable Ink reveals a whopping 76% of Black Friday emails, and 63% of Cyber Monday emails were opened on a mobile device. In this busy Holiday season, we can help you keep your shoppers stay updated with the latest trends and make their shopping easier with our mobile-ready email templates.

Emails offer instant buying options

Emails offer incredible opportunities to include interesting features in it, making it extremely simple for shoppers to make a purchase. Research shows 41% of retailers will use “Buy Now” buttons in their email marketing. Remember that your customers are as busy as you are during the holiday season. Anything that can speed up their holiday shopping will benefit them, and your business. Including a call-to-action button in your email helps you highlight a gift, a special offer, or even an event that a Shopper can buy in a matter of a couple of clicks. 

Emails can support all of your campaigns

The benefits of Email Marketing is endless. Emails can be used to promote sales, invite customers to holiday events, showcase unique gift ideas, or even gift guides, and the list keeps going on. You can reach out to customers constantly and stimulate sales throughout the season. Emails can also aid your other marketing initiatives, such as social media sales, contests, and reward programs.

Make your Emails more efficient with Automation and personalization 

As it is clearly evident, Holidays are the busiest times in every way possible. This might be the best time to put marketing automation to use by automating a variety of your email campaigns, starting from welcome emails to offers and reminders. To get ideas, check out these 9 inspiring examples that use marketing automation. Additionally, you can segment your emails to create personalized messages, as personalized emails deliver 6x higher transaction rates.

Proven Tips to create a perfectly gift-wrapped call to action

Our quick tips will guide any marketing team to craft the perfect call to action.

Place a button

Never make your shoppers search for the call to action. It should be obvious and pop out of the email. Your call-to-action button should scream “look at me”. It’s easy to overlook a hyperlinked text, but it’s nearly impossible to do the same with a button. Buttons are more likely to compel shoppers to click them.

Keep the text simple and short

Your call to action message should be short and to the point. It should not exceed three words. Try direct CTAs like “Buy Now,” “Get the Deal,” or “Grab the offer.”  This will attract and motivate your shoppers to click on the CTA.

Create a separate landing page or purchase page for the CTA

When shoppers click on your call to action, where do they go? You can never forget to ask this question before creating the CTA. The traffic needs to be directed to a landing page or a page where they can complete the purchase that your email offers. The landing page not just streamlines your process but also reassures shoppers that they’re in the right place. It helps in making a direct connection to the specific deal that you’re offering. If your subscriber is redirected to your homepage or a random spot, consider you lost a sale opportunity. 

Focus on the lesser-known holidays too

The holiday season is not only about the winter holidays. Many other holidays can be used to reach out to your shoppers. You never know what might interest your customers. Many marketing teams let go of these holidays and promote only the important ones. Every missed holiday equates to a missed opportunity to reach out to your shoppers. 

Every holiday greeting email depends on the nature of your brand. We understand that not all brands can make good use of all the Holidays. But it is important to track all the holidays and check which holiday makes more sense to your brand and your customer. 

We are listing down a few examples of lesser-known holidays that can be used to create an email. Check it out!

Canadian Thanksgiving, October 14

Thanksgiving in Canada is a family holiday when people give thanks for the past year. Families prepare special meals and dine together. It’s a great time to thank your customers for trusting and supporting your business.

Sweetest Day, October 17

Sweetest day falls in mid-October and is an amazing way to kick off the holiday season! Spreading the love by sharing “Sweet” deals is a great way to kick off the season of spending, and making good use of incentives encourages readers to take action.

Veterans Day, November 11

Veterans Day honors and thanks all military personnel who have served the US. It’s a day to commemorate, not commercialize, so be mindful of your campaigns if you don’t want them to turn into a marketing nightmare.

Remembrance Day, November 11

Remembrance Day is observed in Canada, Australia, and the UK commemorates people who gave their lives in armed conflicts during World War I. Weeks before this day, many people wear red poppies pinned to their clothing as a symbol of remembrance. Once again, be extra sensitive when creating campaigns on public holidays like this.

Small Business Saturday, November 28

Small Business Saturday also falls in the late fall/early winter months. But did you know it is a vital holiday for growing brand awareness? Yes, it is! Especially for newly established brands. When you encourage readers to shop local, it isn’t only an act of kindness but also motivates them to pass on word of your small business and shop your online store.

Giving Tuesday, December 01

Giving Tuesday falls during those winter months often overshadowed. However, the idea of sending out a Giving Tuesday email can work out well for your business as it opens up the avenues for getting people involved, while also offering the opportunity for businesses to grow their presence and benefit financially.

Green Monday, December 14

Green Monday is the second Monday in December and one of the busiest retail shopping days in the US. It’s the day when shoppers realize they only have around 10 shipping days left before Christmas. That sense of urgency translates into online sales, as consumers rush to complete their holiday shopping lists.

Free Shipping Day, December 15

On this day, online stores around the world offer free shipping to extend the Black Friday Cyber Monday shopping excitement. Free shipping is the number one incentive to shop online more, so running a special promotion might be one of the last chances to get a few more holiday shoppers to fill their carts.

Hanukkah, December 10–18

Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is celebrated by the Jewish community and lasts 8 days and nights. If you decide to add Hanukkah to your marketing calendar, be aware that it’s not related to Christmas and make sure you understand what this holiday means. Even though some families still exchange gifts, this time is more about spending quality time with your family.

That said, you can use candles, decorations, and other cozy products in your promotions and campaigns.

Kwanzaa, December 26–January 1

Kwanzaa is a 7-day holiday when families honor their African heritage. During each of the seven days, a candle is lit to recognize one of seven core values, or Nguzo Saba.

On the last day of Kwanzaa, families come together and exchange gifts. The presents are usually homemade rather than store-bought. So if you want to target this holiday, build your marketing efforts around the values and beliefs of the African heritage.

Wrap Up

The Holiday season is the best time for you to attract more shoppers and increase your sales like never before. Everyone is happy, light-hearted, and wants to enjoy every single moment of it. Especially with time management being a huge struggle with most of the holiday shoppers, your marketing efforts matter the most to increase sales. We have included many useful tips and tactics that will not only help your holiday season sales but also increase your brand’s reputation. By using this holiday email marketing guide, we’re sure that you’ll be on your way to create and send Holiday emails that resonate with your subscribers. Do not forget-planning is everything, so don’t wait. With TargetBay, you can get started on your holiday email marketing now.