The holiday season is upon us, and there’s no time like the present to start planning your email strategy for Black Friday, Christmas, and beyond. Use the quick tips below to prepare your mailing lists and festive campaigns for a successful winter.
Clean up your email subscription offerings.
If it’s been several months (or even years!) since you’ve last updated your email subscriptions, be sure to do so before the holiday rush. Take inventory of your offerings, and consider whether they’re still in line with your goals. For example, if your sign up forms still tout a birthday email option but you no longer send birthday emails to members, then you may be collecting entries on a contact list that never receives any mailings. Take time before the holidays to remove any unused subscriptions or create new ones relevant to your marketing strategy.
Review your current opt-in and opt-out procedures.
Driving traffic toward a broken sign-up link before a big holiday email push could yield not-so-merry results. Before a big campaign, locate your email opt-in/opt-out forms on your website and within your mailing templates to ensure that they’re easy for your visitors and potential subscribers to find. Click on each link and make sure it is working properly.
Use personalization tokens in your emails.
A 2017 study from Epsilon found that 80% of consumers are more likely to engage with a brand that curates personalized experiences. Consider using personalization tokens to further enrich user interactions by making subscribers feel as if you’re speaking directly to them.
Offer email-exclusive contests, offers, promotions.
Channel your inner Santa Claus! Keep your audience engaged with your email campaigns by offering exclusive content. For example, include discounts for holiday gifts, services from your advertisers, or pre-sale codes for tickets to special events. The opportunity to access extra content that subscribers can’t get anywhere else will leave them looking forward to your next email! Just be sure you’re sending content that is in line with your subscription types so that it’s relevant to your audience’s interests.
For more tips on improving your email marketing strategy, check out this recent blog post. You can also download a free Subject Line Best Practices list below. Happy promoting!
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