Prepare your email marketing for the holiday season

Yup, it's time to start making your plan

It’ll still be a couple months before you’re dragging out tangled lights and sipping egg nog, but don’t wait that long to start planning your year-end email marketing.

Whether your goals are as simple as a thank-you email greeting or as involved as a tightly scheduled retail strategy, a little planning and strategy now will pay off when the busy holiday season rolls around. On the heels of our recent holiday survey, here are six tips to help you prepare in advance — and give you plenty of time left over for egg nog sippin’.

1. Craft a holiday story line. What’s the unique story you’ll tell this holiday season? It may not be wildly different from the story you tell all year long, but it should have its own angle or narrative. Spend some time figuring out how your audience will experience your brand in new and festive ways during the holidays. Pick a story line that surprises and delights you, and your audience is likely to feel the same.

+ Need more convincing? Read Susan Blue’s post on telling your brand’s story effectively.
+ Find inspiration in our video full of festive content ideas.

2. Schedule a list check-up. We say it often around here, but it bears repeating: If your members aren’t engaged, your efforts won’t be appreciated. Before your holiday email cycle begins, send a re-engagement campaign to get your less active members on board. That might mean a special email to folks who haven’t opened or clicked in the last three months or a holiday survey to find out what subscribers would like to hear from you this season.

+ See more details on list hygiene.
+ Read up on the “why” of customer surveys.

3. Consider sending frequency and timing. According to Experian, email volume increases 15-20% during the holiday season, and volume is at its highest of the year during August – December. Response behavior, too, shows some interesting trends. Total clicks for Christmas emails peak one week after the holiday, possibly due to interest in post-holiday sales, while transactions peak three weeks prior. Take note of Experian’s data as you plan this season’s email campaigns. Capitalizing on deal-focused subscribers after the holidays might serve you well, or you may want to plan campaigns during off-peak times.

+ Master the art of the short holiday email.
+ Looking to gain donations? Use our free “donate” buttons.

4. Get social. In the past year, according to Media Post, social networks have surpassed search engines as the most visited batch of websites on the Internet. So make sure your subscribers have an easy way to share your emails with their friends and followers by enabling Social Sharing, and add easy-to-spot links to your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn pages right on your emails. Moreover, think about how you’ll adjust your messaging for the various channels — and if you’ll run any channel-specific promotions or contests.

+ Do social media platforms have their own DNA? Read Grey Garner’s take here.
+ Add an Emma signup screen to your Facebook page.

5. Design for mobile devices. People stay busy during the holidays so it’s your job to find creative ways to reach them on the go. Small screens — and big thumbs — mean you’ll want to pay attention to your email’s width, its image sizes and the number of links. Include the most important content near the top of the email — even folks who choose not to scroll will see it. And if you’re sending coupons or discounts, consider allowing subscribers to use them right from their mobile devices when they’re in-store.

+ Want more mobile design tips? Take a look here.
+ Get all of the buttons in your email to look just right.

6. Make it memorable. Best practices aside, it doesn’t really matter how you do it, as long as you do it in a way that sticks in your subscribers’ minds. Have fun with a Thanksgiving-themed contest. Make a top ten list inspired by Santa’s reindeers. Include holiday photos in a standard Emma layout, or work with our graphic designers to come up with a fancy holiday campaign. However you slice it, if you present memorable content, you’ll stand out in the inbox.

+ See examples of our designers’ custom holiday work.
+ Request a seasonal design

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What about you? How are you preparing your emails for the holidays? What kinds of plans do you have up your sleeve? Let us know in the comments below, and here’s to holiday emails that spread cheer!

Illustrations by Emma designer Lee Floyd