Although the Holiday’s have wrapped up, it’s never to early to start planning for the season. Holiday newsletters are a great way to share the festive spirit with your consumers, but they do come with a catch. During this period, every ecommerce business is vying for attention and many will be boosting their email marketing efforts to turn heads in their direction.
So, how do you stand out from the crowd? As a savvy ecommerce marketer, you’ll need to employ best practice to ensure that your festive newsletter hits the mark.
Before you hit that send button, take a look at the benefits behind sending a holiday newsletter and the best way to boost your newsletter success.
The benefits of a holiday newsletter
Email marketing can be a great way of boosting sales, connecting with your target audience, and growing your brand relations. The key is to craft an email that’s relevant, timely, and action-orientated, and there’s no better time to hit all three of those marks than the Christmas period.
Here are some benefits you can enjoy from your holiday newsletter.
Show you care
As an ecommerce business, you can use your newsletter to share news of your seasonal deals, authentically spread cheer, and thank your customers.
Connecting with your customers, and reminding them of the relationship you have, can help them feel nurtured and remembered. You may also consider offering special seasonal deals to your current email list as a show of goodwill for the support they’ve offered.
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Boost buying power
It’s the time of year when customers are busy and looking for ideas to speed up their holiday shopping. You can help by delivering easy-to-access deals in your holiday newsletter, such as your best seasonal offers and the option to buy now. This will boost your engagement and buying power.
Segment and automate
Sending a holiday newsletter is a great way of targeting specific corners of your market. You can segmentize your audience to target certain groups of customers, and personalize your newsletter using first names in the email title and opening greeting.
Studies have shown that the personal approach is one of the most valued brand aspects that customers love, so the more you can tap into that personal power, the better.
You can even write your emails in advance of the seasonal peak and automate your campaigns and newsletters to be sent during the holiday season. This means you can still connect with your customers, even when you’re busy dealing with high-volume sales.
Keep Reading: 2023 Holiday Season: Setting Your Ecommerce Shop Up for Success
How to make your holiday newsletter work
Planning your holiday newsletter in advance will make the execution swift, seasonal, and seamless. There are a few important points to remember when mapping out your email marketing plan this Christmas.
- Keep copy and imagery peppered with seasonal themes
- Build in value and worth
- Make sure everything is tied to your own branding for a fully immersive and coherent experience
This will all help with the success of your holiday newsletter. Take a look at some of these tips for holiday newsletter happiness for you and your customers.
Make it pretty
Appearance matters when it comes to your ecommerce holiday newsletter. You can make it stand out with colors, seasonal styling, and snappy content and subject lines to keep your email out of the junk box and avoid it getting deleted.
There are lots of ways to make your newsletter visually appealing, including a short brand video, beautiful design blocks, interactive features, and of course – using your own brand colors and style to create a coherent experience with a seasonal twist.
Gifts and discounts
Give your ecommerce holiday newsletter lots of value by including gift guides and discounts with the content. It’s useful content for customers at this time of year and your special deals can boost your newsletter success.
You can personalize your content even further with a tailored gift-guide. Make sure you include information about holiday delivery times, and balance a sense of urgency with an assurance that there’s still enough time to purchase.
You can also include any coupons, discounts, and special offers. When offering deals and discounts, keep it in the holiday spirit – phrases like ‘our gift to you’ and words that reinforce the idea of your customers being special and valued can all strengthen brand connections and loyalty.
Timing is everything
Don’t leave your holiday newsletter until the last minute – especially if you’re offering gift guide information and deals in your newsletter. You want to hit the sweet spot between catching last minute shoppers while still giving plenty of time to purchase.
Try not to send your newsletter out on a Monday morning or a weekend as you run the risk of a lower click rate. On Mondays, everyone is sifting through emails, and on weekends people may steer clear of their inbox. The best time for sending your newsletter out can be weekday afternoons.
Extra features
A holiday newsletter can offer endless opportunities. Not only can you showcase your best seasonal offerings and hopefully get those last minute sales, but you can grow brand awareness and even have the chance of re-engaging with previous customers.
You can build in additional features such as a scratchcard or wheel of fortune, or any interactive game to encourage your customers to re-engage with you. You can also include social media links, share news of competitions, and get your readers excited about New Year sales.
A holiday newsletter is an essential part of the email marketing puzzle. As an ecommerce brand, you’ll want to make the most of your seasonal campaigns, and you couldn’t wish for a better opportunity than the holiday newsletter. As long as you keep it relevant, full of value, and send it out in a timely manner, you can boost your brand image, improve holiday sales, and inspire deeper connections with your customers.
Want support for your ecommerce marketing before the busy season hits? Contact us today for a free consultation.
