As the holiday season approaches, it’s time to prepare your email subscriber list for the flurry of holiday promotions. It feels like just yesterday we were enjoying the summer, but now it’s time to gear up for winter and ensure your holiday email strategy is ready. Before you send out your holiday messages, follow these five essential tips to optimize your email list and strategy for holiday sales.
1. Clean Up Your Email Subscriber List
The first step in getting your email list ready for the holiday season is to clean up and remove inactive subscribers. Think of this as a deep clean before decorating for the holidays. Start by segmenting your list into those who haven’t opened an email in more than 90 days. If you haven’t communicated in over 90 days, focus on those who haven’t opened in the 90 days before that, which could span up to a year.
Next, send this group a special series of re-engagement emails to confirm if they still want to hear from you. Send at least three messages to this segment, and remove anyone who doesn’t click to stay on the list. Although reducing your list size might be painful, a smaller, more engaged list improves deliverability and engagement. You’re paying to send emails that may end up in spam folders, so it’s best to let inactive subscribers go.
2. Update and Fine-Tune Your Automations
Set aside time to review all your running automations and transactional messages to ensure they’re up-to-date and optimized for conversions. A good example of an automation is a welcome series or an upsell series post-purchase. Ensure these emails have relevant dates and offers aligned with your holiday promotions. Don’t forget to check your links too!
While updating automations, rethink the call-to-actions within your transactional emails. These are emails triggered by a user’s activity, such as order confirmations, shipping notifications, and abandoned cart emails. Use these messages to include cross-sells and upsells, offering related products and services. Transactional messages are also a great place to remind customers of deadlines, like the last day for ground shipping in time for holiday delivery.
3. Mark Important Dates on Your Calendar
To prepare your email marketing strategy for the holiday season, mark important dates on your calendar. This includes updating messages in your automations and transactional emails. For instance, in your abandoned cart emails, you might add text or graphics with shipping deadlines for holiday delivery. This gentle nudge helps remind customers of limited timeframes for gift-giving.
After the initial deadline, update your text and graphics to promote expedited shipping. If all shipping deadlines have passed, consider promoting a gift card instead. When the holidays end, remember to remove any holiday mentions from your automated and transactional messages. Set a reminder now in your task management system or calendar to ensure this step isn’t overlooked amidst post-holiday hustle.
4. Plan for the Holiday Season
Utilizing a calendar to mark important business operation dates will help you meet deadlines and send well-prepared emails to your list. Anticipate last-minute shoppers and factor in processing, production, and shipping times for all shipping methods. This foresight ensures a smooth operation during the bustling holiday season.
These tips aren’t limited to the winter holidays; they apply to any occasion significant to your business, from Valentine’s Day to Mother’s Day and beyond. Happy holidays indeed!
5. Continue Your Journey
Your journey doesn’t end here. Ensure you’re not overpaying for your E-Mail Marketing platform. If you’re tired of paying monthly for your platform, consider taking a look at MailCheetah AI (The subscription-free E-Mail Marketing platform!)
Read More: Unlock the Power of Email Marketing: Build Lasting Connections Today!