It’s that time of year again. People are starting to think about the holidays, and brands are ramping up their seasonal promotions. Email inboxes are about to get filled to the brim with new promotions, sales, and donation requests.
So, what can you do to stand out?
Whether you want to make a big sale or get your nonprofit in front of key donors on Giving Tuesday, the key to thriving during this busy season is to walk that fine line between feeding the holiday shopping frenzy while actually offering genuine value to your audience.
Let’s talk about how email marketing can help you make the most of your seasonal marketing campaigns without overwhelming yourself or your audience!
Why Email Marketing for Seasonal Promotions?
If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know that I love email marketing! It has consistently been one of the best ways to reach your audience right where they are.
As much as I enjoy social media and think it has immense value in your content marketing strategy, organic social media doesn’t have a broad reach. According to Social Insider, “In 2024, Instagram has a reach rate of 4.00% on average, while Facebook scores a 2.60% average reach rate.”
That means only a tiny fraction of your social media followers are actually seeing your posts!
Compare that to email marketing, where the average open rate is 20-30%, depending on your industry. It’s even higher for nonprofits! I work on my church’s communications team, and our emails often see a 70% (or higher!) open rate!
If you haven’t been sending email communications consistently, take a look at this tool from Mailchimp that will tell you your industry’s benchmark. Whether your benchmark is 20% or 80%, it’s still much higher than the <5% you’ll get on social media.
So, do the math. Calculate your social media audience and your email list using these metrics. Where can you reach more people?
Chances are, your strength lies in email marketing. When you pair your seasonal email promotions with other tactics, like social media ads, organic social media, and long-form content, you are in a better position to reach your goals.
Increase Your Open Rates with Catchy Subject Lines
Now that you’ve added email promotions to your list of seasonal to-dos, let’s talk about how to get those emails opened.
On Black Friday alone, 116.5 million emails will be sent. But don’t let that number scare you. Inboxes are full, but people are reading that content!
In fact, Black Friday and Cyber Monday emails generate some of the highest engagement marketers see during the holiday season. Consumers are on their computers and ready to shop, so why not give them something to consider from your brand?
The key to taking advantage of these big marketing days is to know how to stand out in the sea of messaging. Here are my top three tips on how to be one of the lucky emails that gets opened during the holiday rush:
- Ask questions! Use your subject line to quickly capture the reader’s attention by making it all about them.
- Use one emoji. Too many emojis will make your message look like spam, but one will catch a scanning eye.
- Make sure your subject line is authentic to the content inside. Now is not the time for clickbait. Tell your reader exactly what is inside your message.
Don’t neglect the preheader line, either! Use it to complement the headline and boost excitement around your content.
Best Practices for Your Seasonal Email Promotions
The subject line of your email will get it opened, but once your audience is inside, you have to keep them there long enough to get your message across. On average, consumers will only spend about 9 seconds reading a seasonal marketing email.
That means you have to make your point quickly! Here are some of my best practices for avoiding common content mistakes and crafting seasonal marketing emails that get the job done:
- Make sure that your content is scannable.
- Use short paragraphs, headings, and bullet points.
- Take advantage of visual images, gifs, and other eye-catching graphics.
- Use a strong call to action like “shop now,” “use your discount code,” “pre-order now” or “donate today” (nonprofits) to create a sense of urgency.
- Stick to your company’s branding and always include your logo so there’s no questioning who the message is from.
- Link your social media accounts in the footer of the email.
- A/B testing can reveal some valuable information about your audience.
- Don’t be afraid to switch up your strategy and sequence if it isn’t working.
Feeling Overwhelmed? Get a Writer on Board!
While every business owner probably understands the importance of seasonal marketing campaigns, not everyone will have the in-house capacity or expertise to take on such a heavy lift.
Now is the time to get a great writer on board to help you develop a strong seasonal email marketing strategy. Luckily for you, I know a great team that can get the job done! Reach out today and let the Emily Writes team elevate your content this holiday season.