But that doesn’t mean there is not an art in sending the right emails to customers. And if you think someday you will start, then you are missing all other days of the week to exploit a gold mine with email marketing.
Why not today? And if today is a special day like Christmas, Halloween, or Cyber Monday, your holiday email marketing strategy can even be more effective. Wondering how? Then continue reading to find out.
What is a seasonal email campaign?
As the name implies, a seasonal email campaign is an email marketing campaign that aims to connect with consumers on certain holidays or events. With a festive mood, people are more willing to buy these days, and your emails can provide just the reason they need to pay.
According to a Holiday consumer report, 42% of consumers shop equally in-store and online for holidays. They also expect to receive promotions from brands on these occasions, so you have a great opportunity to reach and engage with the target audience.
Best seasons email ideas for your business
So, open your calendar and start seeing all the events that can be suitable for a seasonal email campaign. But keep in mind that holidays can be different from country to country, so if you are selling globally, make sure your retail email campaign is culture-appropriate.
With that out of the way, let’s see the best seasonal email campaign ideas for some fun and lucrative promotions.
1. Make it jolly with an email campaign for Christmas
Christmas is the time for gathering, warmth, and big smiles. And if Coca-Cola can make a polar bear to sell some pins, you can create a joyous email retail email campaign to capture consumers’ hearts as well.
Competition is fierce during this time, though, but you have a couple of months before and after Christmas to connect with many groups of customers. Divide your Christmas email campaign into three or more stages, gradually winning buyers’ interest and leading them to an exploding sales-off.
To make your Christmas email truly special, decorate it with music, gifs, and videos. Combine them with an attention-grabbing message, and you will spark some miracle interest from your customers.
Seasonal email ideas for Christmas:
- A responsive letter to express the festive mood with buyers
- A Christmas checklist with your products as solutions
- Some last-minute deals to grab before Christmas day
- A customization deal for the receiver to prepare the best gifts for loved ones
- Some Christmas receipts to enjoy with the family
2. Bring out some treats with an email campaign for Halloween
Halloween is the time to get spookly creative and offer sweet treats to your dear customers. Many people plan their shopping from September, so you can reach out with some time ahead.
To create a haunting Halloween retail email marketing campaign, speak the language with pumpkins, ghosts, witches, moons, and a festive color pallet. However, if your brand doesn’t sit too well with creepy colors, try adjusting the look to match the brand identity better.
Of course, you don’t have to sell candy, costumes, or Halloween decorations to join the festival. Your products can match the spirit just fine with some creativity. For example, you can create a time-limited Halloween item or a special pumpkin flavor if you are in the F&B industry.
Seasonal email ideas for Halloween:
- A spooky email campaign with sweet sales during the festival
- A special invitation to a costume event at the store
- An introduction of a new flavor (pumpkin pie anyone?)
- A little game for the brave ones to win special discounts
3. Make love bloom with an email campaign for Valentine
A lover wants what the heart wants - and what if your email can bring just what the heart desires? So, don’t be shy and start spreading the love through a seasonal email campaign, regardless of your buyers’ age, gender, or relationship status.
Men and women alike would research to buy the perfect Valentine's gift even months ahead. But the majority of purchases happen on February 11th. So it is a good idea to craft your pre-Valentine emails a week before informing them about upcoming offers, then you can unleash your lovely newsletter with sweet deals to melt their hearts.
Busy lovers fear that they might be late for buying their presents, so it’s your job to make sure they will be on time with perfectly-fit email campaigns.
Seasonal holiday email marketing ideas for Valentine's:
- A countdown timer to remind customers of the upcoming Valentine's deals
- Many lovely deals for the singles to show some love for themselves
- An invitation for a sweet date at the store
- A guide to buying the right present for the other half
- A special chance to win a prize as a couple
4. Paint the town black with an email campaign for Black Friday
Black Friday is no doubt one of the most anticipated sales campaigns of the year for any retail business. So don’t be afraid to turn on the heat with some hard-to-ignore offers and you will start seeing a waiting line of customers.
Since Black Friday is close to Christmas, you also have a unique opportunity to stack up discounts and see items flying off the shelves. But remember, Black Friday works because it’s one day only. Consumers should feel a sense of urgency about grabbing your offers before it ends in just 24 hours.
You can start by setting up a chain of emails to get buyers excited about the upcoming sale. Try highlighting the on-demand products that will get a knock-out discount on the day. Not sure which items are hot? Data collected from a POS system will help you get insights into high-purchased products on all channels, including websites, offline stores, and marketplaces. Retailers can get POS reports to know customers’ preferred promotions.
Seasonal holiday email marketing ideas for Black Friday:
- Some crazy deals on your store’s hottest items
- A bunch of free-shipping coupons for products purchased on Black Friday
- A special member upgrade for your subscribers
- A chain of hourly deals that get crazier near the end of the day
- Many free gifts for online purchases that happen during the day
- An invitation to the Black Friday sales event at your sore location
5. Sing the anthem with an email campaign for National Day
Last but not least, we have National Day, on which you can pay your respect to the history of the land by showing patriotism through the holiday email marketing strategy. While many retailers focus on the holidays above like Christmas or Halloween, your business can shine at another time by showing special deals in the name of love for the country.
The best part is that you can take part in this holiday email marketing trend regardless of the industry. Whether you are in the apparel, travel, food, toy, real estate, or hotel business, this is a wonderful opportunity to improve sales and ramp up brand engagement.
Both young and old demographics can appreciate patriotism, so your email design should reflect the country’s pride with flags, people, culture, and history. Be delicate in the usage of colors and decoration since people can feel offended if you represent their country in the wrong way.
Retail seasonal email campaign ideas for Independence Day:
- A proud discount to celebrate the country’s special day
- Some history lessons with your brand reflecting the pride in the products
- A special and limited version of your item for country lovers
- An online gathering to sing the national anthem together
- A short quiz about the country with discount codes for the participants who answer right
Best practices for retail email marketing in seasonal promotions
How can you use seasonal email campaigns to your advantage? Follow these best practices:
- Plan your emails weeks or months before the holiday so customers can have plenty of time to anticipate your promotion. This is also how to be one step ahead of the competitors in people’s inboxes.
- Strategize your email messages to align with the mood of the season. Words like “spookily” can be fun for Halloween, while “egg-tra” will be perfect for Thanksgiving.
- Use the right tool to design your emails and ensure performance. GIFs and videos can be exciting, but if they make your messages end up in the Spam folder, lose them altogether.
- Take advantage of email tracking data like MySignature to understand customers and craft personalized emails. Also, you can use data from connecting a POS with your account software to understand sales reports of channels. These can be key insights to ramp up sales and satisfy customers.
- Be aware of the appropriateness of joining a holiday as a brand. You don’t need to have offers on every occasion and if it doesn't make sense, forcing a seasonal email campaign can do more harm to your brand reputation than good.
Conclusion
Creating a seasonal email campaign is a creative and effective way for retailers to engage with subscribers, showcase products, and ramp up sales during the special time. A holiday email marketing strategy is something that more brands should utilize not just this year - but every year.
With the right tool, you can create beautiful messages with professional email signatures for the best result. So prepare from today and have fun creating a ho-ho-holiday newsletter.
