Now that it’s October, It’s never too early to start preparing for your holiday marketing! Did you know that 40% of consumers begin holiday shopping before Halloween?! This means that if you haven’t started thinking about your holiday marketing strategy, you’re running out of time!

We understand that each strategy is different; e-commerce vs. brick-and-mortar, B2B vs. B2C, but in all cases, you have to start somewhere. Here are five tips to help kickstart your holiday marketing email campaigns.

Plan & Schedule Holiday Marketing Emails

After comparing the marketing and sales data from previous years, you should have some idea of what works well for your business and what needs to be changed during this holiday marketing season. We recommend creating a content calendar that includes dates and information for each holiday email campaign, the featured products/services, as well as the sales or promotion that will be highlighted within the email. This will save you time when you have to actually draft the emails.

2017 Dates To Keep In Mind

Halloween – Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Black Friday – Friday, November 24, 2017

Small Business Saturday – Saturday, November 25, 2017

Cyber Monday – Monday, November 27, 2017

Giving Tuesday – Tuesday, November 28, 2017

…While you’re at it, don’t forget to save these dates for your social media promotions! See Which Social Media Platform is Right for You?

Segment Your Subscriber List

To win customers over this year, your emails need to be relatable. Every customer has different buying habits, interests, and demographics that need to be considered when drafting an email campaign. By segmenting subscribers based on location, gender, and age, or previous open-rates, you may have better success and more sales.

If you’re looking for ways to increase your subscriber list, check out 60 Ways to Grow Your Email List by our Solution Partner, Constant Contact!

Make Your Emails Stand Out

During the holiday season, customers will be receiving an excessive amount of emails, so it’s crucial to make your email stand out. First, create a catchy subject line that makes the user interested in clicking the email. Personalizing the subject line with the customer’s name can help boost open rates, as well as having a clear call to action. Once the customer is inside the email, make sure it’s mobile-friendly, visually appealing, easy to read and has the promotion on the top.

Send “Sneak Peek” and Reminder Emails

Like we mentioned before, many people have already begun their holiday shopping. By sending sneak peeks now of new items or holiday savings, customers are more likely to continue checking emails and buy. We suggest including a start and end date of sales to increase urgency. When it gets closer to the sale start or end date reminder emails will help draw customers back in. Since people are in the mood to buy and are shopping in numerous stores, sending more than one email will help catch customers who may have forgotten about your sale.

Thank Customers

After each sale, holiday or event, it’s important to send a follow-up email thanking customers. Show your appreciation for them coming into the store or making a purchase online by offering a discount on a future purchase. This will make them a repetitive buyer and a happy customer while increasing your sales!

Creating an email marketing campaign for this upcoming holiday season won’t be as bad as you think if you start now and utilize these five helpful tips!