Send Smarter Email This Holiday Season

For most people, preparing for the holidays means decorating, cooking, shopping, and so on.

For email marketers, the holidays usually mean, well, sending more email.

However, simply blasting your email list with more messaging can lead to deliverability issues, lower engagement, and higher unsubscribe rates – no matter how good your holiday deals are.

That’s why, for your holiday email program to be successful, you can’t just send more email. You have to send smarter email.

Here are three ways to send email this holiday season that engages your audience and drives those all-important holiday conversions – intelligently!

Give the Gift of Email Re-Engagement This Season

Email engagement plays a large role in your inbox placement rate. When a subscriber has not engaged with your emails for an extended period of time, you run the risk of emails landing in the spam folder.

To get the most from your holiday email program, try nudging these lapsed subscribers with an automated re-engagement program. Create a campaign with a rule that automatically sends an email to subscribers who have not opened or clicked your email in a set number of days – maybe 30, 60, or 90 days, depending on how frequently you send. Make sure this email gives subscribers a reason to re-engage, such as a “We miss you!” email that contains a discount.

If subscribers re-engage with your email, you can consider them safe to send to during the holiday season. If subscribers don’t engage, consider sending to them less frequently or excluding them from your holiday email entirely.

For more re-engagement tips, read our quick guide here.

Deliver Relevance with Segmentation and Targeting

Every retailer will be competing for the inbox this holiday season. It’s important to make sure your emails stand out, and nothing stands out more than an email that feels like it’s tailored just to you!

Use your data to segment your email list and target subscribers with content that’s most relevant to them. For instance, you can use browsing and purchasing history to send email with products that match subscriber interests, while geotargeting can help you send email that best resonates with subscribers in a particular area.

You can also segment subscribers based on how frequently they engage with you email. Segment your “super shoppers” into a list where you can safely send more often. That way, you can engage your best customers without fatiguing the rest of your email list (or causing more deliverability issues).

Craft the Perfect Holiday Message with A/B Testing

Every send is an opportunity to A/B test your emails!

Of course, during a busy holiday season, it may feel like you don’t have time to implement rigorous testing. Fortunately, there are many small tests that can be implemented quickly. Testing your subject line, preheader text, or even your friendly from name are all simple tests that can make a world of difference in your email program.

Every A/B test can provide deeper insight into what works best with your email audience. You can put this knowledge to use as you send email this holiday season, helping your email program get smarter with every send.

For more ways to send smarter email this season, talk to your Customer Success Manager, or contact us here!