According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, retail sales in November 2022 increased 7.7% year on year, with a total retail trade turnover of $35.9 billion. Whether a sale was at a till or on a checkout page, email marketing is still a strong force to pushing people to buying gifts for themselves - and perhaps for others!
If you have a healthy email marketing list, how can you leverage it to increase your Black Friday or Christmas sales?
Create a Content Calendar
The first step toward a successful holiday sales campaign is creating a content calendar. This doesn’t just have to encompass your potential email marketing offers or newsletters, but tie into your social media and content marketing as a whole.
If you’re focusing on a certain product for a week, your strategy should be to push it through all your channels. Make sure you leave some flexibility for flash sales, opportunities that come your way (discounted lines, for example), and of course, crisis communications if things go wrong.
It’s never too early to push holiday sales - commercial media platform Criteo says that first time buyers will check out an online store 41 days before making a potential purchase on Black Friday.
Segment, Personalise, Repeat
Segmentation and personalisation is the “secret ingredient” to encourage open rate and sales. CampaignMonitor says that personalising subject lines can lead to an 8x improvement in click-throughs and 6x improvement in transaction rates.
Segmenting your email list into active users, lapsed users, etc. can also mean targeting campaigns at these demographics. You can lure lapsed users who have signed up and never purchased with a special discount offer; your most enthusiastic shoppers could be incentivised with buy one, get one free offers.
As I’ve mentioned previously, email marketing should feel as if that email is written just for them and no one else.
Add Value With Every Email
You don’t have to offer a discount with every email you send out. There are plenty of ways to add value to someone’s inbox without sacrificing your bottom line. One great way to add value is offering a “holiday gift guide” - based on the segmentation and personalisation discussed earlier - and hit points that you know will resonate with that audience.
Earn $50 For Every Referral!
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Earn $50 For Every Referral! 〰️
Gifts for him/her (directed at the opposite)
Gifts on a budget - using language like “Gifts under $50”
Gifts for people with certain hobbies or interests
Gifts for kids or gifts for mum and dad
Gifts for those looking to splurge
You can also build your email list by offering instant discounts, access to early sales coupons or free shipping just for signing up.
Don’t simply bombard your audience with calls to buy something - planting seeds can prove just as valuable!
Get In The Festive Spirit
As I was writing this blog post, I got an email from MOO, an online business stationery and card shop, that was advertising “Fresh Festive Ideas.” I don’t even own a Christmas tree (much to the chagrin of any woman I know) but I do know many people love Christmas and the holiday season. Using Christmas emojis (in fact, using emojis can dramatically increase open rates) Incorporating that into your messaging can increase engagement and rapport with your brand. You may cringe at a Christmas pun as a subject line, but some people find it charming! (I don’t know who. Don’t ask.)
Use Automation and SMS
If you have a robust email marketing system, you should set up emails for different user scenarios such as abandoned carts, missed emails, and flash sales. Many people (myself included) will sign up for an email list, purposely abandon a cart and see if the store sends me a discount to entice me back! You should have email and copy ready to go for every eventuality, including flash sales, buy one, get one free offers, limited time offers, and so on. Since most of us will be reading these offers on our smartphones, using SMS marketing can also help drive engagement and traffic to your site.
Make Sales Seamless
If you have a special sale targeting a segment of your email list, the sales page should be as seamless as possible. That means links should open to the gifts below $50; or have their subscriber discount already applied in a cart; whatever it takes to make the sale as easy as possible for the buyer.
There’s nothing worse than coming across a vague landing page that’s trying to appeal to everyone yet functions for almost no one.
By following some simple steps, you too can rake in a sales bonanza this Black Friday and Christmas!
Want help with crafting great copy that’ll cut through all the robotic cookie cutter nonsense? Get your Black Friday sales pumping with I Sell Words!