The holiday rush is about to begin – you should be prepared and have a clear holiday email campaign plan in place. Every business model is affected by the sheer volume of email being sent from October 15th to December 31st. As the Email Experience Council (EEC) reported, the biggest online retailers almost doubled their sending frequency during the last holiday season – a total increase of 47%. Do not let your messages get lost in the vast sea of the upcoming holiday madness.
Make sure your messages stand out and stand up against all the competition by following our holiday check list:
- It all begins or ends with the subject line. Take the time to create your subject line just as you do your design and layout – subject lines need to be part of your holiday planning process. The subject line must speak directly to your recipient with a specific call to action. Do not rely solely on “free shipping” and “% off” to draw attention. Be direct, relevant and clear as to what the message offers and why it matters to the recipient. Ask the question – “would this subject line make me want to open this message – does it speak to me?” My motto – if you spend less than five minutes creating your subject line spend five more to get it right.
- Don’t lose interest upon opening. Ensure your offer is viewed even when the images are turned off. Assume that your message is being viewed with images turned off by default. The EEC in January 2007 found one in five emails are ineffective due to blocked images. See an example of how a message renders with images turned off and no alternative text. Grab immediate attention by using alt text as a placeholder for images. Instead of opening a page of scattered blank white boxes your consumer will be provided text with a clear call to action and offer details without having to do anything. Keep in mind that alternative text is also critical if you want your message to be delivered to anyone on a Blackberry. MarketingSherpa, in partnership with SurveySampling (2007) found 64% of key decision makers are viewing your well designed messages on their BlackBerrys and other mobile devices.
- Increase frequency through segmentation. It is okay to send more email during the coming holiday season, just make sure they are targeted messages by utilizing Bronto’s segmentation tool. If you send more, send more relevant messages. Be direct. Create an offer for a specific portion of your house file not a generic offer that may only relate to a small percent of the mail file. For further insight into holiday segmentation planning read Bronto’s whitepaper Holiday
Acquisition: Creating an Email Marketing Strategy. You can also re-mail to those recipients who did not open your last message by building a simple segment in Bronto and creating a more compelling subject line – see the first point again.
- Keep them clicking. If you want to drive traffic to your site the links must not only work but navigate to specific pages. One broken link or all links leading to only the home page will ensure immediate discontent between your company and the consumer. Your logo, header, navigation bar and images all need to link to relevant pages on your site. It is a simple mistake that costs a great deal – higher unsubscribe and complaints, lower clicks and conversions.
By being a better email marketer than the competition this holiday season, your campaign can meet or exceed plan but not at the cost of your most valuable asset – your subscriber file
Kimberly Snyder
Account Manager at Bronto
Related posts:
- Simple Questions to Shape Your Holiday Marketing Plans There are a TON of outstanding posts and PDFs on...
- Holiday 2009 Planning Checklist: Plan for Success I know many of you are still in the “back...
- Saying Goodbye: List Cleansing & Re-Engagement Campaigns The hot topic and #1 question I get these days...
{ 0 comments… add one now }