Boost Holiday Sales: 9 tips to optimize your email list for holiday sales

Martha Author

Looking to make more sales this holiday season? Implement these 9 tips to optimize your email marketing.

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Photo by Christiann Koepke on Unsplash

Holiday shopping is looking a little different this year. About 50% of consumers say they are starting their holiday shopping before November hits, and some people started making purchases in September.

How much thought have you given to the holidays and what you will be doing to boost sales this year? It’s not too late, but you’ll want to get started sooner rather than later.

Here are 9 quick tips to get you started today!

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Segment your email list

Before you create the copy for your email, you first need to decide WHO you are talking to. If you have multiple offers, not everyone may be interested in the same things you are trying to promote. By segmenting your list before you create your content, you will target your ideal customer.

You can look at things such as:

• Purchase history

• Engagement levels

• Preferences

• Demographics

By tailoring your message to these specific segments, you will be able to create relevant content for those specific audiences. You can create segments for people who are repeat customers or new to your business. Have a segment for those who have opened one of your emails in the last 90 days or have opened one of your last 5 emails. There can be a segment for those who have shown interest in a specific product or service. Or you can break up your list by targeting your local clientele.

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Create engaging content

The content of your emails pushes your audience to purchase, which means knowing your audience, understanding your audience’s pain points, and providing value linked to your offer.

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Your content should catch your reader's attention right away. One of the ways to do this is through a subject line and preheader text. Check out this blog post if you need more support around creating a compelling subject line.

To create engaging content, you can

• Include graphics, memes, or gifs

• Personalize the content by adding in the subscribers first name

• Share a story about your pain points (or a client’s)

• Make your emails easy to read and to the point

• Include a compelling call-to-action

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Humanize your approach

Long gone are the days of marketing to anyone and everyone with the same generalized message. People want to connect with YOU and feel a genuine connection with your brand. 

This requires you to 100% know who your ideal customer is and craft a targeted message with them in mind. You can do this by using their name in your email and tailoring the content of your email based on their preferences. Try sharing a story, a testimonial, or asking them a question. Building a connection can be one of the best ways to create a loyal customer who will purchase from you beyond the holiday and throughout the year.

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Promote testimonials and reviews

Sharing social proof and reviews doesn’t need to be icky. It’s a great way to build trust and authority with your audience. Customers like to see that you know what you are talking about and have the proof to back it up.

Try these strategies in your next newsletter:

• Share a testimonial. Reach out to a customer with a positive experience and ask them to share a brief statement.

• Display ratings and reviews. Whether you have an online or in-person presence, this is a great way to use search sites such as Google to showcase your ratings. You can add the link to your Google page in your newsletter to have your subscribers check it out. Feel free to rate Martha Warner. LLC here!

• Share your credentials. Did you recently take a course and received a certificate? Or maybe you have been awarded a top business in your area. Share all the details with your readers!

• Feature a case study. Show your customers a before and after of a recent customer. Case studies are a unique take on a client testimonial, and they’re more extensive. But the value is worth it!

• Create a “What Our Customers Are Saying” section. Adding this in during the holiday season creates interest in your brand and your offerings. You can keep it up year round and draw attention to other customer’s experiences working with you. If you’re a creator, you might even have an inspiration section to share what others are asking you to create!

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Integrate a sense of urgency

How many times have you taken action when you saw: “Hurry! You’re running out of time!” or “You only have # hours left to get in on this deal”? You can incorporate this sense of urgency into your newsletters in a way that encourages customers to take action. Add phrases such as “limited time offer” or “while supplies last.” For the holidays, promote it as an exclusive holiday deal.

Another fun way to add urgency to your offer is by adding a countdown timer to your emails. This strategy is great for holiday promotions and feels natural and authentic. It’s also the perfect method for those people who tend to act more on a visual reminder. The image of a timer can help someone take action and encourage them to make a decision.

Remember that the sense of urgency can be overused if you create a limited-time offer that is actually available all the time or if you extend the deadline almost every time you set one. Be careful with using it too often.

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Use A/B testing

A/B tests compare different versions of a single email to help you see if some part of your email is performing better than the other.

You can do this by sending the exact same email to half of your audience with one subject line and sending the other half a different subject line. You will be able to see if your audience was drawn to one subject line over the other.

Other ways to use A/B testing include switching up the copy, the CTA, the colors of your buttons, how many buttons you use, and so much more. A/B testing is a valuable way to learn about your audience and their preferences so you can fine tune your messaging.

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Improve deliverability

Doing all the work of segmenting your list and crafting the perfect message won’t do you any good if your emails constantly are landing in spam. Spam filters are in place to prevent content that looks suspicious from landing in your customer’s inbox. Avoid using trigger words such as “Act now” or “Exclusive deal.” Check out this post for some of the most common phrases that you want to avoid.

You should also avoid links to websites that don’t seem safe, messages in ALL CAPS, and random fonts and colors. And never leave your readers without a way to unsubscribe.

Besides avoiding coming across as spammy, you can also increase your deliverability by having proper segmentation, personalized content, and regular list checks to remove inactive or invalid email addresses.

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Schedule your emails with a plan

You should have a plan for how often and when you will send out your holiday emails. Take into consideration Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. These are all great days to target your audience to make more sales.

Have you checked out my recent offer? Get 5 done-for-you emails crafted for your business. It is the perfect way to drive sales during the holiday season!

Also note when your subscribers are online. There is no sense in sending emails at a time that doesn’t make sense for the majority of your list. Remember, you can segment your list based on your audience's location, which is often a factor in when your audience is checking their email.

Plan on adding in reminder emails for your ongoing promotions in case they missed it the first time around. By planning and scheduling your emails in advance, you will be able to take the worry of letting something fall through the cracks. What’s great about the done-for-you emails is that we will even schedule those emails for you. No need to stress about getting your emails out on time!

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Monitor performance

Want to know one of the best ways to boost your sales? See what’s working and what’s not! Don’t continue to spend time on the things that are clearly not working. Look at the performance of your emails and make necessary adjustments.

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.Some top metrics you will want to review are

• Open rate

• Click-through rates

• Conversion rates

• Unsubscribe rates

After looking at these numbers, you can decide if your subject lines are working, if your links are clicked, or if your messaging is relevant.

Marketing during the holiday season takes time, effort, strategy, and purpose. Following these 9 tips will help you get started, but if you are looking for more help with your email marketing, check out this recent blog post. We go into even more detail about all the dos and don’ts of email marketing. 

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The holidays are stressful enough the way it is. Focus on what you love this holiday season and leave the email marketing to Martha Warner, LLC. Don’t push off your sales or throw something together last minute. Let’s come up with a strategic plan to get your list ready for the holidays.

Categories: : digital marketing