9 Festive Tips to Ramp Up Your 2024 Holiday Email Marketing Strategy

Holiday email marketing is a must to connect with your audience during the busiest shopping season of the year. However, inboxes become flooded by countless promotions during this period, requiring creativity and strategy to stand out. Several tactics can enhance your efforts and ensure you drive sales during this crucial time.

1. Send Emails Less Frequently

Many marketers rush to capture customers’ attention during the holiday season. While sending more emails may seem like the best approach, this can be counterintuitive. 

Research shows that 67% of consumers experience marketing fatigue by November 1st — well before the influx of holiday promotions begins. Another survey shows that two-thirds of customers want fewer marketing messages, and 27% feel those emails bombard them with too many notifications. 

Instead of sending daily emails to subscribers, consider spacing them out strategically. Focus on creating valuable content that relates to your audience. This tactic guarantees reduced unsubscribes while keeping your emails from becoming lost in the sea of holiday promotions. 

Aim to deliver content that feels fresh and useful without being intrusive. Doing so will make your brand stand out and make your subscribers anticipate the next email.

2. Share Holiday Gift Guides

Holiday gift guides are a great way to alleviate the stress many customers feel when searching for gifts. By curating a list of products for your audience, you make their shopping easier while showcasing your best offerings in a festive way.

Gift guides can be valuable, but only if you provide the most relevant recommendations. The products you suggest should be geared toward their shopping interests. Therefore, segmenting your audience based on their historical activity is important. When you provide targeted recommendations, you make it easier for customers to make a purchase decision. 

Additionally, highly relevant gift guides increase engagement significantly. Creating a personalized shopping experience will make your brand the go-to resource for gift ideas and boost sales during this time.

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3. Use Holiday-Themed Subject Lines

Your subject line is the first chance to grab a customer’s attention in a crowded inbox. During the holidays, it’s essential to make that first impression count by using creative, engaging subject lines that evoke the holiday spirit.

Compelling subject lines set the tone for the rest of the email. When used strategically, they make it more likely for recipients to open your email. This is crucial, especially considering that you can see a $32 return on investment for every dollar spent on email marketing.

Email marketing is full of opportunities, and subject lines are the key components to take advantage of in your strategy. When creating subject lines — incorporate playful ones — such as “Gifts that Sleigh” or “Secret Santa Savings — Only Today!” Other attention-grabbing holiday puns might include:

• “Sleigh all day with these holiday deals!”
• “Yule love saving money on holiday gifts for everyone!”
• “Get wrapped up in holiday magic and shop our winter collection!”
• “Deck the halls with Christmas homewares!”
• “Jingle all the way to our Winter Sale!”
• “Shop the 12 Days of Holiday Deals!”

Remember to use emojis, too, as they can capture attention and drive immediate action.

4. Incorporate Holiday Countdown Timers

Adding a countdown timer during the holiday season can be effective in creating a sense of urgency and excitement. As the clock ticks down to a special holiday offer, customers are more likely to take quick action to avoid missing out on a great deal.

From a psychological standpoint, countdown timers instill the scarcity mindset. They become a trigger for shoppers to nudge them toward completing a purchase. When competition is fierce during the holidays, a timer can keep the focus on time-sensitive deals. For example, if you offer a 20% discount on everything in-store, you can use a countdown feature in an email to inform shoppers of when the sale ends. In turn, this will push them to act sooner rather than later.

5. Promote Holiday-Exclusive Products

Offering exclusive holiday products through email marketing can drive a sense of urgency and sales. Limited-edition items or seasonal variations of popular products tap into customers’ fear of missing out (FOMO), making them more likely to grab them before the holiday window closes. 

Take Bath and Body Works, for example. Every holiday season, the beauty retailer offers theme-fitting scented products with special packaging. However, these items are only available briefly, so emailing this exclusivity can stem excitement and boost conversions.

You can also bundle these items with other products to create attractive gift sets. Doing so further increases the value for customers while encouraging larger purchases.

6. Offer Early Access to Holiday Sales

Build loyalty and boost email marketing engagement by offering subscribers early access to your holiday sales. This tactic works because it rewards your customers for loyalty, making them feel like VIPs. When customers feel like they’re receiving special treatment, they’re more likely to engage with your brand and make purchases.

Early access to sales also gives your subscribers a head start on snagging deals before the general public. This can especially appeal to those who despise shopping during the seasonal rush. Plus, creating a feeling of being in the know can increase open rates and conversions.

7. Cater to Last-Minute Shoppers

Although many brands start their holiday promotions early, numerous shoppers still wait until the last minute to make their purchases. In fact, a Shopify-Gallup Holiday Shopping Pulse survey found that 49% of holiday shoppers plan to do most of their shopping in December. This is most likely due to the fact that 48% of customers take their time to research the best deals before they buy, according to Google.

This time makes a prime opportunity for brands to target procrastinators by offering tailored deals and promotions. To capture their attention, you could offer flash sales, expedited shipping options and discounts on digital gift cards. This holiday email marketing strategy works especially when you promote clear shipping deadlines, helping shoppers feel confident about getting their gifts in time.

Consider promoting ready-to-gift items or e-gift cards for those truly down to the wire. This will ensure that even the latest shoppers have options to finish their holiday lists stress-free while maximizing your sales during the final shopping rush.

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8. Provide a Sneak Preview of Holiday Offers

Building anticipation is key to successful holiday email marketing, and one way to do that is by offering a holiday sale preview. This strategy gives subscribers time to plan their purchases while creating excitement around an upcoming sale. By teasing special offers, you can generate buzz around your holiday campaign and encourage your audience to stay tuned for the main event.

In turn, this tactic builds intrigue while letting your customers know they’re getting an inside look at what’s to come. Additionally, it’s a great way to entice them to return when the sale goes live. This kind of teaser campaign encourages them to keep an eye out for your next email, making them more likely to engage for upcoming sales.

9. Send Follow-Up Emails Post-Holiday

The holiday season doesn’t stop with the New Year — there’s more opportunity to engage your audience and drive additional sales with post-holiday emails. A PwC Holiday Outlook 2023 survey found that 54% of shoppers expect bigger discounts on out-of-season items after the holidays. As such, post-holiday campaigns make the perfect chance to clear out excess inventory and keep your customers engaged.

Send an email to show appreciation for your customer’s purchase, and use this time to promote sales after the holidays. It helps to offer personalized recommendations based on what customers have purchased during the festive season. This strategy can work especially well for cross-selling or promoting complementary products that are on sale.

Maximize Your Sales With Strategic Holiday Email Marketing

Many proven strategies are available to boost your holiday email marketing efforts. By implementing them, you can garner attention and keep your brand in mind. Consider the different tactics and execute them strategically to achieve exceptional results. With careful planning, you can drive more sales and long-term customer loyalty.