8 Email Marketing Strategies For Retail Holiday Promotion

Retail holiday promotions are a tricky thing. It’s the time of year when people spend more money and make more purchases but there’s also more competition out there. Every small business is advertising and it’s up to you to reach the consumer early and often, making sure that you are getting the best ROI for your campaign. Email marketing is the most cost-effective way of reaching a targeted audience and driving traffic to your site. However, proper strategies need to be utilized in order to get the best results.

Following these email marketing strategies for retail holiday promotions will ensure more opens, clicks and eventually, results:

1. Don’t wait: If you are planning retail holiday promotions for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, October is the time to start planning, not mid-November. This is a mistake that the majority of small businesses make as they do not give themselves enough time to properly select their audience, build their content and start reaching them as early as possible. Avoid these mistakes by getting started early on.
2. Content is king: It doesn’t matter how good the targeting is, it doesn’t matter what you are selling, if the content isn’t professional, if the landing page or website isn’t easy to navigate through, you will see a serious drop in conversion rate. All marketing strategies focus on the importance of content, making sure that the message and brand are easy to remember, that users have a simple time navigating through the message or website because it influences the response rate.
3. Target the right audience: Targeting is very important in email marketing, social media, display advertising and other services. The better the targeting, the better your ROI. There are hundreds of options available to select from including age, gender, location down to the zip code, personal interests, marital status, number of children, if they rent or own their home, types of vehicles they drive, political affiliation and more. Along with that, you can also analyze your own data to get a better understanding of who your customers are to improve the way you select your audience.
4. Focus on key terms: FREE will take away from the credibility of your ad. People do not trust FREE, especially when it’s online. You need to focus on key terms like Black Friday, clearance, on sale, and also have strong call to actions like click here to learn more. These terms are important because they encourage the recipient to open and engage at a higher rate.
5. Multiple sends: When should you start email marketing for Black Friday. The first campaign should be launched at least two weeks before the big day. This introduces your brand to the recipient, gets them familiar with who you are and what you are offering. Many businesses running retail holiday promotions will actually send out a pre-Black Friday sale ad with the focus being to introduce their brand so that the next batch of messages receive a better response. Your next campaign should be the week of the sale and finally you want to send another campaign the day of the sale. No less than three campaigns should be launched for this holiday.
6. Don’t just focus on sales: ROI is key but remember, if you get someone to sign up for an update on the promotions you are running, follow you on social media or do something else that allows you to reach them on multiple platforms, that’s considered a win. Someone may not buy from you today, but if they follow you or request more information, you have a great chance of selling them something down the road.
7. Incorporate retargeting: Whether you are directing consumers to your site or a landing page, you should always utilize retargeting, a cost-effective method that ensures your ads are following visitors as they browse other sites for the next several months. These are people you’ve already worked hard to get to your site, why not remind them of who you are and what you are offering?
8. Keep in touch: Just because the big shopping weekend has ended doesn’t mean it’s time to pack your marketing strategies away. Continue to send messages to the audience, showing them new updates, retail holiday promotions and other options that will get keep them interested in your brand. The more familiar someone is with your brand, the higher the chances of getting a conversion.

The businesses that see the best results from email marketing are the ones that send a minimum of one to two campaigns per month, have high-quality content and focus on branding, not just sales. Every month introduces a new opportunity to reach consumers and promote a sale. Utilizing these tips the right way will also help you to learn more about your audience, what they are more likely to respond to and how frequently you should contact them.