| If you haven't started planning your holiday email | | | | don't waste your customers time with promotions |
| campaign yet, what are you waiting for? Your | | | | that are irrelevant to their shopping habits. |
| competitors have had their plans in the works for | | | | 7. Segment your merchandise for easier online |
| weeks now. Here are a few ideas to help get you | | | | shopping. For instance, create categories such as |
| started: | | | | Gifts For Men, Gifts For Children, Gifts Under $50, |
| 1. Plan to start sending your campaign at the | | | | etc. |
| beginning of November if you want to capture early | | | | 8. Segment your mailing list based on what your |
| holiday sales. | | | | customers purchased last year so you can |
| 2. Send your email consistently and often but keep | | | | personalize holiday gift suggestions. Did your |
| an eye out for list fatigue. There is a lot of extra | | | | customer buy a gift for a 5-year-old boy last year? |
| competition at this time of year, and a lot more | | | | Chances are, she'll need a gift for a 6-year-old boy |
| clutter in the in-box, so you may have to make | | | | this year. |
| multiple efforts just to get noticed. | | | | 9. Offer free shipping whenever possible. That's a |
| 3. As your holiday sales start picking up, you're going | | | | promotion that most on-line shoppers have just |
| to be too busy to craft enticing email messages. Use | | | | come to expect. |
| an autoresponder system that will allow you to | | | | 10. Include a "count down" in each and ever email so |
| upload all of your messages now and set them for | | | | shoppers know the shipping deadline for their holiday |
| later delivery dates. | | | | purchases. There's no better way to anger your |
| 4. Encourage in-person shopping. Some shoppers are | | | | customers than to have their holiday packages arrive |
| leery of purchasing online during the holiday rush for | | | | on December 26. |
| fear that their gifts won't arrive on time. If you own | | | | Be sure to take excellent notes of all the activities |
| a brick and mortar retail location, be sure to invite | | | | and outcomes of your holiday campaign to make it |
| your email readers into the store for last minute | | | | that much easier next year. Take notes as you go |
| purchases. What about offering on-line purchasing | | | | along, while it's all still fresh in your mind. |
| with in-store pick up? Be sure to let your readers | | | | Time to implement: Overall, creating a holiday email |
| know about any extended holiday hours your retail | | | | campaign requires some planning - so get started |
| shop will be offering. | | | | now! Expect to spend at least several hours designing |
| 5. Remind your readers to purchase gift cards if you | | | | your plan and another several hours crafting and |
| offer them. Gift cards remain one of the hottest | | | | testing each individual message. In my experience, it |
| holiday gift purchases to date. | | | | takes approximately 4 hours to design, write and |
| 6. Make every email meaningful. There is so much | | | | test an individual email message. |
| competition for the in basket at this time of year, | | | | |