9 Ways to Prepare for Holiday Email Marketing in October

Store aisles may look orange than red and green this month. But it’s only a matter of time.

49% of marketers will launch a holiday campaign before Halloween, and 40% of consumers start their holiday shopping before Halloween (according to SteelHouse and NRF, respectively).

The month of October is critical for email marketers looking to start building excitement for November and December. Use these tips to maximize the next few weeks. You still have time to set the stage for high-ROI holiday emails, but time is running out. Get our 2015 Email Marketing Holiday Calendar for even more stats and guidance.

1. Create any and all gift guides. What are the most useful ways that your unique audience wants to organize gift options? Important categories might be price, members of the family, hobbies, and last-minute gifts. Also finalize how you’ll distribute your guides, whether that’s a landing page, Facebook album, website product category, or Pinterest board.
2. Personalize more than ever before. Customers delete emails that are irrelevant or aren’t catered to their interests, especially during peak holiday season when inbox noise is at a fever pitch. Enact a progressive profiling campaign in November when you can learn more about subscribers and use that information to better target the season’s emails.
3. Create a special landing page or experience for self-gifters. According to the National Retail Federation, people spent an average of $126.68 on gifts for themselves in 2014. While it makes sense to focus most of your marketing on gift giving, create one unique website category, landing page, or possibly email campaign for self-gifters, reminding consumers to take time for themselves in the busy holiday months.
4. Test all mobile channels and calls to action. Holiday promotions can help grow your mobile audience of SMS subscribers or app users. Use your established email channel to promote these less-established channels. Spend time as a team testing these mobile journeys to make sure everything is fully functioning.
5. Choose relevant holiday messaging to incorporate this month. Depending on your audience and products, your October emails may include some early holiday messaging like: shop holiday decor and entertaining goods; shop our pre-holiday clearance sale; pre-order these soon-to-be hot holiday products; preview our holiday gift guide; sign up for our Christmas catalog; create a wish list; or learn about layaway and other financial services.
6. Brainstorm ways to reward your best and most loyal customers. In the holiday season, your most loyal and valued customers are receiving plenty of offers from other companies and competitors. Make sure your emails are worth opening by giving loyalty program members incentives like sneak peeks, early access, discount codes, and more.
7. Decide how generous you can be during the holidays. Eighty percent of consumers sign up to receive a company’s emails because of the discounts (BlueHornet). During the holidays, many consumers will delete an email if they don’t spot a special offer or free shipping. This month, work with your e-commerce and product teams to finalize your holiday generosity.
8. Give your welcome emails a holiday facelift. Let’s face it, many of your new holiday subscribers may unsubscribe come January. Re-skin your welcome emails with a holiday look to enhance the festive vibe. Keep the great emails coming after the holiday season is over to keep those subscribers engaged (more on that in the January calendar).
9. Work ahead to get approvals. Trying any gutsy design elements or attention-grabbing copy this year? Seek approval from higher-ups now so you’re good to go when Black Friday hits. The holiday season is when many brands send their boldest emails, but make sure everything aligns with what your longtime subscribers expect.

Are you feeling the holiday spirit yet?

Download our free 2015 Email Marketing Holiday Calendar for even more tactical advice on giving your customers the gift of better emails this November and December — and yourself the gift of more ROI.