The Holiday Gift That Keeps On Giving

The holiday season is fast approaching and with it comes a strong demand for shopping, both online and offline. Don't leave your customers out in the cold! Use email marketing to make the most of the spike in holiday traffic and spending, and create a positive impression of your company that will last long into next year.

Start preparing now with these top 5 holiday tips: Plan and Send Your Campaigns Early Did you know that most of your peers and competitors are sending their holiday campaigns starting the first of November? Capture the attention of early shoppers by planning and sending your campaigns in advance of the holiday shopping rush. Think about which products you want to promote this season. If you have a website, is it ready for prime time? Do you have pictures and descriptions of your new holiday inventory? Now is the time to make a list, and check it twice.   Send Your Campaigns Regularly One-off emails are simply less effective than regular communications. Take a lesson from leading catalogers like Pottery Barn and L.L. Bean. They will send several different catalogs during the holiday season because they know that each one dramatically increases the likelihood of a sale. At a cost of pennies each, even marketers as miserly as Ebenezer Scrooge can afford to send more than one email to their customers and prospects. So, try a series of mailings. Using the same template with different featured products each time will establish consistency, emphasize your brand and save you time. In terms of frequency, I suggest that you try sending an email campaign every 10 days. But every business is different, and you are the best judge of how often to email to your prospects and customers.   Provide an Incentive Last year's statistics show that 56% of American shoppers chose an Internet shopping site based on an offer of free shipping. Use value-added services like free shipping to 'spruce up' your offer. Other examples include: free gift-wrapping, overnight or express delivery, a flexible return policy, etc.   Make Use of HTML Take advantage of HTML's veritable cornucopia of fonts, colors and graphics to make an impression and show off your best products. HTML email has been proven to pull a higher response rate than plain text messages. And HTML emails, unlike text, allow you to track opens and click throughs, so you will be gathering valuable data at the same time.   Send an Email Holiday Greeting Sending your season's greetings via email, instead of snail mail, is considerably less expensive and a great time-saver. Your prospects and customers will welcome a promotion-free communication, and appreciate your thanks.

Your holiday email marketing efforts can solidify existing relationships, initiate new ones and ensure that you maximize the opportunity to convert holiday gift buyers into repeat business. That's what makes email marketing the gift that keeps on giving.

Note to Constant Contact users: Look for new holiday templates arriving next week!