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WhileÌýholidaysÌýspell fun and frolic for some,Ìýfor othersÌýtheyÌýmean more work.ÌýWhen it comes to email marketers,Ìýthe holidays areÌýa time to buckle up for increased marketing activity.

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Every holiday season tests the nerves ofÌýemail marketers. Their futureÌýcan be decidedÌýbasedÌýupon their capability to handle this sudden torrent of buyers. This isÌýwhen the regular senders try to adapt toÌýchanges in the market while seasonal email marketers try to plunge inÌýand tell a story in a short time.

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All said and done, you’ll have to make an extra, careful effort to ensure you reap success during the holidays.ÌýThis blog will discuss methods to make the most of the holiday season and the various avenues you should explore to achieve higher email deliverability and maximum engagement.

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Protect yourÌýreputation withÌýdomain authentication

This is a point thatÌýappearsÌýonÌýalmost all email marketing best practices lists. Holiday season or not,Ìýdomain authentication is a necessity. As an email marketer, you should authenticate your domain before plunging into the sea of promotional emails and newsletters.

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Domain authenticationÌýassures the receivingÌýemail service provider (ESP)Ìýthat yourÌýdomain isÌývalid and safe. ItÌýguards your credibility and prevents you from being marked as a spammer.ÌýIt’s up to you as an email marketer to stay careful and attentive while sending email campaigns.ÌýTaking some time and checking theÌý processÌýwill increase your chances of making it to your contacts’ inbox during the holiday season.

This definitely will demand you to begin your campaign well in advance but then it will also help you to tread the safer path and continue your holiday email marketing.

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ProperlyÌýwarm up your domain

The holiday season is not a goodÌýtimeÌýto use a new domain. The rush of festivities won’t allow a new domain to be warmed up properly, thus your emails would be more likely to get marked as spam.

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If you have sufficient time before the actual campaign, indulge in some target marketing and pre-offer campaigns.ÌýGetting your subscribers to interact with these early emails willÌýboost your brand’s relevance and warm up your domain.

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VenturingÌýforwardÌýwith the old domain always saves some much-needed time as it typically has already been warmed up and proven safe. That said,Ìýusing an old domain might prove problematic if you alreadyÌýface theÌýissue of a negativeÌýdomain reputation—say, if your domain has previously been flagged as spam.

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In cases like this, you’ll have to send your campaign toÌýreceivers in batches.ÌýThe best way to approach this is toÌýdivide a large list into smaller segments and engage with them consistently over a period. This method is cumbersome, but it willÌýensure the safety of your domain during thisÌýspell.

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Segment andÌýleverage your lists

Your lists will decide your reach and your reach will decide your lists.

The holiday season makes it tough for us to choose from the different lists we have.ÌýIt’s always better to go with the most active lists.ÌýTrying to re-engage with the inactive contacts will result in your emails landing up in unwanted inboxes. The holiday season leads to sudden inrush of many promotional and seasonal emails. This often forces people to ignore most of the emails or mark them as spam.

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As an email marketer, you should always rely onÌý to split your list contacts into appropriate groups. You can do this based on information provided by your contacts or their previous engagement and behavior. This will help you group (or regroup) similar contacts and reach out to them effortlessly.

Peak e-commerce days likeÌýBlack Friday andÌýCyber MondayÌýwill flood every inbox with promotional emails. It’s quite natural that you might faceÌý because of your contacts’ inboxes being full.ÌýWorking ahead of time and reaching them before the rest will offer better results.

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The holiday season also meansÌýan influx ofÌýseasonal buyers. They arrive with the expectation of new discounts and depart when the holiday seasonÌýends.ÌýLetting them enterÌýyour listsÌývia signup forms will allow you to interact with them with their consent.ÌýContinue to sendÌýdownloadable to them even after the holiday seasonÌýto retain them.

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Craft compelling content

This is where an email marketer’s creativity and brevity is tested.ÌýGreat content not only resonates with your contacts but induces them to craveÌýmoreÌýof that content.

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To stay on the safer side, you should always begin with a properÌýsender’s name. Any machine like name will immediately be subjected to scrutiny and possible rejection by the receivers’ÌýESP. While sendingÌýemails,Ìýalways add your name along with the brand’s name. This makes it easier for the ESPs to recognize the sender. For e.g. John from Zylker.

Your email’sÌýsubject line will be visible in the receiver’s preview window. This part of the emailÌýplays the largest part inÌýdeciding whether the receiver opens the email and reads it, just ignores it, or marks it as spam. Always go for a short and crisp subject line. You should beÌýcareful to craft a subject lineÌýthatÌýgives only theÌýmostÌýnecessary information. DivulgeÌýjustÌýenough to increase curiosity. Most of all, be sure your subject line accurately reflectsÌýwhat’s in the email. Misleading subject lines will irritate the reader and couldÌýlead to unsubscribes.

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The holiday season also demandsÌýshorter email content. AsÌýit’sÌýwhen all email marketersÌýare most active,ÌýensureÌýyour content is not lostÌýin thatÌýflood. As a good email marketer, make your point clear to the receiver and direct them to action quickly.

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Time your delivery just right

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are celebrated within four days. Hanukkah and ChristmasÌýalso arrive every year around the same time.ÌýYou will have to refrain from crafting similar campaigns owing to the proximity of each holiday.

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An email marketer’s normal sending patternÌýmightÌýgo out the window during this time ofÌýyear.ÌýThis is the extreme rush hour,Ìýso try to approach your contactsÌýwhen the trafiic is low.ÌýEvery festival has its ownÌýconducive time, and it would benefit you to research this information before scheduling your emails. For Black Friday and Cyber MondayÌýdaytimeÌýcampaigns,Ìý9am to 1pmÌýis known to beÌýanÌýeffective window. Thanksgiving emails on the other hand are found to be more successful if they are sent close to midnight.

It’s alwaysÌýgood to keep enough time at your disposal before the holiday season. Only then can you opt for theÌýthree-way email marketing. Under this method,ÌýyouÌýdivide your campaigns into three phases: pre-offerÌýcampaign, offerÌýcampaign, and post-offerÌýcampaign.

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You can begin theÌýpre-offer campaign one or two weeks before the offer period. Try toÌýgenerate curiosityÌýby revealing some of the offersÌýpeople can expect. In the second phase,Ìýoffer campaign, you’ll provide the offers as per your promises. In theÌýpost-offer campaign, you can strengthenÌýyour bond withÌýcontacts. Send themÌýdownloadable contents like pdf files, aiming to make them a part of your campaigns for the years to come.

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Cater to your contacts

Contacts areÌýheterogeneous and dynamic, they vary as per their age, preferences, location, etc—as an email marketer you have to grasp the differences between each of them. Make it a point to review every contact and include them as per your priorities. Provide your old advocates with early access discounts. As for the new customers, a ‘never before’ offer will be fine.

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While sendingÌýemails to your oldÌýcontacts, always try to aim forÌýcross-selling andÌýsuggestions based on their purchase history.ÌýYour suggestions should be accurate enough so that your emails are readÌýduring the holiday season. You canÌýalsoÌýconductÌýsurveysÌýsoÌýcontactsÌýcan choose their engagement preference.

is another methodÌýregular or seasonal email marketers canÌýemploy.ÌýIt involves identifyingÌýcontactsÌýby their needs and tastes and promoting theÌýproducts and servicesÌýthey’re interested in. This can be followed by rigorous automated emails highlighting the benefits of the product or service.ÌýCreate the demand and check for the results in their purchasing patterns.

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Study reports and adjust appropriately

Reports tell the story of your performance and give a clear picture of what went right and what went wrong.

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For example, sayÌýyouÌýputÌýout aÌýpreview of your holiday season campaign a week prior to the offer periodÌýinforming your contacts about the necessary details and things to look out for in your offers.ÌýYou can thenÌýcheck the reports and plan your campaignÌýbased upon their engagement.ÌýThisÌýInclude only the most active contacts in yourÌýplans,ÌýthusÌýavoiding unnecessary complaints.

If you’re planning to sendÌýbulk emails,Ìýdo it only after evaluating reports on your past performance. Try to read the trend and then throttle emails to your receivers, a time-tested approachÌýthatÌýmight work wonders for you inÌýa crammed market situation like the holidays.

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Wrap up

Hopefully these points have been helpful. Try to implement them in your email marketing ventures and make this holiday season your best yet. Let us know how they turn out for you!