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The silly season is almost upon us and the countdown to Christmas, New Years and summer is on. Our calendars are booked through to the end of the year with Christmas stocktaking, parties, time with family and friends, getaways, and gift wrapping. It is the most wonderful and sometimes the most stressful time of the year. With all that’s going on, who has time to remember to send out emails?
While we can’t give you more time in your day, we can help you make the most of your time and email marketing or EDM. If you haven’t run a Christmas email marketing campaign before, this is your chance to speak to your audience at a time they are actively looking to buy and even reach new customers.
We’ve rounded up our top tips and tactics to help you make the most of the busy season.
1. Create a marketing plan
Here are a few key dates to mark on your calendar.
October: Many shoppers begin their gift-buying journey early!
November: Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales
December: Christmas, Boxing Day and New Years Eve
2. Schedule your emails ahead of time
There’s busy and then there’s Christmas busy. And when you’re Christmas busy, you’re more likely to forget things like sending out your weekly email newsletter or announcing a Christmas flash sale. Square’s email functionality allows you to schedule your email so it can go out while you’re attending your Christmas parties, wrapping presents, and gushing over your mother-in-law’s “famous” holiday pavlova.
3. Show some love to your loyal customers
Your customers love to be rewarded for their loyalty, make them feel special this festive season by giving them exclusive first access to your Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions. Or, offer them an incentive to buy gifts from your store for their friends and family.
Tip: Gift Cards are growing in popularity and make the perfect gift option — plus, shoppers always tend to spend more than the value of the gift card!
4. Communicate your shipping dates
Make sure you clearly communicate your Christmas gifting shipping rates, return policies and cut-off dates. There is nothing worse than ordering a last-minute gift and not receiving it in time!
Did you know that Australia Post releases a Christmas cut-off schedule each year? Share this information across your social channels alongside a last-minute offer to incentivise the leave it to the last-minute Christmas shoppers!
Tip: Remember to take into account pack and ship times internally when advertising your cut-off dates.
5. Re-engage lapsed customers and optimise your send times
Christmas is the perfect time to re-engage lapsed customers. With Square Marketing target groups are created automatically, so you can easily setup an engaging email targeted for customers who haven’t shopped in a while.
Did you know that your audience characteristics and demographics can influence when is the best time to send your email campaign? Make sure to check your reporting and see when the optimal send time is. This may be early morning before work, during the lunch break, or after work.
Tip: Send times vary per industry and audience, you can research key times, but make the most of A/B testing campaigns to see which send time performs best!
How do I know how my email is performing?
It’s easier than you may think to see how your email is performing. In your Square Dashboard, click the Marketing section. Then click Campaigns, which gives you a 30 day summary of how your email campaigns are performing.
You can review your email statistics by group, and within each group, you’re able to see your open rate, clickthroughs, and how many people made a purchase as a result of your email. By looking at your data, you can make informed decisions on when to send your email during the holiday season and beyond.
No matter if you are an email marketing first timer or veteran, the Christmas period is a crucial time to be engaging with your audience. Learn more about Square Marketing and how Square can help you save time in your day-to-day.
