Guide to Holiday Email Marketing

Why you should have a holiday email strategy

Whether you have an existing mailing list or are just starting to build one, email is an important marketing tool during the busy holiday season. If you can, encourage mailing list sign-ups early: The sooner you start, the bigger the audience you'll have when sending holiday marketing.

Encourage site visitors to sign up by adding a marketing opt-in option to your existing contact forms and your checkout page. Or consider asking people to sign up in a pop-up or your website footer. Offering a discount code to new subscribers can help too.

You have an advantage on standing out in inboxes as a small brand and business. As you plan different tactics to drive sales-events, promotions, and updates-email is a way to ensure customers see your news and give them a direct link back to your website to make a purchase.

Get the guide to creating a holiday marketing plan

How to plan your holiday email marketing

Putting together an email marketing campaign might feel overwhelming. But with some pre-planning, it can fit neatly into your other marketing plans. Use your overall holiday season goals and research as a starting point.

1. Set email-specific goals. Are you targeting email opens, traffic to your website, sales from email subscribers, or some combination of the above? Are there specific sales or products you want to promote? Can you improve anything from past email performance?

2. Narrow in on your audience. Who will your emails be focused on? This might include multiple groups, like shoppers who abandoned their carts, existing customers, and new customers. Each group might be the focus for different types of emails.

3. Create a calendar. Once you know what you want to promote and to whom, you can decide which emails to send and when. Plan all of your dates out, so you can schedule emails ahead of time.

4. Keep timing in mind. When and how often you send emails can impact whether people engage with them. This might take some trial and error, but try to choose times of day and timing near holiday moments that feel intuitive.

5. Hook your subscribers. When writing your emails, focus on compelling subject lines that encourage opens, then keep your email copy concise. Focus on the key product or message, the benefit to customers, and a clear call to action driving to your store.

6. Tailor it to your brand. Consistent brand visuals and messaging send subtle signals that make your brand recognizable to customers and tap into the connection and trust they've already built with you. Make sure to customize your email to your brand style and voice, so it sounds authentic and natural.

If you're struggling with the types of emails to send or how to fill out your email copy, try Email Campaigns. Email Campaigns includes customizable design templates-including for major holiday moments-and Squarespace's AI writer to help you create draft copy.