The total of holiday shopping done through ecommerce platforms increased 20 percent in 5 years, and last year ecommerce sales made up 1 in 5 holiday purchases. According to Campaign Monitor, BFCM email marketing campaigns are responsible for over 20% of holiday shopping. Most customers admit to paying more attention to marketing emails close to the holidays.
Cyber Week is the period from Black Friday to Cyber Monday (BFCM), and no brand can afford to let that marketing window pass it by. A few key best practices will elevate your BFCM email marketing campaign to the next level.
Cyber Week Email Best Practices
Planning an email strategy in August or September is an excellent way to ensure your customers are fully alert and excited about your deals in late November. Best practices can include:
1. Tease what’s ahead. Although your established customers will expect you to do something special, they’ll enjoy learning the specifics… and the earlier, the better. You don’t have to outline everything, but promise great sales, consider leveraging a countdown widget, and create a landing page. You should also consider throwing in some early bird offers, as two out of three holiday shoppers do at least some gift shopping before Black Friday. Our team of experts says you can start sending teaser emails as early as October.
2. Avoid the spam folder. Customers are flooded with marketing messages during the holiday shopping season. You need to ensure that your messaging can stand out without falling for marketing pitfalls that can relegate your marketing to the spam folder. Clean up your subscribe list leading up to your big holiday push. Avoid spam trigger words in both headlines and body copy. Don’t use excessive ALL CAPS.
3. Verify your URLs. This seems basic, but that’s the exact reason you don’t want to wait until the last minute. So, check all links before sending. Marketers should have detailed tracking codes that will help automate emails in the future.
4. Create specific landing pages. Depending on the promotion, it may be wise to create specific landing pages so that the user sees consistency throughout the funnel. Make sure the landing pages focus on UX/UI. For example, if you require a promo code to take advantage of the offer, have it clear on the email and on the initial landing page.
5. Resend your promotion. You likely sent multiple emails leading up to the sale and at the launch of the sale, but customers are inundated with emails and may not have seen them. Especially if your sale is running for multiple days (such as through Cyber Monday), it’s okay to send a reminder email. You can even automate it to specifically go to people who didn’t open the launch email or opened it and didn’t engage. Be sure not to send the exact same email and subject line (spam!), but a similar message could be essential.
6. Leverage engaged customers for the future. Your email list will grow in the holiday season, and customers will likely be more active than ever. With proper tracking, use the data to build out lists and automation for future campaigns. Save product preferences, abandoned items, and more for automation in emails in the New Year.
Overall, an email marketing campaign can be a valuable tool to connect with your shoppers, especially around Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Make your emails stand out, leverage data, and be a part of a record-breaking Cyber Week. A positive association with your brand goes a long way in establishing trust and getting shoppers to return beyond the holiday shopping season.
