How to Write an Effective Holiday Marketing Email

Write an Effective Holiday Marketing Email Header

Almost $1 Trillion dollars are projected to be spent during the 2017 holiday season.

Trillion. With a T.

If your business isn’t taking advantage of the holiday season by sending out holiday-themed emails that drive sales, you’re leaving money on the table.

If writing an effective holiday marketing email seems difficult, time-intensive, and stressful, use the following tips to make it easier, quicker, and less stressful.

Want to learn how you can make the most of the holiday season? Join us for a FREE webinar: How To Have The Best Holiday Season Ever

Here’s how to write your holiday email content in minutes.

No matter the holiday, you can write your email quickly and effectively by focusing on five key elements that make up, what we call, the Content Cluster: your email subject line, preheader text, image, message body, and call-to-action.

Let’s take a look at these five elements (you can even download your own Content Cluster Cheatsheet):

Subject Line

Your audience is likely bombarded by emails, receiving an average of eighty-eight emails a day.

The subject line is your best chance at standing out in this sea of email. Keep it short (4 to 7 words) and eye-catching, mentioning the holiday theme.

For example, a Halloween supply store might send an email with the subject line “Want your house to be the spookiest in town?”

Tip: Try one of the techniques below for writing standout subject lines:

Standout Holiday Subject Lines

Preheader text

All the great holiday movies have taglines.

Elf; “This holiday, discover your inner elf.”

Love Actually; “All need is love.”

Die Hard; “40 Stories. Twelve Terrorists. One Cop.”

Great holiday emails are exactly the same.

Your preheader is an extension of your subject line and should further tease the content of your email. Like taglines for movies, your preheader should give readers a better understanding of what your email is about in a memorable, attention-grabbing way.

Most mobile inboxes display 75–100 characters, so limit yourself to 6-11 words to catch your reader’s attention.

Image

What are your eyes drawn to when you first open an email?

Is it the big block of text? Or the colorful, fun, interesting picture that pulls you in?

If you’re like most people, you notice visuals first.

Write an Effective Holiday Marketing Email Image

Using a holiday-themed image that supports your message is a powerful way to get your email read and remembered. And with a large number of image resources available, you don’t need to be a photographer to have access to great pictures.

If you have a Constant Contact account, you already have access to free and buyable stock photos. Using these photos will help you avoid potential fines from pulling images off the internet that you don’t have a license to use.

Constant Contact Stock Library

When using stock photos, make sure you choose an image that doesn’t look staged. If you feature your product, show people happily and successfully using it.

Tip: Keeping your images 600 pixels wide ensures maximum visibility on desktop and mobile.

Text

Everyone seems to have different advice on how long a holiday email should be.

While we typically recommend 20 lines of text or fewer for best engagement, the reality is less exact. How long should your holiday email be? As long as it needs to be to achieve your goal.

Keep it simple by answering these three questions to create focused and persuasive holiday emails:

What are you offering? — Headline
How will it help the reader? — Message body
What should they do next? — Call to action

Don’t beat around the bush. Start by telling readers exactly what you’re offering. The headline should succinctly promote your offer.

Next, explain how it will help the reader. What’s in it for them? The message body should explain the offer, generate interest, and guide readers down towards the CTA button.

Finally, let readers know what they should do next. Include a call-to-action below your message body that makes it easy for readers to know how to take action.

Write Holiday Marketing Email

Call-to-action

Every email should include a compelling call to action. Include a link, button, or clear next step.

For your call-to-action, resist vague wording like “click here.” Instead, say something specific like “Buy Gift Card Now!”

When someone clicks a link, make sure they are directed to where they are expecting to go (in this example, to a page where they can buy a discounted gift card).

Hint: The most effective CTAs are 1-5 words long.

Still not sure what to say? Use this handy phrase chart for inspiration:

CTA Ideas