e in stock with one click to a custom landing page that includes all the relevant information. Even better, design that page to be printable so that I can print it out for later reference.

Don’t forget to train in-store staff!
About a year ago I had the experience of going into a local electronics store to purchase an item I had seen in the monthly newsletter. The sales associate had no idea what I was talking about nor did he understand how to correlate the web sku I had written down with the physical product in the bricks and mortar store. The price was very good or I would have happily gone elsewhere - in the end I led him to an in-store computer and logged onto his corporate website where I found the product online and printed it out for him so that he could find it behind the counter.

I got the product, but left the store frustrated by the service and feeling that I should also have a commission chChristmas shopping season seems to start a little earlier every single year. This weekend I popped into the local grocery to stock up on Halloween goodies and I had to make my way around Christmas ornaments and decorations to find them! As email marketers, the constant encroaching of one holiday on another poses some unique challenges.

Email is an immediate medium - the keyword here is relevancy. And messages about Christmas simply are not relevant on October 23rd. Not in my inbox at least! So what’s the secret to successful Holiday email campaigns?

Plan Ahead
The one thing I can guarantee is that if you wait until December to think about your holiday email marketing plans, you’ve already missed the boat. Make sure your email marketing campaigns are integrated into your annual marketing plan that includes key decisions like timing and objectives for each email you plan to send. Of course, if you’re reading this article, chances are you need a more immediate solution, so tuck this one away for next year and keep reading.

Timely…and don’t forget to allow enough time for shipping!
The right time to start your seasonal email marketing will change, depending on what you are promoting, who your customers are and when they’re most likely to buy your product or service. If you’re a restaurant promoting Christmas parties for local businesses, September isn’t too early. On the other hand, if your specialty is last-minute gift items, you might wait until December 1st.

Your email campaigns must also allow enough time for readers to receive the promotion, respond and receive delivery of their products on time for Christmas. For some online retailers, this might mean that orders must be placed no later than mid-December depending on your available shipping options and the geography of your customers.

Retail sales, promotions and offers should go out between late October and mid-December, depending on your products. If yours is a travel product, you might want to consider September offers for holiday travel packages.

Christmas greetings to business associates and clients have become a popular alternative to the paper Christmas card. These notices should go out in early December, preferably the first or second week of the month.

Newsletters - if you send your newsletter at the beginning of the month, then wait until December for a Christmas message. If you publishing cycle has your emails coming out toward the end of the month though, then a Christmas theme in late November is perfectly acceptable.

Get to the point!
Save the elaborate prose for your next novel. The important thing about a Christmas message is to get to the point - quickly. Your subscribers should know exactly what you’re offering and how to get more information within seconds of opening your email.

Many professionals admit that their online holiday shopping is done while at work - that means time is at a premium and usually borrowed. Don’t waste it being cute or funny, unless you’re message is a Christmas greeting and nothing more, in which case entertainment value is paramount. Which brings us to…

Remember the response mechanism!
OK, so you’ve got 2 for 1 specials on cashmere sweaters. That information is absolutely useless unless the email also tells me how to buy them. Can I shop online? Great, include a link from the offer directly to the product page on your website so that I can quickly add the colours and sizes I’d like to my shopping basket.

Are they only available in store? Then let me know the location of the closest bricks and mortar store, its Christmas hours and what colours and sizes you have in stock with one click to a custom landing page that includes all the relevant information. Even better, design that page to be printable so that I can print it out for later reference.

Don’t forget to train in-store staff!
About a year ago I had the experience of going into a local electronics store to purchase an item I had seen in the monthly newsletter. The sales associate had no idea what I was talking about nor did he understand how to correlate the web sku I had written down with the physical product in the bricks and mortar store. The price was very good or I would have happily gone elsewhere - in the end I led him to an in-store computer and logged onto his corporate website where I found the product online and printed it out for him so that he could find it behind the counter.

I got the product, but left the store frustrated by the service and feeling that I should also have a commission che

re reading this article, chances are you need a more immediate solution, so tuck this one away for next year and keep reading.

Timely…and don’t forget to allow enough time for shipping!
The right time to start your seasonal email marketing will change, depending on what you are promoting, who your customers are and when they’re most likely to buy your product or service. If you’re a restaurant promoting Christmas parties for local businesses, September isn’t too early. On the other hand, if your specialty is last-minute gift items, you might wait until December 1st.

Your email campaigns must also allow enough time for readers to receive the promotion, respond and receive delivery of their products on time for Christmas. For some online retailers, this might mean that orders must be placed no later than mid-December depending on your available shipping options and the geography of your customers.

Retail sales, promotions and offers should go out between late October and mid-December, depending on your products. If yours is a travel product, you might want to consider September offers for holiday travel packages.

Christmas greetings to business associates and clients have become a popular alternative to the paper Christmas card. These notices should go out in early December, preferably the first or second week of the month.

Newsletters - if you send your newsletter at the beginning of the month, then wait until December for a Christmas message. If you publishing cycle has your emails coming out toward the end of the month though, then a Christmas theme in late November is perfectly acceptable.

Get to the point!
Save the elaborate prose for your next novel. The important thing about a Christmas message is to get to the point - quickly. Your subscribers should know exactly what you’re offering and how to get more information within seconds of opening your email.

Many professionals admit that their online holiday shopping is done while at work - that means time is at a premium and usually borrowed. Don’t waste it being cute or funny, unless you’re message is a Christmas greeting and nothing more, in which case entertainment value is paramount. Which brings us to…

Remember the response mechanism!
OK, so you’ve got 2 for 1 specials on cashmere sweaters. That information is absolutely useless unless the email also tells me how to buy them. Can I shop online? Great, include a link from the offer directly to the product page on your website so that I can quickly add the colours and sizes I’d like to my shopping basket.

Are they only available in store? Then let me know the location of the closest bricks and mortar store, its Christmas hours and what colours and sizes you have in stock with one click to a custom landing page that includes all the relevant information. Even better, design that page to be printable so that I can print it out for later reference.

Don’t forget to train in-store staff!
About a year ago I had the experience of going into a local electronics store to purchase an item I had seen in the monthly newsletter. The sales associate had no idea what I was talking about nor did he understand how to correlate the web sku I had written down with the physical product in the bricks and mortar store. The price was very good or I would have happily gone elsewhere - in the end I led him to an in-store computer and logged onto his corporate website where I found the product online and printed it out for him so that he could find it behind the counter.

I got the product, but left the store frustrated by the service and feeling that I should also have a commission ch

Retail sales, promotions and offers should go out between late October and mid-December, depending on your products. If yours is a travel product, you might want to consider September offers for holiday travel packages.

Christmas greetings to business associates and clients have become a popular alternative to the paper Christmas card. These notices should go out in early December, preferably the first or second week of the month.

Newsletters - if you send your newsletter at the beginning of the month, then wait until December for a Christmas message. If you publishing cycle has your emails coming out toward the end of the month though, then a Christmas theme in late November is perfectly acceptable.

Get to the point!
Save the elaborate prose for your next novel. The important thing about a Christmas message is to get to the point - quickly. Your subscribers should know exactly what you’re offering and how to get more information within seconds of opening your email.

Many professionals admit that their online holiday shopping is done while at work - that means time is at a premium and usually borrowed. Don’t waste it being cute or funny, unless you’re message is a Christmas greeting and nothing more, in which case entertainment value is paramount. Which brings us to…

Remember the response mechanism!
OK, so you’ve got 2 for 1 specials on cashmere sweaters. That information is absolutely useless unless the email also tells me how to buy them. Can I shop online? Great, include a link from the offer directly to the product page on your website so that I can quickly add the colours and sizes I’d like to my shopping basket.

Are they only available in store? Then let me know the location of the closest bricks and mortar store, its Christmas hours and what colours and sizes you have in stock with one click to a custom landing page that includes all the relevant information. Even better, design that page to be printable so that I can print it out for later reference.

Don’t forget to train in-store staff!
About a year ago I had the experience of going into a local electronics store to purchase an item I had seen in the monthly newsletter. The sales associate had no idea what I was talking about nor did he understand how to correlate the web sku I had written down with the physical product in the bricks and mortar store. The price was very good or I would have happily gone elsewhere - in the end I led him to an in-store computer and logged onto his corporate website where I found the product online and printed it out for him so that he could find it behind the counter.

I got the product, but left the store frustrated by the service and feeling that I should also have a commission ch

re offering and how to get more information within seconds of opening your email.

Many professionals admit that their online holiday shopping is done while at work - that means time is at a premium and usually borrowed. Don’t waste it being cute or funny, unless you’re message is a Christmas greeting and nothing more, in which case entertainment value is paramount. Which brings us to…

Remember the response mechanism!
OK, so you’ve got 2 for 1 specials on cashmere sweaters. That information is absolutely useless unless the email also tells me how to buy them. Can I shop online? Great, include a link from the offer directly to the product page on your website so that I can quickly add the colours and sizes I’d like to my shopping basket.

Are they only available in store? Then let me know the location of the closest bricks and mortar store, its Christmas hours and what colours and sizes you have in stock with one click to a custom landing page that includes all the relevant information. Even better, design that page to be printable so that I can print it out for later reference.

Don’t forget to train in-store staff!
About a year ago I had the experience of going into a local electronics store to purchase an item I had seen in the monthly newsletter. The sales associate had no idea what I was talking about nor did he understand how to correlate the web sku I had written down with the physical product in the bricks and mortar store. The price was very good or I would have happily gone elsewhere - in the end I led him to an in-store computer and logged onto his corporate website where I found the product online and printed it out for him so that he could find it behind the counter.

I got the product, but left the store frustrated by the service and feeling that I should also have a commission ch

e in stock with one click to a custom landing page that includes all the relevant information. Even better, design that page to be printable so that I can print it out for later reference.

Don’t forget to train in-store staff!
About a year ago I had the experience of going into a local electronics store to purchase an item I had seen in the monthly newsletter. The sales associate had no idea what I was talking about nor did he understand how to correlate the web sku I had written down with the physical product in the bricks and mortar store. The price was very good or I would have happily gone elsewhere - in the end I led him to an in-store computer and logged onto his corporate website where I found the product online and printed it out for him so that he could find it behind the counter.

I got the product, but left the store frustrated by the service and feeling that I should also have a commission cheque in my pocket for making the sale. The lesson - the best email campaigns in the world mean nothing if your staff aren’t informed and trained, ready to handle the inquiries from interested buyers!

Christmas my be over, but holiday shopping lives on…
Post-Christmas sales are a tradition in Canada, often offering the deepest discounts of the year on Boxing Day. In fact, many online retailers begin their post-Christmas marketing in the days leading up to December 25th and continue them well in January. With email, you have an opportunity to reach your customers on Christmas Day and beyond without infringing on your own seasonal break. Plan your post-holiday campaigns in advance and schedule them to deploy while you’re sitting down to your annual turkey feast. If you really must, you can always log on to your ESP’s web interface from home after dinner to watch the clickthroughs mount.

At the end of the day, all it really takes for a successful Holiday email season is a little planning and thinking ahead. Talk to your email marketing partner today to make sure your best offers of the season don’t get buried under wrapping paper or put away with the decorations until next year.