I received a few responses to my holiday marketing poll, with replies evenly divided between those who send fewer marketing messages during the holidays and those who hold steady. I suspect those who crank the dial up to ’10′ this time of year were either too ashamed to admit it, or too busy sending emails to cast their vote.
Cyber Monday and Email Fatigue (MailChimp Blog, November 29, 2012)
If these Cyber Monday statistics from MailChimp are any indication, it was probably the latter. At over 190 million emails, Cyber Monday was a record-breaking day for the email marketing service. Though email volume was up 40%, open rates increased only 20% and clicks were up less than 30%. Even worse, overwhelmed customers were clicking “unsubscribe” 60% more often.
Cyber Monday and Email Fatigue (MailChimp Blog, November 29, 2012)
Since my last post, I’ve been keeping an eye out for tips that might help you avoid those dismal numbers and make a genuine connection during the holidays. Here are a few ideas that will help you improve your email newsletters, even after the New Year begins.
Reshuffle your marketing mix. If this time of year isn’t critical to your sales and development cycle, it’s the perfect time to reduce spending on advertising and cut back on email updates. Maintain a connection with your customers through less attention-heavy outlets like social media. (Thanks to Amanda from FMH for sharing this comment.)
Talk like a human. This seems like sort of a no-brainer, but a casual tone is more welcome in most email inboxes. The Obama campaign found that simple subject lines like “Hey” were the most attention-grabbing. Though I normally recommend something more descriptive for email newsletters, it doesn’t hurt to show some personality and speak to your subscribers like you would a friend.
Test and monitor. How did President Obama’s campaign staff know which email tactics worked best? Extensive A-B testing and analysis of everything from subject lines to text links to message formatting. As this Businessweek article points out, even the most experienced professionals were often surprised by the results. Every organization’s audience is different, and you won’t know how your customers will respond until you try it yourself.
Think mobile. Around Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year, your customers are spending more time running errands, traveling, and generally not keeping to their normal routines. That means they’re more likely to see your email on a mobile device when they’re short on time and bandwidth. If you haven’t looked at your email newsletter on a smartphone, DO IT NOW. There are plenty of free mobile templates for email newsletters, and there’s no excuse to not provide a good experience for your audience when they’re not sitting in front of a desktop or laptop.
Give your customers some control. Offer the option to unsubscribe until January 1, or better yet, segment your list and provide an incentive for your readers to opt-in for additional holiday emails. The Impossible Project sends more email newsletters than usual during December, but gives subscribers the option of temporarily unsubscribing until Christmas. I love the way they explain it to customers at the end of this newsletter.
Stop selling all the time. You’re asking your customers for a lot during the holidays; First you want their attention via email, then you want them to complete a transaction. Take a break from selling every now and then. Instead, offer a gift or an opportunity to connect, with no strings attached. This builds loyalty and trust, and gives everyone that warm fuzzy feeling. Isn’t that what the holidays are all about? The Impossible Project, again, is a great model for this idea. They’re coordinating a holiday card exchange, which is probably no small task for the marketing department, but goes a long way to encourage customer interaction and enthusiasm.
