For many small businesses, the end of year holidays means preparing for one of the busiest shopping seasons of the year. With Aussies predicted to spend over $11 billion on gift-giving this year, it’s an optimistic sign of recovery, with businesses looking to eagerly make up for lost time and revenue, and put a challenging couple of years behind them.
Why email marketing is so important
Thanks to smartphones, customers can now stay updated no matter where they are. As an extremely cost-effective channel for most small businesses, email marketing provides a convenient way to reach eager shoppers, especially with ‘buy now’ buttons directing them straight to their shopping cart.
Here we take a look at four simple steps to supercharge your email marketing skills to help boost your holiday sales and keep customers coming back all year long.
- Have a catchy headline to entice buyers
Imagine that you are checking your email and saw 100 unread ones. Which one do you choose to read first? Definitely an email with an optimised subject line for open rates. Personalising your subject lines by including the recipient’s name can increase open rates by 26 per cent. You can also use ‘power words’ such as free shipping, hot deal, limited-time-only, and Christmas Gift Guide, among others to help drive more conversions. Don’t be afraid to use emojis that celebrate the festive season. Using emojis can help increase open rates by up to 45 per cent. - Use an email address that matches your domain name to build trust and extra credibility
First impressions matter, and matching your email address with your website domain name can reassure customers that your business is trustworthy and credible. There is nothing wrong with free email accounts, but it’s best to consider saving them for personal use. - Curate your own holiday gift guide
Get stressed finding the perfect gift for your loved ones? You’re not alone. Help customers avoid this ‘holiday gift’ anxiety by sending your customers a convenient gifting-guide to help make their shopping a breeze. Use bright and professional looking images to capture attention, and make the guide even more user-friendly by grouping products by price, product type, age group and so on. - Provide reassurance for online gift-givers
The pandemic has increased online shopping, including gift-giving. Roy Morgan reports that 48% of Christmas presents are likely to be purchased online, with 58% of people saying they’ll buy more or significantly more items online than they did last year.
A main apprehension with buying gifts online is whether gifts will arrive on time. One in three last-minute shoppers say they choose where to buy their gifts based on how soon they can get them, according to Google. The other concern is the ease of exchange and refunds.
You will want to address these issues in your emails by clarifying the delivery cut-off dates and make the terms of purchase and refunds very clear to avoid any confusion.
Christmas is called the silly season for a reason. But optimistically, these tips can help make the rush less stressful, more joyful and can help lead your business through a busy holiday sales period. Don’t underestimate the power of email marketing, that extra effort you put into your email promotions can go a long way for your business and maintain customer loyalty.
