We’ve all experienced the feeling of time rushing forward when we step into a retail store in October and see Christmas decorations for sale. While October may be way too early to start setting up your Christmas tree at home, it’s the right time to start planning your holiday email campaign. By keeping these basic principles in mind, you can plan for a successful holiday season long before you 
hear silver bells ringing.
- Plan Your Strategy
Each holiday email you send will need a compelling call to action and a subject line that grabs the reader’s attention and a creative presentation of information. eConnect Email can help you design a template that will carry you through the holidays!
- Solidify a Schedule
Your email schedule shouldn’t differ significantly from your past sending habits. If subscribers are used to hearing from you once a month and suddenly start receiving daily emails, they might bail. At the same time, however, it’s important to have a plan in place that reflects the urgency of the holidays. Know what you’re sending and when each message should arrive in subscriber inboxes. Make the deployment process easy by scheduling your email from within your eConnect Email accout.
- Be Creative
Give your readers something different and unexpected that they won’t receive from other retailers. Remember the Office Max Elf Yourself campaign? Office Max received lots of exposure through that campaign because it gave viewers a chance to do something fun and different. You can bet they forwarded those emails to their friends, as well. If you’re not into dancing elves, with eConnect Email you can try giveaways or linking to funny videos to draw people in.
- Cater to Your Customers
Inboxes overflow with promotional emails during the holidays, so you’re going to need to be extra attentive to the personal needs of your customers. If you have a deadline for ordering in order to receive an item by Christmas, let them know that. If they have purchased from you before, use that information to suggest items that might interest them. Don’t forget that not all of your customers celebrate Christmas, so be inclusive of other holidays without estranging your loyal Christmas customers.
- Be Personal
As much as possible, let your customers know that you care about them as people and not just as buyers. Use eConnect Email’s triggers/ autoresponders to make contact with each customer who takes the time to interact with your company. In addition, reach out to those who have opened your email but haven’t clicked or who have clicked but haven’t purchased. eConnect Email report options will help you determine which customers have demonstrated interest but haven’t followed through with the desired action.