Seasonal events can offer great opportunities for email marketers, giving you something we all share to use to connect with your audience, but done badly, seasonal emails can feel a little tired and even false, potentially doing more harm that good.
To help you get it right, here are some pros and cons to seasonal emails, and some tips and tricks for making them work for you.
An Easy Connection
The first advantage of seasonal emails is that you can be pretty sure your audience knows what you are talking about. Generally, your mailing list is full of strangers, and the only thing you can honestly know about them all is that they liked your brand enough to sign up in the first place. For much of the year, that means the only connection between you and your reader is that – your brand.
A seasonal change is a universal connection that you can use to get on the same level as your reader. When you say ‘Summer is here!’ you know it’s summer for them as well as you; ‘Merry Christmas’ lands for pretty much everyone, and ‘Happy Halloween’ is recognised in most of the Western world.
Chat about the sun, buying presents for loved ones, or carving pumpkins, and you’re going to have a hit.
That’s why using the opportunity to send an email that’s a bit different from your normal scheduled offering is worthwhile. Generally speaking, seasonal emails are a good thing.
Everyone's Doing It
The problem is that just as everyone shares the seasonal vibe, it also means every marketing manager is sending a seasonal email to their list. The same benefit that gives you an easy connection is also a staggering lack of originality – and that can lead to reader weariness, where your subscribers are as likely to skip past your email as they are to engage with it. After all, how many ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’ emails do they really need?
The What - Making Your Seasonal Email Stand Out
First, understand what your email is meant to achieve. There are several angles you can explore:
– THE OFFER –
Probably the most obvious is that you plan to use the season to drum up business by making an offer, whether that’s a summer sale, promoting a Christmas gift list with a 15% off voucher, or a new range of Halloween-inspired flavours they can try.
Including an offer in your seasonal email gives your subscribers immediate value.
– THE STORY –
Use that seasonal connection to build brand awareness by sharing a story your readership can relate to. Personal stories are a great way to boost your brand personality, and relatable seasonal stories can be a big hit.
– THE RENEWAL –
Seasons also offer a time of renewal, where we clear out the cobwebs and start afresh. This might include a new range of products, the start of a new course, or a major new release. Aligning your own business release timeline with the seasons can help you find a window of opportunity for new customers.
When your seasonal email campaign brings with it an exciting new development for the brand itself, you can reach a wider audience and generate new business.
– JUST CONNECTING –
One of the great things about seasonal emails is that they give you an excuse to connect that can help revitalise your mailing list. It’s a bit weird to send a ‘Hi, it’s mid-June and we thought we’d check in and say hello’ email, but a ‘Summer’s here! What activities do you have planned for the sunshine?’ angle can rebuild lapsed interest in your brand.
The When - Making a Seasonal Email Work For You
Timing is everything. Getting in early can mean that you’re the first of a bunch of seasonal emails coming their way, but being too early runs the risk that you look like those over-eager discount shops (Christmas stuff on the shelves mid-August, really?!). You want to time your seasonal email to meet your audience’s needs, and not just make it a race to the finish. Consider:
– WHAT YOU’RE OFFERING –
If you’re using the season to push a certain product, such as gifts for Christmas, flowers for Valentine’s Day, or activities for the kids over the summer, then you need to give people enough time to take action.
When you have a seasonal offer, consider a full email campaign rather than a single seasonal email. Nothing gives you as much excuse to send an email every day of the month as a virtual advent calendar! – and done well, with a different offer every day, this can be a substantial hit.
-YOUR GENUINE CONNECTION –
Not every seasonal event is right for every business. Gift-giving seasons are key for many retail businesses, for example, but the turning from summer into autumn into winter is less relevant there; similarly, a service offering for business CFOs makes sense as the tax year rolls over, but doesn’t need to ping out for ‘back to school’.
Use the events that are aligned with your business model, and don’t overdo it – trying to get something in for every special occasion makes nothing feel special.
– POST EVENT FOLLOW-UP
For some businesses, the best time to build on a season is once it’s over. A shared story or anecdote showing how we’ve ‘survived’ the latest thing as work moves back to normal can be as relevant as pushing for the event itself.
And if you’ve just done the seasonal product push, it might be time for an after-season sale!
Making the Most of Seasons with Nathan Littleton
Email marketing is always in season for me. I’m Nathan Littleton, and I’m here to help you get the very best out of your email marketing schedule. If you’re not sure which seasonal events are worth focusing on for your calendar, or are wondering how to make the best use of those that inspire, why not discuss the possibilities with me?
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