The Orchard Agency, Melbourne Australia, eCommerce Email Marketing Specialist Agency

Share

Xmas Email Marketing

The holiday season is upon us once again, and so begins the annual Xmas email marketing challenge. It takes every trick in the email marketing book to try and maintain decent open and click through rate at this time of the year and it’s no small wonder – the sheer volume of email marketing messages being sent around Australia spikes somewhere between 30-50% in the four weeks from late November.

In fact, year on year stats have shown that since 2011 – 2013, volumes have increased 40% PER YEAR with current volumes sitting at 80% that of 2011! One of the main culprits is, of course, the rise and rise of online shopping as Australians finally embrace the medium as a viable shopping alternative.

Email plays a huge part in most retailers marketing activity at this time of year, so the compound effect for every other industry segment is much-increased competition for your email to cut through and grab the attention of the recipient.

If you are noticing decreased open and click-through rates don’t despair – most of it is purely seasonal and come to the New Year you should be back on par. In the meantime here are a few timely reminders to help cut through the clutter and maximize your inbox chances:

Subject Line:

It’s no surprise that we fall back to the subject line and the all-important role it plays in getting your email opened. It doesn’t hurt to try something new at this time of year – there are many of opportunities to be playful with your subject lines and get into the spirit of the season. In fact there’s probably never a better time to pimp your subject line with some symbols!

Keep it simple:

We’re always advocates of keeping your email campaigns short and concise, and at this time of the year, it’s critically important. Your audience is time-poor and their inboxes are under siege – so make your messages friendly and don’t expect them to have time to sit and read through too much copy – just give them the best bits and let them decide if they want to find out more with strong, clear call-to-action buttons.

A/B Testing:

Probably the best tool out there to maximize your campaign success, but often an afterthought when you realise your campaign has tanked. The two best measurements for split testing are subject lines and the call-to-action inside the message, so make the most of the tools available and you can rest assured that you gave it your best shot. (Not sure how to best achieve this? Ask us how).

Smart Segmentation:

If your open rate is sitting at 20% it’s clear that 80% of your audience has missed out on hearing about your fantastic news. Don’t be afraid to resend them your campaign – at this time of year chances are it’s just been lost amongst the inbox. Use your campaign software to determine who didn’t open the email and resend them your campaign. 99% of opens occur within 5 days of an email send so wait until the opportunity to open has passed, and then resend just to all who have missed the first message. Your open rates will not be as high as the first campaign but you will definitely catch a sizeable amount of opens to warrant the resend.

Do you have any of your own personal tips or experience to share? We’d love to hear how you manage to cut through the Xmas Inbox Clutter. Email us.

Share

Found this helpful? Check these related articles out