Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
By Chad White
Executive Summary
Email marketing is becoming increasingly vital to holiday success. Last year, the top online retailers boosted their year-over-year email volume 21% in November and December, with spikes coinciding with several record-breaking ecommerce days, including Cyber Monday and Thanksgiving Day. Because of emails ability to engage customers with relevant messaging at the right time, our retail client data shows that open rates and clickthrough rates hold steady during the holidays, despite the added volume, and that click-to-conversion rates increase significantly. There are positive signs that the 2011 holiday season will be another banner year for email marketing. Our retail client data shows that 2011 open rates are up 23% over last year and click-toopen rates are up 11%, says Ed Henrich, Senior Vice President of Professional Services at Responsys. This is a good sign that the 2011 holiday season could be very strong. However, challenges and opportunities have arisen that will require marketers to adjust their holiday email strategies. The emergence of Black November, the continued growth in mobile email readership, and increasing cross-channel sophistication will all have a major effect on campaigns this holiday season, when email volume is on track to reach new alltime highs. To help retailers and other B2C companies navigate these changes, we have produced this roadmap to the holiday season. Based on the holiday email activity of the more than 100 top U.S. online retailers tracked by the Retail Email Blog and on the insights of Responsys Strategic Services group, this guide includes benchmarks and advice regarding the timing of holiday campaigns, how much to increase email volume, which days to send on, how to stand out in the inbox, and which messaging tactics to use throughout the holiday season. We also cover the following points: Retailers are trying to attract shoppers earlier in the holiday season by promoting Black Friday deals and pricing as early as Nov. 1, a trend we refer to as Black November. As a result, last year the number of references to Black Friday between Nov. 1 and Black Friday increased 68% from 2009. Cyber Monday is living up to its hype as the the biggest online shopping day of the year, with online sales breaking the $1 billion mark for the first time that day last year. Email marketing is a prime contributor to that success, with 77% of major online retailers sending at least one promotional email to their subscribers on Cyber
Monday, up from 71% in 2009. It was the fourth consecutive year that Cyber Monday was the most popular day of the year to send retail emails. Black Friday check-in campaigns and last-minute gifts delivered via Facebook were both nascent trends last year that we expect to grow this year. This guide also identifies and provides examples of the 22 Phases of Holiday Messaging, a variety of tactics that retailers have at their disposal at various points during the holiday season. Those tactics include 12 Days of Christmas campaigns, seasons greetings, and urging gift card redemptions.
Contents
Review Past Holiday Campaigns Start Holiday Campaigns Early Increase Holiday Email Frequencies Target Key Shopping Days Stand Out Among Inbox Clutter Use Pre-Holiday Messaging The 22 Phases of Holiday Messaging 1. Christmas in July Campaigns 2. Other Early Holiday Messaging 3. Core Holiday Messaging 4. Black November 5. Debuting Holiday Headers 6. Introducing Gift Services Footers 7. Thanksgiving Day 8. Black Friday 9. Cyber Monday 10. 12 Days of Christmas Campaigns 11. Special Order Deadlines 12. Free Shipping Day 13. End of Standard Shipping 14. End of Express Shipping 15. Shop at Your Local Store 16. Buy Online, Pick Up in Store 17. E-Gifts Cards & E-Gifts 18. Seasons Greetings 19. Christmas Day 20. After-Christmas & End-of-Year Sales 21. Gift Card Redemption Messaging 22. Follow-Ups & Upsell Opportunities Conclusion About the Author About Responsys 5 7 7 10 11 15 20 20 21 23 24 26 27 28 30 33 35 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 51
Laying the groundwork for successful holiday email marketing campaigns begins during the summer. This guide will walk you through reviewing your 2010 holiday campaigns, early holiday messaging like Christmas in July campaigns, and the pre-holiday messaging that will make your holiday campaigns more effectiveas well as taking you all the way through Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the after-Christmas period. Based on the holiday email activity of more than 100 top U.S. online retailers tracked by the Retail Email Blog and on the insights of Responsys Strategic Services group, this guide also addresses the new challenges and opportunities that will require marketers to adjust their holiday email strategies, like the emergence of Black November, the continued growth in mobile email readership, and the need for more cross-channel sophistication. We hope the benchmarks, advice and examples in this guide help you to maximize your holiday performance of your email marketing program. Happy Holiday Sales, Chad White Research Director Responsys
Which campaigns generated the lowest conversions? Try to determine the cause of the underperformance.
Which segmentation and dynamic content tactics were the most successful?
Which campaigns were forwarded and shared the most? What about those campaigns made them so viral?
Which campaigns generated the highest unsubscribe rates? The highest spam complaints? Why was that?
Did we change our cadence or the number of emails we sent per week? If so, did it impact our complaint rates or the raw number of complaints we generated per 7-day period? Did we encounter deliverability filtering or blocking as a result?
Did we change our audience size or scope (i.e., mailing more inactives)? If so, did that impact our deliverability rates or success in reaching the inbox?
Did we have to send any apology emails? What did we apologize about? Have steps been taken to fix the problems?
How well were our email campaigns coordinated with our social and mobile campaigns? Were we able to quickly incorporate learnings from our social and mobile channels into our email messaging? How can we improve our cross-channel integration?
Were we able to capitalize on the increase in traffic to our website, social media pages and other touchpoints to grow our email subscriber base? How can we improve email capture rates?
What tests have we conducted this year? What did we learn? How can we apply those learnings to our holiday campaigns?
Reviewing last years holiday email performance is a great way to prepare for the upcoming season, says Heather Blank, Vice President of Strategic Services at Responsys. It will re-immerse you in the holiday mindset, provide the opportunity to plan ahead based on previous successes, and help you strategize to avoid any errors made in the previous year. Be sure to start your review early so you have plenty of time to incorporate more cross-channel strategies into your plan. In addition to reviewing your own past holiday emails, look at what your competitors and peers did. This report will get you well on your way, but you should also explore email industry blogs, the trade press and research firms for more insights and inspiration.
Thanksgiving to begin your holiday messaging, then youve given up a head-start of more than a month to your competitors. On average, retailers began their 2010 holiday campaigns 69 days before Christmason Oct. 17. Thats two days earlier than during the 2009 holiday season and 11 days earlier than during the 2007 holiday season, when the average start date was Oct. 28. Although the economy was improving a bit going into the holiday season last year, retailers were clearly still nervous and wanted to start their holiday messaging a little earlier.
Its important to note that Oct. 17 was just the average start date in 2010. Some retailers begin their battle for holiday hearts and minds as early as Juneas was the case last year when Hallmark began their holiday email messaging on June 29. While holiday messaging remains low until October, some of this early messaging may boost the effectiveness of later messages.
The ramp up in email volume during the holiday is substantial. In fact, during 2010, retailers increased their send volumes an average of 47% during November and December compared to the preceding January-October period, according to the Retail Email Blogs Retail Email Index, which is a measure of the promotional email volume generated by 100 of the top online retailers. Between January and October, retailers sent 11.8 emails per month on average; but during the November and December holiday period, they sent an average of 17.3 each month.
While email volume increased 16% during 2010 vs. 2009, during November and December it averaged a 21% year-over-year increase. Plus, the biggest monthly year-over-year gain came in November, when volume increased nearly 24%. The Black November trend, which saw retailers promoting Black Friday deals and pricing weeks earlier than usual, was responsible for the big volume gains in November last year. Despite large increases in volume, most of my retail clients see open rates and CTRs remaining flat, or down only nominally, says Mary Kathleen Sullivan, Sr. Strategy Consultant at Responsys. What I consistently see are large increases in click-to-conversion rates, sometimes as much as two times.
Bigger Opportunities for Lighter Mailers Retailers that send email less frequently prior to the holiday season are consistently able to increase their send volume proportionally more than their higher-volume peers when the holiday season arrives. For instance, retailers that were sending one or fewer emails per month during the January-October time period increased their email frequency by 95% on average during November and December. In comparison, retailers that sent more than three emails a week early in the year only increased their holiday volume by 42% on average. This may indicate that some high-volume senders are emphasizing the JanuaryOctober time period at the expense of the more valuable holiday period.
A Word of Caution about Dramatic Frequency Increases While we believe that sending more email during the holidays when more consumers are in market to make purchases is a winning strategy, it is wise to compare the incremental sales gains from those extra emails up against the potential downsides, such as: The cost of replacing subscribers lost to higher list churn. The sales lost because of increased spam complaints or low engagement caused deliverability problems. The opportunity cost of lost sales due to higher ignore rates as subscribers tune you out because you are oversending. Trading significant lifetime value in exchange for a much smaller short-term boost in sales. Theres sometimes a tendency for marketers to do a good job of measuring the positives and do a poor job of measuring the negatives because of a lack of time or visibility. While you might gladly trade some future sales in exchange for more short-term sales, its important to be aware of what that exchange rate looks like. Also, sometimes increases in frequency can actually result in fewer touches if deliverability suffers. The challenge is: If everyone else is dramatically increasing frequency, do you miss out on face time during this very important time of year by holding back? says Heather Goff, Senior Deliverability Consultant at Responsys. But its important to realize that increasing frequency can actually lead to less face time if it triggers junk foldering or blocking. I recommend spending some time digging into your metrics from last year to make the right judgment for your program this year. The key is being honest about how relevant each additional message is. Goff also warns that adding long dormant subscribers back to your mailing file during the holiday season is a dangerous gamble. While it may generate some incremental sales, the tactic will severely lower the engagement of your file, likely getting your emails blocked or junked.
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While the days listed above are likely popular because they achieve better results, theres the counterpoint that these are also the days when your emails have the most competition in the inbox. If that logic appeals to you, then try sending on the days just before or after these days. For instance, to avoid the highly popular Cyber Mondays, some retailers have opted to send their
For more on email volume trends during 2010, download Retail Email Year-End Trends for 2010 from the Responsys Downloads page.
emails on the Sunday preceding them, which we refer to as Cyber Sundays. Also, if your brand doesnt traditionally send out highly promotional content, then you might want to avoid these high volume days since they typically feature deep discounts. We have a client who chose to avoid some of the busiest days during the holidays to minimize competing with the flood of discounts during this timeframe, says David Hibbs, Strategic Consultant at Responsys. As a result of shifting their campaigns off of these popular days, they have seen no negative impact to revenue and have seen their average order values increase almost 30% for the holiday timeframe.
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Standing out in the holiday inbox is more than just applying email creative best practices, says Wacarra Yeomans, Creative Director at Responsys. Its important that your holiday messaging is on-brand and continues to provide an excellent holiday shopping experience for your subscribers. Subtlety and warmth can sometimes be the way to stand out in the inbox and delight the subscriber. Craft Better Subject Lines
For more on email design trends and to get inspired, download Email Design Look Book 2011 from the Responsys Downloads page.
Subject lines become even more important during the holiday season as consumers receive more email in their inboxes. Consider these tips during the holidays: Dont forget the basics of good subject lines. Subject lines should address who the email is from, whats in it for the subscriber, and how can the subscriber take action all in 50 characters or less ideally. Repeat or tweak successful subject lines from your campaigns last year. Pay attention to site searches on your website and the organic searches that bring you traffic from major search engines. Consider using words from the most popular searches in your subject lines and check in with your search marketing team on a weekly or even daily basis to determine trends. Mine the subject lines of your competitors and peers for ideas for words and phrasings. The Subjectivity Scanner at the end of the Retail Email Blogs AM Inbox posts is a source of noteworthy subject lines to dissect. If youre offering free shipping, tout it more often in subject lines, as its likely to boost conversion rates. Consider exploring alternative phrasings for free shipping, such as complimentary shipping, $0 shipping delivery for free, shipping is on us, etc. We highly recommend free shipping as a promotional tactic because it doesnt cheapen your brand like product and order discounts do. Most of all, be sure to regularly, if not always, A/B test your subject lines. Some tests to consider include: o Inclusion/exclusion and order of key elements like (1) seasonal element, (2) urgency, (3) product name or product category, (4) percentage or dollar discount and (5) price. o o Straightforward vs. intriguing/mysterious subject lines. Change of phraseology (statement, command, question, etc.).
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Inclusion of your brand name. The beginning and end of the subject line are popular positions. Long brand names may do more harm than good by increasing the character count of your subject line too much.
Short subject lines of 30 characters or less vs. longer subject lines of 70 or more characters. Also look at subject line length in terms of number of words.
Focusing exclusively on the primary message or also mentioning a secondary message or two.
Personalize the subject line with the subscribers name, favorite team, or other important information.
The surest way to increase the success of subject lines is through testing, but be sure you correctly define what success means for these tests, says Mary Kathleen Sullivan, Sr. Strategy Consultant at Responsys. In the competitive holiday retail space, the open is only a small part of the picture. We need our subscribers to open the email, find content that fulfills the promise of the subject line and click through, and then continue the experience through to conversion. So success for a subject line should be defined as driving the highest revenue per email. Mobile- & Touch-Friendly Designs With smartphones now outselling PCs and the majority of smartphone users checking their email on their device, making email designs mobile-friendly is increasingly critical. According to Return Path research, 16% of emails were read on a mobile device as of March. Growing at 81% year-over-year, mobile email readership should easily exceed 20% on average by the time the 2011 holiday season starts in earnest. On top of that, the fast-selling iPad and proliferation of competing tablets are also boosting the need for easy touch-based navigation of emails. The current state of email design is very unfriendly toward mobile and touch-based devices, even among the biggest brands. As more of your subscribers migrate to mobile and tablet plaforms, we recommend: Including preheader text and View on mobile links. Using single-column designs. Reducing the width of email templates to 640 pixels or less. Avoiding font sizes under 10pt. Using 10 to 15 pixels of padding around calls-to-action.
For more on creating mobile-friendly email designs, download Email Design & Coding Recommendations from the Responsys Downloads page.
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Retailers began promoting holiday mobile apps as early as October last year. In this Oct. 19 email, Neiman Marcus began promoting their gifts app for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. The subject line was Santa goes techie! Presenting the NM GIFTS APP.
Leverage Social Sharing If you havent adopted share-with-your-network (SWYN) functionality yet, now is the perfect time to implement it. SWYN, which allows subscribers to share the content of an email with their friends and family on various social networks like Facebook and Twitter, increases the reach of your email messagesand if theres ever a time that you want to maximize your reach its during the holidays. Just a click turns an email into a recommendation, says Rocky Thomas, Art Director at Responsys. Better yet, it only takes seven shares to reach 1,000 eager-to-listen friends. How do you achieve those clicks? Weve found that share links tied to specific content outperform those that share the entire email. And don't forget, brand engagement is also a win. Not every social message should sell.
For more on social sharing, download SWYN, FTAF & Community Links from the Responsys Downloads page.
While adding SWYN to the header, social media bar or the footer of your email is the standard, look for opportunities to pull a Share with your friends call-to-action up into the body of your message to spur viral sharing.
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In this May 1, 2011 email, Macys places the share call-to-action in the same content block as the Friends & Family promotion. This positioning is much more prominent and compelling than the usual placement in the header or footer.
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request among retailers. With print and postage costs continuing to rise, we expect more retailers to use their email channel as an inexpensive way to help ensure that catalogs go to the people that will be the most likely to respond to it. Dont have a preference center? Consider launching one in the coming months or put it on your to-do list for 2012. Some of our clients also aggregate website behavior by category and separately track email click behavior by category, so they have three sources of preference data: selfreported, website browse and email click, says Ed Henrich, Senior Vice President of Professional Services at Responsys. They then have a ranking system for melding these to determine subscribers preferences, giving more weight to observed behavior, which is generally more recent and more predictive of in-market intentions. If you want to use this tactic this holiday season, start collecting and organizing this data now.
In this Oct. 8, 2010 email, Sony asks subscribers to update their account information so they can receive their holiday catalog.
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Progressive Profiling & Subscriber Surveys Power your targeted emails and dynamic content with timely data by including progressive profiling questions in your regular promotional campaigns or sending a subscriber survey request. Progressive profiling is a great way to determine in market interest for your subscribers that can be leveraged to increase the relevancy of upcoming holiday campaigns, says Heather Blank, Vice President of Strategic Services at Responsys. For instance, asking subscribers if they plan on hosting Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner would let you know who to target with additional promotions and content on entertaining.
In this Oct. 24, 2010 email, Petco asks subscribers which product is at the top of their pets wish list. This is valuable information that can be used in a segmented email campaign or power dynamic content in a promotional email.
Akin to asking subscribers to update their preferences is asking them to complete a survey about your email program. Unlike your preference center, a survey can get at attitudes about your frequency and content and allow you to collect feedback on what your subscribers would like to see more of. Plus, on the survey completion page you can ask subscribers to update their preferences. Dont be discouraged by the fact that only a small percentage of your subscribers will update their preferences or participate in a survey. The subscribers that do engage will be among your very best customers and worth the extra time and attention.
In this Oct. 1, 2010 email, Bluefly asks subscribers about their holiday plans, including when they start their shopping and if they plan on shopping at Bluefly for gifts. This is valuable information for determining the timing and cadence of holiday emails to individuals.
We work with clients to target a 20% response rate, says Blank. We recommend clients resend the campaign to non-openers until they reach that target.
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Site Relaunches & New Functionality If youve relaunched your website or added or improved any functionality, consider telling your subscribers about it. If you relaunched your website earlier in the year or have made incremental improvements throughout the year, consider highlighting those improvements in an email as well. Consider this tactic if youve done one or more of the following this calendar year: Improved your search functionality Improved your navigation Improved your checkout process Added product reviews Added delivery options, such as instore pickup Changed your shipping or return fees Added a membership-based shipping program Added a new collection or brand, especially if exclusive Added a blog or other content that helps customers make purchase decisions Added new email newsletters
In this Sept. 27, 2010 email, Art.com lets subscribers know about their new View in Room capabilities. Neiman Marcus alerted subscribers to their new Quick Look functionality in an Aug. 29, 2010 email.
Product Reviews Product reviews have proven to be key drivers of sales. Make sure that your products have sufficient reviews by spurring subscribers to review products during the summer and early
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fall. In addition to sending post-purchase triggered emails to buyers asking them to review recently purchased items, consider sending broadcast emails asking for reviews. Although most retailers broadcast appeals for product reviews include an incentive, we dont recommend using them. Most retailers have not seen success with offering incentives for reviews, says Blank. It creates false content and is also pretty difficult to execute. When you have a healthy number of product reviews, be sure to leverage them back into your email by highlighting top-rated products and using quotes from product reviews as testimonials.
In this Dec. 18, 2010 email, Blair promotes top-rated products, with a secondary call-to-action to review a product yourself.
Credit Cards, Loyalty Programs & Other Programs If you have a private label credit card, loyalty program or member-based shipping program, promoting it in the run-up to the holiday season could make more consumers predisposed to buy from you during the holidays. Layaway and other payment plans are also worth considering promoting ahead of the holidays. Shipping Options While the 2009 holiday season was marked by retailers serving up a variety of payment options in response to the recession, the 2010 holiday was noteworthy for the extra attention given to shipping options. Because shipping is such a huge point of friction for online shopping, retailers are certainly wise to explore new offerings. Here are some shipping trends from the 2010 holiday season:
Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season 2011 19
Free Shipping All Holiday Season. Eddie Bauer, J&R and a few others offered free shipping
all holiday season, looking to remove uncertainty around on again, off again free shipping offers.
For more on holiday shipping messaging, read Shipping Messaging Played Big Role in 2010 Holiday Emails.
Buy Now, Ship Later. Harry & David and Neiman Marcus
promoted buy now, ship later programs, allowing shoppers to buy gifts early without having them arrive well ahead time.
In-Store Pickup. Allowing customers to order online and pick up their orders in their local
store has become an established service, with the service being offered by major retailers like Kmart, Wal-Mart, Barnes & Noble, Nordstrom and GameStop. Its a popular service to promote in the waning days of the holiday season when home delivery is not an option or very expensive, but you can also build awareness of the option earlier in the season.
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To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some about Christmas in July promotions: Kmart, 7/18/10 Christmas in July! Free Shipping on Christmas Lane orders of $39 Toys R Us, 7/18/10 Christmas in July Sale! Save on LEGO, Games, Baby Gear & More! Blair, 7/20/10 Merry Christmas in July! Celebrate with free shipping. TigerDirect, 7/23/10 Christmas in July: 3 Day Special Event
While many Christmas in July emails are indeed promoting generic sales, increasingly these campaigns are actually about promoting holiday dcor and other seasonal goods, as in this July 18, 2010 Kmart email.
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Popular early references to the holidays include: Shop our pre-holidays clearance sale. Sign up for our Christmas catalog. Pre-order these hot holiday products. Preview our holiday collection. Create a wish list. Learn about layaway and other financial services
These kinds of messages may help these retailers win the battle for holiday mindshare long before the weather turns chilly. Considering these other holiday references, 11% of major online retailers began their holiday email messaging by the end of July last year, up from 8% in 2009. Early Christmas messaging generally ends in early November when retailers begin sending emails dedicated entirely to Christmas gifts, dcor, and other holiday-related products.
In a June 29, 2010 email, Hallmark began promoting their Christmas ornaments and recordable storybooks. In previous years, Hallmark waited until July 1 to begin their holiday email campaigns.
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4. Black November
To get a jump on holiday sales, some retailers have begun offering Black Friday pricing and deals earlier in Novembera trend that we refer to as Black November. Last year, the number of references to Black Friday between Nov. 1 and Black Friday increased 68% yearover-year. And thats after they nearly doubled in 2009 versus 2008.
This was the biggest systemic change to the holiday email marketing season last year. While retailers have always tried to secure holiday sales earlier in the season, the degree to which so many retailers focused their attention on closing sales in early and mid November was unprecedented.
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In this Nov. 2, 2010 email, Newegg kicked off their Black November campaign. They were among the first to use the term. The subject line of the email was IT STARTS NOW: Black Friday Deals all month long at Newegg!
To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some about Black November: Newegg, 11/2/10 IT STARTS NOW: Black Friday Deals all month long at Newegg! Sportsmans Guide, 11/3/10 "Like Us" on Facebook... Sneak Previews of 'Black Friday' Doorbuster Deals! Kmart, 11/5/10 It's Better than Black Friday - Preschool Games starting at $3.99 J&R, 11/5/10 Pre Black Friday Weekend Sale -- Biggest Savings of the Week! Fingerhut, 11/5/10 Fingerhut: Jump Start Your Black Friday Shopping TODAY! Sears, 11/5/10 Save 5-20% on all appliances, plus Black Friday NOW deals
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Sports Authority, 11/14/10 Black Friday Pre-Sale! -In Store Only- Skip The Lines and Pick Up On 11/26! TigerDirect, 11/16/10 Extra $700 Off HDTVs w/ Coupons + 10 More Early Black Friday Deals eBags, 11/18/10 Extra 20% Off Sitewide + Holiday Doorbusters, Shipped Free
1. Add a Gifts or Holiday tab to your navigation bar, as Lands End did. Set your
holiday link apart from your standard navigation by using a different color, font, and button design.
Lands End introduced a red Gifts nav bar link in a Nov. 4, 2010 email, but upgraded it to an icon in this Nov. 24 email.
If a single navigation link just doesnt seem like enough for the biggest shopping season of the year, consider a new trend thats gaining momentum: Add a dedicated holiday nav
bar. Rather than squeezing a single link into their standard nav bar, retailers like Sephora
added a second holiday-focused nav bar underneath their standard nav bar.
In this Nov. 3, 2010 email, Sephora debuted a pinkthemed holiday header with a secondary nav bar focused on gifts.
If you have a high performing standard nav and don't want to monkey with it too much, we recommend an additional bar that is gift-focused, says Baus.
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2. Add snow, snowflakes, wrapped presents, or another holiday motif to your header, as
Hallmark did. Depending on your brand positioning, it may be best to avoid anything that may be interpreted as a religious symbol such as Christmas trees and stick to more wintery motifs.
Hallmark introduced this stylized ribbon header in a Oct. 18, 2010 email.
In conjunction with a holiday header, also consider re-skinning your entire email template with a holiday theme, a festive color scheme, or just a different background color. This intensifies the signal to subscribers that the holiday season is here.
Here are some elements to consider including when designing your GSFs: Umbrella your gift services footer with a benefits-focused headline. Link to your website gift center. Provide a more granular approach to choosing a gift by linking to gifts under certain price points, stocking stuffers, personalized/monogrammed gifts or intended recipient (i.e., gifts for dads). Promote gift cards and e-gift cards.
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Link to your gift registry or wish lists so subscribers can find the lists of friends and family members or start their own list. Highlight gift services like gift-wrapping and boxing that help make holiday shopping easier. Detail order-by dates, particularly as mid-December approaches, and link to your shipping calendar, shipping rates, and returns information. These provide assurances to shoppers. Dynamically generate local retail store info to drive brick-and-mortar trafficor simply include a store locator link.
Because subscribers needs change over the course of the holiday season, create more than one GSF so that you can include the links that are most helpful to subscribers at the moment. For instance, e-gift cards are much more relevant late in the season than early on.
Kohls changed their gift services footers throughout the holidays. From a Dec. 19, 2010 Kohls email, this GSF highlights e-gift cards prominently as a lastminute gift option.
Gift services footers can be very effective, says Jamie Frech, Customer Success Director at Responsys, but be sure to work with your website counterparts to ensure that your gift landing pages are designed well.
7. Thanksgiving Day
In the past, Thanksgiving Day was typically a low email volume day where some pure-play internet retailers held online-only, one-day promotions in an attempt to take advantage of retail stores being closed. However, the last two years there has been a pronounced shift in messaging, with many more retailers launching their Black Friday deals online on Thursday, just like Cyber Monday offers have been spilling over into preceding day. Sixty percent of retailers sent email on Thanksgiving Day last year, up from 45% in 2009. The jump in Thanksgiving Day email volume was largely due to several large store-based retailers including Sears and Toys R Us opening their stores on Thanksgiving Day and other retailers responding by holding special one-day, online-only sales and by leaking their Black Friday deals early. With one-quarter of retailers releasing their Black Friday deals a day early, Thanksgiving is quickly becoming Black Thursday.
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The 32% increase in Thanksgiving Day email translated very efficiently into more sales. According to comScore, online sales on Thanksgiving Day last year jumped 28% to $407 million compared to 2009.
In this Nov. 25, 2011 email, NFLshop promotes a oneday-only BOGO deal, positioning a share bar just below the offer to spur forwarding and SWYN activity.
To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some about promoting sales on Thanksgiving Day: Saks Fifth Avenue, 11/24/10 Thanksgiving Sale Online Only: Up to 70% off NFLshop, 11/25/10 [Today Only!] Thanksgiving Day Special - Buy One, Get One 50% Off!
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Toys R Us, 11/24/10 Over 150 Doorbusters start 10pm Thursday night! After Thanksgiving Sale Preview! Sports Authority, 11/25/10 [THURSDAY ONLY] 25% off Sports Authority Begins At Midnight Target, 11/25/10 Online-only Thanksgiving Sale + shipping offers on 900,000+ items. Sears, 11/25/10 Thanksgiving Deals Start Today Online + $10 off Coupon J&R, 11/25/10 Black Friday Deals (1 of 4). . . The Savings Start Now! Macys, 11/25/10 Black Friday Specials online now + Ship for Free every day! OfficeMax, 11/25/10 Shop Black Friday Deals Today + In-Store Coupons for Friday SmartBargains, 11/25/10 Black Friday Coupons start NOW! | Up to EXTRA 50% Off
8. Black Friday
Retailers generally begin promoting their Black Friday or After-Thanksgiving sales starting on the Monday before Thanksgiving. For retailers with stores, this messaging usually highlights store hours for Friday and promotes doorbustersthose deepdiscount, limited-quantity products available on a first come, first serve basis. Black Friday promotions often include store hours and doorbusters for Saturday and Sunday too, looking at the holiday weekend as a whole. Overall, Black Friday email messaging continues to surge. Last year, more than 31% of the promotional emails sent by the top online retailers during the seven days ending with Black Friday mentioned Black Friday, up from 19% of emails did during the same period in 2009. Thats a 67% increase in year-over-year Black Friday messaging, which follows a 63% year-over-year increase in 2009.
In this Nov. 24, 2011 email, Toys R Us promotes their Black Friday doorbusters, which actually start on Thanksgiving Day at 10pm. This is yet another example of retailers moving their Black Friday offers forward to get out ahead of their competitors.
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Despite the hefty increase in overall Black Friday messaging, the percentage of retailers sending at least one email on Black Friday itself was unchanged at 69% last year. According to comScore, online sales on Black Friday hit $648 million, up 9% from Black Friday 2009. A new element to Black Friday messages in 2010 was the promotion and rewarding of check-ins via Foursquare, Yelp and Facebook Places. For instance, Toys R Us enticed shoppers to check in via any of those services with the promise of a special offer. Sports Authority brought the viral crowd behavior into the store by entering people who checked in into a sweepstakes and then announcing winners over the PA in the store that they are in. And on a day that is the embodiment of consumerism, REI appealed to their shoppers philanthropic generosity by donating a dollar for every check-in.
In a Nov. 26, 2010 email, Sports Authority asked subscribers to check-in via Foursquare for a chance to win $500.
In a Nov. 26, 2010 email, REI appealed to subscribers philanthropic generosity to generate check-ins.
The breadth of tactics used for this fairly new channel was impressive. While the popularity of check-ins has waned this year, well likely see more check-in campaigns this holiday season, especially around Black Friday.
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To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some about Black Friday deals: Office Depot, 11/25/10 Black Friday Sale Starts Tomorrow: Most Stores Open at 6:00AM & Online at 7:00AM EST Spiegel, 11/26/10 BLACK FRIDAY SAVINGS! Extra 30% Off Featuring Chic, Cozy Sweaters! JCPenney, 11/26/10 Wake Up! Don't Miss BLACK FRIDAY DEALS Victorias Secret, 11/26/10 Today Only! Free Supermodel Tote with $60 Purchase. In Stores & Online. Details Inside. ShopNBC, 11/26/10 Fun! Host picks with Black Friday savings Lillian Vernon, 11/26/10 Here's Our Amazing Black Friday Deal! Musicians Friend, 11/26/10 Musician's Friend: Save 10% Plus Free Shipping - 1 Day Only - Black Friday Sierra Trading Post, 11/26/10 Black Friday Deals - EXTRA 40% OFF over 7,000 Items! Home Depot, 11/26/10 Black Friday Starts Now! Buy.com, 11/26/10 Alert: Black Friday Blowout Omaha Steaks, 11/26/10 Black Friday Savings Event - Get FREE Shipping, 4 FREE Steaks, a FREE $10 Reward E-Card & 61% Savings Overstock.com, 11/26/10 BLACK FRIDAY - 10% OFF COUPON Linens n Things, 11/26/10 Black Friday Deals for Your Eyes Only! Fingerhut, 11/26/10 Fingerhut: Black Friday is HERE - SAVE Up to 15% on Your Order! Macys, 11/26/10 Shop Black Friday Specials through tomorrow + Free Shipping! Norm Thompson, 11/26/10 Black Friday is a happy day - 20% OFF EVERYTHING! HP, 11/26/10 HP Black Friday Exclusive - ENDS SOON The Company Store, 11/26/10 15% Off + Free Delivery (Don't wait in line for savings...shop online) Ross-Simons, 11/26/10 Black Friday Holiday Closeouts - up to 87% Off! Crate & Barrel, 11/26/10 Up to 50% off Black Friday Cutlery Sale. Free Shipping Details.... Harry & David, 11/26/10 Black Friday Savings all weekend - FREE Delivery + up to 50% OFF
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9. Cyber Monday
On Cyber Monday, 77% of the top online retailers tracked by the Retail Email Blog sent their subscribers at least one promotional email, setting an all-time record. This was up from 71% in 2009. That increase was preceded by strong growth in email volume on the day before, which we refer to as Cyber Sunday, when 56% of retailers sent email, up from 45% in 2009. Despite the record-shattering percentage of retailers sending email on Cyber Monday, overall Cyber Monday messaging grew only a little. During the three days ending Cyber Monday, the percentage of retail emails referencing Cyber Monday grew only 9% compared to 2009.
Despite more retailers sending email on Cyber Sunday, the percentage of emails on Sunday that referenced Cyber Monday actually fell compared to last year.
Retailers email marketing efforts helped propel Cyber Monday online sales to recordbreaking levels. According to comScore, online sales reached $1.028 billion on Cyber Monday, up 16% versus a year ago, making it the first online shopping day to surpass the billion-dollar mark. As during the 2009 holiday season, more retailers tried to beat the crush of email on Cyber Monday by sending on the Sunday before, which has become known as Cyber Sunday. The number of retailers sending email on Cyber Sunday rose to 56%, up from 45% in 2009. A new trend that emerged last year was the extension of Cyber Monday deals into Tuesday in a significant way. More than 19% of the retailers that sent email on Cyber Monday extended their campaign in some form.
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Harry & David was among those retailers to extend their Cyber Monday sales another day. The subject line of this email was Email Exclusive - Cyber
To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some about Cyber Monday deals: Sears, 11/28/10 The deals launch tonight! Get up to 20% off for Cyber Monday! HP, 11/28/10 HP's Best Deals of the Season: Cyber Monday Starts Now Macys, 11/28/10 Cyber Monday starts early! Get Free Shipping at $75! Norm Thompson, 11/28/10 Beat the Cyber Monday crowd - SAVE 25% TODAY! Staples, 11/28/10 Cyber Monday deals on Sunday! SmartBargains, 11/28/10 Cyber Monday STARTS NOW + Free Shipping! Toys R Us, 11/28/10 R Biggest Cyber Monday Sale Ever! Save up to 60% on Hot Toys! Starts Midnight Tonight! GameStop, 11/28/10 Cyber Monday at GameStop. Avoid the crowds, stay warm, save big! Sams Club, 11/29/10 Cyber Week starts today! Don't miss the best values of the holidays Ross-Simons, 11/29/10 30% Off PLUS Totally Free Shipping - 3 Day Cyber Sale Walgreens, 11/29/10 Week Long Cyber Monday Sale! EXTRA $20, $15 or $5 OFF Your Order | 25% OFF Contact Lenses Newegg, 11/29/10 24-HOUR CYBER MONDAY DEALS: The holiday savings continue with FRESH BARGAINS! Kmart, 11/29/10 Cyber Monday Savings + Free Shipping and 5X Points
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Linens n Things, 11/29/10 Cyber Monday Savings! Cybusters, Coupons & more! J. Jill, 11/29/10 Today Only! All orders ship free + 25% off everything! Northern Tool, 11/29/10 Monday Only! Save Up To 60% + Free Gift Card Dicks Sporting Goods, 11/29/10 Take 25% Off a Single Item - 1 Day Only! TigerDirect, 11/30/10 CyberTuesday...24 Deals...24 Hours Only! Newegg, 11/30/10 TODAY ONLY! Encore Tuesday: One last chance to shop our best deals of the year! Target, 11/30/10 Target Tuesday: Another day of big online-only deals. The Company Store, 11/30/10 20% Off + Free Delivery - Extended for 1 Day Only Wal-Mart, 11/30/10 Cyber Week Online Specials End on 12/3! Shop Today, While Supplies Last
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short time. If you cant convince your organization to require an opt-in before sending recipients daily deals, then at least consider sending them only to recipients that have recently clicked emails. Goff also warns not to opt all your subscribers into a 12 Days campaign or other daily deal program and then offer an unsubscribe link that removes them from the daily deal emails only. Not only is this not compliant with CAN-SPAM, which requires that every promotional message include an unsubscribe option that removes recipients from all messages from their company, she says, but it also causes havoc on repeated complainer metrics. Consumers end up believing the unsubscribe didnt work and in frustration start complaining instead.
Dell was among a handful of retailers that ran their 12 Days campaign on their website and allowed their subscribers to opt in to receive daily reminders about the deals.
Retailers employ a variety of tactics around what they promote each day of their campaign, but popular promotions include: discounts on different product categories each day a deeply discounted product or selection of products each day different discount schemes each day (i.e., discount on single item, dollar or percent discount sitewide, buy one, get one, etc.) a different free gift with purchase each day
Free shipping offers are also commonly woven in among the other deals.
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To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some about 12 Days of Christmas campaigns: Lane Bryant, 11/29/10 Celebrate Day 1 of 12 Days of Deals - BOGO Free Sitewide + Free Shipping! Lane Bryant, 12/7/10 50% Off All Tops Online - Today Only, 12 Days 12 Great Deals HP, 12/1/10 12 Days of Gifts STARTS NOW! HP, 12/2/10 12 Days of Gifts - Day 2 Blair, 12/1/10 Our first Deal of Christmas: 99 shipping! Blair, 12/8/10 Deal #8: gift ideas at up to 85% off plus free shipping Spiegel, 12/2/10 STARTS TODAY! 12 Days of Holiday Giveaways! Spiegel, 12/13/10 LAST DAY! What's Our Final Holiday Giveaway? Barnes & Noble, 12/6/10 12 Days of Incredible Deals Start Today! Cooking.com, 12/8/10 Save on the 12 Deals of Christmas! REI, 12/10/10 Gifts to Fit Your Budget + 12 Days of Deals at REI-OUTLET.com Musicians Friend, 12/14/10 Musician's Friend: Perfect Gift Pointers + 12 Nights of Deals Overstock, 12/2/10 25 Days, 25 Deals - Diamond Earrings - Ends Tonight
To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some about the end of standard shipping for special items: HP, 12/14/10 Last chance: Customize your PC now for Holiday Delivery Wal-Mart, 12/15/10 Hurry! Order by Dec. 20 for Standard or Site to Store Shipping on Great Gifts. Apple, 12/16/10 Last chance to give a personalized iPad or iPod.
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To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some that mentioned Free Shipping Day: J&R, 12/17/10 Free Shipping DAY? People Puhleeze, We Have Free Shipping All Holiday Season! Toys R Us, 12/17/10 Free Shipping Day, Dec. 17! Our Biggest & Best Offer Ever! HSN, 12/17/10 Free Shipping Day! Save on Over 5,000 Gifts Bluefly, 12/17/10 OMG! Extra 25% Off ALL Sale Items (now up to 80% off) + Celebrate Free Shipping Day!
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When it comes to subject lines, last is the keyword used most often to communicate that a shipping deadline is approachinglast day, last chance, last-minute, etc. To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some about the end of standard shipping: Alibris, 12/8/10 Avoid the last-minute scramble: Order by 12/12 Linens n Things, 12/12/10 Hurry, 4 Days Left for X-mas Delivery! Cooking.com, 12/14/10 Last Chance to Get Best Gifts in Time for Christmas Crate & Barrel, 12/15/10 Gift ideas for the entertainer. Free Shipping ends 12/22. Brookstone, 12/15/10 Free ShippingEnds TODAY! Finish Line, 12/15/10 Last Day for Free Shipping in Time for Christmas! Home Depot, 12/15/10 Gift Cards + Last Chance for Free Shipping in Time for Christmas Orvis, 12/16/10 Shop by 11:59 p.m. (EST) TONIGHT - for guaranteed Christmas delivery via standard delivery. Sears, 12/17/10 FREE Standard Shipping ENDS TODAY! Plus, Extra 10% off Electronics Saturday Only! Target, 12/17/10 Hey, Santa: Standard shipping ends Dec. 21.
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DisneyStore, 12/17/10 Free Shipping Today Only! Standard Shipping by Christmas Ends Tonight REI, 12/17/10 Time's Running Out - Order by December 21 for Standard Shipping! Eddie Bauer, 12/17/10 One Day! Last Chance! Free Shipping No Min | Daily Deal: 50% Off Fleece Kohls, 12/18/10 Last Day to Get Standard Shipping Before Christmas! Harry & David, 12/18/10 LAST DAY for Standard Delivery in time for Christmas L.L. Bean, 12/19/10 Your Order Ships FREE until Midnight Tomorrow Overstock, 12/19/10 Last Day for Ground Delivery by December 24 Northern Tool, 12/20/10 Order By 12/21 For Christmas Delivery w/ Standard Shipping + Free Gift Card Ends Wednesday Nordstrom, 12/20/10 Free Holiday Shipping Ends Today, Dec. 20! (Details Inside) | The Best New Year's Dresses Ann Taylor, 12/20/10 LAST DAY: 40% Off Your Full-Price Purchase In-store & Online + Free Shipping Ends! Barnes & Noble, 12/20/10 Today Only! 25% Off One Item & Last Day for FREE Delivery by Christmas Macys, 12/20/10 Ends tonight! Extra 20% off + Free Guaranteed Christmas Delivery! Cooking.com, 12/20/10 Last Chance for FREE Shipping in Time for Christmas! J&R, 12/20/10 Today is the Last Day for Free Ground Shipping. . . Shop Now! NFLshop, 12/21/10 Last Chance to Get FREE SHIPPING - Offer Ends Soon! REI, 12/21/10 Last Chance: Order Now for Standard Shipping + Gifts from Patagonia, Keen, The North Face and more
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Finish Line, 12/16/10 Order Today with $9.99 Rush Shipping for Christmas Delivery! ShopNBC, 12/19/10 Holiday Shopping Express: Guaranteed Arrival by Christmas RitzCamera, 12/19/10 There's Still Time! Free Expedited Shipping From Nikon! Sephora, 12/19/10 Top-rated gifts + free 2-day shipping upgrade JCPenney, 12/20/10 Faster Than A Speeding Reindeer! 50% Off Express Shipping Walgreens, 12/20/10 2 Days Left for FREE Expedited Shipping | Use FSA Funds Before They Expire B&H, 12/20/10 FREE Overnight and Second Day Shipping Costco, 12/20/10 Order by 9PM Monday, 12/20/10 To Receive In Time For Christmas Harry & David, 12/21/10 Last minute gifts still available - Only hours left to order for Christmas Target, 12/21/10 Today is it: Last call for Christmas delivery. JC Whitney, 12/21/10 There's Still Time For Expedited Delivery + Get 20% Off eBags, 12/21/10 FINAL DAY for Guaranteed Delivery by 12/24! Cooking.com, 12/21/10 Last Chance for $9.99 Flat-Rate Shipping in Time for Christmas! NFLshop, 12/22/10 $9.99 Express Shipping - 2 Days Left To Get Your Gifts There By Christmas Brookstone, 12/22/10 LAST CHANCE for Free Express Shipping for Christmas Bass Pro Shops, 12/22/10 FREE 1-DAY UPGRADE for Christmas Delivery Tiffany & Co., 12/22/10 Final Day To Shop Tiffany.com for Christmas Delivery Blue Nile, 12/23/10 Last Day! Order by 7 pm ET for FREE Overnight Delivery + 40% Off Pearls TigerDirect, 12/23/10 Last Chance for Overnight Service for Xmas Eve...Order by 5pm ET Today J&R, 12/23/10 Last Chance For Christmas Delivery. . . Order by 2pm EST Today! Crate & Barrel, 12/23/10 Last day to order for guaranteed Holiday Delivery is today at noon CT
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functionality, perhaps even making it the primary call-to-action. Store hours also typically figure strongly into this messaging. If youve captured your subscribers zip codes during your sign-up process then consider adding an automated preferred store reminder to your email that tells subscribers the address of their closest store or stores.
As in this Dec. 20, 2010 Sams Club email, messaging about rush delivery options are often accompanied by store hours information.
To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some about store deals and hours: Toys R Us, 12/21/10 For the First Time EVER! Stores Open 24 Hours Now Thru Christmas Eve! Kmart, 12/22/10 Kmart is Open 64 Hours Straight - Get Your Last-Minute Gifts J&R, 12/24/10 Attention Last Minute Shoppers: Our Park Row Stores Are Open Until 7pm Today!
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Sports Authority used their in-store pickup service to take pre-orders for pick on Black Friday. It was a novel tactic. The subject line for this Nov. 14, 2010 email was Black Friday Pre-Sale! -In Store Only- Skip The Lines and Pick Up On 11/26!
Dec. 23, which is the height of e-gift card messaging, as been dubbed E-Gift Card Day. While e-gift cards cease to be the subject of primary messages in emails, they linger as secondary messages, with retailers hoping to catch the eye of subscribers who may have forgotten someone on their shopping list.
Note that we only counted emails if they mentioned e-, online, virtual or email gift cards or certificates. Plenty of retailers promoted gift cards, but if it wasn't clear from the email whether they were e-gift cards, we didn't count them. So these numbers may understate the promotion of e-gift cards slightly.
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E-gift messaging was new to the mix last year and we will likely see greater adoption this year, building upon a tiny base of first-movers. Besides retailers like Sears offering to send e-gift cards to recipients via Facebook, a few others like Sephora allowed customers to post gifts on their friends Facebook walls that are redeemable for the actual gift. Its possible that retailers will also start touting other digital products such as software, apps, and music as last-minute gifts.
In this Dec. 23, 2010 email, Sephora focuses on lastminute gift options: (1) visiting one of their stores, with the store locator as the call-to-action, (2) posting a gift to someones Facebook wall thats redeemable for the actual item, and (3) sending an e-gift certificate.
E-gift cards are frequently touted as the perfect last-minute gift in subject lines and body copy. To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some promoting e-gift cards: Coldwater Creek, 12/20/10 Last 3 days! $5 Christmas Delivery + 25% off. Or shop EGift Cards L.L. Bean, 12/21/10 Email Gift Cards--Delivered Today Orvis, 12/22/10 The perfect last-minute gift - an Orvis email gift certificate! RitzCamera, 12/22/10 Need A Last Minute Gift? Online Gift Cards Are A Perfect Fit!
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Crutchfield, 12/22/10 It's not too late - email them a Crutchfield Gift Card Cabelas, 12/22/10 The perfect last-minute gift: Cabela's eGift Cards! J. Jill, 12/23/10 Need a gift by tomorrow? Send the J. Jill e-gift card! Old Navy, 12/23/10 GiftCards by Email: Finish Your Shopping Instantly! Buy.com, 12/23/10 Price Drops, Gift Certificates - Send Instantly by E-mail - Over 9 Million Products Home Depot, 12/23/10 eGift Cards Make a Great Last Minute Gift + 40% Off Holiday Decor Nordstrom, 12/23/10 It's Not Too Late! Send a Virtual Gift Card Today Musicians Friend, 12/23/10 Musician's Friend: Quick Delivery On The BEST LastMinute Gift: E-Certificates! Bass Pro Shops, 12/23/10 Instant delivery for that last minute gift CB2, 12/23/10 Still time to send our new eGift card. Drs. Foster & Smith, 12/23/10 Last Minute Gift Idea! Sportsmans Guide, 12/23/10 16-Pc. Forstner Bit Set under $15... eGift Certificates & New Catalog from The Guide Sears, 12/24/10 In-store, Online or eGift Cards -- wrap up your shopping at Sears! J. Crew, 12/24/10 Oops. Who'd you forget this year?
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or show gratitude to a customer for their participation in your email program. Seasons greetings messages are usuallybut not alwayspaired with secondary promotional messaging. Last year, significantly more retailers included promotional messaging in their seasons greeting emails than did in 2009. To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some offering seasons greetings: Office Depot, 12/20/10 Warmest Wishes From The Office Depot Family To Yours! The Company Store, 12/22/10 Happy Holidays + A Gift to bring in the New Year L.L. Bean, 12/23/10 Happy Holidays from L.L.Bean Williams-Sonoma, 12/24/10 Happy Holidays to You and Yours from Williams-Sonoma JC Whitney, 12/24/10 Happy Holidays - Wishing You The Best | JC Whitney Chadwicks, 12/24/10 Happy Holidays from Your Friends at CHADWICKS Orvis, 12/24/10 Merry Christmas from Orvis! Oriental Trading, 12/24/10 Merry Christmas Chad from Oriental Trading Sony, 12/24/10 Cheers To a Wonderful Holiday Season | From the Sony Family Costco, 12/24/10 Thank you and Happy Holidays from Costco.com Land End, 12/25/10 A very merry thank you: $1000s in Gift Cards for Lands' End fans. Sports Authority, 12/25/10 Happy Holidays - Special Christmas Offer Inside! Ann Taylor, 12/25/10 From Us, To You... Macys, 12/25/10 Merry Christmas! Enjoy Free Shipping + extra 15% or 10% off! Toys R Us, 12/25/10 Merry Christmas From "R" Family to Yours! Bloomingdales, 12/25/10 Happy Holidays! Happy Savings! Urban Outfitters, 12/25/10 Happy Holly Daze: Take 50% Off Sale In Stores
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In this Dec. 25, 2010 email, Musicians Friend uses the familiar post-Christmas meme of Get What You Really Wanted.
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Wal-Mart, 12/26/10 Hurry! Shop Our End-of-Year Clearance Event, While Supplies Last Ann Taylor, 12/26/10 Up to 50% Off: Semi-Annual Sale Starts Today In-Store & Online Sierra Trading Post, 12/26/10 EXTRA 25% OFF + EXTRA 20-30% OFF Warehouse Sale! Chadwicks, 12/26/10 The BIG After-Christmas Sale's On! Avon, 12/26/10 After Christmas Spree Starts Today - SAVE UP TO 50% Omaha Steaks, 12/26/10 48 HOURS ONLY! After Christmas Sale - Save up to 67% L.L. Bean, 12/26/10 Save up to 60% at Our Biggest Sale of the Season Crate & Barrel, 12/26/10 Up to 50% off Winter Clearance Sale starts today (select furniture, too!) Alloy, 12/26/10 End of Season Clearance: Up to 80% Off + Free Shipping SmartBargains, 12/26/10 AFTER HOLIDAY SALE & CLEARANCE | 2 Days Left Norm Thompson, 12/27/10 Save up to 91% at Winter Sale. New Markdowns too! Ross-Simons, 12/27/10 After Christmas Clearance Sale Hurry for Best Selection! Oriental Trading, 12/27/10 Save up to 75% & stock up for next year. Shipping is free Spiegel, 12/27/10 Our Year-End CLEARANCE EVENT Starts TODAY! Up to 80% OFF! Target, 12/28/10 Merry Clearance: Save up to 75% on all sorts of great finds. Musicians Friend, 12/28/10 Musician's Friend: New Winter Sale Rebates & Discounts Up To 93% - Going Fast! Urban Outfitters, 12/28/10 The Get What You Really Wanted SALE! Barnes & Noble, 12/28/10 Now Treat Yourself. Save 50% in Our After Holiday Sale! Dell, 12/29/10 Get a great deal on the gift you really wanted - DROID X BY MOTOROLA HSN, 12/29/10 SAVE UP TO 60%! Biggest Clearance Markdowns of 2010 Williams-Sonoma, 12/30/10 New Reductions at Our Winter SALE Online & In Stores Save Up to 75%
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Christmas Day is the biggest day for gift card redemption messaging, with many seasons greetings emails including this messaging.
Since retailers cant book gift card values until theyre redeemed and the end of the year falls just a few days after Christmas, retailers moved quickly to spur redemptions last year, with 48% of emails referencing gift card redemptions coming before New Years Day. While a few retailers sent emails dedicated to the redemption of gift cards, most included the messaging in a secondary banner. Often gift card redemption messages were accompanied by after-Christmas sale promotions or spring collection announcements.
In this Dec. 27, 2010 email, Toys R Us combines gift card redemption messaging with upsell messaging about accessories.
To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some promoting gift card redemptions: Sams Club, 12/25/10 Treat yourself! Redeem your Sam's Club Gift Cards online anytime Target, 12/26/10 Your GiftCards + our gadgets = goodness. Dicks Sporting Goods, 12/31/10 Not Sure What to Get with Your Gift Card? We Can Help!
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Shop for accessories for your gift. Shop for apps and other digital content for your gift. Learn more about how to get the most out of your gifts (with links to user guides, forums and other resources).
In this Dec. 28, 2010 email, Sony takes the novel approach of promoting their EcoTrade program, which allows people to cash in their old electronics.
To help you craft your own subject lines, here are some going after upsell opportunities: Barnes & Noble, 12/25/10 Read It Now! Get Our Apps for Your New Gadget Alibris, 12/26/10 Santa says: fill your new eReader with Google eBooks, Book Lover Sony, 1/12/11 20% OFF Sony Accessories | Offer Ends on 1/15
Conclusion
We sincerely hope that these benchmarks, examples and pieces of advice help make your email marketing results merrier this holiday season. To review: 1. Start with a thorough review of your holiday email campaigns from the last year or two to determine what to repeat, tweak, and avoid. 2. Determine a strategy for safely increasing your email frequency during the holiday season. 3. Get your holiday emails going early with a slow buildup. 4. Devise a strategy for standing out in the inbox. 5. Change your messaging over the course of the holiday season to improve relevance, stay fresh, and maximize urgency.
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About Responsys
Responsys is the leading provider of email and cross-channel marketing solutions that enable companies to engage in relationship marketing across the interactive channels customers are embracing todayemail, mobile, social and the web. With Responsys solutions, marketers can create, execute, and automate highly dynamic campaigns and lifecycle marketing programs that are designed to grow revenue, increase marketing efficiency, and strengthen customer loyalty. Responsys New School Marketing vision, flexible on-demand application suite, and customer success-focused services aim to deliver high ROI, increased levels of automation and fast time-to-value. Founded in 1998, Responsys is headquartered in San Bruno, California and has offices throughout the world. Responsys serves world-class brands such as: Brooks Brothers, Hanover Direct, Lands End, LEGO, Newegg, Nutrisystem, and Onlineshoes.com. responsys.com
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