The holiday season is a time of sparkle and shimmer, celebrating with family and friends and, of course, massive retail frenzy. The National Retail Federation is predicting 2016 will be a banner year, with holiday sales up 3.6% to $655.8B, well above the 10-year average.
Online shopping is expected to be more popular than ever, with 6.8% more consumers going online for holiday gifts compared to last year, firmly positioning online retailers among the top 3 places to shop this season, virtually tied with department and discount stores. Not surprisingly, an easy-to-navigate web or mobile site and free shipping have become two of the primary factors shoppers look for in choosing a retailer.
Of course, all of this excitement also means that consumers will be inundated with an avalanche of holiday offers from a multitude of sources—direct mail, TV and radio, search, online and mobile ads, and especially email. With search and online ads coming increasingly under fire by ad blocking technologies, and the overwhelming amount of email flooding into consumers’ inboxes, it’s extremely difficult to rise above the noise to have your messages heard—and to do it in short order. Like, yesterday.
So, let’s get busy. Here are 8 simple, surefire ways to boost holiday revenue fast:
Send daily special alerts.
Maximize your email investment by using a web scrape function to pre-configure daily alert emails that automatically populate with a snapshot of your home page or other holiday features page. Within minutes, you’ve created a new way to engage subscribers with very little added time and effort.
Create can’t-miss urgency with countdown timers.
According to the NRF, almost 20% of shoppers won’t even begin their shopping until December, which means the pressure is on to find the perfect gift in time. Capitalize on that urgency by emailing limited time offers featuring a dynamic countdown timer to reinforce the need to act now to get the best deal or limited stock before it runs out.
Add 3rd party branded emails.
Partnering with a third-party brand to distribute each other’s branded emails to existing mailing lists is a great way to dramatically increase exposure for both sides and drive sales. Whether it’s a for-profit entity or a nonprofit organization you support with a holiday fundraiser, sharing the mutual love that is your very valuable email databases is an excellent way to expand awareness and engagement.
Advertise in email newsletters.
Is there a publisher, sports team or other entity that distributes a regular email newsletter targeting your demographic? Add your holiday ad to have your holiday specials automatically distributed in newsletters from brands you can trust. It’s simple, effective and you pay only for the impressions/clicks your ad generates, so it’s easy to manage your budget.
Invite ads into your newsletter distribution.
Are you the publisher? You’re in luck! Adding recommended content into your existing newsletter templates is incredibly easy. By placing advertisements into your e-newsletters, they easily pay for themselves and then some, to help you AND your advertisers boost revenue.
Use ad server technology for emails too.
Using your existing online ad server platform provides detailed CPM-style tracking for email ad impressions, enabling you to bill accurately for email and online ad inventory in a single dashboard. Conveniently extend your current investments into your email distribution to add additional holiday revenue.
Turn on the glitz with flashy features.
Adding a bit of pizazz to your email marketing campaigns can help grab customers’ attention with a bit of eye candy that stands out from the traditional static emails they’re used to seeing. Adding a pop-up box, marquee flash or shimmer treatment not only draws attention but also appeals to the senses with a “wow” factor that prompts customers to take action.
Make buying incredibly simple with one-click add to cart.
You’ve got them right where you want them, now make it outrageously easy for your customers to seal the deal by adding a one-click buying option to your emails. That featured product? Instead of making it a clickable link to the product page, make it an automatic add-to-cart. This not only reduces friction in the purchase process but also capitalizes on impulse buying habits.
The holiday season is make-it-or-break-it for many retailers, and because of the intense pressure, marketers are tempted to pull out all of the stops when it comes to discounts and advertising spend. But, the truth is, with a few creative tactics applied in the email marketing you’re already doing, it’s extremely easy and very affordable to significantly boost holiday sales and build the credibility, awareness and loyalty that enhances your brand year-round.
Need some help with these foolproof tactics? Let Jeeng give you a hand. Contact us now!
