When the word “holiday" is mentioned, you should keep in mind it means more than just the end of the year. Yes, November and December represent the holy grail of online sales for many businesses, but holidays such a Valentine’s Day count as well. Throw in birthdays, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day and so on and you have a lot of opportunities to generate holiday sales. Put in simple terms, the following strategy can be used multiple times throughout the year, not just at Christmas.
The email holiday strategy is all about generating revenues from past customers. These individuals have proven they will buy from you, so it is highly likely they will do so again if they are compelled to act. The nature of holidays is such that they are compelled to act because who really wants to go to the mall? The ability to point and click is something a vast number of people take advantage of when buying gifts. You must take advantage of this.
The email holiday strategy is two fold. First, the goal is to get emails out to previous clients on a timed basis leading up to the final day you can ship whatever you are selling and still have it get to the client. Second, the goal is to get multiple emails out to the past customers on a shrinking time basis. By shrinking, I mean the first email should go out roughly 6 to 8 weeks before the holiday. The second email should then go out a week later. As you approach the holiday, the emails should start going out every other day. When you get to within 7 days of your final shipping date, send them everyday.
Your email communications should also be tailored to benefit the client. The initial email communication should offer minor incentives. As you get closer to the final email offer, the incentives should improve. If people are forced to buy because they are running out of time, they will hop all over any offer they think is a good deal. Follow this incentives guideline and you can see conversion rates of 1 in 5 or better.
For many sites, holiday sales are the bulk of their revenues produced in a fiscal year. If you are in this situation, make sure you focus on all the holidays in the year and mine those former customers with email incentives.
