7 Tips to Wrap Up Holiday Sales

by Michelle Keegan, Constant Contact's Email Marketing Diva®

The holiday season is fast approaching, and with it comes the inevitable shopping frenzy.

Growth in spending is expected both online and offline. The National Retail Federation predicts 5%, and a recent Shop.org/BizRate online holiday spending study shows that 19 percent of online retailers are expecting holiday sales to double from 2004 and 54 percent expect to see growth between 20 and 99 percent!

This holiday season brings an abundance of opportunity for you to further your business.

On the consumer side, the Shop.org/BizRate study reports that 56 percent of people surveyed said they plan to start their holiday shopping via a merchant's Web site. In addition, 60 percent of consumers said they plan to start holiday marketing by the end of October. (Whoa, that's now!). This proves the need to start reaching out to customers early.

Thanks to the immediacy, ease and affordability of email marketing, you can still get your piece of the holiday pie.

Proactive communication with customers is the key to increased sales. This is even truer during the busy holiday shopping seasons when smaller retailers are competing for consumer attention and dollars. Email is the easiest, most affordable and effective tool for reaching out to customers and generating higher revenue. That's why email has become the marketing tool of choice for the savviest small online and offline retailers. How can you wrap up your holiday sales?

Let's talk turkey with 8 holiday email tips:

1. 'Tis the Season to Email Early
   Did you know that most of your colleagues and competitors are beginning to send their holiday email campaigns as you read this sentence? Like the above survey says, shoppers are buying early this year and you can capture their attention by planning and sending your campaigns in advance of the holiday shopping rush.
2. Provide an Incentive
   Free shipping is almost always the most popular and effective holiday incentive and this year will be no exception. Again, quoting the Shop.org/BizRate study: despite the recent surge in gas prices, 79% of multi-channel marketers plan to offer free shipping this year. This is directly in line with consumer preferences as 79% of consumers surveyed said that free shipping is an important factor in determining where to buy.

   In addition, the experts at NPD have predicted that this holiday season will be remembered as the year of giving to those in need. They say more individuals will give to the needy and buy products where the proceeds go to charities.

   Coupons are also very popular around the holidays. Allow or even encourage your email coupon to be forwarded to family and friends. Ask to add the friend's email address to your list when they redeem the coupon and build your list while you build your sales!

3. Create a Sense of Urgency
   For your promotion to work, you need to create a sense of urgency. The fact is, if recipients of your promotion do not respond very soon after they receive your promotion in their inboxes, they won't respond at all. Give them a reason to buy now by limiting the time period or quantity available.
4. Cut the Copy
   For your promotional communications, use shorter copy and more call-to-action links. Make your descriptions punchy and benefit-driven. Use a graphic that really does paint 1000 words and link to the appropriate page of your site for more information and purchase. Better yet, provide buy now buttons for faster purchases.
5. Remember the Basics
   • Permission
   • Targeting and relevance
   • A recognizable "From" line
   • An interesting "Subject" line with a benefit
6. Avoid spam-like tactics (in the from line, subject line and email copy)
   • ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
   • Red text
   • The words "click here" and "free" - especially in all capital letters
   • Excessive use of $$, and other symbols or too much punctuation!
   • Misleading or spam-like subject lines
7. Send an Email Holiday Greeting
   Finally, even if seasonality doesn't apply to your business, the end of the year is a great time to reach out to your customers, prospects or members. As the year winds down, what better time to thank your customers for their business all year long?

   Delivering your season's greetings via email, instead of postal mail, is 1) considerably less expensive, 2) a great time-saver and 3) a life-saver if you're down to the wire! Your prospects and customers will welcome a promotion-free communication, and appreciate your thoughtfulness.

In closing, your seasonal email marketing efforts can encourage customers to buy more, more often. They can also have a word-of-mouth (or viral marketing) effect and help you convert holiday gift buyers into long-term repeat business. Wrap up your holiday sales with email marketing: it's the gift that keeps on giving.

P.S. We're doing our own 2005 holiday business survey and we'd love your opinion! Please share your thoughts. The survey is quick and easy - your input will be invaluable. Plus, I'll publish results in the very next issue!

Michelle Keegan is the Email Marketing Diva® for Constant Contact® the leading Do-It-Yourself Email Marketing® provider for small and medium-sized businesses. Michelle has over 12 years of experience in sales and marketing and has spent the last 7 years focused on best practices in email marketing for small business.