Almost no matter what business you are in there will be a season, holiday or event that can fit with your sales and marketing campaign during the year. One of the best ways to leverage that seasonal tie in is through email marketing.

Let’s use an extremely obvious case for this example – a business that sells chocolate online in the form of bars, gift boxes and hampers. There are obvious holidays and events throughout the year that they can take advantage of to maximise sales.

One would be Easter, a traditional time of year for buying and consuming chocolate. A well planned email marketing campaign to an existing or newly bought mailing list would be an ideal way of generating more sales.

Timing

The timing of any email marketing campaign is vital, even more so when targeting a specific seasonal event. In the case of Easter, the first email in the campaign should be sent out two to three weeks before the holiday, perhaps with a discount offer or a newly created product – Easter eggs being the most obvious!

This should then be followed up a week later, then more frequently as the holiday gets closer. It is important not to send too many emails, as this would annoy recipients and could potentially get you black listed. A total of five to six emails should be enough.

It is also worth considering the day and time an email is sent based on your target market. In the case of Easter the market is likely to be parents of children so when are they most likely to read your email and act upon it? Research here is vital.

Content

We’ve already said that an email should contain an offer or bespoke product but it should contain some other things too. A clean layout, easy to read with a strong call to action and good imagery is key, as are simple instructions as to how to take advantage of what you are offering.

Each email you send should contain the same call to action, though varying the content around it will ensure your potential customers remain engaged and increase their likelihood to buy.

Follow Up

You can continue the success of a campaign beyond the specific holiday period for a brief period if you have planned it correctly.

As an example, if you offered a discount with a closing date for taking advantage – say midnight on Easter Sunday – you can then extend the offer for 24 hours and offer a “Last chance to buy” type message in your email marketing.

On the other hand, if you offered a new, bespoke product, such as limited edition Easter eggs, then you could market the fact that there are only a few left with a slightly different “Last chance to buy” message. You could even offer a ‘sale’ price at this point too.

Taking advantage of holiday periods and seasonal events through email marketing can increase sales and revenue dramatically if done right. Just make sure you put in the research and prepare well ahead of time to make sure you get the most out of it – and these guidelines apply to non-seasonal campaigns too!

Author Bio: Ben Greenwood is writing on behalf of Extravision, specialists in email marketing.

Category: Marketing
Keywords: email marketing, marketing campaign, online marketing seasonal marketing