If you’re like most email marketers, your holiday campaigns are already underway. But just in case you need another reason to reach out to your subscribers, use these November 2016 email ideas to drive some last-minute holiday engagement.
November 2016 Holidays and Themes
U.S. Presidential Election, 11/8
You don’t have to get political in your emails to take advantage of the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Use these ideas as inspiration.
- On election day, many of your subscribers will be on the go as they travel to and from the polls. Make sure that any emails you send on November 8th are mobile-optimized.
- Want to take your mobile emails a step further? Use device detection to promote your mobile app to anyone opening your emails on their smartphone or mobile device.
- Gamification can boost email engagement like crazy. Consider creating a fun live poll as a diversion from the election. Ask your subscribers to choose between their favorite products or get creative ask something totally-off-the-wall.
Thanksgiving, 11/24
Hit send with caution this Thanksgiving: while some of your subscribers will be opening emails, others will traveling or unplugged entirely. Use these ideas to guide your Thanksgiving campaigns.
- Consider delivering daily deals a week or more before Thanksgiving to take advantage of early bird shoppers. Use content automation to pull the latest sales from your website to make your email workflow easier.
- Since so many of your subscribers will be traveling, use geo-targeting to help them find your nearest store location.
- No matter where your subscriber spend the holiday, you can use weather personalization to promote warm or cold weather products.
Black Friday, 11/25
Just in case you missed our Getting Ready for Black Friday webinar, it’s packed with tips to help you send successful Black Friday campaigns. Here are a few more tips to optimize your Black Friday campaigns.
- Black Friday is a great opportunity to promote email-exclusive deals. If you want to drive foot traffic to your stores, consider a limited-time promo code that your customers receive via email and use in store. Add geo-targeting to help them find your stores.
- Use time targeting to run daily offers, and swap out expired offers for new ones to ensure you’re always sending fresh content.
- Promote time-sensitive reveals – like a certain percentage off or a freebie – with a countdown timer.
Small Business Saturday, 11/27
There’s no doubt that lots of shopping will be happening the weekend after Thanksgiving, and Small Business Saturday is no exception.
- Even if you’re not a small business, consider partnering with a local one – like a nonprofit – to promote a good cause. Use live polling in your email campaign to drive donations, like British Heart Foundation did.
- Every business started somewhere. Use email as an opportunity to tell your story of how your company grew, and include a special discount to celebrate.
- Run a social campaign encouraging your followers to shop small, and include a live social feed in your emails to pull in hashtags or photos related to your campaign.
Cyber Monday, 11/28
Cyber Monday and email marketing go together like peanut butter and jelly. Here are a few last-minute ways you can take advantage of the biggest online shopping holiday of the year.
- Add an evergreen shipping banner to your emails that tells your customers how much time they have to place their online orders.
- Since so many of your customers will be placing orders online, consider pulling in live order tracking information to help people easily check their order status.
- Considering about 68% of online shoppers abandon their carts, a cart abandonment email is essential for any online retailer. Be sure to add one to your holiday campaign so you don’t miss out on any sales!
A few more November 2016 email ideas
Need more holiday email inspiration? Check the recording of our webinar, Steal These Ideas: Your 2016 Holiday Inspiration Guide. If you’re curious about using live data in your campaigns, watch the recording of Delivering a Better Holiday Experience with Live Data.