If you’ve been thinking about running an opt-in product quiz for site browsers, holiday season is a great time to go for it.
Customer decision fatigue is high – there are so many new brands being thrown at them in ads, so many people they want to buy gifts for, so many promos they’re not sure if they should take advantage of – and the biggest killer for conversions is indecision.
Not only will you show up as the savior, guiding them to the perfect product and helping them take action, but you’ll also be gathering amazing segmentation data that’ll turn your holiday emails from generic to personal. (Not to mention how useful this data will be post-holiday, when you shift your email strategy to focus on retaining all the new customers you spent lotsa ad money acquiring.)
The more emails you can trigger based on subscriber behavior, the better. Again, subscribers are browsing a hundred different brands and products and promos – and distraction and decision fatigue are at all-time highs.
Triggering emails based on interest and engagement will keep your brand accessible and top of mind – exactly when your subscriber is primed to open and engage.
Just don’t stop at the classic “we saw you looking” abandoned cart style email. Because it’s not just distraction and fatigue – there’s a lot of brand confusion and overlap too.
Make sure your triggered emails are addressing your brand differentiators – as well as any objections your subscribers have to purchasing.
Oh and if you’re selling high-ticket products, sending a 1:1 style email from a salesperson dedicated to answering their questions is a surefire way to build the trust your subscriber needs to say yes.
A great way to test offers and content is to run a presale for your VIP customer segment. Your presale can feature a couple of different offers – and the winning offer becomes your main holiday offer – or you can A/B test different messaging options and use the winners during the main event.
Holiday season is your chance to take risks, push your boundaries, and test the crazy ideas that you’re usually too scared to try.
There’s so much going on in your audience’s inbox that being unique is a great way to stand out.
And if you’re risk averse, take heart: Within such a flood of emails (and other marketing messages, across all the other platforms your audience uses!), your press time is way shorter than usual. A failed risk during the holiday season just won’t do the kind of damage that it would do in the middle of the slow summer season. But a successful risk? It’ll pay off in attention precisely when attention is so rare.
Some of my favorite “fresh” ideas from past holiday seasons:
All such different ideas – some big, some small – and they can all tie into your overall strategy too. Don’t overthink it, just go for it!
Segmentation and personalization are awesome, but be careful with product- and category-based targeting during the holiday season. Because subscribers are shopping more for others, the kinds of products they’re interested in can shift dramatically from what they were browsing and buying earlier in the year. That can lead to personalization misfires. It can also lead to subscribers being excluded from campaigns or dynamic modules they might actually be interested in.
Triggered emails are the silent superstars of the holiday season. And you can make them even more super with a few adjustments. First, look for opportunities to add seasonal messaging to some of your automation, such as cart abandonment, browse abandonment, back-in-stock, and welcome emails. Second, if you suppress promotional emails during your onboarding series, turn off that suppression, since promotions are why people sign up during the holiday season. And third, dramatically reduce (or eliminate) the delay in sending cart and browse abandonment emails, since buying decisions get made much more quickly during the holiday season, especially on days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Clarity and urgency are the most compelling subject line tactics you can use during the holiday season. People are extra hurried, so being able to understand what your email is offering at a glance is extra critical. Highlighting deadlines is also powerful, but make sure not to overuse this tactic as it will lose its power.
Simple animations can be very effective at drawing subscribers' attention to key messages in your campaigns. However, think twice before investing in larger interactive elements like videos and gamification during the holiday season. Inboxes are full and subscribers are moving quickly from message to message and often don’t take the time to engage with interactive elements like they would at other times of the year. The right content can break through, but recognize that the bar is extra high.
Would you give the same gift to everyone you know? Of course not! The same principle applies to email marketing. During the holidays, when inboxes are flooded and attention spans are short, advanced segmentation is crucial. Your subscribers are more selective with their time, so while some may appreciate fewer, more curated emails, others will respond best to highly personalized, frequent messaging.
A key strategy for global brands is to tailor holiday visuals and messaging based on geolocation. For example, while traditional winter imagery might resonate with audiences in the Northern Hemisphere, it could feel out of place for subscribers in the Southern Hemisphere, where December is a warm month. By customizing your content to reflect local climates and cultural nuances, you can create a more relevant and engaging experience for your entire audience. Ultimately, it’s about giving each subscriber the gift of content that feels uniquely suited to them.
My first step in optimizing triggered email workflows during the holidays is to conduct a thorough audit. I’d recommend reviewing your automated emails to pause or adjust any that promote non-essential actions or create a false sense of urgency. The idea here being that you probably don’t want your brand associated with creating added stress around the holidays!
Beyond that, consider adding or updating triggers to capitalize on holiday-specific behaviors. For example, set up abandoned cart or wish list reminders with a festive twist, or trigger a “last-minute gift” email for customers who browse but don’t buy within a certain timeframe. Adding this last one to the mix can also be an opportunity to remind customers of a specific delivery deadline, or have a digital product on offer for those who miss that deadline.
At Semrush, we’ve found great success with advent calendar emails leading up to the end of the year; turning them into an engaging way to highlight top-performing content that subscribers might have missed. This format is not only festive but also versatile—it can be easily adapted beyond the holidays to fit various campaign goals. Whether you're promoting special offers, building anticipation for a product launch, or sharing valuable educational content, an advent-style email can keep your audience engaged with a sense of anticipation and discovery.
Gamification is another powerful tool, particularly during the holiday season when people are more inclined to seek out activities that help them unwind and de-stress. However, it’s crucial that these interactive elements are thoughtfully integrated with your brand message and provide real value to the recipient. Otherwise, it risks becoming just another distraction in a crowded holiday inbox, no matter how visually appealing it might be!
I’m a big fan of emojis in general, but they’re not always the best email tactic in your subject line toolbox. Emojis often saturate inboxes around the holidays, so if emojis are your typical M.O. you may want to try differentiating your emails this season by trying out other tactics.
For example, you can test different angles with your subject lines such as invoking “cozy rest & relaxation” vibes (e.g. 7 marketing tips sweeter than hot chocolate) or even a “celebratory spirit” (e.g. This offer is something to sing about!). On the flip side, if you’re a brand that never uses emojis, the holidays might be the best time to try…
It’s essential to remember that not everyone celebrates the same holidays—or any holidays at all. Some people may even have negative associations with this time of year. If your brand is new to incorporating a holiday theme into your emails, A/B testing is your best friend. By testing different versions of your emails with a variety of content, you can discover what resonates most with your diverse audience.
Start by experimenting with non-denominational imagery and themes. Instead of relying solely on traditional holiday symbols, try incorporating visual elements that can appeal to a wide range of celebrations. For example, stars, sparkles, twinkling lights, cookies, and gifts are versatile icons that can evoke the festive spirit without being tied to a specific holiday. A/B testing these seasonal or festive elements vs. holiday-specific elements allows you to gather valuable insights into what drives engagement and positive responses across different segments of your audience.
The holiday season increases our appetite for storytelling (and cookies), making it an ideal time to craft cohesive narratives across all marketing channels. Email is a powerful starting point for your brand’s message, offering a testing ground for offers that can later be expanded to social media, SMS, and web.
Storytelling isn’t just about the words—it’s about presentation. Vary your content formats with videos, images, and both short and long-form text to engage different audience preferences. In other words, build an omnichannel gingerbread house.
When planning your retargeting strategy, don’t forget about those early holiday shoppers. Extend your retargeting window to re-engage these customers effectively, and encourage satisfied users to "spread the cheer" through referrals or reviews. For e-commerce brands, you can prompt past buyers with messages like, "Loving your [product]? Why not gift one this season? Get [X]% off!"
As the holiday season approaches, email marketers are gearing up for one of the most competitive times of the year. With inboxes overflowing with offers, how can you ensure your emails not only stand out but also drive consistent engagement? One powerful approach is to connect with your subscribers when they’re already active on your website and to employ the timeless tactic of an advent calendar to keep them eagerly anticipating your next message.
One of the most effective ways to capture your audience’s attention is to reach out when they’re already interacting with your brand. By leveraging real-time website activity data, you can send personalized, timely emails that resonate with what your subscribers are currently browsing or considering. For instance, if a visitor is looking at a specific product category, you can trigger an email offering a limited-time discount on those items, or suggest complementary products. This not only increases the likelihood of a conversion but also enhances the overall customer experience by making your emails feel like a natural extension of their online journey.
To keep your audience engaged throughout the holiday season, consider implementing an advent calendar-style email campaign. This approach not only taps into the excitement of daily surprises but also builds a sense of urgency and anticipation that keeps subscribers coming back day after day.
Each day, reveal a new offer, piece of content, or exclusive deal that aligns with your overall marketing strategy. For example, you might start with small discounts or tips on days leading up to larger promotions or product launches. To further drive engagement, you can create a narrative that ties each day’s offer to the previous one, encouraging subscribers to stay tuned for the full story.
Your data is your most powerful tool for creating relevant, compelling offers. By analyzing past purchase behavior, browsing history, and engagement metrics, you can tailor each day’s advent calendar offer to resonate more deeply with different segments of your audience. For instance, if a segment of your subscribers consistently engages with a particular product line, you can prioritize offers related to that line.
However, remember that if the data doesn’t support your hypothesis, it’s time to either find new data or adjust your strategy. For example, if you notice that a particular offer isn’t driving the expected engagement, dig deeper into your data to understand why, and pivot your approach accordingly.
To maximize the effectiveness of these strategies, incorporate advanced segmentation and personalization techniques. Use data from previous interactions to tailor the advent calendar experience for different segments of your audience. For example, send different offers to high-value customers compared to new subscribers, or customize the content based on their previous purchases or browsing history.
Creating advanced segmentation and personalisation is key to creating highly targeted campaigns. Long gone are the days of successful (if they ever were) spray-and-pray techniques. Subscribers now want relevant information and products—things they are interested in—and the best way to do this is to use all the data you have to create segmentations based on their behaviour and utilise this within the emails to get them engaging and, in turn, spending.
There are many ways to utilise triggered email workflows—too many to mention here—but to be holiday-specific, you need to understand where a customer is within their journey. Different journeys require different emails; there’s no point in trying to upsell to someone who has never purchased, or treating subscribers like they are new when they’ve been with you for years. Optimising triggered workflows can help. Base a workflow on browser behaviour. For example, if someone is looking at X, send them information about that product during a campaign. Use a flow to follow up and target those who click through, and you’ll see your engagement go through the roof.
I have said it time and time again—I love GIFs. In my experience, they outperform static images most of the time. If you have anything that can improve engagement—be it GIFs, videos, or surveys—it’s a plus in my book. But don’t just do it for the sake of doing it; make sure there is a strategy behind it.
Please don’t use something that every other business uses. Try to stand out from the crowd while still being relevant to the email’s content. Imagine how many 'Black Friday Sale Now On' subject lines a subscriber sees—be different.
Utilising the data you have is key to fine-tuning your content, and we all know the best way to do this is by creating dynamic content that changes depending on who sees it. If you know they are interested in X products or services—especially if they haven’t bought before—why would you send them something unrelated? This is where data is key.
Then again, A/B testing is just as important. Whether it’s email layout, button changes, or from names, and so much more, you need to have a hypothesis and test it, one element at a time.
By aligning email campaigns with an omnichannel strategy, you help create consistent messaging throughout, ensuring you enhance the customer experience no matter where they are in their journey. Remember, email is crucial for both pre- and post-purchase, and not having a strategy that links all channels would be naive.
Email Marketing Consultant, Email Monday; Founder and Chief, Email Vendor Selection
You can think of the holiday period as if it‘s one big campaign. A great jump off point, because it frees up your hands to shake things up a bit with a different cadence, offers and content than the rest of the year. It can give your holiday emails that extra charm and extra conversions.
You can get more creative with one type of campaign I like; an advent calendar-style email series. It gives you a framework to offer a daily email – but actually way more potent because you have more freedom than most marketers realise.
The core is to unlock a new promotion with a specific deal every day. It is a good concept to spread out your content and offers and highlight each of them without diffusing attention.
One of the smartest things that I saw is to include callbacks / look forward with labels like “Most popular”, ”Extended”, “Going on now”, “Today’s offer”, and “Next up.” Instead of keeping very strict to the one deal per day, these labels give you more wiggle room to have multiple days of promotion.
Around Black Friday, it is all about the offer. People tend to forget: great offers lead to better sales results. But around #BFCM, brands slash prices, killing profit margins. Here are 6 ways to protect your margin – while still sending valuable offers.
Running smarter price promotions:
And finally, run multiple different offers during Black Friday one after the other instead of just one promotion during the whole period this will allow you to have multiple relevant communications and offer deadlines.
Your holiday email plan + the notes from this year will be your blueprint for the campaign for next year. So the crucial bit is to plan out your email in advance. Best thing we ever did was let everyone on your team keep track and note down success and possible improvements during the campaigns. This will save you a lot of time next year.
If you’re a high-volume sender, in ecommerce or even in B2B, be sure to have scaling in the back of your mind. Depending on how well your campaigns are doing, response rates are, your inventory is looking – so you can scale up and down. And a contingency in case “just everything goes wrong”. That’s a real lifesaver.
Standing out in the inbox is crucial during the holiday season. Try to think outside of the box and instead of going big with tons of animations and heavily-designed emails, think about utilizing plain text to keep your messages short and straightforward.
By opting for a minimalist approach, you cut through the holiday clutter and deliver a personal, authentic touch that resonates more deeply than flashy HTML designs. Focus on crafting a concise, heartfelt message (like a simple letter from the founder/owner) that gets straight to the point, capturing attention without overwhelming your readers. This helps with readability and deliverability and helps your email feel like a genuine note from a friend, making it more likely to be noticed and appreciated amidst the holiday rush.
Below is an example of a simple plain text email (with a funny GIF) that really stood out to me last holiday. Sometimes simpler is better when there is so much holiday noise.
I love the end-of-year period for all the fun and creative email campaigns it brings. However, it's important not to focus too much on what competitors are doing. Instead, concentrate on your own brand and strategy. Look for the best ways to implement your overall end-of-year (EOY) campaign through email marketing and CRM.
One of the most underutilized strategies is applying behavioral science and marketing psychology to optimize your EOY strategy—this includes your email concepts, copy, design, and everything around it. It's crucial to know your customer and understand their "job to be done." Focus on engaging the intuitive, emotional side of your audience to prompt action, rather than just presenting dry facts.
I like to think of EOY campaigns as similar to a product launch—you work towards the big event well in advance. Priming your subscribers, building anticipation, informing them, gathering data, and engaging them before the launch can be very effective.
Today, segmentation and personalization are much easier to implement. However, it's important not to overdo it. You need to find a balance between relevance and simplicity. I advise keeping some parts of the email simple while personalizing others. This approach ensures you remain relevant without overwhelming the recipient.
It's always beneficial when a company strives to be as relevant as possible, even with automated flows. Incorporating seasonal elements into your emails and automated workflows can enhance relevance during specific times of the year.
It's also important to note that many first-time purchases happen during the EOY season due to promotions and discounts. Therefore, revisiting your welcome flow is crucial. Ensure it's up-to-date and effective so you can onboard new customers in the best way possible. A good onboarding process is essential for long-term retention.
Interactive elements can be valuable, but I recommend using them only if they support the main message and are essential to the campaign. There's always a tradeoff between the resources invested and the return on investment. I especially advise against using GIFs or videos just to make the email look festive without adding real value. It's important to keep accessibility in mind when developing these elements.
Recently, I attended a conference showcasing various types of email interactivity. I was surprised by the range of options now available, such as in-email shopping, filling out forms within emails, selecting products, and more. This type of interactivity is still quite new and not widely used, but early results and case studies are very positive.
I usually focus on two approaches for subject lines:
You can further enhance these tactics by incorporating additional copywriting and persuasion techniques, as well as personalization, to highly amplify their impact
While the advice "you should always be testing" is ideal, it's nearly impossible for many companies due to the resources required. I want to reassure email marketers who aren't able to test frequently that it's okay! You are not alone…
However, it's essential to use as many customer insights as possible — such as website behavior, purchasing insight, click behavior, zero party data… to optimize your campaigns and emails. This data is crucial for making informed decisions.
Most Email Service Providers (ESPs) now offer send-time optimization. If your campaign isn't time-sensitive, I highly recommend using this feature to increase engagement and conversions.
This has been an emerging trend over the past few years but was previously quite rare and not extensively implemented. With improved tools and increased maturity, more companies are starting to create seamless omnichannel experiences mainly through owned channels like email, websites, SMS, and apps. Using your own data eliminates the need to share and combine data with third-party platforms. Which in Europe can be quite difficult or sensitive.
I believe the rise of Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) or composable CDPs will make orchestrating these experiences much easier for marketers. However, many companies aren't there yet, and the complexity of setting this up shouldn't be underestimated. And I think email will still be the main output channel used in CDPs for a long time. Email isn’t going anywhere, if you were wondering. 😉
Triggered email workflows, such as abandoned cart, post-purchase, and browse abandonment emails, are essential during the holiday season when every touchpoint counts. To fully capitalize on the holiday rush, consider these strategic enhancements:
Abandoned cart emails are critical, especially during the holidays when shoppers are overwhelmed with choices and often distracted by competing offers. The key is to create urgency while offering an incentive that compels them to return.
Browse abandonment emails target customers who showed interest in specific products but didn’t add them to their cart. Unlike cart abandonment, the focus here is on re-engaging the customer by providing value through personalized recommendations and discovery.
Post-purchase emails are not just about thanking customers—they’re an opportunity to deepen the relationship and drive repeat sales during the season when they’re likely shopping for more than one person.
Move beyond generic discounts by offering tailored, interactive experiences. Incorporating a gift-finder quiz directly within your email can be a powerful way to help recipients discover the perfect product for their needs, whether for themselves or as holiday gifts. Ask a few fun, personalized questions (e.g., “What’s your holiday shopping personality?” or “Who are you shopping for?”), and based on their responses, offer curated product suggestions and exclusive offers.
Engage your audience in decision-making by incorporating real-time polls or voting elements within your holiday emails. This transforms recipients from passive readers into active participants, allowing them to help shape product selections, holiday themes, or even upcoming promotions. It also provides valuable insights into what products or offers your customers are most excited about, allowing you to tailor future campaigns in real-time.
Interactive emails can also feature real-time elements that change based on external factors, making your campaigns feel timely and urgent. Real-time content, such as live inventory updates, local weather-based product suggestions, or countdown timers, can create a sense of immediacy, making recipients feel like they need to act now.
Make your emails inherently shareable by embedding social-media-friendly interactive elements, such as a “Share Your Wishlist” feature that allows customers to build and send their holiday wish lists directly from the email. This not only amplifies your reach but also taps into peer recommendations, making it easier for shoppers to communicate what they want.
The holiday season is a make-or-break time for many businesses, and A/B testing in the months leading up to this critical period can provide invaluable data that will help you optimize your campaigns for maximum impact. By running controlled experiments early, you can gather insights that inform your holiday strategies, ensuring you launch campaigns that resonate with your audience and drive conversions when it matters most.
Here are some examples of A/B testing to run before the holiday season:
A cohesive, omnichannel experience is key to maximizing your holiday marketing impact. Integrate email with other marketing channels such as social media, SMS, and your website for a seamless customer journey.
Ensure consistent messaging across email, social media, SMS, and your website to build brand recognition and trust. Align holiday promotions, visuals, and offers across all platforms, using cohesive branding and festive themes to create a seamless customer experience.
Use email data to retarget engaged but non-converting subscribers on other platforms like social media. Retargeting ads with exclusive holiday offers or discounts can nudge subscribers to return and complete purchases, reinforcing your message across multiple channels.
Integrate email with in-store promotions for a true omnichannel experience. Use geo-targeted emails with local store incentives or offers that encourage visits, creating a bridge between online engagement and physical shopping.
Incorporate user-generated content (UGC) and social proof in your emails, social media, and website. Featuring real customer reviews and holiday experiences builds trust and encourages others to engage, creating a feedback loop that enhances your omnichannel presence.
Ensure your emails flow seamlessly into your website experience with consistent messaging and dynamic landing pages. Align holiday email promotions with dedicated landing pages that feature the same products, offers, and visuals, reducing friction and driving conversions.
Use email to drive social media and SMS engagement. Encourage email subscribers to follow your brand on social platforms for exclusive holiday content, or sign up for SMS updates to receive time-sensitive holiday offers and promotions.
Track engagement across email, social media, SMS, and other channels to optimize your messaging in real-time. Use data insights to tweak your holiday campaigns, amplifying what works and adjusting underperforming content across all touchpoints.
Do the unexpected. Lots of brands will lean into sales and % off promotions. Your brand may need to as well. That's fine. Do other engagement sends as well. Add value to the relationship. Educate them on your products and services in addition to selling them. Make it easy for them to buy by telling them why they should.
Make sure your triggers are omni-channel. Email is great for automated reminders and so are SMS and push notifications. Using all three in tandem makes the likelihood of response that much higher. For email specifically, make sure you balance the needs of campaigns with triggers. When customers enter your automated flows, hold them out of campaigns unless they're absolutely critical. The right message at that time for that customer is the triggered flow. Put more simply: do they really need an abandoned cart flow AND your sales email or newsletter that day?
This also relates to being different during this busy inbox season. Consumers are super busy. Using the unexpected to engage them will keep them clicking. Link to videos, use GIFs in unique ways (e.g. countdown clocks, cinemagraphs, flipbooks, mystery % off, hide and reveal products). Have fun with season favorites like the 12 days of Christmas that reveal a new offer each day via an animated reveal.
Use AI? Yes! Take your best copywriting ideas, put them in your favorite generative AI tool and ask for 10 additional options. Will they be on brand, maybe not. That said, you'll have 10 new ideas that will spark your creative juices.
In Q4, test things that you can act on that same week. This is not the best time for a multi-week test (unless you're already preparing for the 2025 holiday). I love simple segmentation tests like knowing what's the best engagement audience for multi sends per week or per day. Grab a holdout from your additional sends to understand the incremental value of each send. Look at the impact opt outs, clicks, revenue and other KPIs. Another test that could prove valuable is knowing how re-sends to clickers works for your brand. If a customer clicks but doesn't purchase during a critical sale, set up a reminder for later that day (for those who would not fall into an abandonment flow).