‍
The holidays are quickly approaching, and if you haven’t started planning your e-commerce marketing strategy yet, you’re already behind. Never fear, because we have you covered with plenty of e-commerce ideas as you head into the busiest time of the year. Here are five key email marketing strategies to deploy this holiday season.  

1. The early bird gets the worm. 

Start early! Shoppers start scoping out the scene and make gift lists in October. 

‍

Send out a survey, send out an email, or implement a messaging pop-up surrounding the idea of subscribing to your newsletter list for exclusive holiday promos—beginning in October. As they’ve shown the intent of shopping with your brand, you have the opportunity to incentivize these shoppers differently. 

2. Map out your marketing calendar.  

Fail to plan, and plan to fail. Scope out your holiday marketing calendar and e-commerce business plan now. A best practice is to start planning promotions that will begin running in October and won’t stop until post-holiday in January. 

‍

Put thought into your promotional calendar, and align the sales with key holiday dates (i.e. “Last chance to get your order by Christmas Day!”). Don’t forget to be relatable. Since emails during the holiday season are extremely promotional and incentive-driven, stand out with creative copy and designs. 

3. Build robust cross-selling automation. 

“If you like this, you’ll like that.” Start thinking about products you can cross-sell with each other. Klaviyo has wonderful segmentation opportunities for you to really put a fine-tooth comb on who is looking at what from your audience. 

4. Timing is everything. 

Make sure you start your campaign a week before Black Friday/Cyber Monday, the biggest shopping days of the year. Inform your customers with a “sneak peak.”

‍

‍

You can't forget about your loyal shoppers after the holidays, either! Follow up a week after, request feedback, and invite them to revisit your store.

5. Don’t abandon your “Abandon Cart!” 

With abandoned cart emails, your customers will receive a follow-up email if they get to the checkout and fail to make a purchase. Think of it as a friendly reminder. As noted by SmartInsights, a special incentive to check out within this abandon cart email can increase sales by 34 percent.

Crank up Your Holiday Email Success 

Now that you know how to prepare your email marketing strategy for the holidays, you can start developing the right calendar and content to get results. However, if you’re feeling like you’re too overwhelmed and far behind, Hawke Media can refine your email content strategy for you! 

Our email marketing pros work with over 400 e-commerce brands, and you’ll have them at your disposal, as well as all of their professional resources and insights that can guarantee you holiday e-commerce success. To request a free consultation, fill out the form below.