Creative Christmas email strategies with examples

It’s no secret that Christmas is a huge marketing opportunity for retailers across the globe. With Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanza all falling around the same time, it feels like everyone everywhere is in the holiday spirit. 

With all this joy going around, you can use this as a chance to redirect some of that love to your business by boosting sales and increasing revenue.

The average American spends $998 on gifts, food, and decorations for the holidays, and a whopping $850 billion is predicted to be spent online in the weeks leading up to Christmas. 

Because everyone is jumping on the holiday marketing bandwagon, it is important to make sure your Christmas emails stand out in your subscribers’ inboxes.

We have compiled a list of creative Christmas email strategies to help you spread holiday cheer and gain a competitive edge.

Pre-Christmas email as a first touch

It feels like every year Christmas promotions start earlier and earlier. Before people can finish taking down their Halloween decorations, the Christmas decorations are already going up! 

People like to get their holiday shopping out of the way long before December, but how early is too early to start sending Christmas emails to customers? 

Statistics revealed that in 2020 up to 43% of shoppers started their holiday shopping before the end of October. So don’t be afraid to get the ball rolling earlier than later.

The faster you start your Christmas emails, the more likely you are to reach your subscribers before your competition. Remember, the early bird gets the worm!

Here are some examples of pre-Christmas emails to start getting your customers into a giving mood long before a white Christmas is on the horizon.

Countdown offers

Sending countdown offers is a great way to bring attention to the fact that the holidays are closer than people realize. The Countdown Christmas email campaign creates a sense of urgency, which helps drive sales. 

Some businesses like to send emails as far as 50 days before Christmas, but you can be flexible with how far in advance you want to start sending countdown offers.

Holiday shoppers don’t want to miss out on a good deal and a literal ticking clock will help convert leads into paying customers by motivating them to take action more quickly.

One report found that including a countdown timer can help increase conversions by up to 400%!

Make sure that your message is clear so the customer knows exactly how much time they have left on the offer. Use bold letters and numbers for the countdown, followed by a call to action to make shopping as seamless as possible.

The example below offers a one-day-only Christmas campaign, but there are endless possibilities. You could do a “12 days of Christmas” campaign or offer discounts as an early-bird special if you want to get started before December.

Underline delivery dates

The holidays are a seriously hectic time of year for many people, including the postal service. 

With eCommerce becoming a more popular choice for people buying gifts, in-store purchases and curbside pickup is becoming less and less common, which can lead to delivery delays.

The fear of delays in shipping has caused more shoppers to start their Christmas shopping earlier, but even planning ahead doesn’t necessarily guarantee on-time delivery. 

Making sure your customers know that their purchases will be delivered by the holidays will help put them at ease. Shoppers are more likely to choose a gift that they know will arrive on time. 

No one wants to receive their Christmas presents after the tree has come down!

Sending Christmas emails that guarantee holiday delivery on orders placed by a certain date will urge customers to make their purchases before the deadline. Offering free shipping on these orders is also a nice touch like Brooks Brothers did in their holiday email campaign.

Help customers select presents

We all have that one person that is impossible to shop for, which always adds stress to holiday shopping.

Sending Christmas emails that help customers choose the perfect present for that someone special is a wonderful way to solve this common holiday shopping problem. 

One way to help customers select presents is by creating different gift categories. For example, gifts for moms, grandparents, sports fans, or music lovers like uncommon goods did with their Christmas email campaign. 

This is an opportunity to showcase products your customers might not know that you offer, giving them gift ideas that work for everyone.

Why spend hours shopping around the internet when you can get everything you need in one place?

Reminder to prepare for the holidays

Nothing is worse than realizing that Christmas is days away and you haven’t done any of your holiday shopping. Scrambling to buy gifts is super stressful and people want to avoid this at all costs!

Sending an early Christmas email campaign to remind people to prepare for the holidays and avoid a last-minute mad-dash for presents, is appreciated by customers. If your business is among the first to send out a reminder, shoppers are more likely to get their gifts from you while it is on their minds.

Reminders can be sent out multiple times, for example, a 50-day reminder, a 30-day reminder, a week reminder, etc. Follow-up emails increase the chances of engagement and conversion.

Accessorize uses its Christmas emails to remind customers that there is no time like the present to shop for holiday gifts and offer multiple price categories for shoppers to browse.

Create a gift guide for your product line

Holiday gift guides show customers that you have exactly what they are looking for this holiday season. Gift guides also take pressure off customers so they don’t have to spend their precious time brainstorming gift ideas.

If your business is offering any special holiday collections, this is the time to showcase them! If not, no problem. Not everyone wants to get a Christmas-themed gift anyway. 

You can also appeal to a variety of customers shopping for gifts like Crate&

Barrel did this by creating a gift guide for any budget. 

Think about creating different guides that will appeal to a wide array of customers by creating specific categories beyond just “gifts for him and her.” 

Promotional email strategies and ideas

Sending Christmas email campaigns is not just about being in the holiday spirit. You want to use promotional email strategies to engage your email list in an effective way that will help your customers shop efficiently. 

As with any good email marketing strategy, personalization is key. You want to cater to the individual needs of your customers, and Christmas email campaigns are no different. 

We have provided some ideas to help you create efficient promotional email campaigns for Christmas, so you don’t end up looking like the Grinch to your customers.

Christmas sale offers

A classic example of a Christmas email campaign is one that offers holiday promotions or sales. In order to create a sense of urgency and drive conversions, consider putting a time limit on your sale. 

American Eagle’s Christmas email offers 40% off everything in their store for a limited amount of time. Pairing the promotional email with punny holiday messaging will put the sale into the holiday context even if the products are not holiday related which will give customers a reason to shop now.

Another example of a Christmas sale could be creating bundles of products at a discounted price for the holiday season. Promotional codes or a small holiday-themed gift with purchase are other examples of Christmas sale offer emails. 

Get creative with it and have some fun! Your customers will appreciate something playful.

Provide your loyal customers with presents

One way to show your loyal customers that you appreciate them is by giving them a gift for the holidays. Offering these customers a holiday gift will drive traffic to your businesses and encourage them to shop for additional holiday gifts at your store. 

Receiving gifts can get anyone in a loving mood, and also creates a positive customer experience. 

Retaining your loyal customers is equally if not more important than converting new customers. Around 67% of customers are shown to make repeat purchases after a positive customer experience. 

It never hurts to have your customers spread the word to their friends and families!

Sephora offered their loyal customers a $25 rewards card for the holidays. This strategy forces customers to either visit Sephora in person or online in order to redeem their gift. This way customers will be exposed to other products in the process. Chances are something else will catch their eye along the way 

Offer a limited Christmas edition

Depending on what kind of products you offer, creating a limited Christmas edition is a cute way to differentiate your holiday products from your year-round inventory. 

The possibilities are endless when it comes to online shopping and Christmas-themed products help guide customers in the right direction when it comes to making a decision about a gift. 

Anything holiday-themed will automatically draw more attention. Even changing up the packaging on a product you already offer is enough to make an impact, as Boost did with their holiday bundle.

Share your work plans for the coming year

Customers like to feel like they are in the loop when it comes to future plans of the brands they love. After all, they are an important part of the equation! 

Sharing your work plans for the coming year will make customers feel included in your future, making for a lasting relationship. You don’t have to spill all your secrets, you can just give a little teaser like Vimeo did in 2019.

Encourage customers to stick with you because they won’t want to miss what’s coming.

Offer gift cards as a Christmas present

Gift cards are an age-old solution for people who don’t have a lot of time to spend on holiday shopping. The recipient of a gift card essentially ends up shopping for themselves, which means the chances of them not liking their Christmas present is basically zero. 

This makes gift cards a win-win situation for both the giver and the getter.

You can be sure that every big brand from Starbucks to Amazon offers Christmas-themed gift cards. Check out Target’s holiday gift cards below. This is because they know that the holiday gift card market is not one to be overlooked. 

Even if you don’t offer gift cards all year round, you should consider offering them for a limited amount of time around the holidays. In this case, be sure to mention it to your customers in your Christmas emails. 

Interactive Christmas emails 

Interactive Christmas email campaigns are a chance for you to flex your creative skills. In a sea of boring holiday campaigns, giving customers the opportunity to interact and be playful is a fun way to stand out.

You can do something simple like providing a holiday card that customers can print out and color in, or you can get complex with moving graphics or games like Taco Bell did here.

Reminder to treat yo self by giving yourself a gift

Shopping for others on the holidays is the norm, which is why people sometimes need reassurance that it is more than okay to buy a gift for themselves. 

Remind your customers that they have no reason to feel guilty about adding themselves to their shopping list. What better excuse than the holidays to buy yourself something you’ve been eyeing all year round? 

Mahabis’ email campaign does just that. Notice they went the post-Christmas route by sending this email after the holiday in order to extend the cheer.

Make a catchy subject line for your Christmas emails

It goes without saying that quality content is a must for any effective Christmas email marketing campaign. But the subject line is the first that your subscribers will see. 

A catchy subject line can be the saving grace from being relegated to the dreaded spam folder. 

If you are offering a discount, make sure to put that in the subject line. If you are offering a limited-time promotion, put it in there. Is there a gift waiting for your customer inside? You guessed it, put that info in the subject line!

You can also go the comedic route, with something like “Have you been naughty or nice this year?” Or something more sincere, like a holiday blessing. Insert your customers’ first names to make your subject line more personal.

You want to be concise, get your point across, and get your subscribers’ attention.

Add a Christmas banner and festive social icons to your email signature

In addition to your Christmas promotion email campaigns, you can put a festive spin on all of your emails by adding holiday banners and social icons to your email signature.

Want to customize your email signature but don’t know where to begin? You don’t have to be a designer to add a special touch. Wisestamp offers a ton of Christmas email signatures so you can choose one that best fits your personality. 

Shopping and Christmas are two peas in a pod. People are already spending money during the holiday season, all you have to do is leverage your Christmas email campaigns to get the revenue to flow in your direction. 

Don’t be afraid to test out different kinds of Christmas email campaigns. After all, the only way to know if something works is to try it out, right?

So what are you waiting for? All you have to do is implement the strategies we covered and you will be sending creative Christmas emails before you can say ho ho ho!