Looking for ideas to touch your customers for the upcoming holiday season? Want fresh inspiration for Halloween email marketing campaigns? Need a little guidance in setting up your holiday email schedule?
With Halloween just around the corner, it’s time to start gearing up for the holiday season. Holiday email campaigns are the perfect opportunity to casually touch base with your subscribers. They’re also the perfect opportunity to create conversions.
Use the holiday season to your advantage. Send out industry emails with a spooky spin or offer a promotional discount in seasonal numbers, like “13” or “31.” Does Halloween seem a little silly for your business? Have a fall sale or send an autumn discount code instead.
Creating a powerful holiday campaign is as simple as following a few best practices. Read on to discover how to make the process more efficient as well as a few examples to fuel your imagination and get into the spirit.
Your guide to sending Halloween email campaigns
Holiday emails are trendy and capitalize on specific times of the year. You can send them in addition to your email newsletters or other email campaigns, or you can work them into your regular email schedule.
Because they’re different from your standard emails, people may be more inclined to open them, and more opens mean more conversions.
Here are some key stats on email campaigns and why you want to get on board with this trend:
- Twenty-one percent of email marketing revenue comes from automated emails, and over 75% of revenue comes from triggered campaigns.
- Click-through rates improve by 14% with personalized email messages. Conversions improve by 10% with the same personalization.
- When it comes to marketing, email results in more conversions than other marketing channels, like search and social media.
Let the data guide you. Email marketing is the most effective form of marketing available; it results in more conversions and it has an incredibly high ROI.
Halloween email marketing campaign best practices
It can be tempting to whip up a quick Halloween email and send it off to your entire list, but don’t rush it. You have a golden opportunity here, so use this email campaign to convert people, not just have a little fun for the holiday.
Keep these best practices in mind to help you send an engaging holiday email campaign:
- Automate your workflow: Automation not only makes sending emails a breeze, but it results in higher open and click-through rates. Set up an automated email newsletter and work in your holiday email campaigns to be part of your workflow.
- Personalize your emails: Email personalization increases clicks and conversions, so don’t sleep on this critical marketing tool. Use all the data you have about your subscribers to create segmented lists for personalization.
- Test a few subject lines: We all know that your subject line is the most important email component. Just because you’re sending a fun email doesn’t mean you want to drop the ball on this. Test a couple of subject lines for maximum impact.
- Check your timing and frequency: Timing and frequency are especially critical with holiday emails. Sending them too soon or too late can be a miss, and sending them too often can be annoying. Send your Halloween emails after fall starts, and don’t send more than one or two a week.
- A/B test your campaigns: This is something you want to do with all of your email campaigns, but A/B testing is a useful tool for hammering down important details in your emails. A/B test Halloween emails the same way you’d test standard emails.
With these best practices, you can get started on crafting the perfect holiday email campaign.
6 Halloween email tricks to treat your subscribers
Are you ready for maximum Halloween inspiration? Check out these six emails and our takeaways on what makes them powerful and engaging.
1. Forget the candy—this deal is the sweetest one yet!
Source: Really Good Emails
Blue Apron digs into the holiday with its subject line, images, and text. The cemetery reference is perfect for Halloween, and the mention of being haunted by missing out on their offer is in the spirit of the season.
Takeaway: Notice the $40 off promotional code—discounts and savings are the perfect opportunity to convert people with your Halloween emails. Send a preliminary email letting people know to watch out for Halloween savings, then hit them with the savings when it makes sense on your marketing calendar. Don’t forget to automate your workflow to include “thank you” emails for your customers.
2. Pumpkin spice and all things (not) nice
Source: Really Good Emails
Playing on one of the season’s biggest trends—pumpkin spice—We Transfer uses clever language to get people excited for the holiday. With references to “gloominess” and “utter darkness,” this email’s language, combined with a dark gradient graphic, is all it takes to get into the spirit.
Takeaway: You don’t have to go full-on Halloween to thrill your subscribers. Simple language combined with clean graphics can make all the difference in an ordinary email newsletter. Use your subject line to set the tone, then dive in with your chilling content. Don’t forget a compelling call to action. You’re still trying to convert your subscribers.
3. A little treat to go with all the tricks this weekend!
Source: Really Good Emails
This minimalist design exudes elegance while offering a reason for subscribers to click through to the website. Taylor Stitch uses a simple jack-o-lantern graphic and a quick “Happy Halloween”—they don’t go overboard with graphics or use any spectacular language—plus a small discount.
Takeaway: Try something minimalistic and elegant to take advantage of the holiday. Use every opportunity to pique your customers’ interests. Halloween is a national tradition in the U.S., so take the time to touch your customers on this holiday. It is the unofficial start of the holiday season.
4. Don’t let Halloween sneak up on you!
Source: Really Good Emails
A sense of urgency combined with a sense of humor make for a great Halloween email. Modcloth uses the Halloween spirit to capitalize on their “thrilling prints” and “spooktacular accessories.” As a clothing retailer, they use an image of someone dressed in their clothing for Halloween.
Takeaway: Envision ways your products or services can tie into Halloween and work that into your emails. Use humor based on your audience—different demographics will respond to different things favorably. Modcloth knows their audience well. They used a casual, witty header to get their subscribers’ attention.
5. 👾 🎃 👻 Happy Halloween! Get 30% off Designmodo Shop and Market
Source: Really Good Emails
Designmodo gets straight to the point in their subject line—30% off their shop. That’s enough to get people interested, then they find out it’s for 3 days only. This is a great tactic for getting opens and conversions.
Takeaway: Use your subject line to tell people why they want to open the email. Use your con
tent to tell people why they want to sign up for your services or buy your products. Notice that this email isn’t even in traditional Halloween colors—think outside of the box. You don’t have to stick with tradition. Work Halloween into your brand.
6. So delicious it’s scary… | Shop Halloween Treats 💀
Source: Really Good Emails
Fortnum & Mason turn to an image of a monster and Halloween puns. They start with a compelling subject line (Doesn’t everyone want to shop for Halloween treats?) and move into humorous plays on words.
Takeaway: You don’t need to offer a promo code or discount to take advantage of Halloween email marketing campaigns. An email with a targeted subject line, content with a sense of humor, and a simple CTA is all you need to capitalize on this holiday. Create a CTA that pops and let your imagination run wild.
Wrap up
Halloween is the start of a busy holiday season—Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s aren’t too far behind. Start the holiday season off right with a solid email campaign.
Three important takeaways you need to remember are:
- Use promotional codes and discounts sparingly—they’re a great way to get clicks and conversions.
- Halloween-centric language is popular, but you know your audience. Adjust appropriately.
- Personalization is a key attribute to good email campaigns, and Halloween is the perfect personalization opportunity.
Using these email best practices and Halloween email examples, you should be able to craft the perfect Halloween email for your audience.
Need help preparing for the holiday season? Campaign Monitor has a drag-and-drop editor that can help you craft the perfect Halloween email campaign.