With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, it’s time for people to fall in love… with your company, that is! Valentine’s Day is a great holiday for marketers to promote their business, build relationships, and increase sales. Inboxes nationwide are heating up with love-fueled email messages touting everything from flowers to tech devices. You might have already noticed the rush of Valentine’s Day-themed emails in your own inbox. Research conducted by the National Retail Federation predicts that Valentine’s Day spending will reach $18.9 billion this year. No matter what industry you are part of, it’s not too late to hop on the bandwagon and execute your own Valentine’s Day email campaign. Here are 4 tips for your Valentine’s Day email campaign.
1. Segment by Gender
Right or wrong, Valentine’s Day is a very different holiday for men and women. Segment your email list by gender accordingly and customize different emails for women and men. This simple tactic can increase your results dramatically, because your offer is more relevant. If you do not appeal to the reader, your email may get deleted or marked as spam. This holiday, try emailing female-oriented offers to the men and vice versa. Remember that this holiday is all about giving. However, think about your targeted audience before doing this sort of segmentation – segmenting by gender is not appropriate for all audiences.
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2. Spice Up Your Design
You want people to know your email is about Valentine’s Day the moment they see it. Valentine’s Day is a perfect time to express your creativity in email designs. Instead of your usual email template design, use a Valentine’s Day-themed template. You can go beyond traditional cupids and red hearts by using stylized images and different colors like pale pink and silver. Use responsive email designs to make your email campaign easily readable and clickable for mobile users.
3. Flirt with a Great Subject Line
Like the holiday itself, your email campaign should be filled with love! Starting with your subject line, make it clear to your audience that your email is a special Valentine’s Day promo. Use words like “perfect”, “special”, or “gift” to accentuate the romantic side of your email. Emojis are very popular right now, so don’t be afraid to be playful and use them in your subject line. Note that Outlook 2003 and Lotus Notes does not support symbols and emojis. Adding a heart symbol in your subject line can make your email stand out from the rest. Another tip for subject lines is to create the sense of urgency to boost open rate. Use expressions like “ends soon” and “expires”. Here are a couple of examples of Valentine’s Day email campaign subject lines:
❤ 2/14 ❤ is coming! Last day for free standard shipping» - JC Penney Feb 6, 2014
V❤lentine’s Day Gifts For Her & Him» - Saks Fifth Avenue Feb 6, 2014
4. Let Them Fall in Love with Your Offer
Offering the right product and/or service is important, but creating a campaign that places your products in the proper context is even more crucial. Whatever industry your business is in, you can use your Valentine’s Day email campaign to get the most out of it, even if you are a business that doesn’t exactly offer products or services that are Valentine’s Day-related, like pool cleaning. They key is using Valentine’s Day context such as love, relationships and feelings to promote and sell. Send your audience an e-card, a coupon, or free shipping code they can use later – anything that will remind the customer of your business. This will show them that you care, and it also will increase loyalty to your brand. In addition, do not forget to roll out special deals to single people as well. Valentine’s Day isn’t only for couples; it is also a holiday when single people treat themselves. You want to make everyone feel special on this day.
Holidays are always a great time for email marketing campaigns. There are special occasions throughout the year when you can show customers that you value them, while promoting your product or service at the same time. What better time than Valentine’s Day? Follow these tips to prepare your sweet Valentine’s Day email campaign. Please contact US Data Corporation at (888) 578-3282 to get started with your email marketing today!