Should you send cold emails during or on holidays? Are cold emails even effective when sent on a holiday? Do email campaigns perform well during seasonal holidays? These are likely the questions you were seeking answers to when you clicked on this article. Well, you've come to the right place. We will address all these questions in this article.

As we are already halfway through 2024, the upcoming quarters will bring some of the biggest holidays, especially in Q4, including Halloween, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, and New Year's Eve. 

If you're wondering whether you should even run email marketing campaigns during holidays - the short answer is yes, and the long answer is it depends. 

Our next section will delve into the details. 

Sales Targeting During the Holiday

When planning your holiday email marketing campaigns, it's crucial to identify and target specific segments that could yield the best results. 

Here are some key groups to focus on during the holiday selling season:

1. No-Show Demos

Target potential clients who scheduled demos but never attended. 

A well-crafted holiday email can re-engage them by highlighting your product’s value and offering an exclusive holiday incentive.

2. “Closed Lost” Accounts

Reach out to accounts that were marked as "closed lost." 

The holiday season can provide a fresh opportunity to rekindle interest with special promotions or updates on new features that might address their previous objections.

3. Stalled Deals

Focus on deals that have stalled in the pipeline. 

Use holiday-themed emails to reignite these conversations, offering limited-time discounts or new solutions that address their pain points.

4. Unresponsive Prospects

Engage prospects who didn’t reply to your previous outreach. 

A festive email with a compelling subject line and a unique holiday offer might catch their attention and encourage a response.

Holiday Email Marketing - The Benefits

Email marketing is responsible for 20% of online holiday site visits, according to statistics. 

Another statistic highlights that Thanksgiving witnessed the delivery of 95 million emails (Source: Campaign Monitor). 

So, running an email marketing campaign is still beneficial during the holiday seasons if you know how to leverage it effectively.

• Boost Brand Awareness: During the busy holiday season, emails are one of the best ways to rise above the noise and get noticed.
• Attract New Customers: Special offers and holiday promotions can grow your audience. Seasonal events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday are perfect occasions for running offers.
• Re Engage with Cold or Warm Leads: Holiday email marketing campaigns provide an excellent opportunity to reconnect with leads, as everyone expects some sort of offer over the holiday season. This can provide a quick seasonal boost in sales and help turn first-time shoppers into loyal customers.

Holiday Email Marketing Strategy - Best Practices

While holiday email marketing is not entirely different from any other marketing campaign, there are a few factors you should consider to reap the most of these campaigns.

1. Segment Your Audience

Segmenting your audience is crucial for any email campaign, but it's especially important during the holidays. 

Use data to divide your audience based on their past purchasing behavior, interests, and engagement levels. 

This allows you to tailor your messages and offers to different segments, increasing the chances of conversion.

2. Personalize Your Emails

Personalization is not limited to addressing your prospects by name. 

Use dynamic content to offer personalized product recommendations, special discounts, and relevant holiday offers. 

Personalized emails are more likely to be opened and acted upon.

3. Create a Sense of Urgency

The holiday season is a prime time for creating urgency in your campaigns. 

Limited-time offers, countdown timers, and exclusive holiday deals can motivate recipients to act quickly. 

Highlighting scarcity (e.g., "Only a few left in stock!") can also drive faster decision-making.

4. Optimize for Mobile

With more people shopping on their mobile devices, it's essential to ensure that your emails are mobile-friendly. 

Use responsive design to make sure your emails look great on all devices. 

Test your emails on various screen sizes to guarantee a seamless experience for all recipients.

5. Leverage Automation

Automation can help you stay on top of your holiday email campaigns. 

Set up automated email sequences for different stages of the customer journey, from welcome emails to abandoned cart reminders and post-purchase follow-ups. 

This ensures timely and relevant communication without manual intervention.

6. Test and Optimize

Continuous testing and optimization are key to a successful holiday email marketing strategy. 

A/B test different subject lines, email designs, and calls-to-action to see what resonates best with your audience. 

Use the insights gained to refine your campaigns for better performance.

7. Incorporate Social Proof

Social proof, such as customer reviews, testimonials, and user-generated content, can significantly boost the credibility of your offers. 

Include positive reviews and ratings in your holiday emails to build trust and encourage purchases.

8. Plan Your Sending Schedule

Timing is everything during the holidays. 

Plan your email send times to coincide with key holiday shopping days and times when your audience is most likely to engage. 

Avoid sending too many emails too close together, as this can lead to fatigue and unsubscribes.

B2B Email Marketing Examples for the Holidays

Holiday email marketing isn't just for B2C companies; B2B businesses can also leverage the festive season to connect with clients, partners, and prospects. 

Here are some effective B2B email marketing examples to inspire your holiday campaigns:

1. Holiday Greetings and Thank You Emails

Send personalized holiday greetings and thank you emails to express gratitude for your clients' and partners' support throughout the year. 

This helps strengthen relationships and shows appreciation.

2. Year-End Review and Look Ahead

Share a recap of your company's achievements over the past year and give a sneak peek of what's coming in the next year. 

This keeps clients informed and excited about future collaborations.

3. Exclusive Holiday Offers and Discounts

Provide special holiday offers, discounts, or bundled services exclusively for your B2B clients. 

This can incentivize end-of-year purchases and reinforce the value of your partnership.

4. Seasonal Content and Resources

Share valuable seasonal content such as holiday-themed whitepapers, eBooks, or case studies relevant to your clients' industries. 

This positions your company as a helpful resource during the holidays.

5. Holiday-Themed Webinars and Events

Invite clients and prospects to attend holiday-themed webinars, hosting international events, or virtual events.

This can be a great way to engage your audience, provide valuable insights, and foster community.

6. Personalized Gift Recommendations

Suggest personalized gifts or promotional items that your clients can send to their own customers or employees. 

This can help them with their holiday planning while keeping your brand top of mind.

Do’s and Don’ts For Holiday Email Marketing

To ensure your holiday email marketing campaigns are successful, it's essential to follow best practices and avoid common pitfalls. 

Check out these do’s and don’ts to know more:

Do’s

• Plan Ahead: Start planning your holiday campaigns well in advance. This allows you to segment your audience, create compelling content, and set up automation for timely delivery.
• Personalize Your Emails: Use personalization techniques to make your emails relevant to each recipient. Personalized subject lines and tailored content can significantly increase engagement rates.
• Optimize for Mobile: Ensure your emails are mobile-friendly. Many recipients will open your emails on their mobile devices, so a responsive design is crucial for a seamless experience.
• Test Before Sending: Conduct A/B tests on different elements of your emails, such as subject lines, images, and calls-to-action. Use the insights gained to optimize your campaigns for better performance.
• Create a Sense of Urgency: Incorporate limited-time offers and countdown timers to encourage quick action from your recipients. Urgency can drive higher conversion rates during the holiday season.
• Provide Value: Offer valuable content, exclusive discounts, and special promotions. Make sure your emails provide something of interest to your audience, whether it's a helpful tip or a great deal.
• Include Clear Calls-to-Action: Make it easy for recipients to take the desired action. Use clear and compelling calls-to-action that stand out in your email.

Don’ts

• Overwhelm Your Audience: Avoid bombarding your subscribers with too many emails. Sending too frequently can lead to email fatigue and higher unsubscribe rates.
• Neglect Segmentation: Don’t send the same generic email to your entire list. Failing to segment your audience can result in lower engagement and higher unsubscribe rates.
• Ignore Data Privacy Regulations: Ensure you comply with data privacy laws such as GDPR and CAN-SPAM. Obtain proper consent and provide clear opt-out options in your emails.
• Use Misleading Subject Lines: Avoid using clickbait or misleading subject lines to get opens. This can harm your credibility and lead to higher unsubscribe rates.
• Forget to Proofread: Don’t overlook the importance of proofreading your emails. Spelling and grammatical errors can make your emails look unprofessional and damage your brand’s reputation.
• Neglect Analytics: Failing to track and analyze your email performance can hinder your ability to improve future campaigns. Use analytics to understand what works and what doesn’t.
• Ignore the Timing: Don’t send your emails at random times. Plan your send times to coincide with when your audience is most likely to engage, considering time zones and peak periods.

Learn more about best practices for holiday email campaigns in this video by Matt Lucero. 

How Smartlead Helps You Manage Your Holiday Email Campaigns

Managing holiday email campaigns can be challenging, but Smartlead offers features that make it easier to navigate the festive season. 

One of the standout features is the ability to pause campaigns.

Pause Campaigns During Major Holidays

With Smartlead, you can simply pause your email campaigns during major holidays when you know that most of your audience will be out of the office. 

For example, Christmas Day and New Year's Day in the US are typically times when many people are unavailable. 

By pausing campaigns during these periods, you avoid sending emails that won't be read and can plan your communication more effectively.

Here’s how you can pause campaigns in Smartlead: 

• Navigate to your all email campaigns page
• Search or scroll down to the campaign you're looking to pause. (You can only pause an ACTIVE campaign)
• Scroll to the right end of the campaign.
• Click on the 3 dots and click on the pause campaign option.

Smartlead's intuitive interface allows you to manage your campaigns seamlessly. 

You can schedule emails, set up automated sequences, and monitor performance all in one place. 

This ensures that your holiday email marketing runs smoothly and efficiently, even with the added complexities of the festive season.

Winding Up

The holiday season is a time for enjoyment and relaxation for everyone, including businesses. 

However, this shouldn't discourage you from sending emails during this period. The strategy for holiday email marketing will differ slightly from other times of the year. You need to carefully select your email list and connect with the right leads with the right offers to succeed in your holiday email campaigns.

We hope you have a fun and successful time executing your holiday email marketing strategies. To manage your campaigns better, you can sign up for Smartlead today. We also offer a 14-day free trial, providing a no-risk way to try out our software and see how it can enhance your holiday email marketing efforts.