You may be wondering how early is too early to start planning for BFCM. When it comes to BFCM, there’s no such thing as “too early”! Black Friday/Cyber Monday is your golden ticket to stand out during the busiest shopping days of the year. Inboxes will be flooded and everyone’s competing for attention – are you ready?
In this article, we’ll walk you through our 6 best strategies to help you write your subject lines, nail your targeting, create the “gotta have it” feeling, and more!
Craft a Subject Line to Get Clicks
For starters – your subject line is like the cover of a book. If it doesn’t grab attention, it won’t get opened. And during BFCM, you’re competing with a ton of other brands. So how do you stand out and get readers to click?
Here are some quick tips:
– Keep it short and snappy (aim for 40 characters or less)
– Throw in an emoji (but don’t go crazy!)
– Create a sense of urgency – “Ends tonight!” or “Last chance!”
– Get personal – use their name if you can
Pro tip: Always test your subject lines. Send two versions to small groups and see which one gets more opens, then use the winner for your main send.
Send your Emails to the Right People
Imagine getting an email about cat food when you don’t even have a cat. That would be pretty weird, right? That’s why segmenting your email list is important. It’s all about sending relevant stuff to the people who want to hear about it.
Here are some cool ways to segment your list:
– Based on what they’ve bought before
– How much they engage with your emails
– Their age, gender, or where they live
– If they’ve abandoned their cart recently
– Your VIP customers who buy all the time
Did you know that segmenting your list can lead to 14.31% higher opens than non-segmented campaigns?
Let Automation Do the Work
Utilizing automation is like having an email marketing assistant who never sleeps. It sends your emails at the perfect moment, without you having to lift a finger.
Use automation to build excitement with countdown emails, to welcome new subscribers, and gently remind about items left in their cart. After a purchase, automations can send out a warm thank you. And if someone hasn’t opened an email in a while, reach out with a friendly “we miss you” message. The beauty of automation is that it handles all these tasks seamlessly, allowing you to focus on your email marketing strategy.
Add a Personal Touch
Here’s a little secret: personalized emails get opened 29% more often and clicked 41% more than generic ones. Pretty cool, huh? So, how can you make your emails more personal? It’s easier than you might think!
Start by using your customer’s name in the subject line or greeting. It’s a small touch, but it makes a big difference. Then, use data about what they’ve bought before or what they’ve been eyeing on your site to recommend products they’ll want to see.
Make them Want it Now
The point of BFCM is limited-time deals, so your emails should reflect that. You want people thinking, “I gotta get this now or I’ll miss out!”
Here’s some ideas for creating that urgency:
– Use countdown timers in your emails
– Let people know when things are almost sold out
– Run quick flash sales during your main event
– Give your loyal customers early access
– Send “last chance” reminders as the sale ends
Create Emails that Look Great on Phones
Did you know that over 40% of emails are opened on mobile devices? That should give you some incentive to double check that your emails are mobile-friendly. But what exactly does that mean? Let’s break it down:
Use a responsive design: This ensures your email automatically adjusts to fit different screen sizes. Most email marketing platforms offer responsive templates – use them!
Make your CTAs thumb-friendly: Make your call-to-action buttons large enough to tap easily with a thumb.
Optimize images: Large images can slow down load times on mobile. Compress your images and use alt text in case they don’t load.
Preview, preview, preview: Always send yourself a test email and check it on multiple devices before hitting that send button.
Mind the subject line length: On mobile, long subject lines get cut off. Aim for 30-40 characters to ensure your message doesn’t get cut short.
Single-column layouts work best: Complex multi-column designs can become a jumbled mess on smaller screens. Keep it simple!
Font size matters: Tiny text is a no-go on mobile. Use a minimum font size of 14px for body text to keep things readable.
Wrapping Up
Remember, the key is to make your emails relevant and exciting for your customers. Do that, and you’ll be well on your way to a successful BFCM season.
Ready to build a customized BFCM email marketing strategy for your ecommerce store? Schedule a consultation and let’s discuss how we can support your business growth!