Email marketing is one of the oldest forms of digital marketing. Today there are plenty of shiny new tools that digital marketers can use to hook customers and convert sales. Paid ads, video content, and social media marketing are all popular. But email marketing is still highly effective, bringing in a Return of Investment (ROI) of $36 for every $1 spent.Email marketing is coming back; 77% of marketers have noticed that recipients engage more with their emails in the past twelve months than before. If done right, a Thanksgiving Day/Black Friday email marketing campaign can help you make the best of your Black Friday sale.Pssst! Schedule your free strategy call today to find out how Ampry can help you grow your email list.
Black Friday and pre-existing subscribers.
Black Friday and Thanksgiving are great times to get new customers. You can use special offers and increased discounts in exchange for email addresses to help build your email list. It’s also an excellent time to encourage existing subscribers to either make their first purchase or remind them to come back for more.Remember, existing email list subscribers have already shown interest in what you offer. They probably find your information valuable and are likely looking forward to seeing what you have to offer in terms of Black Friday Deals.Existing subscribers have already traveled down your sales funnel, and it might be easier to convince them to purchase. That makes them the ideal target audience for Black Friday email campaigns.Sending out a couple of strategic Black Friday emails could be all you need to entice an existing subscriber to cash in on one of your deals.
How can I maximize Black Friday conversions with email subscribers?
Receiving an email is quite personal. Someone must have your direct email address to contact you by email. That means you have either given it to them or, less ideally, they received it from a third party.If someone gives you their email address, they want to hear from you. They will likely be interested to see what you offer as part of your Black Friday campaign. Letting your email subscribers know about your Black Friday promotions early allows you to build on the natural excitement of the day, leading to more conversions and (if you did it right) happy, loyal customers. Here are a few ways to harness email marketing to win Black Friday sales.
Create and clean up your lists
Before you can send a Black Friday email marketing campaign, you need to create an email list. This list should contain the contact information of people who have subscribed to receive your emails. That means they have opted in and explicitly given you consent to contact them via email.While it is possible to buy email lists, they could contain email addresses that are no longer working. In this case, the emails will bounce back, flagging your email address and domain for spam. If this happens, your emails will likely be undelivered or sent to your recipients' spam boxes instead of their inboxes. This makes your efforts futile, wasting time and resources.(Besides, sending emails to people who haven't given you consent to contact them violates anti-spam laws.)The best way to gather email addresses is simply asking people for them. You can do this by having your site visitors fill out a form on your website or on its own URL. If you decide to place an email signup form on your website, you can do so as a pop-up, as a standalone form, or give it its own landing page. You may need to try various placements to see what works best for your brand.You could consider offering a lead magnet in exchange for your site visitors' email addresses. A lead magnet is something of value like an audio recording, a video, an ebook, or a discount code that you trade for someone's contact information.For a lead magnet to be successful, it needs to provide so much value that someone will give you their email address in exchange for getting what you are offering as your lead magnet.
Personalize where possible
Most people prefer personalized marketing content (including emails and bulk SMS messages). They want marketing messages that speak to them directly, addressing their needs, wants, and desires.Nearly three-quarters of consumers will only engage with personalized marketing messages. As much as half of Millennials and Generation Zers will usually ignore non-personalized communication.That means no matter how well designed your emails are, if they aren't personalized, they could be sent to the trash folder faster than you can say “Avocado Toast.”Personalizing your email can be as simple as using the recipients' first name in the greeting or subject line. You could also personalize your emails around their interests, birth dates, and occupation. All this information can be gathered on the original signup form.As you progress, you will start to collect data on the people who engage with your brand. This data can create even more personalized subject lines (and email content) that will likely increase your open and conversion rates.Another way to personalize emails is by sending specific emails based on certain behaviors. These emails are called behavior-triggered emails and are sent automatically whenever a user performs a specific task. For example, you could automatically send a reminder to a site visitor who has abandoned their shopping cart or has not visited your website in a while.
Emphasize subscribers’ VIP advantage
People like to feel special. They want to know that you offer them something extra for being subscribers to your email list.Remember that these individuals gave you something valuable—their email addresses. Even if they did so to get a lead magnet, providing them with special treatment and offers is more likely to keep them subscribed.Give them first options on the best offers, products, or services that have limited stock. Create the idea that being on your email list gives them a benefit that other people don't have and that they cannot get anywhere else.A great way to market your Black Friday shopping offerings to your subscribers' list is to give them an early access link. This link can be used to view your Black Friday Deals before anyone else. Ensure that your email list subscribers know they are being offered the VIP treatment for the most impact.You could extend your efforts to include Black Friday Weekend, Cyber Monday, Cyber Week, and Cyber Weekend. This could be extended to existing customers as part of their VIP offers or opened to anyone who wants a head start on their retail holiday shopping season.
Emphasize your UVP
Your unique value proposition (UVP) should be central to everything you do. It should be integrated into your marketing message, including your social media and email content.In short, a unique value proposition is a statement that clearly describes the pain points your products answer.Your unique value proposition should state how you can give customers what they need or want. It should also explain why your offer differs from competitors. Not just different, but better. (This one is tricky because you don't want to badmouth your competition.) Point out all the benefits your company, products, or services can bring. Emphasizing your unique value proposition in your Black Friday email marketing campaigns will remind your subscribers why they signed up for your emails in the first place. It tells potential shoppers that not only can you uniquely give them what they want or need, but you can do so by also giving them this great Black Friday deal.
Start sending emails early and offer very exciting deals
Whenever someone receives an email, especially one that provides an exciting offer, that email is added to a mental To-Do List. People on your subscribers' list will want to know about your Black Friday offers. They will either open your emails immediately to find out what your deals are or make a note to return to them later.They may even have been waiting for your email. More than that, they might even have delayed purchasing from you to see what Black Friday Deals you will offer.Sending out Black Friday emails early means there is less chance that a competitor could entice potential shoppers away from you. It lets you establish your brand in time for the Christmas shopping season, too. Sending out follow-up emails leading up to Black Friday will take your email off mental To-Do lists and encourage your customers to take action and make a purchase.Remember that for your Black Friday offers to be successful, they need to at least be on par with, if not better than, what is offered elsewhere.Find out how Ampry can help you build and maintain your email subscriber list by scheduling a free strategy call today!