3 email strategies to try this holiday season

The holiday season is upon us! It’s time to step up your online selling strategy. Email is one of the most powerful marketing channels available to Teespring sellers. We know 40% of Teespring customers become repeat buyers—so you’ve already got an existing group of probable repeat shoppers at your fingertips!  

There are two ways you can reach out to your customers via email. The first is to download your buyer emails (and contact them through an email service like Mailchimp) or use Teespring’s Buyer Message Tool for professional, branded emails that are optimized to help you sell more.

 

Holiday shopping quick facts

Still need more reasons to try email marketing? You’ll want to give it a go after seeing these numbers:

• Online shoppers want products to be brought to life with images (78%) and product reviews (69%).
• Parents spend 61% more online than non-parents ($1,071 vs. $664).
• E-commerce sales are expected to increase 18% – 21% during the 2017 holiday season.  
• Email marketing drives more conversions than any other marketing channel, including search and social.
• 53% of marketers say ongoing, personalized communication with existing customers results in moderate to significant revenue impact.
• 72% of people prefer to receive promotional content through email, compared to 17% who prefer social media.
• In the UK, every one pound spent on email marketing has an ROI of £38; in the US, ROI is $44.
• A study of 1 billion emails revealed that video emails see CTRs 96% higher than non-video emails.

With major shopping events on the way like Halloween, Black Friday, Ugly Sweater Day, Christmas, etc. you’ve got lots of reasons to email buyers.  Keep in mind people will be expecting special offers and new products in their inboxes so make sure to give the people what they want! 😉

 

3 proven email marketing strategies

Below you’ll find some examples of proven email marketing strategies that can help boost your product sales. As you read through this content, think about how to apply a holiday flair to your own products and niches.

1. Leverage the power of social proof

Think of social proof as “buyer approval” of your products; this can be a very powerful tool for boosting your sales. If potential buyers see that current customers “approve” or love your products, they will be more likely to make a purchase. Sharing photos and reviews from happy customers can confirm the value/quality of the items you’re selling. Not to mention, this content can boost your organic reach on social media. When you email buyers about new products consider sharing some of the positive reviews and photos you’ve received from past customers. Check out some examples of how social proof has been used in the marketing emails below and start thinking about how you can incorporate your own buyers’ comments and photos into the content you share.

Don’t forget, as soon as you get your first few sales you should ask buyers to submit photos and reviews about your products. You can encourage content submissions by offering participants the chance to be featured on your Facebook page or in future emails. You can also try offering a special discount code to the “best” photos submitted. Brainstorm eye-catching ways to feature product mockups and quotes within your email content, or show off your top selling products for a particular niche. See Alison Scott’s comments about advertising during the holidays and buyer selfies for more tips.

2. Offer limited edition or exclusive holiday sales

Giving email subscribers “exclusive” offers is a good way to motivate people to continue opening your emails and maintain contact with your brand. We know offering discounts though the “promotions” tool in your Teespring Dashboard can increase conversions by 60%; this is true for both first-time buyers and returning customers. Everyone is expecting to see Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, so consider offering “early bird” specials to jumpstart your sales sooner. Check out the examples below; the promotions feature a % type sale and include a call-to-action button. Including a call to action button instead of a text link can increase conversion rates by as much as 28% (we offer templates including CTA buttons in our messages tool). 

 

3.  Localize and customize email content

Customers purchase designs they feel are customized just for them, so why would their emails be any different? Remember you can group buyer messages (in Teespring’s Buyer Message Tool) based on campaigns they’ve previously purchased from. Make sure you’re sending past customers content they will be interested (related to their previous purchase). Also, consider translating email content if customers purchased designs in a specific languages (get free translated email templates here). Don’t forget the UK, France, and Germany are the top buying marketing in the EU this time of year.