SEATTLE, August 11, 2009 -- Smith-Harmon, Inc., an email marketing strategy and creative services agency, today announced the release of the Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season. Full of benchmarks and advice, the guide will help retailers and other B2C companies can better formulate their holiday campaigns this year.
"For those of us in email marketing, Christmas comes in August!" says Lisa Harmon, Co-founder and Principal of Smith-Harmon. "Happily, this Guide makes it easy for us to make the quick shift from sunny-day tactics to snow-time strategies."
Based on data on more than 4,700 fourth quarter emails from over 100 top online retailers tracked by the Retail Email Blog, the guide includes statistics and recommendations on when to begin your campaign, how much to increase your email volume, which days to send on, and how to stand out in the inbox during the holidays.
For instance, last year nearly 90% of major online retailers increased their email volume during the holiday season, with retailers boosting their send frequency by 43% on average compared to the pre-holiday period.
This guide also discusses and provides examples of the "18 Phases of Christmas," the 18 strategies that retailers use at different points in the holiday season. Those strategies include promoting e-gift cards and "in store pickup" services and sending season's greetings.
Other topics covered in the guide include:
DOWNLOAD THIS FREE REPORT >
Webinar: "It's Christmas in August: 2009 Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season"
In coordination with the launch of the Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season, Smith-Harmon will be hosting a one-time free webinar on holiday email planning, Wednesday, August 26, 9:15 AM - 10:15 AM PDT. Research Director Chad White and agency Principal Lisa Harmon will be presenting.
REGISTER FOR THIS FREE WEBINAR >
"For those of us in email marketing, Christmas comes in August!" says Lisa Harmon, Co-founder and Principal of Smith-Harmon. "Happily, this Guide makes it easy for us to make the quick shift from sunny-day tactics to snow-time strategies."
Based on data on more than 4,700 fourth quarter emails from over 100 top online retailers tracked by the Retail Email Blog, the guide includes statistics and recommendations on when to begin your campaign, how much to increase your email volume, which days to send on, and how to stand out in the inbox during the holidays.
For instance, last year nearly 90% of major online retailers increased their email volume during the holiday season, with retailers boosting their send frequency by 43% on average compared to the pre-holiday period.
This guide also discusses and provides examples of the "18 Phases of Christmas," the 18 strategies that retailers use at different points in the holiday season. Those strategies include promoting e-gift cards and "in store pickup" services and sending season's greetings.
Other topics covered in the guide include:
- Cyber Monday may not be "the biggest online shopping day of the year" as billed, but last year it was the most popular day of the year to send retail emails, with 70% of retailers sending at least one email on that day. Helping you make your scheduling decisions, the guide also details other days among the 20 most popular days to send retail email last year.
- Standing out in the inbox during the holiday season is tough. The guide offers tactics such as using video, which is an up-and-coming tactic, and animated gifs, which were used by 22% of major online retailers in at least one email during November and December last year.
- The guide discusses several strategies to employ during the final days before Christmas, including promoting e-gift cards, which were mentioned in more than 20% of retail emails during the three days before Christmas last year.
- Formulating the right subject lines during the holidays is critical. The guide includes numerous examples of subject lines used last year during the various phases of the holiday season to help you devise your subject lines for the crucial November and December months.
DOWNLOAD THIS FREE REPORT >
Webinar: "It's Christmas in August: 2009 Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season"
In coordination with the launch of the Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season, Smith-Harmon will be hosting a one-time free webinar on holiday email planning, Wednesday, August 26, 9:15 AM - 10:15 AM PDT. Research Director Chad White and agency Principal Lisa Harmon will be presenting.
REGISTER FOR THIS FREE WEBINAR >