Good morning! Chase and Jimmy here to bring some buzz to your mid-week blues. This week, we’re going all in on the holidays AKA your bread and butter.

The NRF released their projections for 2024 and they forecast holiday sales to increase between 2.5%-3.5% over 2023’s numbers. 

For reference, that equates to a whopping $979.5 billion and $989 billion in total holiday spending between November and December.

The holiday season presents a golden opportunity to drive revenue and reactivate customers during the spending frenzy. 

And like any good retention marketer, you probably already have your game plan set in stone. But to make sure you’re extra set up for success we put together your BFCM Email Marketing Checklist.

Read on to learn 4 must-dos for planning and executing your holiday campaigns plus 6 best practices for more targeted campaigns. But first, we got some goods for you! 

Let’s dive in!

🎙️ New Episode Alert - The BEST BFCM Email & SMS Strategies You’re NOT Using

In this NEW episode, we break down the ultimate strategies for optimizing email and SMS during Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) in 2024. Listen, we get it. You hear the word “playbook” A LOT. So this isn’t just another playbook. This is how to do your campaigns the RIGHT way. We touch on how to manage volume and audience during your campaigns, real-time retargeting for email & SMS, segmentation best practices, and Jimmy’s favorite Black Friday strategy: Launching…

You’ll have to tune in to find out! Stream the new episode of Send It! on YouTube or listen on Spotify and Apple.

💡 Knowledge Drop of The Week

Listen, we love emojis as much as anyone—but those little guys can tank your email deliverability. 😬 Want to stay out of the spam folder? Use emojis wisely and follow these inbox-friendly tips! 📬

Alright, enough chit chat, grab your coffee and gather around because today we’re diving into…

4 Must-Dos for Planning Your Holiday Email Marketing Campaigns

Let’s start with what you’ll need to cover in terms of planning.

1. Fine-tune your audience targeting to maximize engagement

Segmenting your audience is crucial during the holidays.

You can’t afford to send generic, one-size-fits-all messages. Each segment of your audience should receive tailored messaging, frequency, and calls-to-action.

Consider our 20-60-20 MVC rule for segmenting for your Black Friday and Cyber Monday campaigns:

• Bottom 20%: These are your newer subscribers that have not purchased yet

• Middle 60%: This is your biggest segment, they’ve purchased once or twice

• Top 20%: These are your MVP’s, they know you, they love you 

Your mission here is to get shoppers to move into the next bucket. Tailor your messaging for each of these lifecycle phases and you’ll be off to the races.

We dive more into this in episode 3 of the Send It! podcast! Stream the episode here. 

2. Set specific goals for your Black Friday and Cyber Monday campaigns

Goal-setting is essential for measuring your campaign success.

Rather than vague goals like “drive sales,” get specific. Here are some questions to consider:

• Revenue goals: What’s your revenue target? How many items do you plan to sell?

• Customer goals: How many new customers will you acquire? What’s the cost of acquiring them?

• Inventory goals: Which products are your best-sellers, and what inventory are you clearing out?

Compare your current goals to last year’s performance to guide your expectations.

3. Create an on-site experience that complements your holiday marketing

You’re competing for attention, so anything that makes your holiday offers stand out is a win.

• Update your homepage and landing pages with holiday promotions.

• Use holiday-themed popups and opt-ins to drive signups.

• Mention your Black Friday deals in existing email campaigns to build anticipation.

4. Implement holiday-specific email flows with event-based marketing

Automation is key to holiday success.

Use behavior-based email targeting to follow up with customers who interact with your site or abandon carts. Set up automations that trigger based on customer behavior to maximize touch points and engagement.

For example, your ESP can help you follow up with customers who’ve visited a specific product page or abandoned their cart with a special holiday deal.

For more on this topic, we break down your full holiday messaging flow in the latest episode of the Send It! podcast!

6 Best Practices for Black Friday and Cyber Monday Emails

To wrap things up, here are the key practices for crafting high-performing holiday emails:

1. Don’t hold back: Ramp up your emails during the holidays. Consumers are actively searching for deals in their inboxes.

2. Plan early and test often: Start testing subject lines, segmentation, and frequency now to perfect your campaigns before the rush.

3. Create urgency: Use countdowns, time-sensitive language, and dates to prompt immediate action.

4. Make it festive: Tailor your email design and messaging to the holiday season. Make it stand out from your usual emails.

5. Consider SMS: Complement your email campaigns with SMS for direct, personal outreach, perfect for last-minute deals.

6. Track everything: Monitor your campaigns closely and use your ESP’s analytics to refine your strategy for next year.

🔥 DTC Wins of The Week

Original Grain just dropped their new Limited Edition, Charred Whiskey Collection and wow—that subject line? It literally leaves you wondering… “WTH is this all about?” We’re talking 10/10, chef’s kiss-worthy. 🤌

Ever wonder how Liquid Death pulls off wild campaigns on a shoestring budget? Turns out, they do it all in-house with their production team, Death Machine. Check out this behind-the-scenes clip of Stuart Golley and Johnny Eastlund shooting their own product photos for the limited Hot Fudge Sundae release. DIY or die. 💀

🗞️ Quick Clips

• PostPilot just launched a magazine: … WAT?! Yep, a real, hold-it-in-your-hands DTC magazine. Hello, 2000s—missed ya.

• BFCM Marketing Calendar: Chris Hall, “The Ecomm Cowboy” himself, dropped the playbook he’s used to grow 7, 8, and 9-figure brands in Q4.

• BFCM Ads Masterclass: Sarah Levinger, Barry Hott, Fraser Cottrell dive into what makes a winning BFCM ad strategy.

And that’s a wrap for this week! Thanks for hanging out with Chase and me. If you enjoyed this newsletter, spread the love—share ecomemailmarketer.com with your favorite DTC marketer and invite them to subscribe. Catch you next week! 🚀

Remember: Do shit you love.

🤘 Jimmy Kim