Here we are, staring down the barrel of the busy Christmas period. If you’re a maker or an online business owner, you’re probably thinking about how to maximise sales AND how to stay sane. Both are important!
To give you an easy step towards more sales, more confidence, and less stress, I’m sharing three key emails you can send before Christmas, including key dates, subject lines, and what to include.
So are you ready to find out more and get them scheduled? Let’s go!
Email 1: Black Friday / Cyber Monday
Whether you’re offering a discount, other offer, or just keeping your shop open as usual, the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend is a big peak for people buying online. Yes, people will look for deals, but they’ll also have had their November pay cheque and will have Christmas firmly in their sights!
It’s a great time to nudge more people to spend their hard-earned cash with you – on your unique, uplifting, and super-desirable products. (I know you have them ready to go…)
Here are the details for this email:
Date: Friday 27th or Monday 30th November
You can choose whether to send this on the Friday, the Monday, or somewhere in between. You might have strong feelings on how other businesses are approaching this weekend, or have an offer you want to align your email with. If in doubt, go for 8am on Friday 27th November.
(And if you do have a discount or offer running over the weekend, don’t be afraid of sending two emails – one with the offer announcement, and another reminder email just before the offer ends!)
Subject line options:
- The best email you’ll open all day!
- Shop small this Christmas (plus a special offer just for you!)
- Shop with {discount detail} this weekend only
You can tweak, edit, and make your subject line work for you. Add an emoji or two. But make sure you keep it short, snappy and enticing!
Email content:
- Use a short, bold headline, such as “Shop with 20% off this weekend” or “Ready to get your gift list sorted?”
- Include a short paragraph introducing your offer or sharing your approach to Black Friday as a small business owner, for example, “It’s a strange year to be a small business, but as a thank you for all the wonderful support I’ve received this year, I thought I’d share 20% off during this busy weekend. I’ve got my party hat ready to do a happy dance for every order that comes in!”
- Then include two or three gorgeous product images – products that you’re known for and are bestsellers – plus a nice big “Shop now” button linking through to your shop.
- Have a discount code? Make it really clear and a big link to your shop.
- Share a customer review or a quick recap of your offer details.
- Add a sign off and a final link to your shop.
Email 2: Last Chance To Order
Date: whenever your last order date is
(And you can totally get this drafted and ready to send if you’re not quite sure when that will be yet!)
Subject line options:
- Last chance for {product type, eg festive biscuits or gifts to delight} this Christmas
- The Christmas train is leaving the station…
- Order today! (I don’t want you to miss out)
Email content:
- Use a clear, bold headline that gets straight to the point: “Today is the last day for orders!”
- Add a short sentence: “I don’t want you to miss out, so here’s a reminder that today is your last chance for Christmas gifts this year. Let’s get that list sorted!”
- Share 3-5 product images with a big, clear call to action: “Shop now!”
- You could include a few key product types, such as “Gifts for grandparents” or “Last minute stocking fillers” or “Luxury gifts for BFFs”.
- Include a short and sweet review from a customer to cultivate trust.
- Sign off and include a final link to your shop.
Email 3: Merry Christmas
Date: Thursday 24th December
This email isn’t a sales push – but that’s really important! This is a chance to thank all your loyal, generous, amazing customers for their support and wish them a Merry Christmas, wherever they are and whatever they’re up to.
Subject line options:
- Merry Christmas from {brand name}
- Stockings up? ✔ Twinkly lights on? ✔ Merry Christmas ??
- From my home to yours, {customer name}
If you collect customers’ first names, automate that last subject line with a tag to pull their name through. If you don’t, just leave it out!
Email content:
- Use a headline like “Thank you” or “Merry Christmas”
- You can write a short paragraph to thank your customers, or tell your Christmas Eve story, eg “Well, here it is: Christmas Eve. I’ve got a cup of mulled wine, the presents are wrapped, and my heart is full. Thank you to every single one of you for your orders, support, and encouragement this year.”
- Use an illustration or a photo to highlight your Merry Christmas message.
- Don’t forget to wish them a Merry Christmas: “I hope your Christmas is full of love and magic, even if it isn’t quite what you hoped for this year.”
- And finally: “I’m going to hibernate at home for a couple of weeks, but I’ll be sharing snapshots on social media, so join me there. Otherwise, I look forward to seeing you again in January!”
- Sign off
It’s time to amplify your success this Christmas
And that’s it! Those three emails are going to keep your newsletter subscribers engaged through the Christmas period. They’re going to generate some sales for you. And they’re going to make you feel organised and on top of things.
And that, my friend, is worth it.
If you need help or have any questions, you can get in touch.
And if you found this helpful, you’re going to love the Better Business Collective. Join the waitlist now.
