Joanna Lawson-Matthew, senior account manager at Blue Sky Factory, discusses steps for planning your holiday email campaigns, creative ideas that will make subscribers take notice, and key best practices to keep in mind during this busy season.

1. Blue Sky Factory
Driving Email Marketing Performance
‘Tis the Season to Start Planning Your Holiday Email Campaigns
September 2, 2009
2:00 to 2:45 PM
Baltimore, Maryland
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

2. About Blue Sky Factory
Blue Sky Factory is both a full & self service ESP.
Design, execute, and track your email marketing
communications with Publicaster.
www.blueskyfactory.com
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

3. The Holidays are Approaching!
90% of major online retailers increase their email
volume during the holiday season1
The most popular email days of 2008 came in the weeks
before Christmas, with #1 being Cyber Monday1
1 Smith-Harmon “Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season”
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

4. Our Agenda
1. Plan: Getting Started with your Holiday Campaigns
2. Be Creative: Ideas to Cut Through the Clutter
3. Get Results: Suggestions for Delivering Optimal
Results
4. Best Practices: Tips to Remember During the Hustle
and Bustle
5. Q & A
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

5. Plan
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6. A Few Decisions to Make
• What will be the main call-to-action of your
campaigns?
• Will you design the emails in-house or outsource?
• What are your goals for this year’s holiday campaigns?
• How will you measure success this year?
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

7. Planning Your Creative
• Brainstorm creative ideas now
• Get suggestions from all departments
• Offer a prize for the winning idea
• Review other companies’ holiday campaigns from
last year for ideas
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

8. Review Last Year’s Campaigns
• What worked, what didn’t work
• Which campaigns got the highest/lowest:
• Open rate, Click through rate
• Conversion rate, Forward rate
• Unsubscribe/Complaint rate
• What day(s) did you send on? Was that successful?
• What did your competitors do?
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

9. On average, retailers began their 2008 holiday
campaigns 67 days before Christmas, which was nine
days earlier than during the 2007 holiday season1
1 Smith-Harmon “Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season”
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

10. Develop a Schedule
• Plan frequency and number of campaigns
• Develop a start date, based on internal due dates
• Work backwards, leaving time for testing
• Review your schedule with other departments’ email
schedules so there is not a clash
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

11. Be Creative
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12. Timing is Everything
• Promote early bird specials to encourage subscribers
to shop early
• Create urgency closer to the holiday
• Only X more days until Christmas!
• Guaranteed shipping by X date
• Create a countdown (e.g. 12 Days of Christmas)
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

13. Timing is Everything - example
Smith-Harmon, “Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season”
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

14. Retail-Specific Ideas
• Give your recipients “insider status”, special deals
just for them
• Daily/weekly sale item just for email subscribers
• Option to forward, encourage others to sign up
• Triggered emails for abandoned shopping carts
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

15. Retail-Specific Ideas - example
Smith-Harmon, “Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season”
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

16. A Little Help for the Holidays
• Showcase gift ideas by budget, gender and age
• Make their decisions easier by presenting gift
items together
• Promote the “most popular” gift items
• Link them to friends/family wish lists
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

17. A Little Help for the Holidays - example
Smith-Harmon, “Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season”
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

18. Be a Holiday Resource
• Ideas for “holidays on a budget”
• Eco-friendly holiday purchases & gift ideas
• Relevant holiday tips, how-to guides
• Cooking, recipes
• How to stay healthy this holiday
• Guide to a stress-free holiday
• Travel tips
• Party planning
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

19. Spread the Love
• Make your emails viral, encourage sharing
• Forward to a Friend, Share With Your Network
• Give a “family & friend” discount, reward for
referring a friend
• Prompt subscribers to submit their own holiday
tips, recipes, money-saving ideas, best traditions
• Be interactive by showcasing a game, quiz, survey
• Offer free downloads, like wallpaper or a music mix
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

20. Spread the Love - example
http://www.g1440.com/holiday08/
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21. Spread the Love - example
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBntR_5JIoo
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

22. Don’t Forget About Me
• 80% of adults shopping for holiday gifts also buy
something for themselves1, so incorporate “Don’t
forget something for yourself” into your emails
• Prompt subscribers to create a wish list and share
with family & friends
1 Return Path, “Boost Holiday Email Responses: Give Subscribers What They Want” webinar, 2007
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

23. Take Time to Say “Thanks”
• Not always about the hard sell
• Use the holidays to show your appreciation and
further build the relationship
• Get your subscribers in the holiday mood with
caroling, holiday jokes, fun facts
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

24. Take Time to Say “Thanks” - example
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25. Take Time to Say “Thanks” - example
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26. Post-Holiday Emails
• Don’t forget to follow-up with subscribers after the
holidays
• Survey buyers about their purchases
• Complement their holiday purchases with accessories
• Encourage gift card redemption
• Spend your holiday cash (gifts for you)
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

27. Post-Holiday Emails – example
Smith-Harmon, “Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season”
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

28. Other Creative Ideas
• Think outside the box (e.g. horizontal scroll)
• Send a series of emails to tell a story, tied together
with similar creative
• Keep your normal email template, but add a holiday
header/footer
• Differentiate your brand from the clutter - stand out
through design, timing or offers
• Use subscriber profile info to personalize emails
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

29. Other Creative Ideas - example
2650 pixels wide
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30. Other Creative Ideas - example
Smith-Harmon, “Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season”
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

31. Other Creative Ideas - example
Smith-Harmon, “Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season”
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

32. Other Creative Ideas - example
Smith-Harmon, “Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season”
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

33. Other Creative Ideas - example
Smith-Harmon, “Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season”
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

34. A Few Things to Keep in Mind
• Speak the language of your subscribers, maintain tone
• Keep the economic times in mind
• Holiday content must be relevant
• Balance between offer and value-added content
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

35. Get Results
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

36. 45.2% of consumers open an email
because of the subject line1
1 Return Path's Fourth Annual Holiday Email Consumer Survey, 2008
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

37. Holiday Subject & From Lines
• Your subject line should:
• Reflect the email’s content
• Break through the clutter
• Create urgency
• Alternatives to “Free Shipping” in the subject line
• Use recognizable brand name in subject line and
from name/address
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

38. Ensure Your Lists are Top-Notch
• Make sure only true opt-in subscribers are
included in your email campaigns
• Identify non-responders in your lists and run a re-
engagement campaign now
• Segment list based on activity/engagement
• Holiday specific opt-in list
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

39. In 2008 retailers increased their send volumes on
average by 43% during the holiday email season1
1 Retail Email Blog, “Retail Email Index”
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

40. Frequency Considerations
• Remember the expectations regarding frequency
you set up front with your subscribers
• Consider setting up a separate opt-in just for the
holidays
• Use a preference center to set expectations about
messaging and frequency, give options
• Set up a holiday unsubscribe option
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

41. Timing Considerations
Smith-Harmon “Retail Email Guide to the Holiday Season”
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

42. Is Your Reputation Jolly?
• Take the time now to make sure your IP reputation
is in good standing, work with your ESP
• Ensure you are subscribed to all available Feedback
Loops
• Set up authentication records (Sender ID, SPF,
Domain Keys)
• For more on authentication, visit our blog:
http://blog.blueskyfactory.com/industrytrends/three-ways-to-improve-email-deliverability/
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

43. Best Practices
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

44. Check Your Email Creative
• Take the time now to ensure your email renders well
across all email clients
• Plan for blocked images, use of preview pane
• Ensure your call-to-action is prominent (5 second test)
• Offer a mobile version of your email
• Add SWYN features to your email creative
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

45. Be Sure to Include…
• Snippet text & View in Browser link
• Alt tags on all images
• Opt-out link, subscriber preferences link
• Physical mailing address
• Email Design Guidelines:
http://www.blueskyfactory.com/resources/BSFEmailDesignGuidelines.pdf
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

46. Final Tips to Succeed this Holiday
• Test, test, test
• Subject lines
• Offers, calls-to-action
• Timing, date/time
• Landing pages
• Creative aspects
• Use this holiday to plan for next holiday
• Subscribe to your competitors' emails to generate
ideas for next year
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

47. Questions?
Thank You!
Q&A – please submit your questions now
Joanna Lawson-Matthew
Account Manager, Blue Sky Factory
joanna@blueskyfactory.com
www.blueskyfactory.com - web
blog.blueskyfactory.com – blog
@blueskyfactory, @joannalm - twitter
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory

48. Credits
Many of the statistics and images you saw in this
presentation were provided to us by Smith-Harmon.
Please check out their “The Retail Email Guide to the
Holiday Season” report, written by Chad White, here:
http://www.smith-harmon.com/
Copyright 2009 Blue Sky Factory