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Stress-Free Thanksgiving Email Marketing: Breezy Planning Kit

I know you ALREADY have a lot on your plate.

I mean, it’s 2020. I don’t need to go into much more detail than that. Unless you’ve been blissfully unaware of what’s been going on. (PLEASE tell me your secrets).

But you still have a job to do.

And that most likely includes some sort of Thanksgiving email.

Whether it’s to push your Thanksgiving offers/products or just a simple “I’m grateful for you.” message. The emails STILL have to go out.

I have been in your shoes. Oh boy, have I been there.

Since you’re under enough stress as it is, I’ve put together a simple inspiration/planning kit to help you plan and/or create your emails.

It includes:

? Emoji library. Every Thanksgiving-related emoji for your subject lines.

? Subject line ideas. Make your subscribers HUNGRY to open your emails.

? Email Inspiration. Take a look at Thanksgiving emails that businesses are sending out to get some ideas.

Stress-Free Thanksgiving Email Marketing Kit

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Email Inspiration: New Customer Education

Your leads need help and so do your new customers.

Just because they placed an order or signed a contract doesn’t mean you get to just drop them in the middle of your offering.

I mean you could (I mean, I’m not gonna tell you what to do… or AM I???), but it’s a little disorienting.

I spend all day every day in my business. When I worked in-house for brands in their marketing departments, it was the same thing.

I know my world inside and out just as much as you know your business inside and out.

But does your new customer?

Do they know what comes next after they hit submit? Do they know if and what they should prepare for their new order or service?

They need you to hold their hand through their first steps of becoming a customer.

But what does that look like?

Lucky for you, I know some incredible humans who have given me the green light to show you an AMAZING example.

Their names are Laura Garfield and Sharon Gottula of Idea Decanter.

They provide a service called Idea Kit that allows them to tell your stories through remote video production.

They are extremely talented and amazing people. I’m so lucky to know them.

Their challenge:

Their clients are video newbies. They are inexperienced with the process, in front of the camera, and the tech that goes along with it.

When they begin a recording session, they need to catch their clients up to speed on how to make a video ASAP.

Their solution:

They created a 5-day mini-course to teach their new clients HOW to be the best they can be on video.

It makes sense, right? If their clients don’t know how to record a video and they don’t like the results, what’s the chance of them reaching out to Idea Decanter again?

The emails are just plain good content, but they’re highly targeted to their new customers who need them NOW.

Take a look at their series and get inspired to help your new customers.

 

Email campaign to delight your new customers

You when you get a new customer: “Alriiiiiiight!”

What your customer sees in their inbox when they become a new customer: “Confirmation of transaction…”

When we talk about building a business with email, we often talk about how to use it to get new customers.

But what happens when you finally land that customer?

How are you using email to nurture that brand new relationship?

Is it purely transactional?

Or are you using it as one more opportunity to continue to build brand loyalty?

What would that even look like?

On a very basic level, it’s sending an email with what your customer really really wants to know.

Such as:

  • What happens next?
  • Are they going to be getting more information on their new order?
  • What do they need to do in order to prepare for the product or service they just ordered?
  • When can they expect to receive their next communication?


And I bet you know where this is going, but lemme tell ya anyway.

This info can be turned into a series that is triggered based on time, behavior, or order update.

It’s one more way to serve your customers the content they want/need the most that builds. brand. loyalty.

Relationship nurturing doesn’t stop with the sale. It’s always a priority at every stage of the customer journey.

Here are a few ideas on what you can do to nurture your new relationship:

For Digital Products:

  • Create a step-by-step email sequence that makes sure your new customer knows EXACTLY how to use their shiny new product.
  • That can be video tutorials on how to navigate the new system.
  • Next steps to get them set up and ready to go.
  • Ideas on how to get the most out of their new product.

For Services:

  1. Prepare them for their first appointment. What do they need to know?
  2. Send them all of the info they need to be able to reach the right person when they most need them.
  3. Summarize what they signed up for to create transparency and trust.
  4. Send reminders about their first appointment WITH reminders about what they should have prepared.

For Retail/E-Commerce Business:

  1. Order Confirmation. Include when they can expect their order to ship. Don’t forget to include information about shipment delays if you’re experiencing them right now.
  2. Shipping Confirmation. Include the average delivery window and maybe a coupon for their next purchase if they realized they want something to go along with their order.
  3. Delivery Confirmation. Let them know when their order has arrived. It’s another exciting email to receive about their order. (It’s here!)
  4. Instructions and ideas on how to get the most out of the product they just purchased.
  5. How to best contact customer service in case there is a problem. Be proactive about resolving any product issues. They might prefer to tell a friend about a defective item before approaching you about fixing it.

What does your new customer onboarding communication plan look like right now? Are there any gaps you could fill?

 

 

3 Holiday Email Campaign Ideas

It’s here! It’s here! It’s here!

The holidays are on us and you and your inbox are about to get STUFFED. (Get it!? Like a turkey!) Sometimes I don’t know what to do with myself.

Instead of begging the Google gods for inspiration, I thought I’d throw you some ideas on how to celebrate the season in your customers’ inbox.

I’ve seen RESULTS with these campaigns during the email cluttered season of SHOPPING, EATING and GIVING.

You’ve already designed, written and schedule all your holiday campaigns, right!?

HAHAHAHA

If you’re like most lean companies, you probably have a rough outline but haven’t quite gotten to building those emails.

Don’t worry about it. You have PLENTY of time.

And with these ideas, you’ll have a fresh new twist to add to your copy or design.

Let’s get to it, shall we?

Holiday Email Campaign Idea 1:

Show Some Gratitude on Thanksgiving

What are people doing on Thanksgiving day outside of the 30 minutes they spend at the dinner table mashing green bean casserole into their faces while trying to ignore Uncle Mike’s one billionth rant about KIDS THESE DAYS?

(Also, let’s face it. The sides of any Thanksgiving meal are usually the best. Give me green bean casserole, stuffing and mashed potatoes any day over turkey. CONTROVERSIAL!)

As maddening as it is, you are gonna be on your phone trying to avoid eye contact with Aunt Cheryl who’s already had one too many glasses of wine and LOVES to ask you questions about what it is you actually do while pretending to know what digital marketing means.

You are not alone.

It’s AWKWARD. And people will be doing everything they can to alleviate that stress.

What are they going to be doing on their phones?

Checking the social media and guess what else? THEIR EMAILS!

You are GOING to have their attention on Thanksgiving.

Use this time to show your email subscribers some gratitude.

  • Tell them what their support has meant for your business this year or the people/customers you serve.
  • Tell a story about something that was a big win for a customer or client of yours.
  • Tell them a story about a big win for your business this year.
  • Tell them that THEY are part of your success.
  • Tell them why they should care about your business.

Don’t expect them to remember every detail of your brand story. Give them a reason to remember you. Make sure they know how important they are to your business.

Holiday Email Campaign Idea 2:

Make Black Friday/Cyber Monday Your Own

Every offer over the weekend after Thanksgiving is going to be about Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

Do you know what OTHER BUSINESSES are going to be emailing about?

BLACK FRIDAY!

CYBER MONDAY!

DEALS! DEALS! DEALS!

They’re doing it because people are looking for deals. But when you start using the same language as everyone else, they’re going to start comparing your deal or offer to everyone else’s.

How do you make it different?

Brand it or Skip it.

Tell people why you’re skipping out on Black Friday and Cyber Monday if you’re not doing anything around it.

OR

Name it your own thing.

How can you riff on it?

Any fun puns that go along with your brand?

Is there another color that aligns with your brand other than black? Or is black a core brand identity for you?

Play with it. People will see you stand out among EVERY subject line that will read “Black Friday”.

Holiday Email Campaign Idea 3:

Giving Tuesday

The nonprofit world lives off of Giving Tuesday. (The day after Cyber Monday).

It’s a day that nonprofits can make an explicit call for donations.

Does a part of your annual sales go to giving back to your community or a cause your business supports?

Shout it out!

Is Giving Tuesday an opportunity to donate a percentage of your sales from THAT DAY ONLY to a cause that aligns with your brand and customers?

Use it as an opportunity to boost brand loyalty by showing that you care about something beautiful in this world.

Best Alternatives to Mailchimp

It’s not secret that I dislike Mailchimp. Talk to me for 5 minutes and I’ll tell you why.

We don’t have five minutes, so I’ll go ahead and jump right in.

1. The templates ARE NOT flexible.

You are at the mercy of their templates every time you design an email.

Want to have a row of 3 images instead of 2? Oh, no big deal, then you’re gonna need to redesign that email in a totally different template.

Yes, seriously.

I have been here and HATED it.

 

2. The automations aren’t super great either.

Want an email automation that actually DOES what you want it to? Prepare yourself for hours of hacking your way through alternative routes to get it done.

(and don’t get me started on their segments)

 

3. Only ONE form per list.

If you have multiple forms that you want to custom tag your audience so that they all go on the same list, forget about it. You only get one FORM.

Many other email service providers provide you with limitless forms that all can go to one list.

BEST ALTERNATIVES TO MAILCHIMP:

TOP RECOMMENDATION: ActiveCampaign

Plain and simple, ActiveCampaign will get you the biggest bang for your buck.

You can segment your audience very easily.
The automations are in an actual visual map instead of a confusing list (*cough* Mailchimp *cough*).

Their email template builder is SUPER flexible.

AND you can track website behavior of your contacts to see what they’re browsing before they buy.

They do not have a free version, but if you’re serious about email marketing for your business, I HIGHLY recommend investing in a tool like ActiveCampaign.

I use it for my own business and have migrated several clients over to it who also love it.

BONUS: They have a tiered package that offers a CRM (Customer Relationship Manager) that can help you keep track of your sales pipeline if you’re a service-based business.

Check it out

BEST FREE VERSION: Mailerlite

Mailerlite offers visual automation flows and beautiful, flexible templates.

Their segmentation is robust enough to create personalized experiences for your email subscribers.

AND their automation is a beautiful visual flow that is incredibly user-friendly and gives you options for creating truly optimized automation strategies.

Check it out

BEST FOR E-COMMERCE: Klaviyo

If you’re selling products online, Klaviyo is incredible!

I’ve worked in top dollar Email Service Providers that can’t do what Klaviyo does.

It harvests your customers’ purchasing data and can predict when they will order next. It’s so cool!

It integrates with most retail and e-commerce platforms.

For real, if you’re planning to sell products online (or at a brick-and-mortar store) check it out.

Check it out

***full disclosure: I am an affiliate for all of these services. I receive a small commission for anyone who signs up for these services through the links above.