Black Friday (last Friday of November) is nearly upon us. For customers, Black Friday is the ultimate “Treat Yo Self” day but for businesses Black Friday can be stressful and manic. However, that being said, it's a great opportunity for businesses to rack up some £££ by increasing sales, conversions, brand awareness and return customers.
In order to get customers to your website and increase conversions on Black Friday, you need to communicate a time-sensitive message encouraging people to panic buy in order to get a good deal. But how you might ask?
~ Email Campaigns ~
Obviously it’s important to share your Black Friday offer via a number of different channels to get the word out, but it’s essential that you focus on a targeted email campaign. Email marketing is proven to boost interaction and sales...
According to SalesCycle, “the UK’s online shoppers spent £1.49bn on Black Friday 2018.” Their research shows email conversion rates were higher than any other channel over the Black Friday/ Cyber Monday period.
So, if you haven’t already started your Black Friday email campaign, or you have found yourself stuck for ideas, wondering “how do I stand out from the crowd when everyone else is sending the same message?” Do not fear: at Flint Studios, we can help!
Tips for creating a successful Black Friday email campaign
The Flint Studios team have hand-picked the best tips for creating a successful Black Friday (& Cyber Monday) email campaign.
Segment and target!
It’s vital that when you’re communicating to your audience, you are providing a clear, relevant and intriguing message that is going to excite and resonate with them personally. Sending your customer’s relevant content that you know they will love, is much more likely to result in a conversion than a mass marketing blanket email to your whole list.
Before you even begin crafting this message, you need to understand who you are targeting i.e. who you are communicating/ selling your offer to.
This is where segmentation is key! Segment your email list into different market groups: this could be based on geographic location, demographics, previous purchasing behaviour or known interests.
By fully understanding who you are targeting, you can identify relevant products and services for each group and create a powerful message that will appeal to them.
Keep it short and sweet
Over the Black Friday period, shoppers receive dozens of email marketing campaigns. No one wants to read a long, over explained email that is telling them, you are celebrating Black Friday. Keep your messaging precise and to-the-point for your subscribers.
Also, keep your content short and sweet: get straight to the point with no “fluff”: describe your offer, showcase a few products or services that are relevant, add a call to action (CTA) and turn your readers into conversions.
Top Tip: Checklist of MUST HAVE content to include in your Black Friday and Cyper Monday email campaign:
- What your offer is and why your customers want it
- Products/Service included in your offer
- Offer start & end dates/times
- Call to action
- Links to your website & social channels
Show off your goods
In order to get people to click through your email and onto your site, you need to showcase high-quality images or videos of your products. Customers tend to buy with their eyes, so make sure you email campaign is extremely visual.
Top Tip: Always keep User Experience in mind. Provide a direct link to products that are showcased in your email and keep clicks required by the user to purchase to as little as possible.
Keep in mind the design and layout
Before you let your creative mind go and start writing and designing your email campaign, it’s important that you know what you are working with.
To keep everyone happy the standard email template width is 600 pixels for desktops and 480 pixels for mobile devices.
If you stick to these sizes, it means that your email should not be chopped off or have wonky formatting!
Also, by now, knowing exactly what measurements you are working with, you are able to ensure that your content won’t be over-crowded or look unprofessional and untidy.
You need to keep in mind how easy it is to read your email campaign. It’s all fine and dandy that you’ve created this beautiful, aesthetically pleasing Black Friday email campaign, but, if it’s not clear or easy to read your subscribers will be less likely to convert.
Keep your layout simple, and don’t overcrowd the design with a lot of clutter.
Get creative while keeping your brand image in mind
The design opportunities with a Black Friday (and Cyber Monday) email campaign are endless!
Whether you are getting funky with GIFs, being traditional with images or being innovative with game-based activities, just make sure that it’s eye-catching, original!
It is recommended that you get wild and creative with your email campaign, but it’s also extremely important that you keep your brand image in mind when creating and designing your template and content.
On one hand you want your content to stand out from the crowd, but you don’t want it to be so creative that when a subscriber reads the email, they are unsure who the message is from because you’ve lost your brand identity in the process.
Being recognisable and having a strong voice is vital for getting through all the noise in your subscribers indox, especially during busy periods like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
So, when you are adding the final touches to your email campaign, make sure that it clearly illustrates your logo, colours, style & typeface.
Top Tip: Once you have created your Black Friday email campaign, you can use the same design for your Cyper Monday campaign! Just add in the correct content, switch up the offers a bit and voila! You now have your Cyper Monday campaign ready to go.
Get people opening with an intriguing subject line
In order to stand out in your subscribers indox and beat your competition and other businesses you need to write an engaging subject line.
The subject line is a vital part of your email campaign. You may have a fully engaging and enticing email, but if your subject line lacks in a powerful message, your subscribers won’t even get as far as opening to view your content.
Some good examples of engaging subject lines include:
- Emojis
- Describing your deal
- Time limit on your deal
- Humour
Timing
The timing for your Black Friday email is vital.
If you send it too early, your email will be pushed down the list and forgotten about while the other emails come through.
Send it too late, and your subscribers have already spent half of their pay cheques.
The timing for your email is largely based on your subscribers. Look at your previous campaigns and when you sent them- which got the best engagement and a highest click through rates?
Sending your Black Friday email a couple of days before will allow you to avoid the crowds and place your offer in people’s minds early.
Black Friday Countdown… Are you prepared?
Whether you are prepared or not, Black Friday is approaching (29th Nov 2019) and standing out from your competitors is essential. Contact Flint Studios to discuss your Black Friday and Cyper Monday strategy and to see how we can help!
Call us on +44 (0)28 9045 5554 or email [email protected] today, one of our digital experts would be happy to chat!