When we were younger, we would sit down with a pen in hand and write to Santa about how deserving we were of presents. Although we might have spent our teenage years looking back and laughing at old Christmas traditions, we can spend our adult years thanking ourselves for having such wide imaginations…
When it comes to email marketing, certain rules need to be followed in order to increase the likelihood of a successful campaign. These rules can be applied to letters to Santa, too. We may be caught up in a festive bubble at the moment, but can assure you that these lessons can be utilised throughout the whole year. đ đŒ
Keep it personal
Letters to Santa are usually short and sweet. Due to this, children need to âsellâ themselves to Santa in the most persuasive way possible. How do you persuade? Be personal. Santa will be able to deliver goods far more easily when he knows exactly who is addressing him.
The same applies to email marketing. We donât mean that you should find out the names of the recipients family members and ask how theyâre doing, but we do mean that you should make your email sound as original and personal as possible. If your recipient gets an inkling that youâre sending automated messages, then you can wave bye-bye to a valuable response. Hubspot has an excellent guide on marketing personalisation, but here are some key takeaways:
â Use the recipient’s name
â Create relevant content that the recipient will actually want to read
â Be as humane as possible
Express care and interest
Following on from being as humane as possible, expressing care and interest is important when it comes to both letters to Santa and email marketing.
Some children will be so desperate to ask Santa for presents, that they wonât even bother asking how heâs been. However, those who add a little more care to their letters are far more likely to be remembered by Santa and receive every present on their list.
Kindness is key through all walks of life, and it isnât forgotten about in email marketing, either. Taking the time to ask your recipient how theyâre doing or giving them some information about their industry is far more likely to spark a reply. You need to sell yourself before jumping into a pitch, and expressing care and interest does just that.
Prove your worth
Writing to Santa has one end goal: presents, lots of presents. The general rule is that youâll end up on the nice list if youâve been good all year, so your letter to Santa needs to prove that youâre worthy. Children tend to be very specific with what they want, and it always works!
Although slightly more complicated with email marketing, you still need to prove that your pitch is valuable to the recipient and that youâre better than the hundreds of other emails in their inbox. By being specific, youâre proving that you know your stuff and that youâre confident youâre the right match for them. No matter what the goal of your campaign, be specific and donât waste anyoneâs time.
Request politely
Youâve warmed Santa up with your kindness, and now itâs time to use your manners and request a present or two.
This is known as a âcall to actionâ in marketing, and essentially is the converting factor of your campaign. Your call to action will depend on the goal of your campaign – just ensure that it is relevant to the rest of your email content and doesnât sound too demanding. Please excuse us while we drop a great example of a call to action⊠hint hint. đ
Timing is key
Sending Santa a letter is all good and well, but if youâre doing it in April, itâs unlikely that youâll get what you asked for. Trends and interests change like the wind, so writing your wishes to Santa so early in the year will not be beneficial once December comes round. In addition to this, sending a letter too late will mean that Santa doesnât have time to prepare himself. Knowing the perfect time-frame to send out a letter to Santa is crucial in order to avoid stress and misunderstandings. Heâs a busy man!
Timing plays a huge role in email marketing, too. There will be certain times throughout the week that your recipients are more active in their inboxes, so itâs a matter of trial and error in order to establish the best time to send your emails. Give yourself plenty of time to hit your campaign targets and tie this in with the availability of your recipient. Just ensure you arenât bothering them out of work hours!
Next time you start your email marketing campaign, think to yourself: âWhat would 4-year-old me do?â. We hope these basics have helped you understand the principles of email marketing with a slight twist! đ đŒđ