With Halloween now over marketers will soon be thinking about the next marketing opportunity and as a recipient your inbox will be hit full force with Christmas emails and promotions. So what can marketers do to make sure theirs stand out? For me, Costa hit the nail on the head and here I explain why.

Act Quick!

This was one of the first Christmas emails I received so instantly I’m more receptive to it. Brands need to act quickly before recipients are so inundated with Christmas emails that yours needs to work twice as hard to stand out. Now is a great time to start with your Christmas activity as it’s not only a sales opportunity, it’s great for brand awareness. Even if recipients aren’t ready to engage with your festivities yet, they may well keep you in mind for when they are!

Make every second count

Litmus state that from tracking over 2 million emails they concluded brands only have two seconds to engage with a recipient before they decide whether to delete your email. With that in mind marketers need to make sure they take every opportunity they can to make a lasting impression on their recipients. Animated GIFs can be very effective if used well. Costa have used the animation to draw the recipient in and also to add a bit of fun to the design of their email. It’s not too in your face so it won’t detract from the main call to action but it definitely adds to the fun and helps the brand show its personality. Further reading on the do’s and don’ts of animated gifs can be found in this blog.

Create Exclusivity

The purpose of the email is to create awareness of an event Costa is running to promote its Christmas goodies. The event is very different to Costa’s usual content and they’ve used clever language to build the excitement of the event and make it feel like an exclusive. Even if you can’t create anything exclusive for your recipients, use persuasive language that makes them feel special and they will be more likely to convert.

Build Brand Loyalty

Everyone loves getting something for free; even if it is just loyalty points. Here Costa are enticing you to convert by giving you triple points if you attend their event. The key here is to look at what you can do to increase loyalty and this doesn’t always have to be a discount. Consider creating a reward scheme where members get a special status or insider information. This can be just as powerful as giving something away and it means if recipients feel like they gain something from being on your mailing list, they’re much more likely to stay on it.

Don’t give everything away in the email

A mistake marketers often make is giving away all of their information in their email. We need to remember that email is a tool to drive recipients to convert, usually on your website. If you give everything away in your email you’re removing the need for recipients to click through and convert. You need to tow the fine line between creating enough intrigue but not going into information overload so recipients have no need to click on your email. Costa has done this by telling you snippets of information about their event but not giving it all away. This adds to the excitement of their event.

In conclusion

Think about how you can apply these things not just to your Christmas marketing but to your general strategy throughout the year. Focus on creating an exclusive club for your recipients and not just on sales to ensure you build an engaged list of loyal recipients ready to engage with you.