Cyber Monday occurs the Monday after Thanksgiving; this year, Cyber Monday is Nov 28, 2022. Cyber Monday is the most significant cyber sale of the year, essentially giving customers a chance to take advantage of another day of sales but virtually. Technically, Cyber Monday has surpassed Black Friday in terms of success; it is now typically called Cyber Week because the deals and sales last longer. Approximately 62 million people participate yearly. Cyber Monday emails aim to create FOMO, sparking a sense of urgency in recipients, advertising promotions, and getting customers to visit the website to make purchases. With inflation this year, a financial worry has taken over; you can expect people to save money, so cyber Monday emails need to stand out and have fantastic offers across the board.
Cyber Monday Tips
Send out more than one email; increasing the number of emails sent out to about 3 is a higher chance for success. Giving multiple opportunities to observe the deal and decide where you'd like to participate is huge.
First Email: This email should be sent out approximately a week before Cyber Monday deals kick in, reaching out to many people. They encouraged the recipients to participate and excited them as they anticipated the sales.
Second Email: Send out the deals! This email will contain information about the sales and include the offers that are going to be upcoming.
Third Email: Final hours; send this email out as a reminder. Encouraging customers to participate in deals while supplies last or before time runs out is essential as a quick closeout.
Stand out with a special offer.
Cyber Monday sales frequently go on all week, and individuals' inboxes are flooded with information and sales. It is hard to stand out, but if you make contacts multiple times, they will recognize your name and keep your brand in their heads. If the subscribers are made to feel special, then it will enhance their chances of participating in sales. Offering early access is a great way to do this, or providing them a higher discount. Both show that the brand values them and is looking to do its best to contribute to their experience.
Subject Lines make a Difference.
Subject lines are the car salespeople of an email. The first line of text is read to determine what the email's content will contain. Using the right subject line for your email will boost the opening rates and highlight the Cyber Monday sales. This is when using fun catchphrases is approved, and emojis are encouraged; they have recently started to be used more and are definitely driving attention. The main takeaway is to ensure that you include the offer or deal in the subject line. It is the most crucial factor to ensure the email gets opened. Check out a few examples below!
❤OMG! Cyber Monday Sale, Up to 80% OFF!
Cyber Monday + FREE shipping starts now!
It's Cyber Monday; treat Yourself!
The BIGGEST Ever! Shop Our 30% Off Cyber Monday Sale!
Get Ready, Get Set Our CYBER MONDAY EVENT Starts Now!
According to the Small Business Now Report, emails with a discount or coupon are less likely to be opened and interacted with. About 77% of customers open emails that contain the value or sale in the subject line, and approximately 67% follow through and purchase those emails.
3 C's
Clear, Compelling, and Concise descriptions of your offer. Don't try to be subtle; this is your chance to be obnoxious and stand out. If you are offering a good deal, include "GREAT DEALS," or if you are throwing in a gift, make sure to include "FREE GIFT" in bold in the subject line. If there is a site-wide sale, such as 20% off, then make that bolded or in a font that stands out; some way to highlight the deal itself is advantageous. The link on the email page should go to the website and link to a page regarding cyber Monday and all the sales and promotions being offered. ( check out the Fossil example below for a great example of this!)
Prominent CTA
Make getting to the website as easy as possible. Of course, there should be direct links to the website, but also ensure that the images containing products are linked to the product page. Often recipients will see an accessory, for example, but need help finding it or the name of it on the website, and frankly, they will not care to look. Make this process easy and allow them to click on the image. It takes them directly to the products that are incorporated.
Stay on Topic
The topic of the email campaign is Cyber Monday; make sure that we stay on the subject of Cyber Monday. Customers will expect sales, discounts, and offers; there are better times to promote company news or subscribe to the newsletter. That is different than the time or place; whether it is before or after the holiday season, there is a better time to push those emails out. Cyber Monday is strictly for the attention of the upcoming sales and deals, don't let them down - give them a reason to pay attention.
Respect the Customers time
Cyber Monday should be respectful of the customer's time, meaning the deal must be quality. This included limited-time offers that made the actual sales seem sub-par. If in this situation and looking to take it to the next level, go through the competitor's discounts and configure a way to make them subpar compared to yours. Frequently values have pros and cons, so it is excellent to be strategic but also make sure on all platforms, the deals and promotions you push out are financially feasible.
Consider your timing
As mentioned above, there is an approach to sending emails, meaning that you ideally want to send three and space them out periodically. This being said, time zones need to be taken into consideration. If a mass email is sent out at one time regardless of time zone, then some people will receive it late afternoon, at dinner time, and before bed, none of which these times are ideal for sparking interest in spending money. Recently the peak time for sending out emails is 112 - 1 p.m. EST, so take it upon yourself to do the conversion of time zones. This being said, there are a plethora of emails being sent out, so consider that other companies will be sending out Cyber Monday emails as well, so that brings the question of possibly beating the crowd and sending the email out a little earlier.
Keep it Mobile Device Friendly.
Making sure that the email is mobile device friendly is essential; over the years, the use of mobile devices to interact with emails and opening rates have significantly increased. Therefore, the email formatting must be mobile device friendly as it is important to be interactive regardless of the device that opened it.
Let's check out some examples.
Hydroflask: This is an excellent example of a fun and eye-catching color scheme. Let's observe from top to bottom. The overall format is mobile device compatible which is fantastic. Looking at the image, it is the product being used in an actual scenario, with the advertising of two different products. This is an excellent tactic because including a relatable image allows the customer to see the product in their lives as applicable, increasing interest and sales. Below that, the deal is apparent and to the point. There is a 25% off sale on everything, the best case of Cyber Monday. The CTA (Call - to - Action) is directly under the blurb directing attention to the website immediately after the deal is mentioned.
'47: This brand did a great job of catching the attention of its recipients. The subject line reads, 'Want early access to our sale?' A rhetorical question is a great way to engage with customers. Of course, people want early access! The email mentions 'join the '47 family' with a retro photo of a sports team as they are known for their sports gear. Right below, it reads 'Get Early Bird Access'; it is one of the benefits of being a part of the family. Enticing people to join the family for early access deals and, in this case, exclusive benefits such as 30% off site-wide, free shipping, 3x loyalty points on the following order, and saving teams for personalized shopping. Then they wrap it up by offering a gift guide. Now, this was mentioned a little, but a gift guide is a great way to engage customers with a sale they were not originally going to partake in.
Adidas: Observing this email from start to bottom, the subject line reads 'Think fast. Cyber Monday is our biggest sale, emphasizing that nothing is comparable to the deal you are about to endure. The yellow color used is consistent throughout the email—mentioning the campaign of think fast and when the sale ends, which is 11/27. It offers a code CYBER2018 to receive a 30% off almost everything. The sale details are in the fine print right next to the deal itself, which is an odd approach, not making it the center of the page. It then has CTA underneath, categorizing Shop Men, Shop Women, and Shop Kids. As you scroll down through the email, it offers a way to personalize their products and apply the same 30% discount!
Fossil: Fossil does a great job of making it fun and interactive. The pop of colors in the polka dots is a fun way to make a deal stand out. The 70% is significant and eye-catching, mentioning that the values are on select styles and online only. Reading below, it then says that 30% off full-price styles to ensure that they are covering all bases. There is a CTA under 70% off and under 30% off. It then recommends gifts for her and him, which is a great way to help customers shop!
Lululemon: What a fun approach! Lululemon does a great job of making advertisements fun and making sure to include the 4 categories that they offer. The women department, mens department, accessories and then shopping girls. All of their calls to action are on brand and carry a theme. There are also approximately 5 calls to actions that all pertain to different things, making sure they cover their entire bases. The color scheme sticks to the classic red which they are known for. They also say ‘shop the gear you love and kiss your case of the Mondays goodbye,’ Making a joke about how everybody hates mondays but this monday is special and built differently because it is the biggest shopping holiday of the year.
Conclusion
There are many ways to approach Cyber Monday, it has slightly turned out to be a cyber week instead, but the approach is still the same. The tips above are excellent tools to stick out and generate higher click rates and interaction. Remember that they are just tips and need to be altered to be best executed with your brand. This is when it becomes beneficial to look at the different examples and see how the brands handle them. It can vary based on many factors, and determining your brand's voice and style is the most important. You can do so by using Mailsoftly. Mailsoftly allows for customization, audience segmentation, and preview emails before being sent out. All of these are significant factors in terms of running a successful campaign! Click on the Mailsoftly homepage to learn more and figure out what works best for your emailing dreams!
Adidas:
