Let's start this conversation by emphasizing the importance of celebrating the New Year. New Year is a time to celebrate and reflect on the previous year. Thanking the experience that you had, but also getting excited and looking forward to all that is to come in the New Year! In a way, it is the unit of time that we keep a chronological score of our lives, typically toasting to making it through the previous year. New Year holds a special place in people's hearts because they are looking for a way to grow and better themselves in the upcoming year. Frequently individuals like to keep a 'New Years' Resolution,' which is the human desire to have control over what is ahead of them, as the future is never determined. To think big picture as a brand, how can you take these high risen emotions built up around New Year and create an email campaign?
During the holiday season, companies are famous for sending out marketing emails to their customers, often offering discounts and insights. This is usually an excellent way for a company to boost revenue towards the end of the year and a perfect opportunity for a brand to build its relationship with recipients or customers. In addition, expressing interest and gratitude for the upcoming season shows that your Brand cares. This is a huge factor that is now being considered by customers - if the Brand is caring and clean, so once again, this is an excellent opportunity to express that to customers and recipients.
Now, let's filter back to the original question
How do you start an email for the New Year?
What is a new year email?
A new year email is a campaign run by a company or Brand that corresponds to the New Year holiday. Typically this email can advertise a new product or service. There is also the possibility of taking this email and making it celebratory and expressing gratitude to recipients and customers for their loyalty over the past year. The final option that can be expressed in the New Years email is simply saying Happy New Years and thank you for being a loyal customer over the past year. There are multiple ways to go about writing a New Year's email. It all depends on the voice that your brand is trying to have, below are tips and tricks on how to go about getting started. New Year's emails are a great way to build that trusted relationship with customers creating the ability to establish and maintain.
Why send a New Year's email?
Create a personalized touch - This is a chance for the CEO or staff from the company or Brand to reach out and include a personal touch. Having higher-ups in the company take a second to personalize a message and show their gratitude for their customers is fantastic. It also is a time that can be used to share insight into the upcoming year and what the company plans to offer. A company's ability to create this transparent image of their CEO or other staff shows volumes to current and potential customers. Once again, this establishes a trusting and communicative relationship.
Deals or Promotions to close out the year or start the new year - Brands and companies who send out New Year's emails that contain deals and discounts are often looking to increase their Quarter 4 sales. But the sales could be better! Take advantage of the sales when you get the chance. From a company's perspective, this is a perfect way to prepare for the operational costs of the upcoming year. From the customer's point of view, these deals are to go out with a bang! Rewarding loyal customers by giving sales and discounts is a great way to keep trust.
Recap the previous year - With this, two approaches are able to be taken. The approach from the customer is a recap email that is made specifically from their interaction with the Brand and their previous purchases. Remind them of the impact that they have had on the Brand and the difference they, as an individual, make. The other perspective is from the Brand's perspective. They are sharing statistics about the company and what they have done in the past year showing transparency to their customers.
End the year with a sweet message - Wrapping up the year with something sweet to say is always a great way to end it. These emails can typically be short and to the point, simply wishing them a happy holiday season. This is a way for brands to leave a good image - ensuring that your holiday season is excellent and not pushing a sale is a great way to switch it up.
What goes into writing a New Year Email?
Subject Lines Matter - These are essential! The New Years subject lines are the salespeople of your email. They are catching recipients' attention and intriguing them to see what your Brand has to say. This is a great time to include emojis or cute phrases. To learn about Subject Lines and the impact they make, check out our mailsoftly blog pages!
Have a friendly greeting - Always be nice; writing a warm greeting is very important; if the opportunity presents itself, incorporate the first name as well. This is a great time to switch from the ideal brand template and use a fun holiday phrase.
Personalization is critical - Personalization is fun because it allows the recipient to feel valued, whether incorporating stats they have collected over the previous year or a recent upgrade in rewards, etc. Making it fun and recognizing their contribution!
Constantly have Call-To-Actions - These are emailing must have. Whether asking the recipient to perform a task, leaving a review, buying a product, or taking a survey, there are many different approaches to get interaction. This is where you could insert a link to the website. Encourage customers to perform the request and make a purchase at the last minute. Often customers make purchases out of FOMO of a deal. Call - To - Actions can also be incorporated into New Year's flash sale.
Add a Farewell Quote - Wishing a farewell to the holiday season and having it signed by the CEO is a great way to make the new year's email seem more personal.
Writing New Year Email Best Practices
There are a few practices to keep in mind when going to write a New Years Email! There are a couple things to keep in the front of your mind when writing!
Graphics - When creating New Year's Emails, there is the ability to be creative with graphics; expanding upon the usual brand identity, there's some fluctuation in the holiday spirit. Having fun Graphics helps excite your audience and provide a better advertisement for the Brand. Sometimes if the graphics are eye-catching enough or intriguing, it can increase the end of your sales or increase the sales on a discounted product.
Send it promptly - Holidays are over in the blink of an eye, so send your emails promptly. Christmas and New Year's typically fall very close together on the calendar. You want to ensure that the two have clear and consistent deals. You must send New Year's Eve or day emails a couple of days before the day itself. This allows customers to interact with and react to your call to action to ensure an increase in sales.
A way to contact - A great way to interact with customers is to allow them to get the Brand. Giving easy access to contact information at the bottom of the page or in the top right-hand corner allows for communication to be built between the two. It shows that the company or the Brand wants to address the customers' concerns eagerly and answer any questions that may come up.
Any Feedback? - Asking for feedback at the end of the year is a fun way to incorporate reflection and ask customers for their genuine opinions about the Brand or company. Having the business grow and showing the willingness to improve speaks volumes to people in the current shopping era. Many companies try to make their New Year email only feedback-based and not sale based. At the same time, others will include a link for a survey at the end of the email template. Either way is excellent, but giving feedback creates open communication between the customer and the Brand itself.
Need Some Ideas?
Sometimes brainstorming original ideas can be complex, especially during the holiday season, because you want to seem creative and non-traditional. So we're going to discuss a few ways you can spice up that New Year's Eve template if you're going to do something different. There are a few topics that we have discussed before in a different manner but here are some ideas!
Personalization: Giving a review or Roundup of the user's activity in the last year is a great way to incorporate a reflection that comes off as one-on-one. Using metrics of their activity with the Brand makes a user feel special and sparks the idea of creating a relationship with the Brand.
Do you have resolutions? Well, so do we!: Taking this chance to connect with customers based on their New Year's resolution is a fun way to create an encouraging environment and click on a deeper level. Using your Brand to align with what the user is looking to improve on or incorporate into their life is a great way to advertise without completing the advertising.
Wrap it up!: I know this has been mentioned before, but giving a recap on a New Year's email is a great way to highlight Milestones, achievements, and fun moments or to say thank you for everything you've done with the Brand the past year.
Attach a discount!: This is a great time to include a closeout deal! Ending the year with a surprise, a splash sale will increase engagement, and I will also create FOMO so that more people want to participate. As well as hooking your subscribers or recipients for future emails coming in the new year.
Say thank you for a wonderful year: If you want to keep it from simplistic, go ahead and say a simple thank you. A thank you goes a long way, especially in an industry where people feel overlooked. This is your Brand's chance to stand out and make a difference by catching your user's attention and wishing them to have a wonderful New Year and unique things to come in the future.
Short and Sweet: Sometimes, the best approach is to keep it short and sweet; be concise and to the point, and including fun graphics is a great way to catch the attention of others.
Show a glimpse into Next Year: Give your readers a sneak peek! To create anticipation for next year, restocking the shelves is a great way to release a sneak peek of what is to come. For example, if you were a fashion brand and wanted to Market trends coming up in the next year, now would be an excellent opportunity to do so.
Happy New Year!: The most simplistic of them all is to say Happy New Year.
Conclusion
Wrapping it all up in a nice big bowl, there are a few things to look out for when treating your New Year's email. First, start with an idea and then build on it from there. By saying this, begin with a campaign you're trying to push, or the idea of just saying happy New Year, or show me the closeout deal for a specific product. Starting somewhere like this allows us to build a solid platform for a campaign that will be successful. What's in this campaign, you are then able to put Graphics, personalization, metrics, and fun! by knocking the basics out of the way; it gives more space for creativity and interaction.
There are a few practices to keep in mind when going to write a New Years Email! There are a couple things to keep in the front of your mind when writing!