Valentine's Day Email Marketing Tips and Examples for 2023

Valentine's Day is coming around there, meaning Love is in the air. On Valentine's Day, many opportunities exist for buying sales and products. This said, it may not be a significant holiday compared to Christmas or Black Friday, but it does produce a lot of Revenue. Statistics say that Valentine's Day in 2022 reached more than 23 billion dollars, while the average individual spent around $175 on the Day alone. So let's dive in and see what tips Mailsoftly can share to make your campaign stand out.

hearts for valentines day marketing

Tips for your Valentine's Day Email Campaign

Subject Lines that stand out

The best way to catch the attention of your subscribers is to stand out. There will be many emails flooding inboxes during the holiday season, and it is essential that what you are selling or trying to portray can stand out. A subject line captures what the email contains and creates a sense of urgency. A couple of classic subject lines that offer a creative starting point are:

  • Last Chance to send the perfect gift!
  • Cupid asked us to show you this deal.
  • We love you!
  • Take advantage of Love or this offer.
  • Free shipping until Feb 14.

These subject lines may be worn out, but it is a great place to get the creative juices flowing and think of something creative you might like to incorporate into your campaign. 

Segmentation

Take the time to use segmentation throughout your email list. For example, some customers may have no interest in the romantic holiday, which is okay, but to save yourself from a headache, go ahead and segment these individuals based on previous purchases. The help of segmenting an email list goes much further than using it for just one campaign, and segmentation can reduce the time wasted and aid in the specific audience you are attempting to reach. 

A fun statistic to know is that in 2021 men spent approximately $6 billion more than women on valentines Day gifts, so it is important to note that when segmenting based upon gender. This is a unique holiday where you can market towards genders. Segmentation can be broken up by age, demographic, gender, interests, behaviors, etc. Whatever will allow you to reach your target audience most innovatively and successfully. 

Creating a sense of urgency and stressing the benefits of why purchasing right NOW will aid them in the long run. Most people buy items online now to avoid the hustle and bustle of going to a store in person - this being said, use this as an opportunity to capitalize on how purchasing right now will help them. 

Personalization

This is difficult in an email marketing campaign for Valentine's Day. When purchases are made on valentines Day, they are for somebody else, so the idea of personalizing a drive to their interest may be a little tricky. Using their previous purchase history or including their name in the subject line will carry a different weight than if they are shopping for somebody who is not them. 

Different Colors

Now we all know that Valentine's Day is circulated from the idea of the two colors pink and red. But these two colors can be overwhelming. The inboxes will contain an overwhelming amount of pink and red, so it is okay not to hop on that train. Another perspective is that red is often associated with adverse or blood. Therefore using another marketing technique or decreasing the amount of color contained within is ideal, as it may come off as less enticing. 

Create a Love Story

A great way to catch a reader's attention through email marketing is to incorporate a story of some sort. For example, being able to craft the product you are selling into a story about friendship, gratitude, or loved ones or even to promote a positive and uplifting message will impact people. 

For example, if you are a flower shop promoting valentine's day bouquets, then you can share a love story created by one of the bouquets you have sold. Share the story and a photo of the couple with the bouquet or how the bouquet was displayed so not only does it show the love story that your product helped display and gives ideas to those who may be a little stuck. 

If you can create an image in somebody's mind that they can emotionally attach to you, they will likely interact with you more. A fun way to increase sales and customer engagement is to allow others to share their love story to get features or a discount code. This is a simple and effective way to connect with your audience and get more attention for your business. 

Make the Email Interactive

By creating the opportunity to interact with the email campaign and asking people to vote on what necklace is prettier or which valentines day. A theme they would prefer is a great way to engage with the audience and determine some personal preferences that can later be used for segmentation purposes. It is created to include a survey of Love or a game making the email stand out. 

Make the Call to Action stand out

Always make sure that there is a call to action included in email campaigns. This way there is a clear message that is being provided through the campaign and it is easy to navigate to the website if they do see something they are interested in. 

Market toward the singles

Not everybody is in a relationship, and that is entirely okay. That doesn't mean they should be left out of the fun of Valentine's Day, but it may be the last thing they want to celebrate. Instead of overwhelming them with romantic gestures that will disinterest them, then make an email for them to treat themselves. Including special offers or great ideas for Galentine's Day are all options to ensure the brand is inclusive to single people and those in a relationship. 

Scheduling your Campaigns

This is a Holiday that is circulated a day for couples specifically. Two approaches can be taken; the first would be to run a pre-Valentine's day campaign. These dates are between mid-January to early February. This means targeting earlier shoppers who want to get the gift delivered and be fully prepared for the holiday and its festivities. Between Feb 1 - Feb 14, there should be at least three emails sent out. Then some procrastinate or forget entirely. That is when you can create an email marketing campaign for post valentine's day shoppers. This can frequently contain lower rates or sale items as the holiday has passed. Go through the previous campaigns you have run and see what times have worked best for your campaigns, and try to schedule this campaign around a similar format. 

Drip Marketing Campaign 

Drip marketing email is a whole entity that needs to be explained; if you are curious about learning what is entailed in drip marketing, go ahead and check out this blog. Drip Campaigns are commonly referred to as triggered emails; they result from a specific behavior or activity that the user's actions must enact. Different ways to target subscribers through drop campaigns on Valentine's Day exist. Sending an email can re-engage many customers who might have yet to originally think to purchase something through your brand. Or if something is left in the cart, this is a perfect opportunity to use drip campaigns as it will send an abandoned cart email. 

Include a Special Valentine's Day offer

Including a special offer for Valentine's Day could be the icing on the cake to convert a sale. There are many attempts to grab shoppers' attention, but offering a discount on items can be helpful to those who are hesitant. There are fun ways to incorporate the sale, such as saying "His and Her Valentines Day Sale" or offering 14% off select items. If you are truly pushing for a deal, then there is the option of spending a possible amount of money and offering free shipping for X amount of money. 

Valentine's Day Email Marketing Pro Tips and Examples  

When looking at examples in the Email Marketing world, we can go in a few different directions. Let's start by looking at subject lines that work well for a valentine's day campaign. Of course, there is no guarantee that a specific subject line will bring attention to your campaign, but some standard practices can increase the chance of interaction. 

Subject lines that have a proven success rate contain one of the following:

They are …

  • Personal
  • Relevant
  • Solve a problem the audience may have
  • Create urgency
  • Spark curiosity  

 

It is also essential to reach out to all on valentine's Day, not just those in relationships. We all know that they are in relationships, single, or spending the holidays with their families, so it is essential that marketing strategies are appealing to everybody.

When discussing emojis being used in subject lines, it is a very spotty territory; it all depends on the image your brand is trying to portray. When debating if including emojis is the right idea for you, make sure that they are brand if you were to incorporate emojis. It is also essential to ask yourself if the emojis will make a difference in how the audience portrays you. Finally, ask yourself – if you were to include emojis, would it truly add to the content of the subject line? If the answer is no, leave them out, as they can portray tacky images.

Valentines Day

Need some ideas on how to email marketing for Valentine's Day:

 Gift Giving Guides: When in doubt, a great way to encourage purchasing through the brand's website is to offer gift guides during valentine's Day of different products your brand offers. This is an excellent way to market the variety of products you offer, but it also helps give ideas to those who may be a little stuck. This can form a dependence and a positive mental correlation to the brand as it provides helpful information during a crunch. There are different ways to do this. If the opportunity presents itself, display the products you suggest and categorize them based on "Gifts for Her" or "Gifts for Him." This makes it easy to read and link the products to the product images so that everything is easy accessibility. 

There is more Love than just romantic Love: A significant trend since Covid is the obsession with dogs. As people stayed inside, they became more attached to their pets, which is understandable. This being said, buying items for pets as if they were humans has become widespread. This is a great marketing opportunity as it is not specific to those in relationships. Still, anybody can have a dog, and it creates inclusivity when including them all—creating email campaigns that emphasize sales on pet items that are raved about or even simple things like 14% off your dog's favorite treats! 

Break Ups Bite: Now the infamous saying is to break up with your significant other before the holidays, so you don't have to buy them anything - if that is the case for you, don't worry, we got your back. This is when an email marketing campaign about how breakups bite is a great time to emphasize what your brand can do to help them in this sad and rebuilding time. So get creative with it and create an interactive email marketing campaign that encourages clicks!

Happy Valentine's Day!

There are many tips and examples that you can use to have success in your email marketing campaigns, but in all honesty, the best way to have success is experience. The goal is to know your audience and truly unpack your campaign in an enticing way. The plans to have catchy subject lines, offer enticing CTA, have great deals, etc., are also greatly important. Mailsoftly offers easy and quick ways to run a campaign. You were making uploading contact lists simple and creating a drive at your fingertips. The best part is the ability to review the work afterward before you decide to send it out.