Email marketing has been a trend for a really long time now. It is safe to call it one of the oldest digital marketing powerhouses. That’s why you should be focusing on your marketing emails now more than ever. Marketing emails during the holiday season come in handy for a number of things. To promote your Christmas sale, to gather feedback, to understand customer sentiments, and to identify the areas of friction in the shopping experience. 

But for all this to happen, you need the right idea that fits into your existing marketing plan. And you need a design that talks to your customers in a tone they have associated with your brand. In short, you need Christmas-ready email designs that are on-brand. Are you ready to find out how to do this? But there is one little question to address before we get to the newsletter ideas. How important is a Christmas newsletter? 

Christmas Newsletter – Why Every Brand Needs One

Did you know that the first email was sent in the year 1971? But the first ever social media site was born only two decades later, in 1997. Email has been around longer. And this does not mean that it’s outdated. It only means that it’s evolved over the years. The email capabilities we have today are leaps ahead of how it all started. Brands that make the most of these capabilities definitely have an advantage over the others. 

50% of consumers make a purchase from a marketing email at least once a month. That’s because, with the right copy and overall design, emails can be pretty convincing. And you need that persuasive power during a busy shopping season like Christmas. So a newsletter will be a good way to help your Christmas campaign gain traction. 

From lead generation to lead nurturing and increase in conversions, there are many commonly known benefits of marketing emails. And during the holidays, these benefits mean a lot. There are people who might discover your brand through your social media or web ads. You might also have returning customers who would rather shop for their loved ones from a brand they already know. In short, you have a variety of demographics to target. Emails are cost-effective ways to automate this segmented targeting of your customers. 

For these and many other reasons, you need to start working on your Christmas newsletter ideas right away. But we get it. It is natural to feel wrapped up with all the campaigns to build and the designs to create. That’s why we have rounded up some of the most effective Christmas newsletter ideas you can try for your brand. 

8 Creative Christmas Newsletter Ideas to Try This Year

1. Early deals for subscribers 

Good conversations involve acknowledgment. And how can you acknowledge customers who willingly provide their contact information and their email IDs in this case? By rewarding them, by giving them exclusive privileges. Early access to Christmas sales could easily be one of these privileges. 

There are many customers who love to shop early knowing that there is no rush and that the chances of their favorite products getting sold out will be less. To capture the attention of such customers you can provide early access and exclusive deals to customers who have signed up for your newsletter. 

You can add a discount code that customers can use during their purchases or an exclusive link for them to access the deals. This makes them feel special. Let them know that they are among the select few who gain access to the said products at discounted prices. 

According to Google, 50% of U.S. shoppers prefer shopping earlier. Second, customers who know that the deals are only available for a select few are more likely to make a decision quickly. 

KIMP Tip: When you have such subscriber-only privileges, ensure that you talk about them on your other digital channels as well. Leave a slider on your website, create a social media post with a CTA that takes customers to the lead capture page. And all these different channels and posts have one common goal – to get customers to subscribe to your newsletter. So, your CTA should be the same everywhere. And the designs should all be cohesive. 

Working with a dedicated design team like KIMP makes this easy. 

2. A week full of surprises 

Most brands stick with one or two days of big discounts. But you know well that you have both early birds and last-minute shoppers to cater to. One good way to do this will be to spread your deals over a defined period. It could be a week full of surprise deals or even a month full of discounts, whatever your budget permits. 

You can start early and have discounts running all the way until Christmas. A few for a day or two post-Christmas too. To make this idea work, you need to know what customers are looking for and what kind of gifts they buy early, and what kind of gifts they buy at the last minute. 

Such extended deals help nurture long-term relationships with customers. They know that they are not providing their email id for just one coupon code. 

Let them know that all the information about daily deals and exclusive coupons for each day will be mailed to them directly. This is another way to convince customers that it is worth signing up to your marketing newsletter. 

One other reason why this idea works is that they know that there are different categories of items on sale each day. This makes it easier for them to shop for all the people on their gift lists without a hurry or without the pressure of buying it all on the same day. 

3. Thank customers for their support 

Spreading positivity will be a good way to engage your newsletter subscribers. So, you can use your Christmas newsletter to thank customers for constantly sticking with your brand. Christmas is, after all, a time to share the joy and express your gratitude. 

Talking about their journey with your brand will be one way to do it. Another will be to talk about your corporate social responsibility activities. All the charity events you organized, the donations you made, the sustainable measures you were able to implement. Thank your customers for cooperating with and supporting your brand in these measures. 

The above image talks about the donations the brand made. And the use of customer images makes the overall design authentic. User-generated content is a good way to strengthen the credibility of your brand. So emails like the one above are sure to bring a smile. 

4. Talk about the people behind your brand 

Your brand might have been built for your customers but you cannot forget about the people who helped build it, your employees. The holiday season would be a good time to talk about the people behind your brand. 

You might have internal employee holiday newsletters but that’s not enough. Talk about your team to your customers. Show them the people who make it possible for them to receive their products on time. 

Here is one way to do it. 

The above email starts off with warm wishes for the festival and then moves on to share stories from the employees. The stories help humanize the brand. And they also show the diverse corporate culture of the brand. Both these are good for branding. So, you get your Christmas-ready newsletter design and you also have an opportunity to strengthen your brand. It’s a win-win. 

5. Gift guide – a timeless Christmas newsletter idea 

Holiday shopping guides – you find them everywhere close to the holiday season. Brands share them on social media, in their blogs, and in emails too. That’s because finding what’s trending and deciding what to buy for everyone on the gift list is going to be overwhelming. 

That’s why consumers love gift guides. They love to know what others are buying. And they love to find ideas that save them the time spent in finding the right gift. 

You can provide a brief gift guide with direct links to the respective products within one email. Or if you have a longer list, you can always create a blog or a social media post and link your Christmas newsletter to the respective destination. 

6. Aim at making Christmas merrier for your customers 

Christmas celebrations go beyond shopping and gifting. There is a lot of planning involved. And there is the pressure to keep up with the holiday season’s to-do list. Any ideas or recommendations that help customers make the whole process run smoothly would be a hit. 

For example, here is an email from Hipmunk. 

The above email talks about tips for planning the holidays especially if you are traveling. It not only lists down the ideas but also provides relevant links so that you can quickly try them out. Informative emails like these make great Christmas newsletters. 

7. Don’t forget to wish them

Before Christmas, you talk about your products, the sale, items on discount, and so on. But your communication with your customers should not end there. Remember to wish your customers on Christmas day. This could be a simple static image incorporating your brand colors as well as Christmas colors and symbols. Or it could be a simple GIF that makes them smile. 

Unlike ads, emails stay in their inboxes until they choose to delete them. So, be sure that you stay strong with respect to branding your email design. 

In the above design, the email looks very much like the website interface. And though there is no direct promotion or promotional copy, the products from the brand are in focus. So, every time a customer opens the mail, the brand makes an impression. That can be valuable in branding. 

8. Talk about on-time delivery

Timing is crucial when it comes to gift delivery, especially for long-distance Christmas gifting. People are always looking for brands that can deliver their gifts on time. So, if you craft emails that talk about timely delivery and delivery scheduling, it can be a big hit. Moreover, you can also send out some emails that evoke a sense of urgency by talking about the limited time left for speedy delivery of Christmas orders, like the email below.

9. Talk about gift cards 

Gift cards come in handy when people do not know what to buy for someone on their lists or when they are shopping at the last minute. Sometimes it is also because they want to let the receiver choose the gift they like. 

As you can see, there are different kinds of shoppers even when it comes to gift cards. That’s why when planning your Christmas newsletter ideas, you should include one that talks about your gift card options. 

These could be physical gift cards mailed to the recipient or digital ones that are instantly delivered. You can talk about gift cards even after Christmas as they make wonderful return gifts too. 

In the above example, Bobbi Brown cosmetics not only talks about gift cards but also offers a discount on future orders upon purchasing gift cards. This helps increase the sale of gift cards and also promotes up-selling. That’s a good way to boost sales during a busy holiday shopping season. 

10. Interactive quiz and more

Your Christmas emails face a lot more competition than your regular marketing emails. Because your customers receive Christmas deals and more from several brands. So, you need a novel design and novel idea to get your Christmas newsletter noticed. Quizzes and other interactive elements that gamify your content can be this essential distinguished that helps your email stand out.

You can add interactive elements that let users register their responses within the interface or you can also create a separate landing page for the same. The below email adopts the second idea to achieve this.

Christmas Newsletter – Design Tips

Now for the above-mentioned ideas to work, your email design has a strong role to play. The visuals, fonts, colors, and other aspects can make or break the effect. So, here are some design tips to begin with. 

Use a personalized subject line

To get customers to open the email, this is one thing you cannot ignore. In fact, emails with personalized subject lines have 26% higher open rates than those with generic ones. 

Your subject line should be such that you do not give away too much information and yet you should manage to convince customers that your email is worth their time. 

Copy that convinces them

The copy in your email can greatly impact the conversions. Mention timelines to create a sense of urgency. Terms like “limited time only”, “until stocks last” can all convince customers to make a decision quickly. Otherwise, they end up procrastinating their purchase. And in this time window, if some other brand manages to convince your customer, there goes your lead! 

When it comes to comparing brands to make a purchase decision, 87% of shoppers find it important to know that they have got a good deal. In other words, explaining to them why the discount matters makes so much difference. 

Is it because the product is going on sale for the first time? Or is it the lowest price ever? Some brands even offer a price-match benefit where they promise customers that if they find the same product anywhere else, the retailer would refund the difference amount. These are the kinds of deals that convince customers that they are making the right decision. 

Help customers make an informed decision

Include product images and briefly tell them about the value that the product offers. Or the reason why the deal matters to them. 85% of shoppers find product information as well as pictures to be the biggest influencers in their purchase decisions. 

Keep it interactive

Stay away from uninspiring been-there-done-that styles. Make your Christmas newsletter as interactive as possible. Gamified content, videos, and GIFs are definitely worth a try. Or you can also add a sense of mystery as the below email does. 

Provide an omnichannel experience

Just because customers discover your brand or your deals online and through emails does not mean that they would only shop online. They might be visiting your store or shopping online. Bridging the gap between your online and offline channels is important. In your email about an upcoming Christmas sale, also include details about what’s applicable for in-store purchases. 

Adding your store’s map location along with the contact details and social media handles in your email is one way to do it. According to Google, the searches for “near me in stock” have grown by about 90% year-on-year in the U.S. You would want to take your local customers more seriously after all. 

Christmas Newsletter Design Made Simple With KIMP

From talking about your campaign to making an emotional connection and reflecting the happy mood of the season, your Christmas newsletter has a lot to do. And for this, you need design that carries your copy elegantly. That’s where a professional design team comes into the picture. With unlimited design subscriptions like KIMP, you can have all your promotional graphics in one place. So, working on the entire campaign will be easy. From email design to landing pages, ads, social media posts, and even print ads like banners for your store, flyers, and more, everything can be designed by the same team. And at a fixed monthly price. 

So, go sleigh your Christmas marketing this year. And if you want to work with a professional design team to make things simpler, register for a free 7-day trial of KIMP.