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Christmas Email Campaign Ideas to Ring in the Season

Beefree team
Beefree team
Nov 19, 2020
Christmas Email Campaign Ideas to Ring in the Season
Christmas Email Campaign Ideas to Ring in the Season

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas — and after the kind of year 2020 has been, we’re ready for a little holiday cheer! This year, holiday e-commerce spending is projected to be bigger than ever. Prepare for the most wonderful time of the year by creating a Christmas email campaign that will connect with your customers and boost sales! Check out these Christmas email campaign ideas for some inspiration as you design your own Christmas messages this year.

Prepare for the most wonderful time of the year by creating a Christmas email campaign that will connect with your customers and boost sales.

Write festive Christmas email subject lines

Your Christmas email marketing subject lines are among the most important parts of your holiday emails. Emojis are popular, with small Christmas trees, gift boxes and Santa heads peppering our inboxes. We're also seeing the keywords "gift," "holiday" and "Christmas" pop up over and over. Experiment with different combinations of Christmassy words and emojis, testing different Christmas email subject lines to see which ones work best.

Christmas email subject lines

Consider your timing

Timing is everything when it comes to Christmas emails. Don’t be afraid to start early; consumers are prepared to see Christmas marketing messages as early as the first weeks of November to promote those early December sales. As we get closer to the holiday, you’ll want to tweak the content of your messages, ditching the early-bird sales in favor of promoting things like fast shipping. Here, Pai Skincare does a great job of plugging its e-gift cards on Christmas Eve.Subject line: ? We can get to you today

Christmas email campaign example

Explain your COVID precautions

We don’t have to tell you that this year looks different for retailers and shoppers. Many consumers are planning to shop entirely online to help stop the spread of COVID-19, and the shoppers who are venturing into stores want to be reassured that they’ll have a safe shopping experience. Use your Christmas email campaigns to explain what you’re doing to keep your customers safe. In this festive email, Oshkosh shares three COVID-related messages:

  • Encourages customers to shop early to avoid potential shipping delays
  • Tells customers they can shop online and pick up their purchases curbside
  • Shares how employees are keeping stores clean

Oshkosh makes it easy for customers to shop, even during a global pandemic.Subject line: 8 weeks till Christmas!!!

Christmas marketing email

Choose a different color combo

The pale blue hues in this Christmas email from Snowe provide a refreshing change from the reds and greens our eyes are bombarded with during the holidays. We also love the body copy, encouraging customers to order now so they don’t have to wrap a printout of the gift. And the section of bestselling products at the bottom is easy to customize for each customer based on their browsing history.Subject line: Order by tomorrow, get it by Christmas

Christmas email campaign ideas

Get creative with your sales

When it comes to holiday sales, you might be tempted to slap a 20% off sticker on your entire store and call it a day. But by getting a little more creative with your promotions, you can be more memorable and increase your sales. Draper James hosted a 12 Days of Gifts event where different products were on sale each day. In the email below, the company announced that all plaid items were 30% off with the code MADABOUTPLAID. This is a fun way to add a little pizzazz to a holiday sale and push your customers toward products that they may not have considered purchasing on their own.Subject line: The most Christmas-y dresses ever ?

Christmas sale email

Offer 12 days of deals

Draper James isn’t the only company offering 12 days of deals — this fun marketing scheme is fairly popular among the brands in our inbox. Here, Boll & Branch shares a secret, special promotion that turns out to be a discount on the company’s sheets. A handy vintage-looking calendar lets customers keep track of where they are in the 12 days of deals.Subject line: It’s Day 1 of our 12 deals of Christmas!

creative Christmas email

Here’s another example from Lucky Brand Jeans. This brand uses a festive gold color scheme to share its “12 Days of Giftmas” deals.Subject line: LAST DAY: Order and get it now for Christmas!

Christmas marketing email

When it comes to Christmas email campaign ideas, this one is both fun and effective: The more chances for your customers to save, the better.

Be clear about your offer

Don’t fall prey to the temptation of taking up lots of space with flowery Christmas decorations or unnecessary design elements. Keep things simple and clear so your readers immediately understand what’s being offered. In this Christmas email, Yankee Candle’s promotion is immediately stated: All large candles are 5 for $55 for a limited time. Then the email goes into other product photos and less important CTA’s. The important stuff is at the beginning of the message, where it can’t be missed.Subject line: NOW: 5 for $55 large candles — 5 days ‘til Christmas!

simple Christmas email

Send a holiday gift guide

Here’s another one of the Christmas email campaign ideas that frequents our inbox in December: personalized gift guides to help shoppers find presents for friends and family. Toy brand Melissa and Doug shared an entire blog post on this topic and sent the post to its readers via email:Subject line: Best gifts for toddlers & kids (and why!)

Christmas email campaign ideas

You can categorize your gift guides as broadly or as specifically as you’d like. Lucky Brand Jeans (above) simply shared two sections of products — one for men and one for women. Depending on your industry, the nature of your product and how many products you have available, you might choose to separate out your gift guide into a larger number of sections. KEEN Footwear sent out a holiday gift guide with ideas for hikers, sledders and paddlers (how cute is this illustration?).Subject line: Gift ideas inside

Christmas email with gift guide

You can also group products by price so budget-conscious consumers can find what they need. Sharing a gift guide via email is a smart way to help your customers make a purchase from you this Christmas.

Use GIFs

There’s no better way to get into the Christmas spirit than a festive GIF or animated illustration! In this cute email from Uncommon Goods advertising holiday e-gift cards, a circle of candy canes surrounds a gift card. As you watch, the candy canes all flip the other way and then back again while snow falls in the background of the GIF.

animated gif in Christmas email

Here's the full email:Subject line: There’s still time to save Christmas

Christmas email with gif

This Christmas email marketing idea is an eye-catching, fun way to help the message stand out.

Wrap-up: Christmas email templates

Now that your head is spinning with Christmas email campaign ideas, it’s time to create your own! Check out our Christmas email templates to get started. You might like this Your Wish List Is Here message designed by Navid Nosrati:

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

Or this adorable Christmas Restaurant Food Delivery email created by Oksana Melis Barsukova.

Use this template in Beefree!

Use this template in Beefree!

Happy designing — and happy holidays from all of us at BEE!

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two Christmas email on a red background with a snowman

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Now, let's be honest—you’ve likely heard about all of these rotating for the last few years. While email marketing has come a long way and is changing faster than ever, there’s only so much you can do within 600x1,500 pixels. However, there are no limits to where your creativity can take you. 

Let’s get into it.  

#1. Unique, tailored experiences 

Damian Grabarczyk, the co-founder and growth marketer of PetLab Co., says, “We faced the challenge of connecting meaningfully with an audience that expects more than one-size-fits-all communication.” 

When we speak about crafting tailored emails we mean going beyond the recipient's first name in the subject line. We’re talking about optimizing your entire email strategy to design multi-stage touchpoints to nurture leads across the customer lifecycle. As well as, leveraging data to send hyper-personalized, relevant, and engaging emails that feel less like a broadcast message and more like a conversation. 

Many are using AI machine learning algorithms and AI automation to analyze customer interactions, past purchases, browsing habits, website visits, and even social media behavior to curate engaging email content that resonates deeply with the real-time needs of recipients.

For PetLab Co this looked like including content such as an individual’s pet health history or product usage timelines. Damian Grabarzyk expands, “This approach transformed the conversion rate and strengthened customer loyalty. As we look ahead, I see brands in 2025 moving beyond generic personalization to adopt strategies that make customers feel truly understood and valued.”

On the other hand, many are leaning into user-generated content (UGC) for crafting tailored experiences. Customers today are more likely to trust the opinions of peers over branded messages. UGC like customer reviews, testimonials, videos, and photos are the best form of social proof depicting real people using and benefitting from your products or services. 

We see the benefits of using both AI and UGC to get the most out of your email conversions ;). 

#2. AI tools as an addition, not a substitution

Experts at NordPass state, "AI-powered content generation tools are not here to replace email copywriters and marketers. These tools make us more efficient. The smarter the tool is, the better equipped we are to create high-performing email content that drives results." 

AI tools can support us by significantly enhancing the speed, precision, and effectiveness of your emails. For instance while traditionally A/B testing has required a lot of time to analyze small variations with AI you quickly implement and test multiple email elements and make adjustments based on real-time engagement data. There are AI algorithms that can even predict which variations are most likely to resonate with different audience segments, leading to more accurate targeting and faster optimization.

In short, AI tools are revolutionizing the way we craft and optimize our email’s deliverability. There are many different types of AI solutions so we suggest finding the right one for your needs. 

#3. Even more transparency around data

With AI continuing to rise, folks are more and more concerned about where their data is going. That’s where zero-party data collection becomes a key strategy in email marketing, allowing you to gather data directly from customers rather than relying on third-party sources. 

Zero-party data includes information that consumers willingly share, such as preferences, interests, and purchase intentions. This data is often collected through surveys, preference centers, quizzes, or interactive content and is highly valuable because it is shared explicitly, ensuring accuracy and deeper personalization without privacy concerns associated with third-party tracking.

As privacy regulations tighten, zero-party data will empower you to deliver hyper-personalized email experiences while respecting user privacy. This approach will help you build trust, as customers feel more in control of their data, and you gain insights that lead to more relevant and engaging email content.

#4. The death of static emails

With attention span getting shorter day after day, digest-format emails are expected to rise in popularity in 2025. Presenting email content in an easy-to-scan, organized, and minimalistic layout will surely help deliver the most relevant information in a fraction of the time. 

Additionally, interactive emails will allow recipients to directly engage within the email without having to visit a landing page or website. Interactive elements like product carousels, polls, and quizzes create a dynamic experience that keeps subscribers engaged, especially in visually driven industries like fashion brands

So what now? 

You’ve heard these strategies before, but now it’s time to actually put them into action. The brands that win at email marketing in 2025 won’t just be sending emails—they’ll be creating experiences. Whether it’s hyper-personalized content, AI-driven efficiency, zero-party data collection, or interactive emails that break the mold, the key is to stay ahead of the curve.

So, what’s the first strategy you’ll finally implement? Your inbox (and your audience) are waiting.

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Email makes gathering authentic product reviews quick and easy. By collecting sincere feedback, you can build trust, increase sales, boost loyalty, and innovate product improvements. 

That said, requesting reviews via email requires precise timing, personalized messaging, and lots of engagement optimizations. But don’t worry—we’ll walk you through some key steps to create email campaigns that deliver the valuable feedback you need.

Why product reviews matter

Product reviews do more than confirm that you're meeting customers’ needs. Sincere feedback drives loyalty and sales, offers valuable customer insights, and helps you develop a strategic product development roadmap.

  • Fosters customer loyalty: Requesting and listening to feedback makes your customers feel valued and heard. It demonstrates that you prioritize customer satisfaction, which helps you build stronger, long-term relationships. Review requests also act as re-engagement emails by starting new conversations with customers.
  • Increases sales: Social proof drives sales. According to a recent survey by Power Reviews, 90% of potential customers use online reviews to make purchasing decisions. In fact, reviews have more influence over purchasing decisions than product prices. Turning product reviews into customer testimonials and encouraging reviews on third-party sites can significantly boost sales.
Image sourced from powerreviews.com
  • Builds Customer 360 insights: Customer feedback delivers insights into customer needs and sentiments, enriching Customer 360. Exactly what is Customer 360? It’s a unified, 360-degree view of customer data. It empowers you to tailor products and customer experiences to meet individual needs and preferences. 
  • Drives product improvements: Sincere customer feedback reveals what target customers like/dislike about your products. It provides key insight into their value, functionality, and usability, unlocking large-scale development opportunities.

How to create an email campaign to collect product reviews

Want to unlock the power of product reviews? Let’s explore how to create email campaigns that encourage customers to share their feedback.

Segment your audience

Like promotional emails, product review requests shouldn’t be sent to every subscriber.

If subscribers haven’t had the chance to try your product, product review requests will feel irrelevant and may trigger unsubscriptions. So, only send review email requests to customers recently trying your product.

You can do this by segmenting your email list based on where customers are in the buying cycle. Target loyal customers, recent purchasers, and first-time buyers with tailored email campaigns. This ensures that you’re sending emails to customers most likely to respond with insightful feedback.

Write a compelling email subject line

According to Superoffice, 33% of people open an email based on the subject line. 

Image sourced from superoffice.com

To get the click-through rates you want, your email subject lines should be personalized, relevant, and engaging. Here are some examples:

  • Did you love [product]? Or hate it? Let us know!
  • We value your opinion — help us improve!
  • We want YOU to help us make our product better!
  • Up for a discount? Share your feedback for 10% off! 

Learn more > Tips for writing open worthy subject lines.

Optimize for customer engagement

A successful email marketing strategy relies on customer engagement. Here are some key email elements you need to encourage interactions.

  • An attractive email design: With the right layout, color scheme, typography, and images, you ensure easy readability and promote interaction. Use these engagement-boosting email design best practices to help you create a design that boosts conversion rates.
  • Gratitude and value: Thank customers for reading the email and explaining why their feedback is so important. Also, consider including a personalized Gmail email signature with your content details to build trust and encourage customers to engage with your review request. 
  • Personalized, relevant content: Personalized email content motivates engagement. Use customer data platform (CDP) data to tailor messages to individual customers. What is a CDP? It’s a centralized platform that collects and unifies customer information, building comprehensive customer profiles. 
  • Incentives: Offering a small discount can motivate customers to leave reviews, especially first-time buyers. That said, incentives can (sometimes) generate insincere reviews, so stress the importance of honesty. 
  • A strong call-to-action (CTA): Your CTA should direct readers straight to the reviews submission page. Use clear CTAs with bold buttons and typography to make it stand out.
  • Mobile responsiveness: If your emails are slow to load or don’t display correctly on mobile devices, your bounce rate will spike. Leverage solutions that offer advanced mobile optimization features — such as Beefree— to create responsive emails every single time.

Ask specific, concise questions

Complex, drawn-out questions that are too open-ended can disengage customers. So, get straight to the point with concise, direct questions. Here are some examples:

  • What did you think of [specific product feature]?
  • How often do you use our product?
  • What are your favorite/least favorite features?
  • How likely are you to recommend this product?
  • What could we do to improve our product?

Use a mixture of closed and open-ended questions to increase your chances of receiving meaningful responses.

Make it easy to respond

The easier it is for customers to leave a review, the more responses you’ll receive. So, make the process as seamless and convenient as possible. One way to do this is with survey emails.

Email surveys have high response rates. They can be completed within the email with minimal effort, which is a big plus for busy customers. And, they can generate a wealth of quantitative data and metrics that are quick to analyze, leading to faster improvements. BeeFree has an extensive collection of email survey templates to suit every need.

For longer review requests, include a CTA that directly links to the review submission page. Review forms should use simple, clear language, be optimized for mobile, and have a progress bar. 

You could even provide your telephone contact details to allow customers to leave a review via telephone. It’s the preferred communication method for 55% of Baby Boomers according to Hubspot, so it’s worth considering. 

Leverage small business telephone services from Vonage to access call center capabilities like virtual receptionists and CRM integrations, streamlining processes.

Also consider directing customers to leave reviews on popular review sites, such as Google and Amazon.

Optimize email timings

If you send product review requests too early, there’s a chance your customers won’t have tried your product yet. But if you send them too late, your customer might have forgotten their experience. 

So, when’s the best time to request reviews? 

Aim to send review requests within 7-14 days post-purchase. This gives customers a chance to try the product a few times, leading to more sincere, meaningful reviews. Plan for seasonal surges such as Black Friday and incorporate them into your schedules.

Key takeaways

Do email campaigns work for gathering valuable product reviews that drive improvements, boost trust, and increase sales and loyalty? 

Absolutely — but they need to be strategic.

To generate sincere reviews and valuable data, ensure your marketing emails are personalized, engaging, and optimized for convenience. And, use email list segmentation and marketing automation to ensure they’re sent to the right customers at the right time.

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