On Thanksgiving Day 2022, Americans spent $5.29 billion online shopping. That’s a lot of money flying around. Did your business rake in your share?Email marketing is a powerful way to capitalize on holidays like Thanksgiving and make them profitable days for your business or your client, and that’s true for e-commerce and other industries alike. It all comes down to technique. How do you construct a masterful Thanksgiving email newsletter that grows your relationship with customers while also making use of this kick-off day for the holiday shopping season? We have the tips and tricks you need to know.
Does email marketing top your gratitude list this year? Take a look at these Thanksgiving email marketing ideas that every email marketer will be grateful for.
Thanksgiving Email Newsletter Ideas
What type of Thanksgiving email content could you include in your email newsletter? On holiday like Thanksgiving, you want to strike a balance between advertising to prompt sales and relating to your customers in a genuine way. Consider these possible paths you can take in your Thanksgiving emails.
Express Gratitude for Your Subscribers
Your email subscribers are an important part of your organization. They’re typically loyal customers who continue to trust and patronize your business time and time again, and they have contributed to the community you have built. Thanksgiving is a perfect time to let them know how much you appreciate them with a heartfelt thank you, potentially with a peek at your business family too.Take this example from Outerknown for instance. We love how Outerknown introduced its employees with a photo (including what seems to be the office dog). It’s always a good idea to put faces with a brand. And there’s no better time than Thanksgiving to welcome your customers into the family.Subject line: "A Thanksgiving Message from OK."
Create a Festive Design
One of the trickiest parts of marketing is anticipating your customers’ mindsets and creating content that relates to them. Holidays make that easy - on Thanksgiving, you know your readers will have Thanksgiving on the brain. An email with a Thanksgiving-themed design will catch their eyes and feel familiar and relatable to them. Thanksgiving imagery and color schemes can go a long way in your email design.Leesa does a great job of connecting its products with the holiday in this Thanksgiving email marketing campaign. The copy is minimal but effective, and the CTA buttons are descriptive and well-placed, enticing you to click. Finally, Leesa tops it off with adorable fall leaves dancing across the screen. This Thanksgiving email is a hit!Subject line: "A Thanksgiving Treat for Kelly."
Include Relevant Products or Services
What might your customers want or need to buy on Thanksgiving? Which of your products or services may align with their mindset on Thanksgiving? Selecting and highlighting those products in your Thanksgiving email is an excellent way to both benefit from the holiday financially and offer convenience to your customers.Terrain knows how to do Thanksgiving email marketing. This email starts with a simple message wishing customers a happy Thanksgiving. Then it seamlessly transitions into sales mode, showcasing product photos with simple frames for readers to explore. Terrain does an excellent job of combining a Thanksgiving newsletter with a promotional push.Subject line: "Happy Thanksgiving from Terrain."
Promote a Thanksgiving Sale
After the turkey and mashed potatoes have been eaten, and the family has enjoyed quality time together, Thanksgiving is an excellent time for customers to relax on the couch and enjoy some online shopping. You can take part in this tradition with your own Thanksgiving sale, and your Thanksgiving email newsletter is an excellent place to prompt customers to check it out.This colorful Thanksgiving email from Paper Source tells readers to hurry — the discounts will be gone soon! Colors and patterns catch your eye: The email is busy without being overwhelming.Subject line: "Hurry! Set the Thanksgiving Table at 20% OFF."
Be Empathetic and Inclusive
Thanksgiving is a time for not only shopping and commercialism but genuine human-to-human connection. Make sure your Thanksgiving emails don’t focus purely on sales but also have an empathetic and authentic touch that makes your customers feel seen and appreciated, and be sure that this is inclusive of all customers.This Thanksgiving email marketing message from Ethan Allen looks like a handmade paper card, with one main image and a few lines of text wishing the reader a happy Thanksgiving. Ethan Allen acknowledges that everybody has different family structures, and everybody celebrates this holiday in a different way.Subject line: "A Thanksgiving Wish."
Showcase Black Friday Promotions
The run-up to Thanksgiving isn’t too early to start advertising for Black Friday. In fact, many shoppers start buying before the turkey is served. Many retailers start advertising their Black Friday deals as early as Wednesday, and consumers are getting used to the deals being a multi-day event. So it’s not inappropriate to advertise your Black Friday discounts in a Thanksgiving email. Tarte sent this colorful email on Thanksgiving Day around noon, hoping to catch customers before they sat down at the table.Subject line: "Before Thanksgiving Dinner Starts."
Thanksgiving Email Marketing Design Tips
The ideas above can help you develop your Thanksgiving email marketing strategy, but then it’s time to do the boots-on-the-ground work of designing and creating your emails. We’re here to help you dream up an impactful, memorable Thanksgiving email design that is both relatable and lucrative, thanks to these design tips.
Keep your Thanksgiving message simple
Sometimes simplicity is your best friend. The more concise and straightforward your message is, the more clearly it will be received, and the more likely customers are to actually read it rather than skip it.Check out this email from Publix, for example. It’s short and to the point, but the simple design makes it easily digestible and visually appealing.
Create Personalized Thanksgiving Emails
You know you’re not the only email list your customers are subscribed to. They’re likely seeing dozens of Thanksgiving emails, so how do you make yours stand out? An excellent way is by making the email personalized and relatable to them specifically. Not only does this help customers feel seen and understood, but it makes your email more relevant to them in a practical way, so it’s more likely to grab their attention and their time.Check out this email from Hayneedle. While it leads with a sweet Thanksgiving sentiment, it goes into a specially curated section that sends personalized product recommendations based on the customer’s previous searches and purchases. Customers are more likely to see something they like, and that will make them stop scrolling and take notes.
Thanksgiving email templates
The easiest way to create beautiful Happy Thanksgiving newsletters is to use a Thanksgiving email template. Check out some of our favorite professionally designed Thanksgiving email templates to get started:
Or give thanks with this colorful Thanksgiving Day email template.
Standing Out with Thanksgiving Email Marketing Made Simple
Thanksgiving is an excellent opportunity to grow your relationship with your customers and subscribers, along with capitalizing on a popular shopping day. It’s not easy to both encourage purchases and offer genuine relatability in the same email, but the strategies and tips above will help you do just that and make the most of this opportunity.Want to do this as simply and efficiently as possible? Our Thanksgiving email templates give you an easy and quick way to customize the perfect Thanksgiving email newsletter. Check out Beefree and our email design tools that will help you make an impression on customers on Thanksgiving and beyond.
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Editor’s Note: This post was updated on August 2023 to ensure accuracy and comprehensiveness.
