UPDATED: WE thought we should add our own holiday greeting email for you to see:
Internet marketing at holiday time isn’t just about percentages off and free-shipping coupon codes.
Sometimes (biiiiig emphasis on sometimes), customers are content with a greeting that simply shows a measure of gratitude for their loyalty.
Take a look at our first example below. It’s a newsletter-type e-mail that we sent on behalf of The Coleman Center, a client that offers meeting space within its Manhattan-based meeting and conference center.
The Coleman Center isn’t a client for which we send e-mail discounts on their services. Their business just doesn’t lend itself to that kind of marketing. But, because its guests extend a generous amount of resources to hold their meetings at the center, we decided that a holiday greeting was in order to show appreciation. With an open rate of 26.8%, this campaign was a success in spreading cheer and well wishes while helping keep the center on the minds of its constituents.
The second holiday message we sent was for a new client called Air Charter Services. ACS approached us with a general idea for a humorous greeting. After our illustrator created the art, we wrote several funny tag lines, ultimately settling on the copy below.
The open rate for this e-mail was also good by any standard at 28.9%. Even more exciting is that recipients liked the message so much that some of them forwarded it to friends, which is very uncommon in e-mail marketing – even with a discount offer. We hope they passed it along to potential new customers, but any extra exposure equals success for the client.
The last greeting we sent was on behalf of GolfEtail, an online retailer that specializes in – you guessed it – golf equipment. While the greeting was a simple “Happy Holidays” message, we included links to a few regularly-priced items from the store to remind customers that GolfEtail has the gift ideas they may be looking for. This e-mail received a nearly 22% open rate, helping kick the retailer’s online shopping season into high gear.
Have you sent out non-discount holiday greetings to your lists this season? How have they performed? Are you seeing higher open rates versus e-mails that contain deals? Share your stories with us in the comments section.
