Email Marketing Strategy for Black Friday – Cyber Monday Weekend

Well hey there happy maker! Whether it’s your first year in business or your fiftieth, the holidays are coming, and we are all getting ready. One of the most important parts of preparation is working on your email marketing strategy.

You may be enjoying Pumpkin Spice EVERYTHING and looking at Halloween decorations. But now is the time to get your email marketing strategy nailed down for the busy season. The Black Friday through Cyber Monday weekend is your opportunity to get some sales. Especially from your customers that are on your list!

Disclosure: some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

If you’ve been following along, the discussion here at Bloom has been about everything you need as a handmade business owner to get ready for the 2022 holiday shopping season being largely online.

Now that we are inching closer to the big shopping weekend, it’s time to lock in your email marketing strategy and make sure you are really loving up on the people who support you the most!

I know, I know, email marketing strategy is just *one* *more* *thing* on the ever-growing list of things “to do” in your business, but I believe (and I stand by this) that email marketing should be the thing that sits at the very top of that list right now. 

If you don’t have an email list started yet, that’s ok! Here are a few things you need to know and some tips to get it jump-started:

1. You cannot send marketing emails/newsletters from your regular email account: you need an Email Service Provider (ESP). 

• If you don’t have an ESP, you can quickly sign up for a free account with a service like Convertkit and start building up that list.

2. Once you set up your account with the email service provider, you want to make sure that you create:

• A landing page or signup form where people can enter in their name and address to get onto your list (this landing page or signup form will have its own URL that you can grab and share)
• A welcome email that is triggered to send out when someone signs up for your list (sometimes called a “welcome sequence” or an “automated sequence”

3. When that landing page/form and subsequent welcome email are created, you want to grab the URL of your landing page and share it on ALL of your social media channels, inviting all of your friends, family, and followers to join.

Once you get the first name on that list, it’s time to start sharing the love!

This season (and always, really), you want to be sharing RELEVANT and VALUABLE content with those who have entrusted you with their email address! 

That means when your message lands in their inbox, it should:

• be clean, crisp, and well-designed.
• have small chunks of content that are easily digestible.
• include one clear call to action, such as “shop now” or “visit my website” with a clickable link.
• always include links to your social media sites.

If you are thinking, “Ok, I’ve got it all set up. Now what am I supposed to write to these people?!”

Well, what do you want them to know?

• Do you have new things listed on your website?
• Is there a sale or event that you are participating in?
• Have you done something/gone somewhere interesting and you’d like to share that experience?
• Do you have a gift guide that you’d like to share?

Each email you send should have one clear, specific goal. Keep that in mind when you are deciding what to write, share, and link to.

As your email list grows, keep an eye on the metrics (i.e., how many people are opening the emails, how many people are clicking on it, etc) and make sure you are constantly working to improve the quality of your messaging.

Holiday 2022 is here, my friend, and you are ready for it! Work on your email marketing strategy now so you can focus on your customers and orders later.

If you are elbow-deep in making and you need a little bit of help leveling up the quality of your online content, I’ve got you covered! 

My self-paced course, Clear Cut Content, can help you create pro-level graphics, WITHOUT the pro-level price tag! Check it out here.