2020 Holiday Season: Plans & Challenges for Marketers Worldwide

The year of 2020 has brought so many challengers, even the most skilled marketers might have failed in creating successful virtual campaigns. The pandemic, wildfires, protests, elections have all changed everything we knew about ourselves and the world around us – and we still have four months to go.

By now, most marketers should have planned their strategy for the upcoming holiday season. However, considering how 2020 went so far, coming up with the right plan is more challenging than ever. The competition is huge, since the end of each year comes with a 20-50% increase in the consumer inbox, causing a tidal wave of email.

So what can you do to get noticed among so many other emails in December 2020? Let’s have a look at a few basic tips and tricks.

1. Stop focusing on the subject line

Generally, people believe that the subject line is the most important aspect about an email. After all, it is what makes a customer click on your email, right?

While subject lines are definitely very important, focusing too much on one may keep you from paying attention to the actual content of your message. It’s not the subject line that increases conversion rates, but rather what you’re saying in your email. In the long run, only the well-written emails will create a loyal base of customers; once you have excellent email messages, you can focus on creating an engaging subject line too.

2. Use real-time content

Emails started as a way of sending letters to one another virtually. Sadly, many marketers still believe that’s all an email can do.

Today’s technology is so advanced there are endless ways of personalizing your email messages. From videos and images to switching color schemes and texts, you can turn a simple email into an engaging journey that makes your brand stand out from the crowd.

I highly recommend that you gather your team and spend at least one day studying advanced technology companies that provide email personalization services. Learn what they do and think about how you can implement those options to fit to your own message and company.

3. Get ready to get panicked

If you’ve been in the email marketing industry for a while, you probably know what I’m talking about. You’re starting your carefully crafted campaign that you’ve been working on for months, then the first numbers appear… and it’s a disaster.

It does happen even to the most successful marketers. And this year, it may happen even more depending on your domain of activity. While panic is completely normal in these situations, it’s crucial that you don’t make any decisions based on despair.

What you can do to prevent a disaster is to create multiple email templates and basic campaigns you may use in case your no. 1 strategy is no longer working. Even the simplest campaigns may bring better results than the ones you’d create out of panic.

4. Follow the data

I’ve said it before in my post on 5 Basic Marketing Hacks That Make a Big Difference, and I’ll say it again: data never lies.

In times of uncertainty, reviewing your data and comparing it to your competitors’ is the best decision-making factor. Also, since we’re talking about making decisions, be as patient as possible. Even if a campaign may seem to go downhill at first, it might get back on the right track; of course, it depends on many factors, but the main point is to not give in to it a moment’s thought.

Have you started working on your email marketing strategy for the 2020 Holiday season? Share your answers in the comments and we’ll get back with some advice.