Email Campaign Ideas to Test in the New Year

Since 2020 is already in full swing, and we’re totally confident that you haven’t dropped any of your New Year’s resolutions yet, why not add one more into the mix? We’ve already told you about the exciting trends we expect to see in an email this year, but what about some cool email campaign ideas to make 2020 your Year of Email?

No need to panic, we’ve got you covered. While you were signing up for spin class, our minds were spinning with fun email campaign ideas that you can test in the new year. Give these a try, and you’ll feel great about your email strategy for 2020 (even if those other resolutions don’t last).

Email Campaign Ideas for 2020

Idea #1: Re-engage your customers after the holiday season

Once all the excitement dies down, it’s time to take a rest from sending email campaigns, right? Wrong. Surprisingly, the post-holiday season is a great time for sales, and a reactivation campaign is the perfect way to get in on the action. Try sending out a campaign to encourage your subscribers to visit your store or website again.

At the beginning of the year, the sales that started after Christmas are likely to still be on. Leverage on this to attract customers to your products and remind them why they subscribed to your brand in the first place. This is a great way to reduce post-holiday unsubscribes.

You can also segment your list to promote to each customers items that they may be more interested in, based on previous purchasing behavior. Continue to engage your subscribers to avoid being ignored after the holiday hype calms down.

Example: Nasty Gal

This Nasty Gal campaign plays with the new resolutions that usually emerge at the beginning of the year, implying that buying from their sale is a good decision. This is a great way to encourage post-holiday shopping and make customers feel good about it.

Idea #2: Make the most of a not-as-popular holiday

Think about it: your customers’ inboxes are flooded during popular sales periods like Black Friday and Christmas, but what about holidays that aren’t traditional shopping days? Take advantage of the email lull and send your subscribers a special sale when they’re not expecting it. This will capture your subscribers’ attention and incite their curiosity, as they may not be aware of that festivity.

Using a campaign comparison tool, like the one Mailjet offers, will allow you to test various holiday campaigns throughout the year. That way, you’ll know which holidays cut through the inbox clutter and bring you the most engagement from your customers.

Example: Mardi Gras

This Mardi Gras email takes advantage of the excitement surrounding a holiday that’s not typically known for shopping, and encourages customers to indulge in shopping and savings (in addition to eating in abundance, as the festivity requires).

Idea #3: Own up to your mistakes

It’s every marketer’s worst nightmare, and it probably happens to you once or twice a year. You see your beautiful new campaign land in your inbox, only to realize that your call to action links to the completely wrong page, or worse, it has no link at all!

But wait, don’t faint just yet. Use it as an excuse to send a quick follow-up campaign apologizing for the goof (and including whatever you missed in your previous email).

Even if it was a technical problem with your website, don’t be afraid to apologize. Your customers will likely open the email just to see what went wrong, and they may even click through for the deal that you were promoting in the first place. Use powerful subject lines that will play with your customer’s FOMO, to ensure that they will be opened.

Be sure to take a look at your campaign statistics after you’ve sent your “Oops!” email, to see if it increases engagement. Now, we know this little trick is amazing, but don’t go finding excuses to use it, ok? We wouldn’t want you to get carried away.

Example: Forever 21

In this email, Forever 21 takes advantage of their ‘Oops’ moment to offer customers free shipping. Best excuse ever to activate your winter sales.

Idea #4: Play to your customer’s competitive side

Use your slower seasons to give your customers fun incentives. Try creating a game that invites your subscribers to interact with your brand for a prize. This is a fun idea that you can test using multiple platforms. For example, if you’re looking to increase your social following, try running a contest on one of your social platforms, then send an email campaign to let your subscribers know that they’re missing out!

You can also run a campaign encouraging your customers to make purchases over a period of time for a chance to win a prize (think McDonald’s Monopoly game). Giving your customers a little extra push to make a purchase during a traditionally slow season is a great way to re-engage your contact list.

A fun competition is also a great chance to run an A/B (or even better, A/X) test on the various elements of your email. Figuring out which style of subject lines or email imagery excites your subscribers will give you great insight for designing your future holiday campaigns. You can also segment your email list to offer your most loyal customers special deals or opportunities for extra points.

Example: Starbucks

This Starbucks for Life summer game is a great example of creating new excitement through competition. Customers compete to win bonus stars or a lifetime supply of Starbucks by making purchases and hitting specific targets.

Wrapping Up

Testing new campaign ideas is a great way to capitalize on slower seasons. With whatever you decide to try in the new year, make sure to follow your statistics to track the effects of your campaigns. Once you’ve tested your new creations, you’ll be ready to implement the best ideas into your emails for the busier seasons.

So, are you feeling totally pumped to make 2020 the best email year yet? Don’t let us stop you – start building those new campaigns with Mailjet now!

Did you try one of our 2020 email campaign ideas? Share the results with us on Twitter.

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This blog post is an updated version of the post “Email Campaign Ideas To Test In The New Year“, published on the Mailjet blog on January 5th, 2017 by Patrika Cheston.