With Valentine’s day just a couple of weeks away, you should be thinking about how you are going to show your subscribers some love. Take a look at some of our ideas depending on your business…
Whether you are a restaurant, department store or hotel – Valentine’s day is a big deal. It actually has the second largest email volume for the year, obviously Christmas being number one, so you can’t afford to miss out on your email marketing during this time.
But what’s best for your business?
Restaurants
Restaurants tend to be one of the busiest places on Valentine’s day. Lots of people use it as an excuse to have a special evening out, so get your email marketing out there early to encourage recipients to start making their reservations. According to the National Retail Federation, 17.8% of people will make a reservation for a restaurant on their mobile phone* so it’s very important to ensure your emails are fully mobile optimised.
Including offers and vouchers is a great way to encourage recipients to make their booking. A simple ‘3 courses for £20’ or ‘free bottle with mains’ can really help to boost interest!
SMS marketing can also be a great option for restaurants. Sending offers and deals or even reminder messages for recipients that have booked are all great ways of getting important information to your audience. Want to know how to get started with SMS marketing?
Take a look at one of our favourite examples from ASK Italian below. This was sent mid January and it’s not too bam-in-your-face. It’s a subtle reminder that Valentine’s day is nearing and you should start thinking about making plans.
Online Stores/High Street Stores
With over £980 million* being spent on chocolate, flowers and gifts for Valentine’s day if you work within the retail industry there’s no way you’ll want to miss out on the potential present buyers. Lots of clear imagery and call to actions are perfect for product emails as they provide a showcase of different products and it allows recipients to snap them up at the click of a few buttons!
It’s been found that on average, men spend 49% more than women for Valentine’s day so it might be worth thinking about including dynamic content within your emails to target individuals.
Another thing to think about is setting up and creating automated workflows, in particular a cart abandonment programme. Users may be trying to find that perfect gift for their special someone but having trouble locating it. If they are showing interest in particular products but not actually making that final purchase they might either need the suggestion of similar products or even a small incentive of an offer to give them that final push to payment.
We really like this product email from Pandora below. Again it’s quite subtle and doesn’t actually mention Valentine’s day till the end of the email.
Hotels/Holidays
For those people aiming for a little more extravagance, a hotel stay may be on the cards. Similarly to both of the above, using engaging imagery can help create that magical dream of a romantic night away and encourage recipients to make reservations. As a night away takes a little bit more planning, it’s a good idea to send your first email campaign relatively early. If you are able to add special offers or deals to your marketing it can really pay off. Anything from ‘a free bottle of bubbles with a Valentine’s night stay’ or ‘half price couples massage over Valentine’s weekend’ can make the difference between a subscriber booking or not.
It’s also worth thinking about sending a campaign for those last minute people who have either left their planning right until the last minute or who have completely forgotten!
This is a great example from Sykes Holiday Cottages. The mixture of the images used and well written content really helps to allow the recipient to daydream of a romantic getaway.
Extra Things To Think About!
Enhance subject lines with emojis – Emojis are fast becoming one of the most recognised languages and can really make a subject line stand out from the rest. There’s plenty to choose from but some of the obvious Valentine’s themed emoji’s include ? ? ? ❤
Singles/Anti-Valentiners! – It’s important to remember that not everyone wants to celebrate Valentine’s day. Take this opportunity to also promote self love and self care.
Optimal timings – Aim to target both the organised and last minute shoppers but try not to inundate subscribers with too many heart filled emails.