Holiday Email Roundup: 5 Knockout Examples of Festive Content

‘Tis the season for holiday emails, and marketers are killing it this year with creativity.

From festive animations to real-time countdowns, brands are illuminating special deals and limited-time savings with captivating media and engaging campaigns.

Grab yourself a cup of eggnog, and let’s have a look at some of this season’s most brilliant holiday marketing emails.

Master the various email marketing techniques and strategies with the Advanced Email Marketing Certification Training Course. Enroll now!

J.Crew Lights the Way to Daily Deals

Source: Email

Brands have been offering daily deals during the holidays for a few years, but it remains a great way to capture buyer interest once the Black Friday/Cyber Monday hype is over.

J.Crew makes their daily deals email more fun by integrating animated GIF lightbulbs in the header. In this example, only the first lightbulb is illuminated, representing Day 1 of a 5-day campaign.

The clothing brand also ties in the lighting graphic with the headline, in the word “Delight.”

Small touches of creativity go a long way in adding visual interest and creating excitement for potential buyers. (The discounts at the bottom don’t hurt either.)

Casper Leads with a Countdown

Source: Email

What better way to motivate your buyers to make a purchase than with a countdown to start your holiday email?

Displayed prominently at the top of the email, the countdown clock creates urgency for buyers with FOMO (fear of missing out) as they watch the seconds slip by in real-time. In other words, if you want your readers to take action quickly, this is a great example of how to do it in your holiday email marketing.

The headline is also catchy–Use it or snooze it–since it ties with the Casper brand, which sells foam mattresses (and hopefully a better night’s sleep).

Chicago Botanic Garden Sets the Stage for Experiences

Source: Email

This holiday email example from Chicago Botanic Garden shows you don’t have to be a retail brand to capture customers’ attention during the most wonderful time of the year.

In fact, the living plant museum creates a special experience right inside the email by rotating through several illuminating and magical images–showing what it’s like to attend the Lightscape event and setting the stage for potential buyers.

Incorporating high-quality, captivating images in your holiday emails is a surefire way to spark interest and encourage readers to learn more.

Bombas Solves Our Holiday Problems with a Smile

Source: Email

Images and countdowns aren’t the only ways to get creative this holiday season; you can be just as effective with your copy.

Bombas solves a common pain point for customers – getting papercuts from wrapping paper–by sending their socks in a beautiful, ready-to-give box. No wrapping necessary.

They introduce it with a clever title that sets the tone for a light and easy email, plus you get the bonus of a sweet discount. No papercuts and more savings.

Smartdept. Gives You a Giggle

Source: Email

You don’t have to be selling anything in order to send holiday emails; in fact, it can be refreshing to open an email without a “shop now” button.

This simple email from Smartdept.–a creative talent recruiting agency–uses a fun illustration and animation (the reindeer’s nose blinks red) combined with relevant humor to entertain readers.

There’s nothing more to this email than a festive greeting, but it’s much more interesting than a standard template email lacking personality.

Test yourself on the dos and donts of email communication with the Email Marketing Practice Test Questions. Try it now!