Fall is here! And that means putting all your attention on upcoming holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, right? Well, don’t forget Halloween along the way: 68% of adults plan to celebrate Halloween, and experts report that total consumer spending will reach $8.48 billion this year.
So, how do you reach these spenders and promote your gorgeous, ghoulish Halloween arrangements? With targeted email marketing. Email is still the most effective promotional channel by far. When you create well-thought-out email campaigns, you can rake in those sales with just a bit of effort. Following are nine ways to do just that:
- Have fun with Halloween designs
If there was ever a time to go over the top on email designs, it’s now. People expect to see witches, ghosts, spiderwebs, and anything else that screams “Halloween” in every promotion, so don’t disappoint them. And make sure the Halloween-themed designs you use in your emails also show up on your website landing page.
- Go all-in on subject lines
Since you’re going all-out with design elements, make sure you do the same with your email subject lines. Don’t be afraid to use words like “spooktacular savings” or “enchanting arrangements.” However, don’t forget that the most critical part of your subject line is your offer and its value to customers—so don’t get too caught up in the puns that you forget to mention that offer!
- Offer free add-ons
Everyone loves a freebie, and it’s so easy to include them in your Halloween emails. There are so many things you can choose: decorations, stickers, trick-or-treat bags for the kids, even a free pumpkin that customers can use as a vase for their arrangement. And change your offer each week to add urgency: Customers will order ahead of time, so they don’t miss out on the free goodie they want.
- Hold flash sales
Speaking of urgency, flash sales are a fantastic way to drive urgency in emails. Hold flash sales at different points during October and track the response to see which sales were most effective. By monitoring your flash sale results, you’ll also know what to offer in future promotions.
- Reward loyalty
Customers love loyalty programs, so if you’ve already got a loyalty program running in your floral shop, promote it in your emails and offer extra points on Halloween floral purchases. If you don’t have a loyalty program yet, it’s a great time to start: Emails offering loyalty programs generate higher revenues than emails without them.
- Segment your email list
Mailing list segmentation is always important, so you correctly target your message and promotion to the right customers. For Halloween, this is particularly vital since celebrations are different based on age: parents of young children are focused on trick-or-treating, yet college-age young adults or millennials may be hosting Halloween parties. By segmenting your list and providing the right offers, you can dramatically increase response rates—and sales!
- Tie in social media
Email campaigns and social media work perfectly together as part of an overall Halloween campaign strategy. Tie in your email message to what you’re promoting on your Facebook or Instagram page, and make sure you’re using a branded hashtag across all platforms. You can even add social sharing buttons to your emails and ask your subscribers to share your content across their social channels.
- Involve your customers
With all the costume parties and trick-or-treating, Halloween is an excellent time for user-generated content. For example, you can send out an email announcing a contest for the best Halloween costume and have customers upload their photos and tag your social media pages. Then you can feature them, have your followers vote, and offer a gorgeous fall arrangement to the winner.
- Try some ghost-free emails
While most of your email marketing will be of the creepy-ghoulish variety, you may want to create some emails that have a “cozy” feel. Two-thirds of American adults plan to attend a Halloween party, but that means a third of them won’t be partying—so don’t forget them! Send an email promoting the beauty of fall floral arrangements for their homes or as gifts for loved ones, so you capture their interest as well.
We hope these tips will help you to create some great Halloween emails. With just a little preparation now, you can promote your offers straight through October. Not only is this a fantastic way to generate sales for Halloween, but it also puts you in front of potential customers who’ll remember your emails when planning their Thanksgiving and Christmas floral purchases!
