It’s unbelievable how fast time flies. September is already gone and the big season for e-commerce is upon us. Canadian Thanksgiving, Halloween, American Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, the Boxing Day and the New year are all very close now.

There’s no better time for marketers to begin prepping for their holiday email campaigns. To boost sales during this critical time of year, brands must start testing their strategies early to identify the best opportunities to engage customers and increase conversion rates.

Case in point, here is how much money was spent on holidays in 2015:

Halloween : $6.9 billion

Thanksgiving : $1.7 billion

Black Friday : $2.7 billion

Cyber Monday : $3.07 billion

And more than half of that money was made online. Shoppers are opting more and more to buy online rather than fight the crowds in brick-and-mortar stores. Marketers should make a list and check it twice. More than ever, marketers have to focus on understanding their audiences and meeting the needs of each subscriber. By doing the pre-holiday legwork now, brands can ensure that their stockings will be full on Christmas morning.

To make sure you’re up for the season, take a look at our holiday checklist. These elements can make your campaign stand out and make your customers feel like Santa himself has just come down for a visit!

[1] Find an email marketing provider with high sending capacity

If you’ve been reading our blog, you already know what is the best tool for email marketing. Check out our pricing !

[2] Upload a mailing list

Build your list but also your segments. Plan a unique approach for each customer group to build desire and expectation among those who are likely to place orders online. This will help you maximize the performance and the effectiveness of your holiday campaigns.

Click here for your list.

Click here for your segments.

[3] Install a signup form

It’s likely that your sign-up forms are lying there all covered in cobwebs and dust, giving your potential clients the shivers way before Halloween. Update your sign-up forms and landing pages to match the holiday spirit and increase your reach as this important time of the year starts!

Visit this page to integrate your sign-up form with any website.

Check out this page for WordPress, Magento, Facebook and others.

[4] Prepare your campaigns

Take the time to establish your objectives for these campaigns. Make the body of your email adaptable so all you have to do is change a few things to make it according to the next special date. Add adaptable footer and header for the same reason.

Use our responsive Drag & Drop Email builder for simplicity and effectiveness.

[5] Find a good email subject

The subject line is just as important as the message itself. It’s the very first thing people see before they open your email. Make it good!

Subject line optimization - A guide to boosting open rates.

[6] Select the products to promote

Which one of your products should be the star this year? Which one of your products should be the main focus of your Halloween campaign? And which one should lead for Thanksgiving? By focusing your energy on these star products, you increase your chances of a successful campaign.

[7] Download and start working on Mobile Friendly, Drag & Drop Holidays template collection

Again, you can use our responsive Drag & Drop Email builder for simplicity and effectiveness.

Have a look at our Holiday templates for 2016

You could also use our free email greeting cards template as well.

[8] Create message and Test

Test, test, test and keep testing. Make sure your message is perfect before its mailing date.

[9] Assign a launch date. (identify key dates)

Obviously, you’re not gonna send your Black Friday promotions on Black Friday. Just as you wouldn’t send your holiday specials on Christmas morning. You want people to know ahead of time so they think about shopping at your brand when the time comes. Identify which date would be great to send your campaign and make sure your campaign is ready to launch on that date.

[10] Take a break and enjoy the results

You’ve worked hard. Now sit back, relax and enjoy the results of your campaigns.

Here is a checklist you can use to make sure you’ve followed all the steps and are ready to collect big revenues.

Enjoy!