Post-holiday email list management

Holiday shoppers are like shooting stars—bright, exciting, but often fleeting. The real challenge? Turning those one-time buyers into loyal customers who stick around long after the decorations come down. Chances are you're about to get a significant influx of new customers. Here's how to keep them engaged for the long haul: 1.) Send Customized, On-Brand Post-Holiday Emails The time right after a customer makes a purchase is when their affinity for your brand is at its peak. They're excited about their decision and can't wait to get their hands on your product. So why do so many brands use dry, boring follow-up emails? This is an opportunity to send a personalized message, share tips and tutorials, or surprise and delight them with an exclusive offer. Pretty much anything other than a plain, boring "Thanks For Your Purchase!" email would be an improvement. 2.) Build And Promote A Customer Loyalty Program This may seem obvious, but having a customer loyalty program can do wonders for your repeat purchase rate. Where most brands get things wrong is they cut corners by using off-the-shelf platforms that have bland default settings. This is a time to lean into your customer research and build a meaningful loyalty program that offers customers incentives they actually want in exchange for buying products they actually need. Once you get the terms and offers dialed in, use behavior-based email marketing to keep your loyalty program top of mind and generate repeat purchases on a regular basis. 3.) Create Personalized Offers That Build A Brand Community By now, you're probably sensing a trend – using cookie cutter templates is killing your brand. Don't treat your subscribers and customers like just another transaction. Remember, there's a real person behind that screen, and they're experiencing many of the same wins, frustrations, concerns, and emotions you are. The more you can personalize your marketing messages to their unique situation, the more they'll feel like they're part of a community, not a customer base. Don't sell to them. Make them feel like they're a part of your brand journey. At the end of the day, building customer loyalty is about creating meaningful relationships through consistent communication. Here's your checklist for maximizing the long-term impact of your BFCM efforts: ✓ Make a solid first impression with a personalized post-purchase experience ✓ Create and promote a customer loyalty program that's actually appealing ✓ Treat your customers like members of a community ✓ Use hyper-relevant offers to stay top of mind Do all of this, and you'll not only improve your repeat purchase rate, you'll also recruit a large (and growing!) army of lifelong brand advocates.

The lead up to BFCM for email folks is just like preppin’ for Christmas and New Years, but little thought is given to the holiday hangover that comes directly after…cleaning up all the messes we’ve made while bakin’ cookies, wrappin’ presents, and checking off every last item on our lists. So, let's talk about what caused those email messes that require cleanup on aisle 4…and 6, 7, 10… all of 'em? 1️⃣ Not taking action early enough (or “ignoring warning signs”) The big days are behind us. So, like, go look at your data to suss things out: - Delivery and bounce rates to determine if mail’s getting blocked due to sender reputation issues. - Opens and clicks at the destination level for signs of engagement…and signs of spam folder placement. Imagine, if your open rate is 40% at Gmail and Yahoo, but 6% with MSFT, you’re likely going to the spam folder with MSFT. Knowing WHERE you're going to spam is important to prevent further damage because what’s driving the issue will vary with every provider. Plus, the more mail that goes to spam, and the longer you keep sending it, the more it will impact your deliverability over time. 2️⃣ Too many user complaints (aka “marked as spam” reports) These are a clear indication to mailbox providers that your mail is not wanted —coming straight from your readers — which can cause your mail to be blocked entirely if you let them continue for too long, so nip them in the bud quickly. You’ll never know exactly why someone flagged your mail as spam, but you can look for clues based on the data you have at hand: 💌 If users are marking your emails as spam shortly after they’ve joined your list, look to your sign-up process...you do have one, right? Permission is job one if you’re looking for consistent inbox placement. 💌 Are you properly setting expectations about your frequency and the types of content you send? Are you sticking to what you promised? Depending on how severe your #spam folder issue is, you may notice your spam complaint rate is at or close to 0%. Not the time to celebrate! This likely means most (or all) your mail is going to spam…and you can’t mark emails as spam if they’re already in spam, ya know? 💌 Look to the time period when you *did* still see complaints coming in, or when you first started noticing engagement drop: - Any new address collection sources? - Changes in volume around that time suggesting you sent to a very inactive segment, or worse — your suppression list — by mistake? - Has your content or frequency changed recently? Are your offers as unique and valuable as they used to be? TL;DR: Once you detect a spam folder issue, your best bet is to pump the brakes on your sending and take action to quickly identify the cause of your issue. After all, it’s a whole lot easier to dig yourself out of the spam folder when the issue first starts vs waiting for open rates to drop to near-zero or turn into an outright block. 💌 How have you fared this lovely #email holiday season?

Just a reminder as you think about opening the "net" with your email list: - Microsoft & Gmail is sunsetting emails that haven’t been used for 2 years. - Yahoo is doing it after 12 months. When these emails “expire,” they can become spam traps and create a hard bounce report. Both will hurt your domain reputation and deliverability that could cripple your holiday. Easy way to avoid it? Use the opt in date with behavioral data and ensure you aren’t reaching too far back. My suggestion is simple: if they have NEVER engaged with any email or sms, it’s not the time to try to engage them. TL;DR: Use this as your reminder to perform list hygiene to your list and engage with those who are engaged with you.

The holidays are over, and Q1 is here. But your email list might be a little fatigued. So how can you ensure your emails land in inboxes instead of spam folders when your customers are recovering from that post-holiday spending hangover? Here’s the game plan: 1️⃣ Build demand, don’t just sell! Sure, you want to drive sales, but now’s not the time to keep hammering people with “buy now” messages. After the holiday rush, customers need a breather. Instead, engage them with content that adds value. Think curated playlists (thanks, Daniel Monte 🎧), educational content, and even a bit of humor. Keep them interested in your brand without always trying to take their money. 2️⃣ Relevant content = better deliverability! Want your emails to actually get opened? Make sure you’re sending content your audience cares about. If you just sent a bunch of gifts for Christmas, a "last-minute sale" email isn’t going to cut it. Focus on the things your customers are into right now, and they’ll reward you with higher open rates. Better engagement means better deliverability, and that’s how you stay out of the spam folder. The gist of it all? Keep it relevant, engaging, and thoughtful. And when you’re ready to roll out those Q1 promotions, your audience will be primed and ready to buy. How are you keeping your email list engaged post-holidays?