Holiday Email Design Tips

It’s time to start thinking about your holiday email. Millions will be sent this year. Wondering how to make yours stand out. Here are some holiday email design tips.

Be unconventional.

Instead of using traditional imagery, use the opportunity to be unconventional with your holiday email. Email marketing continues to be one of the best ways to convert in inbound marketing so make your imagery stand out.

Here are some ideas:

Animals: Try penguins, polar bears, owls or dogs. Animals are an easy way to get noticed. They indicate a whimsical message, which may earn your brand some likability. Illustrations rather than actual photos are a better fit. Find something memorable like penguins ice skating or a polar bear enjoying the snow. Using an animal as your hero image in a holiday email is a way to be playful while also capturing the essence of the season.

Duotone: If you would like to use a more traditional image like bells, holly or stars, then consider placing a duotone over the image. You can of course use red or green but also think about using your brand’s color. The image itself reflects holiday so the color can be a bit more about you.

Conversions that aren’t about ecommerce.

Holiday emails can still bring you conversions even if you are not an ecommerce brand. The holiday email content should be simple and action oriented. What would you like them to do? Maybe asking nicely is all you need? Well, probably not, but design based on the conversion you’d like to see. If your ask is a social media follow then make that prominent. If you’d like them to visit your blog, tell them why and add thumbnails of the most viewed blogs.

Be unique even if traditional.

Most brands will still use generic greetings like “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings” to ensure an inclusive message. However, it’s not completely ridiculous to have multiple greetings to cover all holidays including Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and others. You can interweave all holiday greetings into one email with specific imagery. However, it’s still fine to use a generic greeting. But be unique in your design. Use modern images of a winter scene or a snowman. Have fun with your imagery. If you seem to stiff in your holiday email, it could cause many to unsubscribe so lead with friendly.

Holiday emails are a great way to connect with your audience. It’s a simple way to add cheer. Remember that anything you put in someone’s inbox should bring value and not be a disruption. Design like you a sending something to a friend, and if asking for a click or view, do so with letting the reader know the benefits. Happy emailing!