As the days get longer and warmer, people of all ages get excited at the thought of days spent poolside, evening BBQs, long weekends, and hopefully a vacation. But while the average consumer daydreams happily, many marketing managers and e-commerce analysts cringe at the drops in revenue and traffic to their sites. While shoppers are away, it’s more important than ever to be creative & bold with your email strategies. Personalized recommendations, tailored messaging, and unique content are all crucial for retaining shoppers through the summer and priming them to purchase during the Holiday rush in Q3 and Q4. Teams might be hesitant to strategize and spend resources on summer email campaigns, but if done correctly, these messages are effective and efficient boosts to revenue through even the slowest time of year. Outlined below are some easy steps to take when brainstorming great seasonal email opportunities.

01. Understand Why Your Customers Purchase From Your Site

Are your customers trying to perfect their beauty routines? Send an interesting & educational email on products that will keep them healthy and hydrated throughout the hot summer months. Are they buying your products to stay fit and feel confident? Remind them of why your products are great for their personal goals. Understanding the goals of your site visitors will help you create tailored content to engage with customers, no matter what you sell. Rent The Runway does a great job showcasing new summer content for wedding season. The email shows new styles for each event you might attend for a wedding, providing the reader options for every outfit she might need.

02. Own The Season

Brand your emails to embrace summer, warmer weather, and vacations. Use color schemes and content that makes shoppers excited to purchase and use your products throughout the summer. Include tailored recommendations for new items or “summer’s best sellers.” One Kings Lane sent this great email highlighting products that are perfect for “a summer vacation spent lakeside.

03. Get Creative

If you don’t sell any remotely seasonally appropriate items, that is ok! Here are just a few campaigns you can deploy:

• Make the most out of the season by running strong campaigns for Mothers Day, Wedding Season, Graduation, Memorial Day, or July 4th.
• Identify best customers, and send them a reward to increase retention.
• Call out one time shoppers who might be on their way out the door, and send them a special deal on free shipping.
• Get wild and make up your own holiday (i.e Amazon Prime Day).

Artifact Uprising does a great job in the email below of reminding customers not to forget about mom. They clearly indicate promotional offers, highlight available discounts, and keep the design simple and elegant. Treat your summer emails as an opportunity to get creative and strategic. Plan campaigns with the same enthusiasm and optimism as you would plan a summer vacation. Spend time educating and informing customers, brand yourself as a summer seasonal retailer, even if that isn’t necessarily the case, and remind customers of the great products you know they will love. By utilizing great content and creative, tailoring your segments and messaging, and having fun with the season in general, you’ll be able to engage and delight customers, and keep them buying throughout the year.