Summer email marketing strategies that sizzle: Memorial Day

Although summer doesn’t technically begin until June 20th, most people consider Memorial Day Weekend to be the official start of the season. That said, it’s time to think about what you plan to send in late spring and early summer.

Let’s discuss a few summer email marketing strategies that are sure to turn up the heat early on!

Memorial Day

This year the holiday falls on Monday, May 28th, and of course you can expect a huge influx of sales to hit inboxes as the holiday gets closer.

14 percent of Americans say they’re likely to take advantage of Memorial Day sales and promotions, but there are many more folks browsing the sales that end up buying, making Memorial Day a lucrative day for eCommerce.

We expect a large spike in email marketing promos on the preceding Thursday and Friday. Many stores will release discounts on the holiday itself, with around 25 percent of all sales falling on Memorial Day.

Historically speaking, emails sent on Memorial Day tend to achieve higher performance metrics than those sent on other major U.S. holidays, including Christmas Day and Valentine’s Day.

So how can you stand out in the inbox?

show patriotism

Incorporate patriotic imagery and colors into the overall design of your email marketing campaigns. This can be as simple as using the colors red, white and blue or incorporating stars and stripes. Here are a few examples to inspire you:

This summer email marketing for Memorial Day from Ralph Lauren is a great example.

Look at this summer email marketing campaign from Alex and Ani.

Take a look at this Memorial Day email marketing campaign from Bath and Body Works.

offer exclusive discounts to military personnel

Stores honoring veterans with a discount or some sort of benefit/offer will provide more opportunity for revenue versus stores that don’t. Ninety-five percent of veterans are more likely to shop with a retailer that offers discounts to military personnel.

take advantage of the “food theme”

Sixty-two percent of us barbecue on Memorial Day week. With that said, food is something on your mind for Memorial Day weekend and it makes sense to extend that thought to email marketing.

Play off the food-on-the-brain concept by using fun imagery within your email marketing, even if the products you sell have nothing to do with food or food prep. This Steven Alan email is a good example of that. It’s providing a good offer and using food to tout it. Even though its products have nothing to do with hot dogs, burgers and watermelon, the imagery works.

Check out this summer email marketing campaign from Steven Alan.

use the short timeframe to your advantage

It’s always a best practice to create a sense of urgency within your email marketing campaigns. One key trait of Memorial Day advertising is using time-based verbiage to instill a sense of urgency. Something along the lines of “Last day of sale – get 20% off”, “Time is running out”, “Only 2 Days Left” are good examples. Incorporate this verbiage into subject lines, pre-header text and the email creative.

utilize the change in the weather

As we discussed earlier, Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial kick-off to the summer. This provides the perfect opportunity for email marketing campaigns to reiterate this by using imagery that invokes summertime fun and warm weather appeal. This email got quite a few items right. Sunglasses add a bit of summer whimsy to this email, the offer is highlighted prominently, and the prominent CTA button is hard to miss.

Check out this Memorial Day summer email marketing campaign from Warby Parker.

Are you ready to test out some of these HOT Memorial Day strategies? Keep us posted on how they perform and stay tuned for our next post highlighting tips for Graduation!

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