10 Holiday Email Marketing Campaign Ideas You Must Try in 2024

When it comes to finding the perfect gift around the holidays—many of us will shop online as it’s the best way to find exactly what you want. 

As small and big brands have shifted their businesses online, online shopping has become more accessible. 2020 was a pivoting point that changed the digital shopping experience, creating new growth in online sales. It’s predicted that just like the last couple of years, 2023 will carry this torch, raising sales through online platforms around the holiday season.

Holiday email campaigns are a must to drive traffic to your online store during the holidays. 81% of small and medium businesses believe that their email marketing efforts increase customer retention and helps acquiring customers.

All of your customers might not follow your brand on social media, so it’s important you create engaging emails and draw your audience’s attention to your holiday promos, gift ideas, and seasonal products. Appealing holiday emails let you generate sales throughout the season by inspiring your audience with relevant product offers.

Keep major shopping dates in mind for your email campaigns, deals, and sales. Check our ecommerce holiday marketing calendar—you’ll learn what each popular holiday’s about, along with a plethora of tips for content and target audiences.

Now let’s jump into 10 holiday email marketing campaign ideas to get you inspired for creating your own promos.

10 holiday email marketing campaign ideas

We scouted our inboxes for some good holiday email campaigns and then turned them into creative sparks for your own awesome promos. Let’s go over why we think they’ll get you results and why you should base your campaigns on them.

1. Send a Halloween prize announcement

Who doesn’t love a good, delicious prize? 75% of consumers report combing through their emails just to find relevant discounts. Offer your customers what they want—a sweet prize wrapped in a fun email they won’t be able to resist. Here’s a Halloween email marketing campaign idea from Dunkin’ Donuts.

Subject: Click Your Treat and Earn 3X Points

Halloween holiday email campaign by Dunkin’ Donuts

Why it works

This Halloween email campaign is simple and straightforward, and that’s why it’s effective!

Be concise and clear with your email campaign—list the prize in the subject line. You’ll get better open rates if you showcase your deal right away. In the email itself, go for a simple illustration that doesn’t pull attention away from the offer.

We also like how there’s little text in the email which makes it quick to understand. The main offer is well presented—centered, well-structured, and straight to the point.

Pro tip! Instead of giving a deal with extra points, offer money discounts. Customers like to know exactly how much they’re saving, and research suggests that people fancy money-off deals even more than free shipping. So this is what your next campaign might sound like—“use code ‘party’ to get $5 off”.

2. Share a thank you letter with a referral code

Thanksgiving—a family holiday to give thanks, feast, and . . . shop? 

As unfestive as it may be, smartphones are present both at the Thanksgiving dinner table and on the couch (right there with you finishing your third consecutive slice of pie). It’s the perfect time to swoop into your customer’s inboxes to say thanks for their support and offer a sweet referral deal. Here’s how Evolve Skateboards did just that.

Subject: Get 20% off for each successful referral

Why it works

First off, you see the giant “$95” and instantly think it must be a good deal. The email has captured your attention so you’ll read on. The content is snappy and sweet—just the right length for a quick read.

We also like that the most important information is highlighted. It is simple yet informative and with no unnecessary fuzz.

Lastly, the email hows the value not only you but also friends can get. Just in time for celebrations liek Thanksgiving, don’t you think so?

3. Create an early-bird Black Friday sale

Pre-sale announcements are perfect to generate hype around your products. It’s a way for you to give your customers some extra time to shop the deals presented in the email campaign. 

Retailers focus most holiday marketing activities on the exact day of the holiday. So why not send out a pre-holiday email campaign to stand out? It’ll get your business more exposure in your customer inboxes. See this pre-Black Friday email campaign from Brooklinen.

Subject: It’s Go Time. Black Friday Starts Now!

Why it works

One of the best parts about this Black Friday marketing campaign is the urgency it creates. The GIF is lively and so is the campaign’s message “GO! GO! GO!” It sets you on a race to be the first one to get the best deals.

What’s interesting is that Brooklinen hasn’t even specified what the deals are. They’re just urging you to shop with them. At this point, you can’t even decide if the deal’s worth it or not, you just have to enter their shop and see for yourself.

The last thing worth mentioning is the tone of the email—casual and friendly. It feels as if your friend could have written it. How can you resist such a friendly offer?

Our tip? Place your customer at the center of attention and watch your email campaign click rates increase.

4. Announce a Small Business Saturday deal

Every year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, people are encouraged to shop at their local businesses. The Small Business Saturday, celebrated on November 25, is a smaller, more relaxed shopping alternative to Black Friday.

A lot of online brands have the wrong impression that Small Business Saturday is only for brick-and-mortar shops, but as an online business owner, you’re also a part of the movement! Use this opportunity to showcase your online business, like the family-owned tea brand Blooming with Joy did.

Subject: Get a $10 off your order!

Small Business Saturday holiday email campaign by Blooming with Joy

Why it works

Similar to Designmodo, Blooming with Joy has gone the “less is more’’ route and they’ve nailed it. You only need to take one quick glance at the email to know what they’re offering you—a $10 discount on all purchases worth $50 that will end on Cyber Monday.

Remember how we previously said that a money discount works better than a deal with a percent off? Blooming with Joy knows this well and that’s why they offered it.

5. Set up a sale countdown for Cyber Monday

Some people can’t wait for Cyber Monday to come (yes, even more than Christmas). Cyber Monday shoppers spent $12.4 billion in 2023, surpassing Black Friday with $9.8 billion. 

Check out this fun Cyber Monday email campaign Udemy sent out and see what ideas you can take for your Cyber Monday shopping extravaganza.

Subject: Just hours left of our biggest sale!

Why it works

When it comes to getting someone’s attention, yellow’s a good choice. The scattered objects perfectly illustrate that the sky’s the limit for learning new skills.

The contrasting color of the CTA button and the offer to shop $10 courses will spike the reader’s interest. Presenting your most affordable service or product is a good strategy to convert shoppers who aren’t yet invested in your offers.

The digital timer at the bottom of the email creates urgency. Similar to Ibotta’s announcement header, the countdown pushes to act while it’s not too late.

If the first part of the email didn’t convince you—Udemy has placed some of their courses at the bottom to spike your interest. They’ve also added the before and after sale prices so you know how much you’re saving, and good customer ratings as an extra push.

Looking for more Cyber Week promo material? Browse through our blog chock-full of Black Friday Cyber Monday marketing ideas.

6. Do a bold Boxing Day sale announcement

Long before Black Friday, Boxing Day was the most anticipated shopping day of the year in countries of the Commonwealth (it’s still big in the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand).

Historically, Boxing Day was the first weekday after Christmas Day when household employees were given Christmas boxes as presents.

Fast forward 200 years and the holiday has turned into unsold Christmas product chaos. Most retailers find themselves with extra stock after the holidays, so to offload the surplus, they hold clearance sales. It’s not the case with online stores selling print-on-demand products . . . but your customers don’t need to know that. You can offer “everything must go” deals as it’s an industry standard and people expect that. Or you can also do a no-muss, no-fuss sale, like Amaroso.

Subject: 25% off starts NOW!! Our Boxing Day sale has come early?

Why it works

Amaroso’s forward “SALE” and highlighted “25% off storewide” offers are bold and that’s why we love them. Honestly, sometimes that’s all a customer needs to know. There’s a sale, you get % off, now shop—that’s it. Not every email campaign you send has to include an ode to explain the sale.

From the color psychology perspective, the red color they used is spot on. Red is the most intense color and can provoke the strongest emotions—energy, alertness, power, sensuality. And you want your email campaign to create an emotion the customer acts on. In this case, get excited and shop while on that high.

Bonus points because they included gold—it’s the classic Christmas color scheme.

7. Offer a free shipping bonanza

Giving free shipping is the most-used promotion for online stores. It’s also one of the biggest triggers that push customers to make a purchase. Nowadays, 82% of online shoppers expect free shipping over fast shipping.

Here are some ideas on how to include free shipping in your holiday email marketing campaigns:

with a certain expiry date or time
on orders over a certain amount
on specific items

Or you can just give a free shipping promo code without any order minimums! That’s exactly what ban.do did.

Subject: last deal! FREE SHIPPING + MORE

Why it works

The email’s like an explosion of bubble gum and happiness. The color scheme ban.do used for the email radiates calmness, peace, and optimism. It’s the absolute contrast to Amaroso’s high-energy email campaign we looked at earlier.

Both campaign color schemes work great to evoke an emotional response from the customer. Ban.do’s email is successful because it sets the shopping mood to fun and relaxing.

This holiday email campaign gives customers two whopping reasons to shop with the brand—free shipping and a free product for orders over $30.

The “FREE” sign works well to draw attention. Who doesn’t enjoy stuff for free? On top of that, ban.do offers a freebie if customers spend over $30. That’s a good sales tactic to encourage even more purchases.

8. Share a Christmas gift guide

To calm your customers in their time of gift despair, send them a Christmas gift guide. It’s a way to put your products right in front of the customers, so they can make a purchase and be finally done with Christmas shopping.

There are two types of email gift guides you can make—with displayed products and without products, just linking to the store.

The guide with displayed products works well to offer an instant product browsing experience. The gift guide without any products creates mystery and may gather more clicks to your store. Let’s see the gift guide email Vans sent out.

Subject: The Vans Holiday Gift Guide

Why it works

We like this email because it’s just fun. Vans has created a little story wrapped in a bold cartoon. There’s a lot going on with the person in the trash can and the bunny sliding on the skateboard, but that’s what makes the email so interesting.

Vans links you to their store with a CTA button “Shop gift guide” and that completes the message perfectly. A graphic email like this doesn’t need product showcases, otherwise, it could end up looking busy.

Clear focus points, like the CTA button here, don’t needlessly confuse the customer with too many options. Here we see just two—enter the store or close the email.

Pro tip! Add a “Christmas gifts” category in your online store for the upcoming holiday season. It’s an option for your customers to browse present-worthy products. And you can also link the Christmas Gifts category to your holiday gift guide email.

9. Inform them about the holiday shipping deadlines

Last-minute Christmas shopping got you cornered? We’ve all been there and it’s not a good place to be. To help your customers buy their gifts on time, notify them of your holiday deadlines. 

The holiday shipping deadlines are set by the shipping carriers. We add our order fulfillment time on top of those and finalize Printful’s order deadlines (bookmark the page, we’ll update it sometime during the middle of October!). The order-by dates are the last days for your customers to place an order and get it in time for Christmas. Remember the holidays are a busy time for post offices and some packages might get stuck, so let your customers know upfront that delays might occur. Here’s how Asos took care of informing their customers about the holiday shipping deadlines.

Subject: Free Holiday Shipping Ends In Two Days

Why it works

We love the brevity of the copy. Less information means less distractions from the main CTA. In this case—shop now to get your goods on time for Christmas.

Usually, just one button works best because it gets all the attention. The Asos’ email has three CTAs and it’s not a bad move. The three CTAs are Asos’ way of capturing whatever your interest is—be it to shop for items on sale, gifts, or party outfits.

We also have to mention the “snow joke” in the email. It made us chuckle internally so we approve. We addressed how valuable it is to connect with your customers even if just for a chuckle. It’s a way to build positive brand recognition.

10. Give a special New Year’s discount

“New year, new me” is the kind of attitude most people set for themselves when the New Year approaches. It’s the perfect time to reach out to your customers with relevant shopping suggestions.

Don’t want to get involved with your customers’ aspirations? There are many other content ideas you can use in your emails. Send out a greeting message, a new product launch, or a themed NYE sale. Let’s take a look at Rifle Paper’s Co. New Year’s discount offer. Instead of just offering a discount, they also included a New Year’s gift guide with items like calendars and planners to get organized in the next year.

Why it works

Simply put, we like the idea of the NYE-themed discount, especially if it comes with a practical gift guide that makes it easier to find the right present.

At Printful, we’re also fans of gifts that encourage us to become better at time management and planning. What a better time to receive such a gift than on New Year’s Eve!

There are many ways you can play around with NYE discounts. This season, you can do $20.23 or 20.23% off for specific products (or all your products!).

If giving discounts isn’t your jam, you can offer your clients free shipping until 20:23 (PST) or for orders over $20.23. To create urgency, you can also create an email campaign with a 20 h 23 min sales countdown to celebrate the upcoming year.

Use whichever idea you find the best for your store and products. Focus on the main message so your customers have a clear understanding of the email content and what they have to do after reading it.

Over to your holiday marketing plans for 2024

People are busy during the holiday season and rarely does anyone have the time to browse the web for hours to find the perfect gift.

That’s where your email marketing skills come in. Take this opportunity to reach out to your customers and showcase your deals.

Use the holiday email campaign ideas we compiled in this post and create effective promotions. Even if your emails stay unopened, you’re making a connection with your customers.

Read next: 

How to Develop an Effective Marketing Strategy
10 Effective Ways How to Market a Product