Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and the stakes for retailers are at an all-time high.  Consumers are becoming more savvy and competition, online and offline, is growing rapidly, therefore companies must work extra hard to create email strategies that will drive maximum business value for them at Valentine’s Day.

Some people love Valentine’s Day and others don’t, but you have to admit, it is a good occasion to drive a sale…

According to the US National Retail Federation, individuals spend on average $130.97 on their partners on Valentine’s Day.  V-Day is a great day to drive sales and revenue for your company and you need to ensure you stand out from the crowd.

Here are a few tips and ideas to ensure your 2017 V-day campaigns are successful:

1. Subject lines:

Companies underestimate the importance of good subject lines, this is the 1st interaction a potential customer will have with you in his inbox, ensure that it is clear, short and to the point, personalise it if possible.

2. Your offer:

Individuals will receive numerous Valentine’s promotions, thus, if you would like to stand out from the crowd, ensure that you offer something useful, relevant and valuable.  Offer individuals a voucher, discount, free delivery etc.

3. Value in your email:

Value can take different forms, e.g. discounts, free products etc. but one tactic that is very popular is: Valentine’s gift ideas for him and her. It seems like individuals are always wondering and scrambling to get the perfect gift, by assisting them with some ideas, you will ensure an increase in opens, clicks and interaction with your company / brand or products.

4. Images and text:

Ensure that your campaigns are a combination of images and text, if you only use images, your email might end up in spam folders.  You have a few seconds to capture potential consumers’ interests, thus ensure that you have a strong message and strong call to action.  The CTAs should be bold and stand out in the email so that users can find it easily and without hesitation.

5. Segmentation & database building:

Ensure that your database is targeted and segmented according to your message, you don’t want to send a great email campaign to the wrong target audience. If you decide to run a competition, you will be able to capture data that can be used for future direct marketing campaigns. The bigger your opt in email database, the more likely you are to drive sales from it!

6. When to broadcast:

Databases differ and will respond differently, therefore it is crucial to understand your base and when you will have the maximum impact that you are after, e.g. nobody wants to receive promotional emails on a Monday morning at 8:30 or a Friday afternoon at 5pm…

If you aren’t designing and broadcasting great Valentine’s email campaigns, you are losing out on some big bucks, even if you aren’t a florist, chocolate or jewellery store!

Love it of loathe it, you might as well get on board and generate revenue this Valentine’s Day.