Time’s running out in the holiday season to execute your email marketing campaigns, so let’s get cracking.

Typically, holiday sales account for 20% or more of annual retail sales. Not exploiting email during your most profitable quarter is like leaving money on the table. Here are some tips to extract maximum value from your holiday emails:

Peg Your Emails :

Yes, we know about Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. But you should also look for minor holidays and other important days on which to peg your emails. For example, Cyber Monday is now a huge shopping day. Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, whatever — know your community and be attuned to its holidays.

Start Now :

If you haven’t done so already, waste no time starting your email campaign now. Experts want you to start no later than November 15, and sooner if possible. It turns out that readership of holiday retail emails peaks in mid-November, so that’s the time to start making your pitch.

Review and Build Your Email List :

How often do you update your email list? Can you purchase valuable lists from third parties? You should actively collect email addresses from your customers along with data indicating their areas of interest. You can segment your emails depending on the types of products or services your customers have purchased. Segmenting your list lets you direct the right emails to the right people.

Use Holiday Motifs :

Unless you have great graphic design skills, you’ll probably want to use commercial art and templates to give your emails the proper holiday feeling. Originality earns extra points — if you always use the same old tired designs, your customers will lose interest.

Holiday Gift Guide :

You know what you sell. Help customers understand how your offerings are great for particular friends, relatives, and clients. Your email can link to your holiday gift guide, which should be up to date for 2019. Include basic information about each recommended offering, including age (important for gifts to kids), price, and interests. Consider creating a collage of your best products, using influencers to curate your products around a theme, and ensure your content is mobile-friendly.

Early Access :

Reward email readers by giving them early access to holiday sales. This makes your email recipients feel like insiders who get first crack at important savings. That’s particularly important when you sell hot items that may be scarce as the year winds down.

Be Urgent :

Put time limits on the offerings you announce in your emails. It’s a hoary old chestnut, but “hurry while supplies last” still packs a punch. Related ideas include creating “early bird pricing,” providing order deadlines to receive shipments by a certain date, and displaying a countdown timer to show when the promotional prices will evaporate.

Create an Online Advent Calendar :

A tradition started by the Lutherans, Advent calendars are extremely popular among millions of Americans. You can include them in your email, and you can send a special email for each day of Advent. Your customers will appreciate beautiful Advent images embedded in your emails, which you can use to highlight daily specials.

Invite Participation in an Online Contest :

Let your emails trumpet online contests. They are a great way to build traffic, increase your social media followings, expand your email list, and create targeted prospects. There are several online tools, such as RafflePress, that make running a contest a snap.

Maximize the Value of Your Footer :

Put some valuable content in your footer so that readers don’t neglect it. You can promote stuff in your footer, such as gift cards, order/shipment dates, and your holiday gift guide.

Well, that’s a good start. And start you should, without delay. Grab your share of holiday pie by whipping your emails into the holiday spirit!

Written by Kaitlyn Hammond for Business2Community and legally licensed through the Matcha publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].