On Black Friday, the email inbox is often bursting at the seams. We present five insights from a study by Episerver that help companies stand out from the crowd with successful email campaigns.
The time will soon come: in about a month, namely on November 27th, the annual Black Friday will take place. Even on the following Cyber Monday, bargain hunters can count on many bargains. But these events not only offer great opportunities for customers. Even marketers can use the high-turnover time to launch successful campaigns. However, you need a strategy planned in advance – one of which is well thought-out email marketing. The software company Episerver analyzed around 125 million emails from 1,200 campaigns from Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2019. We have summarized what came out of this and what marketers can take with them for this year’s campaigns.
1. Send mailings before, during and after Black Friday
Anyone who thinks the best time for e-mail campaigns is on the day of the action is mistaken. Because email marketing for Black Friday and Cyber Monday often begins about two weeks in advance. 43 percent of the 108 million evaluated mailings that drew attention to Black Friday offers were sent before the actual date. On the day itself it was 32 percent. The rest was then sent. This is also due to the fact that many companies are now relying on a Black Week – and are extending the period of their offers accordingly.
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With 17.5 million mailings, Cyber Monday is still well behind its better-known counterpart. Almost 60 percent of the mailings for this were sent on the given Monday itself. In view of the relatively low competition on Cyber Monday, marketers can consider paying more attention to it. The potential of Singles’ Day on November 11th. shouldn’t be underestimated. Because this has meanwhile established itself in Europe, but is by no means exploited by all companies – which also means less competition in the inbox.
2. Despite poorer performance on average – this leads to increased click and open rates
One might think that the click and open rates for Black Friday offers have increased due to the attractive and special deals. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. Some of the KPIs are even below average. The reason: the increased competition in the e-mail inbox. Many customers only open emails sporadically on the day of the campaign – and some may even overlook them. Nevertheless, the increased CTOR on Black Friday suggests that companies often manage to share relevant content. In order to optimize the performance of the mailings in 2020, attention should be paid to a well thought-out subject line in addition to relevance. Episerver recommends incorporating an A / B test with automatic optimization.
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3. Retailers and e-commerce companies in particular should be active on Black Friday
The majority – almost 70 percent – of the mailings sent came from the retail and e-commerce sector. Exactly those companies should not miss the opportunity that the high-turnover days offer in a month. But Black Friday can also be a success in B2B marketing with the help of successful e-mail campaigns.
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However, participation in Black Friday and related events is not absolutely necessary for all companies. For some, it may just not fit the concept or direction. Businesses from retail and e-commerce should definitely take advantage of the opportunity. Their opening and click rates in 2019 were average compared to other industries. This makes it all the more important to think about effective e-mail marketing campaigns early on and thus be one step ahead of the competition.
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4. First come first serve
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Early action is not only worthwhile in the period before Black Friday – marketers should also send their e-mail campaigns in the morning if possible. The data from 2019 show that the best opening and click rates were achieved between nine and eleven o’clock.
But sending a mailing at midnight can be worthwhile. Because at this time there is in all probability no chaos in the recipient’s inbox and the night owls among them will be immediately aware of the deals. Should an email get lost, it is a good idea to send a reminder to non-openers in the evening.
5. Use Cyber Monday – and extend it
Even if significantly fewer companies were active on Cyber Monday in 2019 than on Black Friday, the better KPIs were achieved on the former. Marketers can take away from this by giving Cyber Monday 2020 a chance – and ideally turning it into a whole Cyber Week.
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