Email is a powerful marketing tool for small businesses. Through its targeted and personalized messages, you can improve sales, generate more leads, generate repeat customers, enhance your market research, and impact your SEO. Its low cost makes it easy to start, and Constant Contact templates and ease of use makes it easy for anyone to generate campaigns.

But are those campaigns as robust and engaging as they can be?

Your inbox and mine saw Christmas and holiday greetings from offices and stores. One after another, “Merry Christmas!” “Happy Holidays!” Unfortunately, the only message accompanying the ‘Merry Christmas’ was “We’re closed.” We get it – Christmas and New Years are major holidays and your office is going to be closed. Your employees SHOULD be with their families! But why are the email messages as short as “Merry Christmas. We’re closed!”?

We believe many (if not all) are missing a wonderful opportunity to engage with their customers or members and endear them further with your brand, let alone, engage with you!

What if your office included one more element to the email? An element of personalization or engagement? Here’s 10 ideas for engaging Christmas emails we came up with:

1. Staff’s Favorite Recipes. Have staff submit a recipe. Create a PDF of them and include them with your email. Example: The NAHB Young Professionals compiled their favorite cocktail recipes. The next time the customer stops in the bank, she’s bound to share how much she enjoyed Jenny’s Pull-apart Christmas Tree! Tell us that doesn’t build a connnection!
2. Create an office scavenger hunt. Prove that you found all of the objects and be entered into a drawing! A quick search of Christmas office scavenger hunt produced this one from PrintJunction:
3. Everyone loves Ugly Sweaters! Take a picture of the staff in theirs and have people vote for their favorite.
4. Have the staff rank their favorite Christmas movies. Share the list in the email. “While we’re closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we’re going to be watching our favorite movies. Here’s the staff’s favorites:” See the difference from ‘Merry Christmas. We’re closed.”?
5. Create a staff playlist of Christmas songs on Spotify. Share the list in the email. “While we’re closed for the holiday, we’re going to be enjoying this playlist on Spotify. Is your favorite song on the list?” (Stephen’s favorite playlist)
6. This will take some doing but take a staff picture and include hidden objects. List the hidden objects in the email. Print, find the objects, and submit the completed puzzle to be entered into a drawing.
7. What is the staff doing while the office is closed? Josh is visiting family. Dusty is going to a bowl game. Sheryl is hosting her three sons and daughter’s families. Pete is going to Grapevine Texas. The next time the customer talks with Pete, bet they ask about the trip. As with the recipes, tell us that doesn’t build a connection!
8. Get digging for staff pictures from Christmases past. Your members will love seeing a 10-year-old Brenda at Christmas or Michael singing in the Church pageant when he was little.

   

9. Include a Christmas Crossword. Complete and submit it to be entered into a drawing. Bonus if you have your own branded crossword puzzle created. Otherwise simply Google for a pre-made puzzle to include.
10. Everyone loves lights. Have the staff share their favorite house in lights or light exhibit. If a customer has never been to Anywhereville’s display, after they visit, and if they enjoy it, they’ll be sure search out the staff person that recommended it!

What are other ideas? Perhaps one came to mind as you read our list. Perhaps you’ve seen a creative email from an association you’re a member of or an office you patronize. Please share with us!

With the ideas above, you can create an engaging, relationship-building, brand-building holiday email. An email people won’t be so quick to delete from their inbox! Do we dare say, an email customers or members will look forward to receiving each year?