Create standout marketing emails for the holiday shopping and giving season

Design email campaigns to promote sales and events for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday

It's always best to start planning early for the holiday shopping and giving season. We have the templates and tools to help you create great-looking emails that drive sales and donations.

• Black Friday
• Small Business Saturday
• Cyber Monday
• Giving Tuesday

While these days are still popular as standalone events, more and more sales and donation campaigns are stretching out over a longer period, with the weekend acting as a centerpiece. 

Be a better marketer: Need some inspiration? Check out these holiday email templates for small businesses and nonprofits.

Black Friday

Black Friday is the day that officially marks the start of the holiday shopping season. It's not an official holiday, but a retail trend where retailers begin offering discounts and sales to attract holiday shoppers. Now retailers have added special "one-day-only" promotions for specific items, available only on Black Friday, to help differentiate themselves from other retailers.

A typical Black Friday email strategy involves sending teaser emails leading up to the night before, followed by an email containing the actual deal at midnight on Black Friday.

• Start with a Black Friday template. Just search "Friday" when selecting a template.
• Splurge a little bit on just the right image from our stock image gallery in the Library.
• Have a little fun with the colors in your email - white text or bright colors really pop against a black background.
• Use the RSVP action block to formally invite your contacts to your Black Friday retail event.
• Insert Product blocks to promote your goods from your eBay, Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Squarespace, Square, or Wix store.
• If you're promoting more than one item in your email, enable click segmentation so that, as you approach Black Friday, you can send more targeted emails to your contacts based on their interests.
• Have a tablet? Use our ListBuilder app to collect new contacts at your point-of-sale.
• Check out our resources page for more ways to help you capture end-of-year sales.
   

  You don't always have to offer a discount on Black Friday! If you have one-of-a-kind or limited edition products, services, or promotions, go ahead and highlight them.	Coupons are an easy way to attract Black Friday shoppers. This email offers the promotion a little before Black Friday actually happens to help the email stand out in a crowded Black Friday inbox.

If your brick-and-mortar store has an online presence as well, don't forget to take advantage of Cyber Monday too!

Small Business Saturday

Small Business Saturday is a dedicated holiday created by American Express to promote its small business customers; it's the brick-and-mortar answer to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, promoting local shopping at retailers in your own community.

A typical Small Business Saturday email strategy involves sending a series of email reminders over the course of about a week or two before Small Business Saturday, promoting both your organization and the benefits of shopping local.

• Start with a Small Business Saturday template. Just search "Saturday" when selecting a template.
• Splurge a little bit on just the right image from our stock image gallery in the Library.
• Use contact details to personalize your email content.
• Insert Product blocks to promote your goods from your eBay, Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Squarespace, Square, or Wix store.
• If you're promoting more than one item in your email, enable click segmentation so that as you approach Small Business Saturday, you can send more targeted emails to your contacts based on their interests.
• Have a tablet? Use our ListBuilder app to collect new contacts at your point-of-sale.
• Check out our resources page for more ways to help you capture crucial end-of-year sales.
   

  Adding images of people in the local community using your products and services makes your message feel more authentic.	This email aims to tug at readers' heartstrings by sharing that shopping small helps local businesses like theirs, while also providing a small discount as a token of their appreciation.

Cyber Monday

Cyber Monday began as a retail trend when more and more people started using the better internet connection they had available at work to take advantage of the sales that began on Black Friday — it was a bonus that there were no lines. Their gift recipients couldn't peek at their gifts, too. Now people are connected 24-7 through mobile devices and retailers take advantage by promoting web-only sales.

A typical Cyber Monday email strategy involves sending teaser emails leading up to the night before, followed by an email containing the deal on Cyber Monday. 

• Start with a Cyber Monday template. Just search "cyber" when selecting a template.
• Splurge a little bit on just the right image from our stock image gallery in the Library.
• Use the RSVP action block to formally invite your contacts to your Cyber Monday online event.
• Insert Product blocks to promote your goods from your eBay, Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Squarespace, Square, or Wix store.
• If you're promoting more than one item in your email, enable click segmentation so that, as you approach Cyber Monday, you can send more targeted emails to your contacts based on their interests.
• Check out our resources page for more ways to help you capture end-of-year sales.
  
  

Tip: You can get creative and send different emails at different times throughout the day that include links to different "limited-time only" deals.
  
 

Giving Tuesday

Giving Tuesday is "a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration;" it's the nonprofit answer to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, where the goal is to kick off the charitable season with a coordinated day for making donations.

A typical Giving Tuesday strategy involves sending a series of emails to announce the campaign, share a deeper story, and request a donation on Giving Tuesday. This is followed by an email thanking donors and providing an update on progress toward the goal. Remember, donations don't always require cash. If you need supplies or volunteers, don't hesitate to reach out on the day.

• Start with a Giving Tuesday template. Just search "giving" when selecting a template.
• Splurge a little bit on just the right image from our stock image gallery in the Library.
• Use contact details to personalize your email content.
• Use a Read More block to link off to more information about your organization and its mission on your website or blog.
• Insert a Social Share block to encourage your readers to share your message with their friends and followers.
• Check out our resources page for more ways to help you capture end-of-year donations.
   
  

 
Any links we provide from non-Constant Contact sites or information about non-Constant Contact products or services are provided as a courtesy and should not be construed as an endorsement by Constant Contact.

 

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