It’s almost that time! But it’s not too late to send out a holiday newsletter to your email list. This is a great time to get in touch with your subscribers as 2018 wraps up. Since this is a holiday newsletter, you might want to think of your email as a holiday card that you’re sending to your friends.

Email volume is high for everyone during the holidays. To break through the full inboxes, you must make your holiday newsletter as alluring as possible.

Keep these tips in mind to ensure your holiday newsletter campaign is a success:

1. Check your list

Just like Santa, make your list and check it twice! First and foremost, be sure you’re sending your email to the correct list. You don’t want this holiday newsletter to come out of nowhere to a subscriber on an old list. Make sure you’re sending it to your current list of people who have opted in and recently engaged. This loyal list of subscribers should be free of invalid or inactive email addresses.

2. Subject Line

This is definitely one of the most critical aspects of the newsletter. To get a high open rate on your email, you need this subject line to stand out in a crowded inbox. Our Publicity Director Shelby Janner recommends always keeping the subject line under 10 words or less. For this holiday newsletter, depending on if you’re making it a more personal note or offering a product or promotion, make the subject line something that will resonate with the receiver. Keep those holiday buzzwords (holiday party, offer, etc.) in mind, and never use the actual word newsletter. Think about what would make you actually open the email, then shorten it and make it straight to the point.

3. Short pieces of text

Once you have the content of the newsletter ready, the design is next. Keep paragraphs or blocks of text short and sweet. A long block of text on a newsletter does not perform well, people want to be able to quickly glance at the email. If possible, add photos or visuals to break up the text in between paragraphs. The more holiday design elements you add that are in alignment with your brand (borders, lines, colors, etc.) the better.

4. Check the mobile version

People are constantly on the go and more likely to read their emails on their mobile phone, especially during the holidays. Be sure your email design not only looks good on your desktop, but also from mobile. This will most likely be the top method your subscribers are using to open the newsletter instead of a desktop.

5. Keep it personal

This can be your business or brand’s way of reflecting on the end of the year as a way to talk about what you’re grateful for this holiday season. Including a holiday photo of your team or your company participating in holiday events or parties is another great element. Little things like personalizing the “to field” to specifically say the person’s name in the email make all the difference. Always making your subscribers feel like they are a part of a loyal community and actually getting something out of reading your email is key.

Happy Holidays and happy newsletter writing!