SO many reasons to start Christmas email marketing in October

Yes, we know, we know, it’s October. And we promise that we’re not being dramatic when we say Christmas email marketing that starts now, not in late November, is the one that actually gets opened, read, and acted on. Kiwi shoppers have already started, whether you have or not, it’s just the reality. 

In this post:

• Kiwis already started without you
• Your customers’ inbox is about to get loud
• What to send in October
• What happens if you wait
• The quickfire checklist to actually get started
• Quick questions about Christmas email marketing
• Get there before the tinsel does

Kiwis already started without you 

64% of Christmas shoppers in New Zealand will do most shopping between September and November, spreading the cost, avoiding the stress, and dodging the crowds. Retail sales here can realistically kick off as early as Labour Weekend in late October. If your email marketing is still waiting for a Black Friday countdown, it’s arriving after a decent chunk of your audience has already made up their mind.

Your customers’ inbox is about to get loud 

Come mid-November, every business with an email list is sending at once, gift guides, countdowns, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, repeat. It’s a noisy few weeks to be trying to stand out. Sending earlier means less competition for attention, and it gives you room to test what’s working before the real crunch hits.

What to send in October

No need to open with a hard sell. October’s about building the bridge, giving someone a reason to trust you before you ever ask them to buy anything. Gift guides, early access or waitlists, and content that’s informative and useful before it’s all salesy. October’s job is getting your brand into the inbox before it’s crowded, not closing the sale on day one.

What happens if you wait 

Waiting until late November means less time to test the water, it means competing with every other business’s campaign landing in the same inbox on the same days. That’s a much harder room to stand out in. You really want to give yourself time to test subject lines, offers, or timing before the sales that really matter. There’s the relationship angle again too. Start in October and by the time Christmas offers land, you’re emailing someone who already knows and half-trusts you, not a cold inbox getting sold to for the first time.

The quick-fire checklist to get started

Get this…Email marketing still returns more per dollar than almost any other channel, Forbes Advisor puts it at $36 back for every $1 spent, so it’s worth getting the basics sorted before going full steam ahead. A few things to nail down first:

• Email provider: Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Flodesk, and a few others all do the job differently. We’ve broken down Klaviyo, Omnisend, and Mailchimp if you want the full comparison.
• Send name: decide who it’s actually coming from. A person’s name tends to land better than a generic business name.
• Template design: this one matters! It’s the first impression before anyone’s read a word. And if it’s ugly, hard to read, too busy or boring, people won’t stay for long. 
• Lead magnet: give people an actual reason to stay in. A gift guide or early access code works well this time of year.
• Content plan and writing ideas: know roughly what you’re sending and when. Then plan it out from October through December. Subject lines do a lot of the heavy lifting too, we’ve got 8 tips for better subject lines if you want a head start.

Get these things sorted and you’re genuinely ready to start sending, not just thinking about it.

Quick questions about Christmas email marketing

1. Isn’t October too early to mention Christmas? Not for the roughly two in five Kiwi shoppers already doing it. Early doesn’t have to mean pushy, a useful gift guide lands very differently to a hard sell.
2. Does this apply to all industries? Mostly, yes, though how hard it applies depends on how seasonal the business is. Retail and gifting feel it most, but even service businesses benefit from getting back in front of people before the inbox gets crowded. 
3. Does starting early hurt engagement if people aren’t ready to buy yet? Not if the content’s useful rather than purely promotional. Worst case, it builds awareness for when they are ready, which is often sooner than businesses expect.

Get there before the tinsel does

October emails aren’t about forcing a sale early, they’re about being the brand that’s already in someone’s inbox when they’re ready to buy, instead of shouting alongside everyone else in the last two weeks of November. 

As a digital marketing agency with email marketing experts on the team, this is the exact kind of timing call we make for clients every year. If your Christmas campaign’s flagged as “we’ll get to that in November”, give us a call and your days (email marketing) will be merry (strategic) and bright (effective).