Black Friday and the Holidays are all about being in touch with the folks who matter to you, and in ways that are fun, appealing, and relevant for them. We’ve gathered together some great examples of how you can use Smore to send gorgeous content to the folks on your contact list.
Be Bold
Use bright colors, bold text, and vibrant background images to grab of your readers’ attention. Try to showcase your product, where possible. In the newsletter above, you can see that they’ve used both the background image, and a photo, to showcase the look and feel of those gorgeous yuletide threads. You’ll also notice retailer has also put the price up top, so as to catch the reader’s eye as he or she glances at the newsletter. It helps that the main color of the newsletter — red — matches the color of the sweater, in the background.
Wordplay for the Win
The winter season is brutal, and we’re not talking about the temperature. We’re talking about competing for your customer’s mindspace, and staying in their heads. How many retail- and sale-related emails or newsletters do you get between Thanksgiving and New Year’s? Hundreds? Thousands?
But because you’re probably not a large retailer that can cut prices at will, or take out billboards or TV ads, it pays to think creatively, and use your marketing in clever and cost-effective ways. That means you have a number of interesting things you can do:
Get creative with wordplay. Use puns. Be timely. Speak to your audience. If, let’s say, you’re a local gym, you don’t have the big marketing bucks of a national chain. But you do have a better understanding of the local market and its needs. Use commonalities that you might have with your audience — your understanding of the weather, of local issues, of geography, or local commerce — to write headlines and copy that are more targeted, funnier, edgier, or more relevant than what your larger competitors can achieve. Remember, creativity is free! When you’ve got some great text, plug it into your Smore newsletter!
Get Creative with the Assets you Have
If you line of work is conducive to great visuals, take photos and video and include them in your content. Does your business sell scented candles? Are you a car wash? A local B&B? All of these are super-conducive to photos that you can simply snap on a smartphone. Smore’s Pro plans enable businesses to add custom backgrounds that can showcase their brand. Plus, if you have a video on YouTube that’s relevant to your audience, you can embed it, in a snap. Use the opportunity of a holiday-time email to solidify your branding, and get creative with content!
