by Liga Bizune, Mailigen

The day of love rapidly approaches, and for marketers it’s time to think about a perfect Valentine’s Day email campaign.

Follow our tips to develop a smart strategy, build an eye-catching design, create relevant content and make subscribers fall in love with you and your brand.

#1 Kick off at the beginnging of February 

Love is in the air long before Valentine’s Day, so start early with your marketing communication. February 14^th or some days before would be okay if you are sending an e-card or promoting ready-to-use products or last minute offers. But if your campaign needs more engagement, kick off before or at the beginning of February:

• Tease about your upcoming offer in a February or even a January newsletter
• Send your special offer campaign at the beginning of February. Resend it with a different subject line to those who haven’t opened it, and with a slightly changed call to action to those who haven’t clicked on it
• Remind about your offer with a last call campaign some days before February 14th. This is the right time to surprise with outstanding email design and wish a happy Valentine’s Day
• A few days after the celebration, thank those who benefited from your offer and ask for feedback via an online survey.

#2 Let them fall in love with your offer

Offering the right thing is crucial for your email marketing ROI. Think about the most suitable products and services a person would like to receive on that special once-in-a-year day.

If you are in a fashion, food, beauty, travel or a similar industry, you are lucky! For you, Valentine’s Day may be as profitable as Christmas. Use email marketing wisely to get the most out of it.

• When preparing a Valentine’s Day email campaign, roll out special offers for couples, romantic style gifts and bonuses
• Include an entertaining video or gif animation in your email campaign to attract and engage more in your offer
• Add tips and tricks to your email campaign offering where to go, what to do and how to make this day awesome
• If your business doesn’t offer things that are marketable on Valentine’s Day, send a beautiful e-card. Thus you will remind the customer about your company, show you care and increase loyalty to your brand

#3 Treat your lovers differently

I’m sure your subscribers’ inboxes will be stuffed with Valentine’s Day emails. But to make them pay attention and read your email, send what your subscribers really want. 

Split your target audience into segments by:

• Gender – different offers to your male and female audience are vital when we talk about Valentine’s Day. Just change the roles this time: ladies would like to receive gift offers for their boyfriends, while guys – how to surprise their ladies
• Age – young adults would be more interested in news about places and events where they could meet their Valentines, while more mature customers would look for exclusive gifts or travel deals to surprise their loved ones
• Interests – use all the information you have gathered from online surveys, sign up forms, profile update forms or other resources to produce campaigns that suit your customers’ interests and get better engagement from your email campaigns
• Activity – send a series of emails to your most active subscribers and a compelling reengagement email campaign to your inactive subscribers.

You can also segment by activity within one campaign. Resend your email with a changed subject or call to action to those who haven’t opened or clicked your Valentine’s Day campaign. Or, if you have several offers within one campaign, check out who has clicked on what but hasn’t proceeded and then send an exclusive offer for the product to each customer who was especially interested. 

#4 Flirt with hot email design

Valentine’s Day is a perfect time to fully express your creativity in email designs. Instead of your usual email template design, prepare or order a custom email template design including today’s web design trends.

• Go beyond traditional cupids and candies, and choose stylized images
• Apart from the traditional red and pink, shine with pale pink, silvery white and other colors from this season’s top hues
• Use responsive email designs to make your email campaign easily readable and clickable to mobile users
• Try today’s flat metro style design in your email campaign
• Include video or GIF animations in your email campaign to make it more attractive and engaging

#5 Surprise with compelling email content

Content is king, especially in email marketing. It has to persuade the recipient, firstly, to open the email and, secondly, to take an action.

• Alongside hearts and arrows, include interesting symbols in your subject lines to make your Valentine’s Day email stand out in crowded inboxes
• Ensure your call to action displays immediately without the necessity to unblock images by using email design with CSS3
• Keep your email campaign short and straight to the point, highlighting images and other visual elements

#6 Be their Valentine…

Not everyone is in love on Valentine’s Day. So, for the single customers, all the talk of love and other romantic issues may be quite annoying. When creating a Valentine’s Day email campaign, think about offers, activities and gifts that all subscribers can enjoy regardless of their relationship status. Be their Valentine and express your love and care via personal email campaigns.

If you start planning early, prepare the right offer to the right recipient and pack all this in a beautiful design, a Valentine’s Day email campaign may bring you both great business results and customer loyalty. Make use of our tips to share your love and to receive it back. Wishing you a happy and fulfilling Valentine’s Day!