It may seem commonplace – or even overdone – but wishing customers a Happy Birthday with a targeted email is one of the most consistently successful promotional emails. It’s the one day a year a brand can celebrate a holiday belonging uniquely to that subscriber, and there are numerous ways to take advantage of birthdays in email marketing.
If you’re looking to implement a birthday email campaign or add something special to the one you have now, consider the following ideas to give your subscribers something to celebrate.
Fill out your customer birthday calendar
Unless your subscriber form asks for a date of birth, you’ll need to gather birthday information from your list before implementing a special celebration campaign. Because asking for more information is more likely to slow down – or even cancel – a subscribe process, find opportunities to collect birthday information later. When the time makes sense, encourage subscribers to share their birth date and month by teasing exclusive birthday offers with their information, such as discount codes or free gifts, and make sure the call to action is clear.
Offer birthday incentives
Everybody loves birthday gifts, and brands that go above and beyond with their subscribers can make an impression that lasts the next 364 days and beyond. Whether you’re sending out a special birthday discount, gift card, voucher, or access, be sure to set an expiration date to instill a sense of urgency.
Design an email worth celebrating
Birthday emails are an opportunity to really flex your brand’s creative muscle. While the design elements should remain consistent with your brand, find ways to energize emails with GIFs, celebratory graphics, personalization, and any special offers or discounts that you’re gifting as a birthday incentive.
Celebrate one day or all month
Timing is important across all email campaigns, and it’s no different with birthday emails. Consider the habits of your subscribers when preparing your campaign: are your subscribers quick to open their email, or are they “grazer” types that eventually get to it? Birthday campaigns can be sent to subscribers on the first of the month, letting them know you’ll be celebrating their birthday month with them; can be sent in the days leading up to the birthday, letting them know something special is coming; on their birthday to let them know you’re thinking of them; or even the day or two after to keep the party going.
Once you have all these elements in place, set up automation to keep track of all subscribers’ birthdays and send email offers on set dates. Deploy festive, personalized emails to generate revenue quickly while building brand loyalty and customer joy!
Let ResponseGenius help take your email marketing to the next level – hello@responsegenius.com
