Christmas Email Marketing: How to Create a Holiday Campaign That Drives Sales

When to start your Christmas email campaign

Christmas shopping in the UK gets going with Black Friday in late November. If your first festive email goes out in mid-December, many shoppers have already ticked off most of their list. A workable plan is to prepare content in October and send a gift-ideas email in November. In December, narrow your emails down to specific offers and deadlines.

The most important date of the whole campaign is the last day to order for delivery before Christmas. Royal Mail and the big couriers publish their last posting dates every autumn. Put your cutoff into the email as soon as you know it. It is the strongest reason for a customer to order today rather than “sometime next week”.

The campaign does not end at the last posting date. E-gift vouchers, digital products and services delivered in January still sell to last-minute shoppers. The Boxing Day sales give you one more reason to email.

Who you can email under PECR

Marketing emails in the UK are governed by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), enforced by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). You can email individuals only if they have given consent, or if you meet every condition of the soft opt-in.

The soft opt-in is how you can email existing customers without separate consent. It applies only when:

• you collected the email address during a sale, or negotiations for a sale, of your product or service,

• you are marketing your own similar products or services,

• the customer had a simple chance to refuse marketing when you collected the address,

• every email gives them a simple way to opt out.

Addresses from business cards, bought lists or contacts who never moved towards a purchase do not meet these conditions. They have no place in your Christmas mailing.

What a Christmas email should include

The subject line decides whether anyone opens the email. In December, short subject lines with one concrete piece of information work best: a deadline, a discount or a type of gift. You will find ready-made examples in our overview of the best Christmas email subject lines.

Keep the body simple:

• One offer per email. Three promotions in one message usually mean the reader picks none of them.

• One button with a clear call to action, such as “Shop gifts” or “Order in time for Christmas”. Links to social media or your blog belong in the footer.

• Delivery deadline and postage cost visible in the text, not only at checkout.

• Mobile first. Most people read email on their phones, and nobody zooms in on tiny text in December.

Segment your list instead of sending one email to everyone

One email for everyone is the fastest route to unsubscribes. Split your contacts into at least three groups:

1. Customers who bought in the past 12 months get an offer that builds on what they already bought.

2. Last year’s Christmas shoppers bought a gift and nothing since. Remind them what they chose last year and suggest something similar.

3. Subscribers who never bought respond best to one clear benefit, such as free delivery over a set order value.

If you sell to companies, add a fourth group: business customers. PECR consent rules protect individuals, including sole traders and some partnerships. Emails to staff at limited companies do not need consent, but you still have to say who you are and offer a way to opt out. In December, firms buy gifts for staff and clients and want the invoice before the office closes for Christmas. A bulk order with one invoice to the company is more useful to them than a discount.

What to do after Christmas

Between Christmas and New Year, send a short thank-you email without any sales pitch. People remember it longer than another discount.

In January, write down three numbers for each December send: how many people opened it, how many clicked and how many bought. Our guide to evaluating holiday marketing success shows how to read the results. Next year you will start from what actually worked for your customers, not from scratch.