If you use a regular email newsletter to keep in contact with your customers, prospects or contacts, why not make it reflect the holiday season too?

Below is a complete checklist of things to be aware of when celebrating the festive season.

1. Not for everyone

Making your email newsletter designs festive will inject some humour into your newsletter and this does not always ‘fit’ with serious messages and briefings. Make sure your redesign will not cheapen your content and does not detract from your core brand values.

2. It only takes tweaks

Simple tweaks to images within your email newsletters allow you to almost ‘gift wrap’ your content. This low-cost method has been used by Google for a number of years, simply by dressing their web site, so a simple, effective and consistent theme can be used both on site and in your email.

3. Don’t be last

Adding festive messages to your email newsletter after a competitor has done it to theirs will make you look ‘me-too’ and unoriginal. There’s only one thing worse than being too late–being too early–so if you sent your last newsletter of the year in mid-September stop reading immediately.

4. Warn subscribers about editorial breaks

Let subscribers know well in advance if you’re planning an editorial break – they will know not to expect new issues–otherwise it looks like you are ignoring them. Also it is a good idea to warn new subscribers otherwise people signing up to your email promotion over the Xmas break will be expecting to receive communications from you when you’re not there!

5. Mention the festive break in the editorial

The voice of each newsletter is its personality. Don’t be afraid to include mentions of invitations received/ parties attended–after all, in some cases you may need to explain some rather sub-par editorial performances!

6. Another reason to subscribe

Why not suggest to your existing subscribers that they give their colleagues their very own Xmas present–a copy of your newsletter! You could say this is the ultimate in cheeky incentives to drive member-get-member registrations, but as it doesn’t cost anything, what it there to lose?.

7. Timing

Don’t go too early. Ideally your festive messages should start at the beginning of December- it is a bit like supermarket Xmas music- if it starts too early it becomes tired and irritating. Remember, you are trying to reflect the festive mood not lead it.

8. Not everyone celebrates

Remember, not everyone celebrates Xmas as a national holiday. For international organisations, many of your contacts in the Middle East for example will be working hard over Xmas and won’t want reminding that you’re not working!

9. Don’t forget email signatures

Across your teams, they’ll be sending hundreds of emails to clients, prospects and partners- encourage them to include a simple and consistent festive message within their email signature, while of course sticking to your core brand values. Not only is it free, but the potential reach is huge.

10. Take it down!

If your company has a break between Xmas and New Year, don’t forget to take your Xmas messages down and perhaps replace them with New Year messages. Otherwise, your newsletter will look as stale as a left over turkey sandwich.

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