Around 75% of consumers lean into the email channel for both promotional and transactional updates from brands.

But it is even more preferred when the holiday season hits.

94.4% of consumers say they need transactional messages during this busy time, and 79.8% are willing to receive personalized promotions. 

The point is : Email is the channel consumers rely on to find the best Black Friday deals and holiday offers. Great news for brands and marketers who love the low cost of sending emails.

But it also means that they are under ever-greater pressure to ensure that the right messages reach the inbox at the right time to holiday shoppers who are busier (and choosier) than ever.

With promotions and seasonal deals piling up in email inboxes faster than snow on a December morning, your emails will have to connect with your audience on a 1:1 level. 

Email personalization using dynamic content is your chance to nail that. 

Dynamic email content offers countless opportunities to reach out to your subscribers with heartfelt, personalized messaging that spreads cheer this holiday season. It can also help you nurture more leads by being at the forefront of their minds when they think about their holiday shopping needs. 

So, if you are looking for clever ways to use dynamic email content for holiday email marketing, you’ve come to the right place. 

But before we peel back the layers of different ways you can use dynamic content in holiday emails, let’s get over what dynamic content is. 

What Is Dynamic Email Content?

Say you have a prospect named Ken. Ken hasn’t bought anything from you yet, but thanks to the dashboard full of data, you know that Ken has been interested in product X. 

Now, here’s my question—

Would you send Ken a yawn-inducing welcome email full of generic deals on unrelated items? Or would you personalize the welcome email with some irresistible deals on the very product he’s interested in?

If you are serious about delivering personalized (read: relevant) shopping experiences that holiday shoppers want, you will find ways to fine-tune your holiday email campaigns based on who opens them, right?

Well, my friend, that’s done by dynamic email content. And it’s one of the expert-recommended email marketing strategies for this holiday season.

Dynamic email content is a personalized email element that changes based on subscriber behavior, interests, or order history. 

This could mean that the highlighted products in an upcoming sale change based on the recipient’s interest, visual content that adapts images based on the customer’s gender preferences, or email design that adjusts based on the local weather, customs, or cultural contexts. 

While basic email personalization, like including the recipient’s name in the subject line, plays a part in holiday email personalization, dynamic email content takes things further. It allows marketers to draw on subscribers’ data and behavior and send one campaign, one time, that is optimized and targeted to every individual. 

Meaning that the entire email doesn’t have to be unique for every single customer. Only some aspects should be unique and according to the individual subscriber’s preferences. 

Top 6 Ways to Energize Your Holiday Email Campaigns With Dynamic Content

Some ways to use dynamic content and make your holiday email flows more effective are:

1. Countdown Timers

Countdown timers in holiday emails tell your subscribers that the holiday deal is about to disappear or that prices are going to soar after the timer stops. 

Each time a customer opens the email, they get a real-time reminder of the remaining days, hours, minutes, and seconds. Not to mention the adrenaline rush and the FOMO of losing out on your brand’s special offer. It pushes them to grab it before it’s too late.

And it’s not just urgency or scarcity, either. Including countdown timers in your holiday email campaigns helps customers plan better during the busy holiday season. 

However, they are also a matter of trust. So, if the email says the offer ends today, it should end today. 

2. Recommended or Popular Gift Ideas

The more personalized your gift recommendations, the more your customers will spend this holiday season. 

One of the simplest and most effective ways to do this is to send dynamic emails that suggest tailored or popular gifts. 

They are game-changers, especially during the holiday season. Your subscribers are looking for gift ideas. Show them personalized gift ideas based on their past purchases and browsing behavior. Better yet, curate a gift guide with popular items, best sellers, or bundle products frequently bought together. 

By using product feeds and audience segmentation, you can help shoppers find the perfect gift for loved ones. 

3. Loyalty Programs Update

Loyal customers are worth celebrating. We all count on them to keep sales rolling in, don’t we?

But to keep them choosing your brand, especially during the holiday season, you must keep them delighted with rewards. Otherwise, they might just wander off to competitors offering attractive holiday deals. 

And if dynamic loyalty programs don’t do that for you, what will?

Holiday emails with dynamic loyalty points show subscribers how many points they’ve earned after their past purchases. They remind them of the rewards they can unlock using these points—exclusive discounts, festive offers, free gifts, or limited-time perks. 

Each point reflects their engagement with your brand, like purchases, referrals, or other meaningful interactions. And wouldn’t you be thrilled at the prospect of redeeming points right when you’re ready to shop? Likewise, for your subscribers. 

The excitement of redeeming points nudges them closer to completing their shopping carts and makes them feel valued. They, after all, have stuck with you through thick and thin.

Just remember, this holiday email marketing strategy only works if your campaigns have been consistently rewarding loyal customers all year round.

4. Shipping and Order Tracking

You have worked so hard to create and market an amazing product. I am sure you don’t want a poor post-purchase experience to be the only thing your customers remember about your brand. 

So, remember this–

Holiday shoppers shouldn’t have to refresh the tracking page repeatedly and wonder if their holiday gift will arrive on time. 

With dynamic shipment and order tracking emails, real-time tracking information is embedded in the email itself. They update customers conveniently to check their order status without clicking through a separate page. Instead of a static delivery estimate that we normally see in standard emails, these emails feature a live tracking graphic that keeps updating in real time. 

It’s a straightforward yet effective way to add a touch of reassurance to your holiday emails that their holiday gifts are en route so that they have one less thing to worry about. 

5. Product Stock Updates

Having your heart set on a gift, only to find it sold out, is not a good feeling for holiday shoppers and your brand. 

Try dynamic emails this festive season and display up-to-date stock updates. This will tell customers when they have to rush to place an order. This very helpful urgency will help you drive purchases before the must-haves are gone. 

Take it a notch up and remove products from the emails that are running low on stock. This will prevent shoppers from getting frustrated by sold-out products. 

Nothing’s worse for holiday shoppers (or your brand) than a customer who has their heart set on a gift only to find it sold out. 

Try dynamic emails with real-time stock updates to save yourself from embarrassment. These dynamic elements are a must for your holiday email workflows as they tell customers when to rush to place an order. The undertones of urgency drive purchases before the must-haves disappear. 

Take it a notch further by automatically removing low-stock items from emails. This spares shoppers the disappointment of seeing unavailable products, keeping their holiday spirits intact.

6. Geolocation

The logic here is sound: know your subscribers’ geographic locations and send them targeted, location-based content that resonates with their specific region. 

That’s much more meaningful than saying, “Get cozy with our hot cocoa gift set!” to someone planning a beach barbecue.

By asking for a subscriber’s zip code when they sign up, you have the chance to deliver location-based offers, time-zone-specific sends, and even maps to the nearest store.

Another holiday email marketing strategy that makes sense for global brands is tailoring email visuals and messaging using geolocation.

For instance, traditional winter themes could be used for subscribers in the Northern Hemisphere and sunny, beachy themes for subscribers down South. 

Such emails make for an engaging and relevant holiday shopping experience because they tailor content and design to match the local climate, making it uniquely suited to individual subscribers. 

Wrapping Up 

It should be pretty clear by now that dynamic email elements are a truly unique feature that you can use in your holiday email marketing campaigns. They make your email design stand out from your competition and trigger a feeling of urgency in your subscribers.

Sure, crafting dynamic email campaigns for the holiday season takes time, creativity, and planning. But it is worth every bit of effort. 

Just be sure to thoroughly test your emails to catch any potential rendering issues and ensure they reach your audience’s inbox without a hitch.

Featured Image by Annie Spratt on Unsplash