Name: TriMark Digital
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The Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing for Home Services Businesses

Ready to switch up your email marketing plans for the new year? There’s no better time to switch up your home services tactics than the start of the year since home improvement plans often rank high on resolution lists. Whether you’re just digging into email strategy or you’re a pro with multiple dynamic email campaigns underway, it never hurts to get a refresher. Let’s dig into why your email strategy matters and what you can do to create a successful campaign for your home services business.

Understand Your Ecosystem: Who Are You Emailing?

The first building block for any successful email campaign is knowing the audience receiving your emails. A deep understanding of what matters to your audience—convenience, time back in their day or simply a more beautiful home—makes a night-and-day difference in keeping your audience’s interest. Let’s take a look at how you can foster audience engagement and trust in your product, keeping them opening and interacting with your emails over time.

Building Relationships With Your Audience

Email is a great way to build trust and affinity for your brand, but the content has to be relevant and useful to the audience—not just a sales pitch or a duplicate of your ads or website. So, what does a valuable email look like to your audience? While it will depend on your specific sector, here are a few general ideas:

Tailored Approaches: Segmenting your audience into leads and sold customers gives you more wiggle room on topics and sales offers that feel personalized to their purchases. Other ways to segment your audience include their location or elements they’ve interacted with in past emails.
Deals, Deals, Deals: Your promotions are a great way to draw potential or returning customers into your emails. Mention them prominently or in your subject line to make sure your audience sees them.
Customer Focus First: When planning your email strategy, continually refer back to whether your audience will find the topics and content useful.
You’re the Expert: Establishing trust and authority with your audience starts with positioning your brand as an expert in your category.
Consistency is Key: Find a regular cadence that works for you and your audience. Ideally, you should be sending an email at least once a month.

Screenshot of an email from an outdoor furniture and accessories company called Outer. It shows photos of outdoor spaces with sofas, chairs, and fire pits.

Know Your Campaign Options

An email is deceptively simple. Underlying the splashy images of sink faucets or door handles and copy is laser-targeted intent. What do you want to accomplish with the email? Everything you send should have a solid purpose you can point to when questioned, like education, nurturing prospects or converting new leads. To kickstart your strategy, we’ve listed some of the most common campaign strategies that home services brands deploy below.

Special Offer Emails

If you’re just setting up your email presence, this is a great place to start filling in your audience on any deals you have running—and generate leads from interested customers. Your conversion rates will likely be highest with this type of email campaign, so use them wisely. There’s no need to spam your customers’ inboxes with your promotional offers, especially in an industry that doesn’t see as many changing product lines as, for instance, retail or food services.

Welcome Emails

Once you’ve got offer emails under your belt, it’s time to start automating your other email sends. Sending out a welcome email or welcome drip campaign when someone subscribes to your list, books a service appointment or requests an estimate is a great way to establish a relationship even before an initial in-person or over-the-phone consultation. Keep these emails short and concise, including only information your customer needs to know. It can be tempting to pack these with offers, details on your products or detailed information about your services, but ultimately, your audience will appreciate a simpler approach. Since they’re likely subscribed to your regular list, they can learn about everything that isn’t essential over time.

Monthly Sends

Ready to commit to a regular presence in customer inboxes? A monthly email (or weekly, or quarterly—use your best judgment for the right cadence for your niche) is a great nurturing opportunity for sold customers or warm leads who aren’t ready to buy yet. Your tone in these emails can vary. You can provide information that’s relevant without being too sales-focused, get straight to the point and advertise monthly offers or a mix of the two. Follow what feels right for your brand—and don’t be afraid to have fun with it.

Create Compelling Content

An email is only as successful as the clicks and opens it gets, and that success depends on carefully crafted copy and design. Every element matters when creating your email, from the subject line and body copy to graphics and CTAs.

Subject Lines & Preheaders: Hook Your Audience

Subject lines make or break an email, and your preheader is the one-two punch of short text that follows the subject line in the inbox preview of your email. They’re the difference between an email being opened or trashed. With home services, it’s often best to include a promotional offer in that subject line if you have one. Other ideas include:

Customer-Centric Language: Frame your subject line around your customer instead of your product or service. For instance, “Stuck with Old Doors?” instead of “Our Doors Increase Curb Appeal.”
Use That Preheader: Play call-and-answer with your subject line and preheader. A question as a subject line is a classic choice, so answer your own question with a playful preheader.
Include Urgency: When that deal won’t last, it’s time to up the stakes for your audience. Subject lines like “Last Chance: 40% Off Sink Upgrades” or “Exclusive Offer for Your Dream Closet” tempt curiosity—and get clicks.

Body Content: The Bread and Butter of Your Email

What your email says should be said as quickly as possible. Emails are a good time, not a long time.

Lifestyle content may resonate well with your particular audience, or they may prefer content where you focus on promotional sends and highlight product or service benefits. Ideally, you should have a blend of both types of content in your emails. This keeps content fresh and aids in driving traffic to parts of your website like your blog, product care or service pages. That being said, if the numbers show your audience favors, for instance, hearing about your new line of ceiling lights and not how they can clean them, go with what works.

Emails Are Perfect for Playing With Design

While the home services space isn’t as zany as food services or entertainment (and arguably shouldn’t be, since brands in home services require trust and buy-in from audiences), there’s still plenty of creativity to be found. Look to your brand colors for inspiration. Blue and white can be airy, or black and white can bring sophistication that your copy could encourage. Your emails are also a great place to play around with design elements like countdown timers, surveys or fun GIFs that show off your products. If they perform well, you can even implement some of these elements in other areas of your content strategy.

Screenshot of an email from Window World. It shows the exterior of a house and content about the durability of their windows against spring storms.

Email Best Practices for the Savvy Marketer

Before we leave you to brainstorm ideas in your email campaign tool of choice, here are some best practices for sending emails and keeping those bounce rates low:

Audit your audience list: Practice good list hygiene and check your emails regularly for hard bounces, or when an email is permanently rejected and cannot be sent to the intended recipient. If you use an email marketing service like MailChimp, Constant Contact or Hubspot, look in your settings: they may offer this service automatically.
Include an easy-to-find unsubscribe: Your unsubscribe process should be easy to find and navigate. It’s more than a best practice—it’s a legal requirement under the CAN-SPAM Act.
Avoid spammy subject lines: Subject lines like “Offer Expires,” “ACT NOW” or “Deal Ending Soon” without context can end up getting automatically filtered into spam folders. Make memorable, punchy subject lines for the best effect.

Make Your Greatest Email Campaign Yet

Feeling fired up and ready to create? We’ve got you covered: we recently wrote about using customer testimonials, which are perfect fodder for your email nurture campaigns. Have too much on your plate and no time to devote to making the email campaign your brand deserves? We’ve got plenty of experience in the home services industry—get in touch and let’s talk.

Exploring Q5: The Hidden Quarter With Major Sales Potential

Wrapping up Q4 means a last push of effort before a breather as many celebrate the winter holidays. In recent years, savvy marketers—and social media platforms like TikTok—have noticed a huge surge of customer interest during the transition period into the new year. It’s not a fresh start like Q1 but a continuation of that end-of-year energy.

Q5 (lasting roughly from December 26 to January 15) is termed the hidden or invisible quarter, and it could be well worth your time and money to invest in post-holiday campaigns targeting a surprisingly receptive audience.

How Does Q5 Differ From Q1?

At the start of Q1, many marketers are still wrapping up ongoing campaigns that last beyond New Year’s Eve, balancing those tasks between kickoff meetings about new year priorities. Any campaign running between December 26 and mid-January is solidly in Q5 territory. If it doesn’t feel like a fresh start, it’s not part of Q1.

Both quarters run in tandem, making this a tricky time of year even beyond recovering from holiday festivities and time off. But it’s well worth your effort to create a campaign targeting consumers during this period.

Why Should You Invest in Q5?

The time between the holidays and mid-January is a reset for most people. They’re looking to wrap up the old year and start fresh. If you capture consumer interest, you can benefit. Some quick statistics from Ad Age and TikTok on what consumers are up to during Q5:

Engaging online: 81% of TikTok users anticipate spending the same or more time on social media during Q5.
Reflecting on personal goals: Overwhelmingly, most consumers make resolutions at the beginning of the year, which you can pull into your Q5 marketing.
Finishing up holiday shopping: 79% of TikTok users continue to make purchases during Q5—those gift cards need to be used!

So, you can assume your target audience is online and ready to learn about your offering (especially if you’re in the self-improvement space). The “hidden quarter” is the perfect way to reach engaged users when most brands are on auto-pilot, which you can use to your competitive advantage. Some more compelling reasons for investing in Q5:

Less competition: Many companies are catching up on post-holiday work or preparing for Q1 in the first few weeks of the year. Get the jump on your competitors by preparing marketing materials specifically aimed at this period.
Lower ad costs: Since most budgeting goes into holiday campaigns, many companies don’t invest (as much) between December 26 and mid-January. You can make your messaging heard with lower costs for paid campaigns.
Automation opportunities: Enjoy your well-earned end-of-year PTO if you’ve got the time, and schedule your Q5 campaigns well in advance. With that in place, you’ll be able to focus on energizing yourself for the year ahead.

Ross-Simons

What Messaging Resonates in Q5?

It’s a cliche for a reason: consumers are investing in themselves, so “New Year, New You” sentiments work well. Here are more ideas to take to Q5 planning sessions:

It’s Not Too Late: Exchange any product and receive a replacement with the powerful incentive of your choice, whether that’s free shipping, a discount code or another offer.
Kick Off Those Resolutions: Offer an exclusive two-week discount on bestselling products—especially anything related to beauty, self-care or health and wellness.
Gift Card Gotchas: Remind customers to use their gift cards sooner rather than later. This is a perfect opportunity to bring in industry influencers or customer testimonials.
Quizzical Ideas: On social or email, engage your audience with quizzes tailored to lead them to their dream purchase.

Smalls

A Planned Pause: Reevaluate Your Marketing During Q5

Beyond creating mini-campaigns for Q5, you can also use this time to evaluate your campaigns from the last year. It’s the perfect time to dig deep into data and solidify what’s worth bringing with you into Q1 of the new year. It can also help you decide whether it’s time to call in fresh faces with new ideas. If you need some creative partners to work with for your upcoming campaigns, drop us a line.

Tee Up Online Engagement For Your Golf Course With Video Marketing

Golf isn’t just a game; it’s a masterclass in strategy, patience and precision. And just like in your digital marketing, every swing counts. A well-crafted library of strategically curated video content can capture the essence of the game, bringing its delicate balance of power and finesse to life.

When you capture the right emotional moment—like a golfer sinking a fist-pumping putt or a 19th-hole celebration with buddies—it can really hit home with your audience. These relatable experiences will make your video marketing assets not just watchable but shareable, too, forging a deeper connection with your existing community and exciting and enticing potential future members.

Bringing the Beauty and Thrill of Golf to Life Through Video

Without a doubt, golf is one of the most visually stunning sports out there. Unlike other sports where the games are typically played in extremely structured and familiar arenas, each golf course, and even each hole, can present a new experience for players. Whether it’s a course set against towering mountains or alongside a coastal cliff, video marketing allows golf resorts and country clubs to highlight these incredible landscapes in a way that captivates viewers and makes them want to be part of the scenery.

Beyond the views, the actual gameplay is rich with visual interest. Witnessing a golfer’s smooth swing, the ball soaring through the air, and the dramatic moment it lands on the green creates dynamic and engaging video content. Slow-motion shots and close-ups emphasize the precision and skill involved and can captivate your audience, giving them a front-row seat to all of the action.

Video is the perfect tool for marketing golf because it captures the true essence of the sport. By featuring both the beauty of the course and the thrill of the game, video marketing content becomes an immersive experience. It invites the audience to feel like they’re right there, walking the fairways or standing over that crucial putt.

Unlocking the Full Golf Experience

But it’s not just about the golf course itself. It’s about the entire atmosphere—the vibe—that surrounds the game, and video content allows viewers to experience that even if they’re not there tallying up their scorecard. It’s a glimpse into an exclusive world of competition and skill, and your audience gets a front-row seat.

History: Golf has a rich history, and video is a great way to underscore that. Whether it’s footage of legendary tournaments, iconic players, or the evolution of the sport, video lets brands tap into the heritage of golf. Sharing this historical content connects with long-time fans and builds a sense of tradition and pride.
Tips and Tricks: For golfers who are always looking to improve, video is an ideal platform for sharing tips, tutorials, and educational content. Showing how to improve a swing, analyze a putting stroke, or tackle difficult shots is far more effective through video, allowing players to see exactly what to do.
The Amenities: Video can show off the amenities, from the clubhouse to dining options and even the latest course fashion at the pro shop.

Capturing Golf from Every Angle

Video is one of the best ways to capture the variety and depth of the golf experience. On the ground, you get up-close views of players in action—whether it’s a powerful drive, a precise chip shot, or that crucial, nerve-wracking putt for birdie. This perspective brings viewers into the game, letting them feel the intensity and focus that goes into every swing.

But to truly capture the full beauty of a golf course, you need to take it to the skies. Aerial shots offer a breathtaking view of the course layout, showing how each hole weaves through the landscape. From this perspective, you can see the strategic design of the fairways, greens, and hazards, giving a bird’s-eye view that not only looks stunning but also helps golfers visualize their own approach to each hole.

By combining both ground-level action and sweeping aerial shots, video creates a dynamic experience that captures every angle of the sport. This variety of perspectives lets viewers appreciate the skill of the players and the beauty of the course in a way that feels immersive and engaging.

Woman with camera filming two golfers and a director on a golf course

Key Factors for Stunning Results

To get the best results with golf video, timing is everything. The time of year can significantly impact how the course looks on camera. Shooting during the spring or summer, when the grass is lush and green, makes the visuals pop and shows the course at its best. Fall can offer stunning scenery with vibrant leaves, but winter is pretty much off the table. The geographical location of your golf course also plays a crucial role, as courses in warmer climates may have year-round appeal while those in cooler regions may face more seasonal limitations.

Additionally, when planning your shoot, you need to consider grass treatment and the course’s busy seasons. Filming during peak times can disrupt play and affect the course’s appearance, so it’s essential to plan around maintenance schedules and high-traffic periods. Remember, capturing footage now means you’ll be marketing it later, so ensuring the course looks its finest is key to a successful video.

The time of day is just as important. Early mornings or late afternoons provide that perfect soft, golden light, making everything look warm and inviting. Midday can be harsh, with strong shadows and bright spots that are less flattering on video. Sunrise or sunset shots not only make the course look beautiful but add a touch of magic that can elevate the emotional impact of your content.

It’s also crucial to plan your filming around the course’s tee time schedule. Booking the right tee times or getting special access is essential to ensure the production crew has adequate time to capture all the footage they need.

A camera viewfinder filming two models on a golf course

By collaborating with the production team to pencil in specific tee times, you can avoid interrupting regular play and create a seamless shooting environment. This thoughtful planning not only helps in capturing the best shots but also significantly enhances the overall flow of your shoot, leading to a more polished final product.

Lastly, you’ll want to consider what kind of golfing talent to capture playing on your course. Whether you’re featuring club pros, actors, or even real club members, the people in your video should reflect the brand and tone you’re trying to create.

Club pros can demonstrate high-level skill and inspire your audience to envision themselves as the golfer they wish to be, while real members can offer an element of realism that feels authentic and relatable to everyday golfers.

Unlocking Golf’s Full Potential With Video Marketing

In today’s competitive landscape, video has become an essential tool for golf courses, resorts and country clubs to stand out and connect with their audience. From sharing the breathtaking beauty of the course to capturing the thrill of gameplay, video brings the sport to life in ways no other medium can. Whether you’re exploring the rich history of golf, offering instructional content, or giving a detailed look at a course’s layout, video creates an immersive experience that draws audiences in and keeps them engaged.

Ultimately, video offers a unique way to capture the full experience of golf. It doesn’t just show the sport; it invites viewers to be a part of it. With the right approach, golf courses can use video marketing that resonates, inspires, and drives action, connecting with their audience on a deeper level.

Camera equipment on the green grass of a golf course

Elevate Your Golf and Country Club Marketing With TriMark Productions

Let the experienced photography and video experts at TriMark Productions tell your course’s story through captivating video. Contact us to explore the possibilities.

How to Use Customer Testimonials in an Authentic Way

Customer testimonials are more than just words on a page. They serve as powerful trust signals, establishing social proof and building credibility and rapport with your audience.

The value of hearing directly from satisfied (or dissatisfied) customers cannot be overstated; their experiences and preferences provide unique insights that can diversify and strengthen your brand’s marketing messaging.

However, the impact of testimonials hinges on authenticity. It is essential to recognize and uphold the integrity of customer testimonials and use them properly in your campaigns. In this blog, we’ll explore the importance of authentic testimonials and how to use them.

3 Types of Testimonials

Customer testimonials come in various forms, each offering distinct advantages depending on your marketing strategy and preferred content channels. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach, understanding how each type of testimonial works can help you leverage them effectively throughout the customer journey.

Where you can share testimonials is almost endless—on your website, newsletter, sales emails, product or service brochures, landing pages or checkout pages, in paid campaigns and anywhere else you wish to bring in a unique perspective only a customer could share.

Online Reviews (Google, Yelp, etc.)

Written online reviews provide social proof directly from customers on platforms like Google, Yelp, the Better Business Bureau and more. These testimonials are easily accessible and offer credibility, as they are typically shared freely without any brand influence or monetary gain.

User-Generated Content (UGC)

User-generated content includes testimonials shared by customers on social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, X, Instagram, Reddit and others. UGC offers a quick but in-depth look at someone’s experience of your brand and is particularly valuable for its authenticity, as it often originates from spontaneous, genuine customer enthusiasm. They are highly persuasive because they allow potential customers to see and hear real people interact with your brand.

Incentivized Reviews

Incentivized reviews are given by customers who receive a perk or a reward in exchange for their review of a brand or product. These rewards can be in the form of discounts, gift cards, free products and more, and are used by businesses to encourage customers to share their experiences. This marketing tactic works in tandem with using brand loyalists or influencers (or a mix of both) to further amplify your brand.

Incentivized reviews should be used sparingly to avoid cheapening the authenticity and genuineness of your business. Plus, incentivized reviews may lead to reviewers giving biased or exaggerated feedback in return for a reward, which can potentially mislead customers. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires reviewers to disclose when their review was incentivized, adding an extra layer of protection for consumers.

A Word to the Wise: Fair Use and the FTC’s New Rule

Keep fair use best practices in mind when sourcing testimonials for your content. These will vary depending on how and where you use the testimonial and your geographic location.

For example, if you’re running advertisements or adding quotes to your website sourced from a Google review, you must first receive permission from the individual. To repost a customer’s Instagram story on your business page, simply tag them or share as-is. Remember to be sensitive to people’s privacy and use only their first name or first name and last initial when sharing quotes.

Testimonial accuracy is also crucial—as of August 2024, the Federal Trade Commission announced a final rule taking action against businesses using fake reviews (including incursion of fines and civil penalties) and prohibiting businesses from buying positive or negative reviews.

Why They Matter: How Testimonials Can Impact Your Marketing Campaigns

Testimonials can significantly impact your marketing campaign by validating your brand’s promises through real customer experiences. They can drive tangible results like increased engagement on organic social posts, higher conversion rates and increased sales. In fact, testimonials on sales pages can increase conversions by over 34%, according to studies by WikiJob and VWO.

Testimonials work effectively at different stages of the funnel on both paid and organic channels—from generating initial interest and helping convert people with high purchase intent to fostering deeper connections with existing customers.

Additionally, they contribute to intangibles, such as enhanced brand trust and deeper product insights. By integrating testimonials into your campaigns, you can create a compelling narrative that not only attracts new customers but also strengthens relationships with those who have already made a purchase, ultimately driving long-term success.

Best-in-Class Examples of Testimonial Marketing

Across industries, from big corporations to local, family-owned businesses, testimonials hold weight for audiences. Below are four examples of how companies use their customer stories to move the needle.

Example 1: Mint Mobile’s “Real Customer Stories” Video Ads

Ryan Reynolds’ wireless phone service, Mint Mobile, brings a fun twist to the “real customer stories” format in their video ads.

In a short skit, Reynolds plays on the believability of reviews and the skepticism we feel as consumers—he introduces a customer on screen for a short Q&A about Mint Mobile, pretending not to believe his real name. This is followed by a new promotion announcement and a final joke. Love it or hate it, this style of marketing aligns with Mint’s stated message of doing the opposite of big wireless.

Example 2: Storytelling on Landing Pages

In this simple and effective example, TriMark Digital leveraged customer success stories on a landing page promoting Safe Step’s line of walk-in showers. The reviews are strategically placed to complement product information, user discovery and other trust signals such as accreditation and certification badges.

Given the sensitive nature of walk-in baths and showers, which are designed for seniors and individuals with mobility limitations, our approach used careful, concise language and a mix of video testimonials and quotes (not pictured). An easier-to-implement version of using testimonials on your website would be a carousel of quotes or even a pull quote on a webpage without additional styling or video components.

Example 3: Product Promotion Using Customer Reviews

To help drive sales to their new putter grip, TriMark Digital worked with Golf Pride to create an email highlighting recent reviews. The strength here is specificity—rather than using general quotes about the brand, we leveraged detailed descriptions of how people use this new putter grip, what they like about it and how it has improved their golf game.

Alongside of the quotes, we included clear CTAs in the email banner and after the reviews to make it easy for readers to shop without distracting from the main message: sharing customer perspectives.

Example 4: Pairing Testimonials With Product Recommendations

Do you want to give your customers a first-hand look at why one product may be better for them than another? Rather than serving ads and sending emails that just list your product’s features and benefits, bring in customer reviews to add variety and give people a deeper reason to believe.

In this FootJoy email promoting a new line of golf pants, customer reviews integrate seamlessly with a short tagline and detail imagery to give readers a quick-hitting understanding of the product and its purpose. Compared to the examples above, notice how in this case customer testimonials are not front and center, but serve to complement the content.

Elevate Your Marketing Campaigns

Customer testimonials are one of many tactics you can use to tell your brand’s story and connect with customers. Read more about marketing strategy on the TriMark blog, from leveraging seasonality in paid media to staying up to date on Google’s latest algorithm changes.

The Ultimate Email Marketing Guide for Black Friday 2024

As we look ahead to Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2024, several key shifts in technology, consumer behavior, and market trends are likely to set this year apart from 2023, such as:

Increased Use of AI for Personalization: In 2024, AI will play a bigger role in optimizing email content, product recommendations, and timing. Hyper-targeted, dynamic emails will be the norm, improving engagement.

Even Earlier Sales: Expect more brands to start promotions even earlier, possibly as soon as late September, catering to shoppers looking for deals before the traditional holiday weekend.

Greater Focus on Sustainability: Growing consumer demand for eco-friendly practices will lead to more emphasis on sustainable shopping and promoting eco-conscious products in marketing emails.

Evolving Payment Options: The popularity of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) will continue to grow, with expanded offerings and more prominent placements in email campaigns to accommodate budget-conscious shoppers.

Post-Election Consumer Behavior: The results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, happening just before BFCM, could influence consumer sentiment. Depending on the outcome, shoppers may either tighten their budgets or feel more confident in spending.

With these trends in mind, you can focus on the proven strategies that will make your brand stand out during the busiest shopping season of the year. Whether your goal is higher engagement, more conversions, or building long-term customer loyalty, these email strategies will help you succeed in Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024.

Drive Email Signups with Special Discounts

BFCM isn’t just about the deals—it’s the perfect time to grow your email list. Build anticipation by offering early access to deals for new subscribers.

Exclusive Sign-Up Offers: Use discounts like “Sign up now for early access to our Black Friday deals” or “Join today for 20% off” to drive signups.
Pre-Holiday Pop-Ups: Add pop-ups on your website to capture email addresses, emphasizing early access or exclusive perks.
Multi-Channel Promotion: Promote sign-ups on social media, offering exclusive deals to your email subscribers.

Create Mobile-Friendly UX

With over half of all online transactions happening on mobile, optimizing for mobile is essential for BFCM success.

Responsive Email Design: Ensure emails load quickly and display correctly on all screen sizes. Use large buttons, clear CTAs, and fast-loading images. Test for compatibility in both light and dark modes.
Streamlined Checkout: Simplify the checkout process with one-click payments and mobile wallet options like Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Dark Mode: As dark mode becomes more popular, test for font and background color contrast, logo visibility, and image rendering to ensure your emails look polished in both light and dark modes.
Mobile-Exclusive Deals: Reward mobile users with app-only or mobile-exclusive discounts to drive quick, on-the-go purchases.

Develop Persona-Based Shopping Guides

Help your audience navigate the holiday rush by offering tailored shopping guides that align with different customer personas. Personalization based on behavior and preferences drives engagement and conversions.

Budget-Conscious Shoppers: Feature “Gifts Under $50” or “Best Deals for Savvy Shoppers.”
Luxury Shoppers: Showcase premium or exclusive products for high-end deals.
Last-Minute Shoppers: Offer fast shipping or digital gift cards to cater to procrastinators.
Hobby Shoppers: Curate products based on hobbies, like “Tech Enthusiasts” or “Fitness Fanatics,” making it easy for customers to find exactly what they need.

Build Urgency with Time-Limited Offers

Shoppers during BFCM are driven by urgency and FOMO. Use time-sensitive offers to push them toward faster purchasing decisions.

Flash Sales: Run short, high-impact sales using countdown timers in email campaigns to drive traffic. Send reminders as the sale is about to end.
Low Stock Alerts: Use scarcity messaging like “Only 3 left in stock!” to motivate immediate purchases.

Leverage SMS and Push Notifications

While email is essential, layering SMS and push notifications into your strategy will create a full multi-channel experience, ensuring customers never miss a deal.

SMS Reminders: Send SMS alerts with discount codes or reminders about abandoned carts.
Push Notifications: Use app notifications to highlight flash sales or exclusive mobile offers, driving quick conversions.

Post-Holiday Follow-Up Campaigns

Follow-up campaigns after BFCM can help build loyalty and continue driving sales.

Thank-You Emails: Send personalized thank-you notes to shoppers, offering discounts or related product recommendations to drive repeat purchases.
Abandoned Cart Emails: Target customers who didn’t complete their purchases, extending discounts for a limited time to encourage them to return and buy.

By focusing on these updated trends and proven strategies, your brand can maximize success during Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024, driving engagement, conversions, and long-term customer loyalty throughout the holiday season.

How To Manage Ad Spend During the 2024 Election Season

As we approach the 2024 election season, many marketers are concerned about the potential impact of political advertising on their campaigns. Will the influx of political ad spend inflate costs for non-political advertisers? Are audiences even paying attention to ads ahead of the election? Let’s dive into the data and separate fact from fiction.

The Big Picture: Political Ad Spend in Context

Recent data from The Trade Desk provides valuable insights into the realities of political ad spend:

1. Overall Impact: Political ad buys in 2024 will account for just 3.1% of total U.S. media spend. These buys are also short-term, peaking in October. This suggests that the impact on the broader advertising landscape may be less significant than many fear.

2. Channel Distribution: The majority of political budgets are allocated to traditional channels:

Over 75% of political ad spend in 2024 has been directed to broadcast and cable TV.
Other popular channels include social media and radio.

3. Geographic Concentration: Political ad spend is not evenly distributed across the country:

Three-fifths of political ad buys are at the state level.
Among presidential campaigns, 76% of ad spend is concentrated in just six swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

4. Historical CPM Trends: Looking at previous election cycles, we see that:

The highest average quarterly CPMs for political CTV ads didn’t occur in Q4 when political spending was most active.
The average monthly CPM range for the entire year varied by just $2.

What This Means for Advertisers

1. Limited Overall Impact: Most advertisers should feel minimal effects from the influx of political ad spend.

2. Localized Effects: Brands running local media buys in competitive swing states may see a rise in CPMs across social and traditional media, presenting a prime opportunity to test ads on newer platforms like DOOH, audio, display and OLV.

3. Q4 Considerations: The Q4 holiday season will likely have a more significant impact on CPMs than the election season.

4. Audience Targeting: The demographic targeting used by most brands often differs from that of political campaigns, reducing direct competition for ad inventory.

Consumer Perceptions and Opportunities

Recent research from iSpot reveals some surprising insights about consumer attitudes toward advertising during election seasons:

While 23% of Americans report being annoyed by political ads, this annoyance doesn’t generally extend to brand advertisements.
Only 15% reported increased annoyance with all ads during political campaigns.
10% said they trust brand messaging less when political ads are present.

Most interestingly, 37% of respondents reported that the presence of political ads actually makes them pay more attention to other advertisements they see. This suggests a potential opportunity for brands to capture more audience attention during the election season.

Strategies for Success

1. Stay Agile: Monitor CPMs in your key markets and be prepared to adjust strategies if needed, especially in swing states.

2. Leverage Different Channels: Consider diversifying your media mix to include channels less impacted by political ad spend.

3. Refine Targeting: Focus on audience segments that are less likely to overlap with political campaign targets.

4. Create Standout Content: With increased consumer attention during political seasons, invest in creative that cuts through the noise and resonates with your audience.

5. Plan Ahead: If you’re concerned about potential CPM increases, consider securing ad inventory early, especially for Q4 campaigns.

By understanding the realities of political ad spend and its impact on the broader advertising landscape, marketers can navigate the 2024 election season with confidence. While there may be some localized effects in key battleground states, the overall impact on most advertising campaigns is likely to be minimal. With the right strategy and approach, the election season can even present unique opportunities for brands to capture consumer attention and drive meaningful engagement.