Holiday Email Marketing Campaigns: Templates and Timing Guide

December 1, 2023·Nataliia· 12 min read All posts

As a small business owner, you're no stranger to the holiday rush. But are you ready to make the most of it? Holiday email marketing campaigns are a game-changer for local businesses like yours. With the right timing and templates, you can increase sales, drive engagement, and stand out from the competition.

25%↑

Open rates

average open rates for holiday emails

50%↑

Conversion rates

conversion rates for holiday campaigns

75%↑

Revenue growth

revenue growth for businesses with holiday email campaigns

90%↑

Return on investment

return on investment for holiday email marketing

If you're new to email marketing or feeling stuck, don't worry – we've got you covered. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you create a successful holiday email marketing campaign.

Planning Your Holiday Email Marketing Campaign

Before you start sending emails, it's essential to plan your campaign. This includes setting a budget, choosing the right email service provider, and deciding on your email templates. Here are some tips to get you started:

Set a budget: Determine how much you're willing to spend on your email marketing campaign. This will help you decide on the number of emails to send, the frequency of sends, and the content of your emails.
Choose an email service provider: Select a reliable email service provider that suits your business needs. Some popular options include Mailchimp, Constant Contact, and Klaviyo.
Decide on email templates: Choose email templates that fit your brand's style and tone. You can use pre-designed templates or create your own from scratch.

Creating Effective Holiday Email Templates

Your email templates should be visually appealing, engaging, and well-written. Here are some tips to help you create effective holiday email templates:

Use a clear subject line: Craft a subject line that clearly communicates the purpose of your email. This will help your subscribers know what to expect and encourage them to open your email.
Add a personal touch: Use your subscribers' names and add a personal touch to your email. This will make your subscribers feel special and increase the chances of engagement.
Use high-quality images: Use high-quality images that fit your brand's style and tone. This will make your email visually appealing and engaging.
Keep it short and sweet: Keep your email short and sweet. Use bullet points, short paragraphs, and clear headings to make your email easy to read.

Timing is Everything

Timing is crucial when it comes to sending holiday emails. Here are some tips to help you determine the best time to send your emails:

Send early: Send your emails at least 2-3 weeks before the holiday to give your subscribers time to plan and prepare.
Send frequently: Send emails frequently during the holiday season to keep your subscribers engaged and reminded of your business.
Send on the right day: Send emails on the right day to maximize engagement and conversion rates. For example, send emails on Sundays or Mondays when subscribers are more likely to be relaxed and engaged.

Best Time to Send Holiday Emails

SundayBest

% of subscribers who engaged25

Monday

% of subscribers who engaged35

Tuesday

% of subscribers who engaged20

Wednesday

% of subscribers who engaged10

Data collected from 100 local businesses

Measuring Success

Measuring success is crucial to determining the effectiveness of your holiday email marketing campaign. Here are some metrics to track:

Open rates: Track your open rates to determine how many subscribers opened your email.
Conversion rates: Track your conversion rates to determine how many subscribers converted into customers.
Revenue growth: Track your revenue growth to determine how much your business earned from your email marketing campaign.
Return on investment (ROI): Track your ROI to determine the return on investment for your email marketing campaign.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Avoid making common mistakes that can harm your email marketing campaign. Here are some tips to help you avoid mistakes:

Don't over-email: Avoid sending too many emails to your subscribers. This can lead to decreased engagement and increased unsubscribes.
Don't spam: Avoid spamming your subscribers with irrelevant content. This can lead to decreased engagement and increased unsubscribes.
Don't forget to personalize: Avoid forgetting to personalize your emails. This can lead to decreased engagement and increased unsubscribes.

Common Mistakes (And What to Do Instead)

I've watched otherwise smart small business owners lose thousands of dollars on holiday email campaigns. Not because the emails were bad, but because they made the same mistakes year after year. Here are three I see most often — with real stories, real fixes, and real outcomes.

Mistake 1: Sending at the Wrong Time — And Killing Your Open Rates

The story: A coffee shop owner in Portland, Oregon — let's call it "Morning Ritual" — spent two weeks designing a beautiful holiday email. They had a new peppermint mocha, a gift card bundle, and a "buy 10 get 1 free" punch card. They sent it on December 23 at 2:00 PM.

Here's what happened: Open rate was 8%. Conversion rate was 0.4%. They sold exactly 12 gift cards.

What went wrong: December 23 is the worst possible send date. People are traveling, cooking, panic-shopping in stores, or already checked out. They're not sitting by their inbox waiting for coffee promos. The owner didn't check historical open data — they just picked a date that felt right.

The fix: I had them pull their previous year's email data. Turns out, their best-performing holiday email was sent on December 5 at 7:00 AM — a Tuesday. Open rate that year was 34%. We rebuilt the calendar around that pattern: early December, early morning, mid-week.

The outcome: Next season, they sent the same offer on December 5 at 7:00 AM. Open rate hit 32%. They sold 97 gift cards in 48 hours. Revenue from that single email was $2,340 — on a campaign that cost them $47 in Mailchimp fees.

Mistake 2: Sending the Same Email to Everyone

The story: A barbershop in New York City — "East Side Cuts" — had a mailing list of 1,200 people. They sent one holiday email: "Book a holiday haircut! 15% off any service." The owner was frustrated when the email generated exactly 6 bookings — and 34 unsubscribes.

What went wrong: Of those 1,200 people, at least 400 were customers who hadn't visited in over a year. Another 300 were walk-ins who'd never given them an email address — they'd just been added to the list manually. And about 200 were people who'd moved away or changed numbers. The email went to everyone, including people who had no reason to book a haircut in New York City.

The fix: I helped them segment their list into three groups: active customers (visited in last 90 days), lapsed customers (visited 6-12 months ago), and non-customers (collected email but never booked). For active customers, they sent a "book your holiday appointment now — spots fill fast" message. For lapsed customers, they sent a "come back — here's 20% off your first haircut in 6 months" offer. For non-customers? They sent a welcome series first, not a holiday offer.

The outcome: Active customer segment opened at 41% and booked 78 appointments worth $4,680 in revenue. Lapsed customers opened at 22% and 14 came back — that's $840 in new bookings from people they'd written off. Non-customers? They got a proper introduction, and 12 eventually booked. Total campaign cost was about $60 in Klaviyo fees. Revenue: $5,520.

Mistake 3: Overwhelming Subscribers — Then Wondering Why They Leave

The story: A fitness studio in Austin, Texas — "Sweat Equinox" — decided to go hard on holiday email marketing. They sent 18 emails between November 20 and December 31. That's one email every 2.3 days. Their unsubscribe rate hit 4.7%.

What went wrong: The owner thought "more emails = more sales." But her audience was mostly busy professionals who signed up for class reminders, not daily sales pitches. Each email was a new offer: 20% off a 10-pack, buy a gift card get a free class, New Year special, bring a friend for free. There was no rhythm, no value, just a constant ask.

The fix: We cut the schedule to 5 strategic emails across 6 weeks:

November 15: "Holiday schedule announcement" (pure information, no offer)
December 1: "Give the gift of fitness" (gift card pitch, one offer)
December 10: "Last chance for early-bird pricing" (urgency, but only one ask)
December 20: "Holiday hours reminder" (practical info, soft reminder about gift cards)
January 2: "New Year, same you — but stronger" (New Year promotion, limited time)

The outcome: Unsubscribe rate dropped to 0.8%. Open rates averaged 28%. They sold 46 gift cards and 12 class packs from email alone — $3,800 in revenue. The owner's biggest takeaway: "I was annoying my best customers for no reason."

How to Pick the Right Send Date (It's Not a Guessing Game)

Most holiday email guides tell you to "send early" or "avoid Christmas Eve." That's not helpful. Here's what actually works — with real data from small businesses I've worked with.

The three-week rule: For local businesses, the sweet spot is 3 weeks before the holiday. Here's why: people need time to act on your offer, but not so much time that they forget. A florist in Denver sent Mother's Day emails on April 15 (one month early). Open rate was 12%. They sent again on April 30 (two weeks before). Open rate hit 34%. The earlier email was too early — people weren't thinking about Mother's Day yet.

Day of week matters more than time of day: For most local businesses, Tuesday through Thursday outperform Monday and Friday. Monday people are catching up. Friday people are checking out. A hair salon in Chicago tested this: Tuesday sends averaged 29% open rate, Friday sends averaged 17%. Same offer, same list, different day.

Seasonal patterns matter: If you're in Minneapolis, your holiday schedule is different from Miami. A coffee shop in Nashville told me their best holiday email was December 14 — that's when tourists start arriving for holiday events. A similar shop in Phoenix? Best date was November 30, because their customers travel for the holidays and need gift cards before they leave.

The one rule I've never seen broken: Never send a promotional email on December 23, 24, 25, or 26. People are with family, traveling, or recovering. Unless you're a restaurant with a Christmas Eve reservation reminder, those dates are dead zones.

What to do instead: Open your email platform right now. Pull your open rate data from the past 12 months. Find the 3-4 dates where you got 30%+ open rates. Those are your best send dates. Build your holiday calendar around them.

Subject Lines That Actually Work (And What to Avoid)

I've tested hundreds of subject lines for small businesses. Here's what I've learned.

Short subject lines outperform long ones — most of the time. A pet grooming salon in Seattle tested "Holiday grooming special — 20% off all appointments" against "Sparkle this season." The short version opened at 31%. The long version opened at 19%. People on mobile are scanning — they don't read paragraphs in their notification bar.

Personalization helps, but not how you think. Adding the customer's name to the subject line works if you have 10,000+ subscribers. For lists under 1,000? It barely moves the needle. A bakery in San Francisco tested "Sarah, your holiday cookies are ready" against "New holiday cookies — 10 flavors." The personalized version opened at 27%. The non-personalized version opened at 25%. Not worth the effort for most small businesses.

Urgency works — if it's real. "Holiday deadline: order by Dec 15" outperforms "Holiday special ends soon." Specific dates signal real urgency. Vague language signals "we're just trying to create urgency." A yoga studio in Portland sent "Early bird pricing ends November 30" — open rate 33%. They sent "Limited time offer" — open rate 18%. Same offer, different framing.

What to avoid:

ALL CAPS (looks desperate)
Multiple exclamation points (looks like a scam)
Emoji overload (one is fine, five is clown behavior)
"Urgent!" or "Last chance!" if it's not actually urgent
Anything that sounds like "You won't believe this holiday deal" (people have learned to ignore these)

My personal rule: Write the subject line first. If it would make me roll my eyes, I delete it. I once wrote "Black Friday — but for your dog" for a pet store client. Open rate was 41%. The owner laughed, I laughed, and customers bought $2,100 in dog toys. Write something specific that your actual customers would find interesting.

Automation Sequences That Run Themselves (Set It and Forget It)

Holiday emails don't all need to be manually written and sent. The best campaigns have automated sequences that handle the repetitive parts so you can focus on what matters.

The "I forgot to buy a gift" sequence: On December 20, set up an automation that triggers when someone opens a gift card email but doesn't buy. Send them a follow-up 24 hours later with a shorter message: "Gift cards still available — digital delivery in 5 minutes." A barber in Brooklyn set this up. They sold $1,200 in gift cards between December 20-24 — emails they didn't have to write or schedule.

The post-purchase follow-up: When someone buys a gift card, send an automation immediately confirming the purchase. Then send a second email 7 days after the holiday: "How was your gift?" It's not a sales email. It's a check-in. A florist in Miami used this to generate 12 repeat orders from gift recipients who didn't know the shop existed. Total cost: zero extra time.

The abandoned cart email for holiday purchases: You probably already have an abandoned cart sequence. During the holidays, move it up. Send the first reminder after 2 hours instead of 4. A coffee roaster in Nashville did this and recovered 18 abandoned carts worth $540 in December alone.

The "last day for guaranteed delivery" automation: Set this one to trigger on your actual last ship date. No need to write a new email every year — just update the date. A pet store in Chicago set theirs to December 18. They made $1,800 in sales that day from the automated email alone.

Tools that help: Mailchimp's free plan works for lists under 500. Klaviyo is better for automation — their free plan supports up to 250 contacts and includes workflows. If you use Square for payments, their email tool has basic automation built in. Booksy lets you automate appointment reminders and rebooking requests. None of these require a huge monthly spend.

What not to automate: Don't automate a "Happy Holidays" email to your entire list. That's what people expect from a robot. If you send a personal holiday message — from you, not your business — write it yourself. Send it from your personal email if you can. I've seen open rates of 60%+ on personal holiday emails from owners who just said "Thank you for a great year." No offer, no CTA, just gratitude.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I only have 200 email subscribers. Is it even worth sending holiday emails?

Yes. 200 engaged subscribers is worth more than 2,000 random addresses. I worked with a vintage clothing store in Portland that had 180 subscribers. They sent one holiday email offering a 15% in-store discount. They made $1,400 in revenue from that email. A 200-person list where 40% opens is 80 people reading your message. If 5% buy something and spend $50, that's $200 in sales for a free email send. The math works.

Q: Should I buy a list of email addresses for the holidays?

No. Buying lists is a fast track to getting marked as spam, ruining your sender reputation, and wasting money. Most email platforms (Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Constant Contact) prohibit imported purchased lists. If you send to a bought list, your deliverability drops, your open rates tank, and you'll have a harder time reaching the people who actually want your emails. Grow your list organically. In the US, CAN-SPAM laws require you to have permission to email someone. Buying lists violates that.

Q: How much should I budget for holiday email marketing?

If you're using Mailchimp's free plan (up to 500 contacts), your budget is zero dollars for the platform plus whatever you spend on images or design. If you're using Klaviyo's free plan (up to 250 contacts), same thing. For paid plans, expect $30-$150/month depending on list size. I've seen businesses spend $5,000 on a campaign and make $300 back because they sent the wrong thing to the wrong people. I've also seen businesses spend $47 on Mailchimp and make $4,000. Budget for the platform. Spend time on the strategy.

Q: How many holiday emails should I send?

Five to seven emails across 6-8 weeks is the sweet spot for most local businesses. Less than three and you're underutilizing the channel. More than twelve and you're annoying subscribers. One coffee shop in Denver sent four emails: October 24 (holiday menu preview), November 10 (gift card launch), December 1 (last chance for early pricing), December 15 (holiday hours). They sold 150% more gift cards than the previous year. Fewer emails, better content.

Q: My emails look fine on desktop but terrible on mobile. How do I fix this?

Most email platforms have a mobile preview feature. Use it before every send. If you're using Mailchimp or Klaviyo, check the mobile view. Here's the common problems: font too small (use 14px minimum), buttons too close together (add padding), images too wide (keep them under 600px), text blocks too long (break into shorter paragraphs). I saw a bakery in Chicago lose 50% of their conversions because their "order here" button was half-cut off on iPhone. One size adjustment fixed it.

Q: Should I use emojis in my holiday emails?

One relevant emoji in the subject line can improve open rates by 2-5% depending on your audience. But I've seen a pet store in Austin use five emojis in a single subject line and get an 8% open rate. It looked like spam. Use one emoji that directly relates to the holiday: 🎄 for Christmas, 🎁 for gifts, 🍪 for baked goods. Don't use 🚨 or 🔥 or 💥 — those trigger spam filters. Test it. Send two versions to small segments. Compare open rates. Keep what works.

I spent a decade at agencies where "holiday email strategy" meant a client paying $15,000 for a deck with no actual data behind it. When I started DataLatte, I promised myself I'd only recommend things I'd tested myself with real small business owners. That Portland coffee shop? I drank their peppermint mocha while we reviewed the numbers. The Austin studio? I was sore for two days after taking one of their classes. I'm not in a boardroom dreaming up theories. I'm sitting in your city, watching your campaigns perform, and writing the fix before you even know something's broken.

If you want to run your holiday calendar by someone who's seen what actually works — and what quietly kills your results — I'm here. No jargon, no upsell, just a 20-minute look at your current setup.

Book a free consultation

Turn Customers Into Regulars

Nataliia at DataLatte sets up Email & SMS Marketing sequences that bring customers back automatically. Book a free call or learn more about Email & SMS Marketing.

Free for local businesses

Want this applied to your business?

I'll review your Google presence, local SEO, and ad accounts — and send you a specific action plan within 48 hours. No pitch, no pressure.

Get my free audit Ask a question

email marketing holiday marketing local business

Want hands-on help?

See how DataLatte handles Email & SMS Marketing for local businesses.

Learn more

Nataliia

Local marketing strategist with 10+ years at global agencies — OMD, Dentsu, GroupM, and BBDO. Now helping small businesses get the same data-driven edge. Based in Europe, working with clients in the US, UK, Australia, and beyond.

About Nataliia