FreshMail decided to take inspiration from the ultimate master of all things Christmas - the man himself, Santa Claus! Let’s look at what Santa does and how we can apply those lessons to email marketing.

2. Build a subscriber database
Santa adds names of boys and girls to his
list and you need to do the same. Collect
email addresses everywhere you can and
place sign-up forms on -
• your website
• your blog, in the form of a pop-up
• your email footer
• social media ads
• offline tablets with the FreshForm mobile app

3. Deliver the right message
Every year, Santa manages to deliver the right present
to the right person and make everyone happy. Do the
same by segmenting your database and creating
personalized messages your subscribers want. You will -
• get a better response and a higher open rate (OR)
• get a higher engagement rate
• achieve higher conversions
• build long-term relationships with your subscribers

4. Know your subscribers
Santa knows if you ve been bad or
good and email marketing automation
can tell you a lot about the behavior of
your subscribers. Use these tools to
gather valuable information for your
next campaign -
• integration with Google Analytics
• tracking codes
• personalization
• dynamic content
• segmentation
• integrations with external apps

5. Learn how to choose the best wrapping paper and the perfect bo for
the presents you send to subscriber inboxes. Use testing to find out -
Test everything
• which version of a subject line gets a better response
• the best sender name for your message
• how your message displays in different inboxes
• if your coding is done properly
• the best time to send your campaigns

6. You expect your presents to be under the tree on Christmas
morning and as an email marketer you want your messages
to land in inboxes, not spam folders. Avoid spam filters by
following these rules -
Reach inboxes
• avoid spammy words and phrases
• divide large graphics into smaller parts
• maintain the right text-to-graphics ratio
• don t use excessive punctuation in your subject line

7. Santa only has to work one day a year because his reindeer and elves take
care of everything for him. Let the autoresponders be your elf workshop and
do the work for you. Arrange for autoresponders to automatically -
Automate your work
• thank new subscribers for signing up to your newsletter
• educate recipients by sending additional relevant information
• send calls to action to prompt purchases
• create the beginning of your lead nurturing program
• build relationships with your subscribers

8. Work smarter
It s not only about the presents. Christmas trees get more
colorful and prettier with each ornament you add - the more,
the better, right? Expand the functionality of your email
marketing Christmas tree by integrating FreshMail with -
• thousands of apps on Zapier
• your CRM system
• your ecommerce platform
• multiple WordPress plugins