Are you prepared for the holiday marketing season? If not, optimizing your strategy now could make all the difference.
Don’t wait for Black Friday to roll around to test out your new personalization tactics. Start now with a fall fashion newsletter.
Read on to discover some best practices for making the most of your newsletter, as well as plenty of examples for inspiration.
Why should you bother with a fall fashion newsletter?
People tend to consider spring to be the best time for fresh starts, but what about fall?
New cool-weather wardrobes. Fresh school supplies and new classes. The leaves change colors and fall, and we’re all reminded that a new year is on its way.
It’s the perfect time for you to evaluate your fashion newsletter strategy and switch things up to boost loyalty, conversions, and engagement.
According to research from Adobe, the average person spends about 2.5 hours each day in their inbox. For younger generations, the figure is even higher, with the average millennial checking their email over 6 hours every day.
Also, about 50% of people surveyed said they prefer brands to contact them through email over other marketing mediums like direct mail, text messages, and social media.
This is because, with email, consumers are in control. If a brand contacts them too frequently or the email content is no longer relevant, a subscriber can simply adjust their preferences or unsubscribe completely.
Not only is email an effective way to reach consumers, but fall is the perfect time to hone your strategy before the holiday season kicks into full swing. Why play guessing games with your personalization tactics when you can get it right a few months ahead of time?
8 fashion newsletter best practices to boost engagement
To make the most of your fall fashion newsletter, you’ll want to keep a few best practices in mind.
Nothing is set in stone, and you should always adjust your tactics to fit what works with your content and audience. However, keeping a few tips in mind as you design your layout and copy can make a huge difference in your open rate, click rate, and conversions.
1. Optimize for mobile.
Over half of all emails are opened on mobile devices, and that figure doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. If your email doesn’t look right, over 70% of customers will delete it within three seconds—and they may even unsubscribe completely.
Keep in mind that some of your subscribers may initially open an email on their phone, star the email to save for later, and re-open it on a desktop when they’re ready to make a purchase.
Responsive email design is the only way to make sure your email looks perfect on any device. Campaign Monitor, for example, provides customizable templates that are already fully optimized to look perfect on any device.
2. Choose an image-text ratio that’s flyer-style.
Have you noticed that your own inbox is filled with stunning, high-quality graphics and minimal text? Flyer-style emails are in, and they’re perfect for your fall fashion newsletter.
Let your images do the talking. Use high-quality and relevant graphics to tell a story. Choose a color scheme that blends with the fall season and the products you’re promoting.
Keep copy as concise as possible. If people want to read more, they can click over to a landing page to read your blog posts or product descriptions.
3. Provide useful information—and highlight it in your subject line.
Your subscribers already have an inbox full of subject lines reading “15% off” or “See what’s new for fall.”
You can grab their attention and boost open rates simply by providing something interesting and valuable in the subject line. How-to guides, tips, and top-10 lists are all effective ways to drive opens, as long as the email content delivers what your subject line promises.
If you have your subscribers’ interests nailed down, you can also provide content on specific topics they enjoy. For instance, if you know someone is a student or a parent, this can help make your content more relevant.
4. Segment your subscriber list.
Speaking of which, if you’re still sending the same email campaigns to your entire subscriber list, it’s time to update your strategy. Break your subscriber list up into different groups based on location, time zone, gender, age, profession, email client, and even behavior.
Segmented campaigns work because they’re more relevant. According to research from Campaign Monitor, segmented campaigns can improve revenue by 760%.
5. Personalize each email.
Segmenting your list works wonders for improving engagement and conversions. However, you can also personalize each email campaign.
Using behavioral data, you can fill your fashion newsletter with personalized product recommendations based on items a subscriber has purchased or viewed on your website.
6. Automate your campaigns.
Automated campaigns can help you send the right content at the perfect time. Not only are they more personalized, but using automation can also help you save time.
You can also design emails based on triggered events, such as birthdays or visiting certain landing pages. When asked why they unsubscribe from mailing lists, 59% of people cite irrelevant, uninteresting, or otherwise boring content. Automation can change that, all while saving you time and resources.
7. Remove any hurdles limiting your conversions.
If the goal for your fashion newsletter is to drive bottom-line conversions, make sure to optimize your emails for efficiency.
Try these tactics:
- Reduce the number of clicks it takes to complete a purchase.
- Don’t force subscribers to register and fill out a bunch of forms before they convert.
- Use AMP landing pages with concise copy and easy-to-click buttons.
- Use buttons rather than hyperlinks.
- Allow subscribers to complete the checkout process from within their email client.
8. Allow subscribers to update their preferences.
Research shows that the average worker’s inbox receives 121 emails every day. The number one reason why people unsubscribe from email lists is due to brands sending too many emails.
You can avoid this costly faux pas simply by allowing your subscribers to adjust their email preferences. Include a link in each email near your unsubscribe link that lets readers adjust their email content and frequency. You could also add this option to your unsubscribe landing page.
7 fashion newsletter examples to jumpstart your creative process
Each of these examples is optimized for mobile, and most of them contain personalized content based on unique information about the subscriber.
Use these email examples to inspire your own campaigns.
1. Lululemon
There’s a good chance this Lululemon email was personalized based on the subscriber’s location because it features a raincoat, and it came while the subscriber’s area was experiencing a lot of rain.
Notice how it contains minimal copy, offers personalized product recommendations, and provides a button at the end to customize email preferences.
2. US Outdoor Store
US Outdoor Store loves to fill their newsletters with useful and interesting information like fun videos and wildlife tips.
They offer subscribers s’mores recipes, bonfire tips, or local hiking recommendations. This is a great way to grab their subscriber’s interest and show they can provide value outside of simply selling products.
Source: Milled
3. Brooks Running
Look at the concise copy in this email from Brooks Running: a short paragraph at the top with minimal descriptions. The email relies on high-quality graphics to get their point across.
Take note of the buttons at the bottom such as the “bra finder” or “shoe finder” that direct the subscriber to an interactive landing page where she can find the perfect product based on size and preferences.
4. Chaco
In this example, the colorful CTA buttons (rather than hyperlinks) are easy to see, click, and read—even on top of the images. When using large images in your emails, it’s important to make sure your buttons are still legible.
Source: Really Good Emails
5. Adidas
Fall is the perfect time to offer both students and teachers personalized content. Adidas gets right to the point here with a bright background, bold text, and an easy-to-use QR code.
6. American Apparel
American Apparel uses automated campaigns based on triggered events. The subscriber here has received follow-up emails once a week reminding her to use her welcome email’s discount code.
American Apparel also takes advantage of real-time features by including a countdown clock that displays the code’s expiry.
7. Trunk Club
Trunk Club includes a personalized outfit recommendation in this email and asks the subscriber to provide feedback so they can adjust their future content.
Source: Really Good Emails
Wrap up
Your subscribers want personalized content, and your fall fashion newsletter is the perfect opportunity to hone your tactics.
- Provide interesting content like how-to guides and lists filled with tips.
- Let high-quality graphics and colors do the talking.
- Keep your copy concise.
- Segment your list and personalize every email campaign.
Providing the most relevant and personalized content possible will help keep your newsletter in inboxes and boost conversion rates.
Revitalize your fall newsletter with Campaign Monitor. Take our customizable templates for a spin—for free.