January has historically been a tricky time for retailers, with customers tightening the purse strings after forking out through the vacation season.

In reality, in 2021, January noticed the second-lowest retail gross sales complete of any month—simply forward of February:

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As a marketer, what are you able to do to keep away from beginning the yr with two months of ache?

In idea, it’s a easy resolution: you simply must nail your messaging. Nonetheless, as everyone knows, that’s simpler mentioned than accomplished.

To make your life a bit simpler, I dipped into the Drip archives to unearth 5 of the perfect 2023 New Yr’s advertising concepts from a few of our favourite manufacturers. 

A YouGov survey performed in late 2022 revealed that 37 % of People deliberate to set a purpose or decision for the next yr, whereas 17 % had been not sure.

In different phrases, as much as 54 % of customers began 2023 with some kind of private goal. That’s far too huge a bit of your viewers to disregard.

Step one to leveraging resolutions in your New Yr advertising is to know the kinds of targets your prospects are setting.

Happily, there’s loads of analysis to assist us out. In response to Statista’s International Client Survey, well being is a standard focus, relating to every of the three hottest resolutions for People:

• Train extra (cited by 52 % of respondents)
• Eat more healthy (50 %)
• Drop a few pounds (40 %)

These resolutions show that well being touches on a number of shopper product classes. Need to train extra? Right here, purchase these trainers. Planning to eat a more healthy food plan? Take a look at this cookbook. Desperate to reduce weight? You’ll want a brand new water bottle for all these health club classes.

And, as cosmetics model Origins demonstrates, there’s additionally a transparent hyperlink between well being and skincare merchandise.

In my first New Yr advertising instance, Origins kicks issues off with a topic line that reads like a private mantra:

That’s principally a ready-made decision, so it’s a improbable inspiration for anybody who’s but to determine their targets for the yr forward.

Origins backs up this messaging within the physique copy, giving prospects a transparent instruction to be kinder to their pores and skin in 2023:

In fact, this electronic mail isn’t nearly discussing good intentions; it has a tough business edge too.

Beneath the fold, Origins lists a few of its high SPF skincare merchandise, every accompanied by a “Store Now” CTA:

By the way, that is the third in a sequence of resolution-themed emails from Origins. In case your merchandise are particularly goal-worthy, you could possibly run this kind of marketing campaign all through the entire of January—and even test in with prospects later within the yr to ask how their resolutions are going.

Our rising love for sustainable, eco-friendly merchandise has largely been pushed by youthful generations, with three in 4 Gen-Zers saying sustainability is extra necessary than model identify when making buy selections.

The place Gen Z leads, older generations are starting to observe. Between 2019 and 2021, the will amongst Gen X customers to purchase from sustainable manufacturers rose by 24 %, whereas their willingness to spend extra on sustainable merchandise climbed by 42 %.

As we speak, two-thirds of all customers say they’re completely satisfied to pay a sustainability premium when shopping for merchandise—but the identical proportion of retail executives consider buyers aren’t ready to spend extra.

What do all these figures inform us?

That sustainability is a huge deal to customers; much more so than most retailers consider. 

Sustainable manufacturers are ideally positioned to win new prospects and generate extra income—they only must shout about it. And what higher time than the New Yr, when many patrons are actively trying to change their behaviors?

Refillable bodycare model MYRO is nicely conscious of this. Sustainability is on the coronary heart of its mission, with each product refill decreasing waste from single-use plastic by at the very least 50 %.

MYRO begins this New Yr electronic mail advertising instance with a powerful topic line that underlines its eco-friendly credentials and speaks to customers’ want to dwell extra sustainably:

The e-mail physique continues in the identical vein, urging buyers to make eco-conscious modifications by swapping to a refillable physique wash. The message is evident: “It is a fast and easy means to assist the planet.”

You may suppose that’s already a sufficiently persuasive argument, however MYRO goes one step additional by providing a 15 % low cost code simply above the decision to motion: 

So prospects get to learn the atmosphere and get monetary savings? That’s a reasonably compelling hook.

Seems January isn’t only a unhealthy time for retail gross sales; it’s additionally awful for electronic mail entrepreneurs. January is within the backside quartile for common electronic mail open charges by month, at 19.83 %—nearly 11 % lower than the best month. And it additionally has the joint-highest electronic mail unsubscribe charge.

In the event you’re going to buck these traits, you have to incentivize your viewers to have interaction along with your messaging.

The most effective methods to do this is by working a giveaway, like sustainable style model Frank & Oak did in my subsequent New Yr advertising instance.

Effectively conscious that buyers are much less prone to open emails at this difficult time of yr, Frank & Oak led with an electronic mail topic line that features a single, clear instruction:

With out saying so in as many phrases, this topic line means that there’s one thing in it for the client. It’s actionable sufficient to catch the attention and sufficiently intriguing to win the clicking.

Subsequent, Frank & Oak will get to the meat and potatoes of its marketing campaign: the chance to win a $1,000 reward card.

In fact, a contest like this isn’t an computerized assure of success.

Simplicity is vital in the case of working an efficient giveaway. Until the prize is really spectacular, most customers aren’t ready to leap by a bunch of hoops, so attempt to make the specified “motion” as low-touch as potential.

On this case, Frank & Oak merely requested customers to observe its Instagram account:

That’s proper—no “like”, share, or remark. Only a tiny little observe in return for a possible $1,000 payday. Looks as if Frank & Oak is getting the tough finish of the deal right here. 

However in actuality, there’s loads of profit to constructing your Instagram following. One examine discovered that 72 % of Instagram customers have made style, magnificence or style-related purchases after seeing a product on the social media platform, with the most-purchased classes named as:

• Clothes
• Make-up
• Footwear
• Jewellery

Plus, keep in mind, Frank & Oak isn’t asking any previous individual for a observe. It’s particularly focusing on individuals who subscribe to its advertising emails. 

Presumably, this viewers is already fairly engaged with the model, which means there’s an excellent likelihood they’ll preserve following the Instagram account after the competitors has completed.

One closing level: Analysis from Shopify discovered that, on common, multichannel advertising will increase income by 38 %, 120 %, and 190 % for every further channel a buyer engages with. So it’s clearly in your pursuits to level electronic mail subscribers towards your different advertising channels.

I feel I’ve made it fairly clear that you have to work fairly arduous to prise open your prospects’ purse strings within the New Yr. In reality, 39 % of People mentioned their New Yr’s decision for 2023 is to avoid wasting more cash.

Basically, it’s your job to persuade them that saving cash is nice—however shopping for your product is best.

Doing that requires extra than simply some snappy copywriting and jazzy product imagery. 

Seems customers are literally much more prone to hearken to fellow prospects than model entrepreneurs. Certainly, 72 % discover buyer opinions and testimonials extra credible than the issues manufacturers say about themselves, in accordance with analysis from Tint.

In my subsequent instance, Flamingo Candles leads with some easy New Yr-themed messaging, urging subscribers to take a look at its vary of slogan keytags:

That’s a stable if unspectacular opening gambit—not robust sufficient for me to incorporate in a roundup of inspirational New Yr advertising concepts.

What elevates this electronic mail is the below-the-fold part, the place Flamingo Candles features a bunch of real-world buyer testimonials:

Better of all, these aren’t simply generic opinions about how a lot folks love Flamingo; they’re particularly tailor-made to the product class within the electronic mail.

It stands to purpose, subsequently, that you simply’re additionally prone to generate fewer electronic mail click-throughs to your web site.

This locations a higher-than-average premium on these prospects who do open—and click on by from—your emails, with messaging geared towards driving the highest-possible common order worth (AOV).

Product bundling is one resolution.

In response to McKinsey, 35 % of purchases on Amazon stem from the retail large’s product suggestion algorithms. And a number of these suggestions contain some type of bundling.

Happily, product bundling doesn’t simply apply to the big megacorporations. Manufacturers of any dimension can use this technique to drive conversions and increase AOV.

Stationery retailer Paperchase positioned bundling entrance and middle on this New Yr advertising instance:

It is a tactic often called blended bundling, by which the bundled merchandise could be purchased individually. 

Sometimes, prospects can construct their very own mix-and-match bundles from a big selection of merchandise, giving them larger management over the merchandise they select. It’s primarily the alternative of pure bundling, whereby the merchandise in a bundle can’t be bought individually.

Blended bundling seems to be extra engaging to customers than pure bundling, with researchers at Harvard Enterprise Faculty and Carnegie Mellon College revealing {that a} change from blended to pure bundling might cut back gross sales by over 20 %.

Evidently, buyers want the pliability of a blended bundle, making it an efficient technique for maximizing income in your New Yr advertising.

New Yr, New E-mail Advertising and marketing: Strive Drip

The New Yr is the right time to attempt one thing new.

So why not take the chance to test-drive our revenue-driving electronic mail advertising instruments?

Drip offers you the ability to face out amid a crowded inbox by serving to you craft dynamically customized messaging.

Need to supply prospects a particular low cost on their birthday? Give focused product suggestions primarily based on earlier shopping exercise? Attain out to cart abandoners with reminder emails? Do all of it—and rather more in addition to—with Drip.

See for your self by signing up on your 14-day free trial.