Valentine's Day

By Rieva Lesonsky

Valentine’s Day is less than a week away—and for many small businesses, it’s not a holiday you want to ignore. Last year consumers spent an estimated $19.7 billion on Valentine’s Day purchases, with the average consumer spending $147 on the day.

Even if your small business doesn’t provide Valentine’s Day-themed products or services, and though time is short, there are still ways (and time) to get in on the fun using email marketing.

Want to know what works? Here are some tips and tricks from the email marketing experts at GoDaddy.

Choose your words wisely  

Crafting a compelling subject line is critical to customers opening your email. Looking at 2016 email marketing data, GoDaddy found emails with Valentine’s Day-specific words such as “sweetheart,” “crush,” or “date,” in the subject line had strong open rates. The big winner for 2016 was “romance.” Emails with “romance” in the subject line had a 71% higher collective open rate than emails that didn’t.

Build intrigue from the start

An enticing subject line always leaves consumers wanting more—or at least encourages them to open your emails. One successful tactic for increasing open rates is using an ellipsis in your subject line. Ellipses pique interest and motivate users to learn more. Examples include subject lines like:

“Nothing Says ‘I LOVE YOU’ Like…”

“The Way to a Person’s Heart Is…”

“Can you ‘set the mood’ with essential oils? Your Valentine’s Day will never be the same…”

Creativity is king

Even if your business doesn’t offer Valentine’s Day-related products, you can still use the holiday to your advantage by sharing creative seasonal content. According to GoDaddy, the following types of content did well in emails last year:

  • DIY gifts, cards and crafts
  • Seasonal recipes
  • Discounts—even for items not directly related to Valentine’s Day!
  • Giveaways
  • Fun holiday ideas for kids
  • Tips for a Valentine’s Day spent at home
  • Valentine’s-themed fashions

Eric Gilbert, Director of Product Marketing at GoDaddy, says, “For small business owners, Valentine’s Day has become a massive shopping event and a big business opportunity. We recommend small businesses connect and engage with customers in relevant ways during this season to maximize sales. Even if Valentine’s Day doesn’t seem like a natural fit for a business, we’ve seen lots of customers think creatively, find a connection to the holiday that’s relevant for customers, and reap the rewards.”