As email marketing folk, we do love to exploit celebrate every holiday on the traditional calendar (not to mention all the weird, quirky and completely made up ones). Why is it then, that when I looked at my promotions box this afternoon, I only saw three (3) emails referencing Veteran’s Day in the subject line?
What’s up with the restraint? I mean really, it checks off all the boxes, right?
- It is a major US holiday
- It is important to a large swath of pretty much any customer base
- It is recognized with days off, school closings, and even a major parade that runs down 5th Ave in NYC
So why not use it?
Well, the answer is actually pretty clear (and even a little inspiring). Veteran’s Day is a somber event and should be treated as such. As a result, running a general special or storewide sale can come off as a bit, well, gauche. So, with all that in mind, what’s an email marketer to do?
To answer this question, I will refer to a Veteran’s Day email I received from the folks over at Cabela’s. As far as I’m concerned, this is just about the best way to do a Veteran’s Day promotional email.
The subject line is tasteful, simply stating “Thank you to our military for your service”. The visible text clearly explains what to expect when you open the email. The body clearly shows that this is a celebration exclusively for members of the military.
As marketers, it is hard to skip major calendar events. If you are dead set on doing a Veteran’s Day sale, follow the above example. Make it tasteful and make it relevant. Otherwise, just skip it. After all, November 12th is both “National French Dip Day” and “National Pizza With The Works Except Anchovies Day”, so there’s plenty of opportunity to slang some sweet, sweet product tomorrow.