5-Step Q4 Email Audit to Boost Year-End Sales

Boost year-end sales with this 5-step Q4 email audit! Clean up your list, plan promotions, and connect with your audience this holiday season.

Email is one of my favorite marketing strategies. I want it to be one of your favorites, too! I call my email list my ATM. When I send an email out, I get sales back in. 

You need to be emailing your list regularly. At least once a week. And when the 4th quarter comes along, you need to email even more. 

Want to learn more about what you should email your list every week? Check out this blog. 

You’ve spent time planning your 4th quarter promotions. Make sure email marketing is a BIG part of that plan. 

But first, I want you to take just a few minutes to do a quick 5-step email audit to make sure you’re locked, loaded, and ready for the 4th quarter. 

And if you’re not, I have tips, strategies, and to-dos to get you where you need to be! 

1. Don’t wait – engage your email list now.  

You cannot wait to start engaging your list until it’s time to market your 4th quarter promos. That will land you straight in the SPAM folders. Not where you want to be. 

The people on your email list – and their email service providers – need to be engaged. If you haven’t emailed in a while, start slowly. Send one a week before working up to more frequent emails when your promos start. 

If you’re already sending weekly emails (yay, you!), it’s time to get a little more personal. And no, I don’t mean sharing more than you’re comfortable with. I mean tell them a bit about you, your business, and what life’s like – both sides of your life – during this crazy time of year. Those connections matter. 

Ideally, you should send 1-3 emails a week. What should be in those emails? 

• Behind the scenes
• Bestsellers
• Subscription-focused
• New arrivals
• Get personal – talk about what’s happening  

I’m trying something new and fun this holiday season. In addition to my product and promo-based emails, I’m sending a weekly connection email. I’m calling them my “Holiday Hot Mess” emails and they’re all about what’s happening in my life and my businesses. In them, I share a funny story, something they can relate to. After all, my ideal customer is a busy southern mom and that’s exactly what I am!  

Have fun with your emails. Connect with your audience. And serve them this quarter by selling to them!  

2. Clean up your email list.    

Stop paying for people who aren’t opening your emails! 

If you haven’t been engaging your list, don’t scrub it just yet. Engage for a few weeks, then remove or archive those people who aren’t opening your emails. 

If you have been regularly engaging, it’s time to clean that list. 

I know. You worked hard to build your list. And watching the size of it shrink doesn’t feel good. But…

Those people weren’t opening your emails anyway. They weren’t engaging with you and they weren’t buying from you. What they were doing was costing you money to hang out on your list. 

A list of engaged people who open your emails and click on your links? That’s a healthy email list. The kind of email list that helps you reach your goals for the 4th quarter and beyond. 

3. Check your email automations. 

Email automations aren’t like a rotisserie chicken. (Stay with me.) You can’t just “set it and forget it.” 

When did you set up your automations? And when was the last time you checked them to make sure they’re still doing what you want them to do? 

Check your browse abandonment and cart abandonment automations. Make sure they still look good. And while you’re in there, take the time to make them a little more personal. 

Once you check the automations you already have, think about creating some new ones. How about adding a bestsellers automation? Let your customers know what’s flying off your shelves, and make it easy for them to add those items to their carts, too! 

4. Create email templates for all 4th quarter promotions.  

There is no busy quite like 4th quarter busy. Don’t wait until you are in the middle of a promotion to sit down and write your marketing emails. 

Instead, plan ahead and create some templates. 

I create templates for each of my 4th quarter promotions. I fill in what I can and leave space for the rest. That way, when it’s time to get those emails out, it takes almost no time to fill in a few details and hit send.

5. Have an email plan for each 4th quarter promotion – and work that plan.    

Things always go more smoothly when you have a plan. 

That’s true for every aspect of your life and your business. And it’s especially true during the 4th quarter. 

You’ve planned out your 4th quarter promotions. (And if you haven’t, it’s not too late. Check out this blog and start planning now.)

Then put together your email plan. 

• What emails are you sending? 
• When are you sending them? 
• What’s your intention with each email? 

Have a plan. Work that plan. 

There you have it – a simple 5-step email audit – you can do this anytime, but you need to do it in Q4. Remember, your email list is a direct line to your most engaged customers. Take the time to clean it up, connect, and get personal. Get your templates in place and your plan ready. Make it easy on your future self by getting it done now. 

Don’t let this season slip by without leveraging the power of email to boost your year-end sales. Go take on the 4th quarter with confidence. Happy emailing and happy selling!