How to put your customers into a holiday slumber 😴 :

To our valued customers,

As the end of the year draws near, we’d like to take this opportunity to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of you for your support. Thank you for choosing us and we wish you a wonderful holiday season and happy new year!

Want to send an authentic holiday email this year that your customers will actually want to read? This is your cheat sheet!

Table of contents

How to use these holiday email templates

This post contains both the copy and creative you can use for your holiday customer appreciation emails. These emails are longer and more personalized—great for your most loyal customers or for businesses with a small client base. If you want shorter, more general copy, head on over to my holiday greetings and messages.

The copy is also pasted into some templates I made in Canva, which you can access with a free Canva account!

Here’s the link to the templates in Canva.

• Express gratitude! Customer appreciation is the goal here.
• Keep it short and use a conversational tone. This is an e-toast, not a live journal.
• Be inclusive of all holidays, and be warm and positive, but not overly hyped—the holidays can be difficult for many people.
• Make it visual with creative graphics or a team photo.
• Share your growth and achievements to give customers a reason to stay confident in your business. BUT make it about them—the growth you achieved with their support. What you achieved together.
• Connect it back to your mission (NOT your value prop).
• Focus on the future. Speak to an ongoing relationship, but not through a CTA or sales promotion. Save that for your year-in-review email.

Words & phrases to make your holiday email message authentic

Take a gander through these words and phrases you can use that the other gajillion businesses out there aren’t using:

Looking for more creative ideas? How about these 41 Pre-made Holiday Social Media Posts & Canva Templates.

Template #3—From the owner

To each and every one of you,

As I sit here listening to InclusiveMeaningfulSong, I am reminded of how grateful I am to have you in my circle.

StudioName is rooted in relationships, health, and growth and you are the ones who bring it to life. Every day I am blessed with the new energy, new perspectives, and new friends you bring to our studio each day.

I wish all the blessings returned to you during this holiday season and the year to come. Can’t wait to grow with you in 2022!

See you soon,

YourName

Use the Canva link above to customize this template.

Template #4—Mission-centered

To our work out warriors,

Whether the holidays make you happy or sad, giddy or stressed, one thing we can all feel is gratitude.

And that is why we extend our personal thanks to you—for showing up, for trusting us with your health, for your smiling faces, and your feedback.

We are on a mission to make fitness fun and accessible to all and it is dedicated members like you who help us make this possible.

However you’re feeling this holiday season, know that we appreciate you and we can’t wait to see you next year.

Stay well,

The GymName Team

Use the Canva link above to customize this template.

Template #5—Wrap-up with thank you

So…how do you wrap up a fantastic year in X words? We figured it out:

• 32,695 orders
• 200 blog posts
• 84 five-star reviews
• 5 new employees
• 2 awards nominations
• 1 HUGE thanks…

To YOU!

None of this would be possible without all of your shares, likes, comments, and confidence in our resources. This is what keeps us eager to find new things to teach you each day. You are the lifeblood of BusinessName and together, we’re helping more and more people find jobs they love.

Thank you for playing such a pivotal role in our growth. We wish you the best this holiday season and the year to come.

Let’s do it all again next year!

 

The BusinessName Team

Use the Canva link above to customize this template.

7 real holiday email examples & what makes them great

Here are a few real holiday customer appreciation email examples with non-generic intro sentences and attractive design. And you may also want to check out these additional customer appreciation ideas!

Patchwork: A poem!

You can have a lot of fun with this one!

• Big thanks
• Lots of text but once you start, you can’t stop.
• Visually appealing—although a face would be nice.

Rock Content: Tasteful reminder

This short and sweet holiday email from Rock Content is perfect with:

• Friendly and warm messaging acknowledging my hard work this year.
• A cute GIF of champaign glasses clanking.
• A tasteful reminder of the value it offers at the end.

Hello, Kristen!

✨We are passing by to wish you Happy Holidays!

2022 has been a year full of challenges and achievements. We know you’ve worked a lot this year. Now, it’s time to relax a bit and enjoy the holidays!

We hope you have a great time with friends and family. Enjoy the next few days to recharge your batteries with good times, getting ready to make beautiful things happen in 2023!

Remember that we will always be here to help you deliver high-quality content strategies and enable growth opportunities!

Enjoy the Holiday Season!

🎄🎅🎁☃️❄️

Rock Content Team.

BuildOn: Super-specific

Consider something like this if you’re a nonprofit.

• Just the right amount of gratitude and inspiration
• Visual with smiling face
• Shares specific achievements made possible by YOU

Image source

This season, we’re thankful for your support!

With your help, buildOn has empowered thousands of students and strengthened hundreds of communities across the globe.

In the U.S., tens of thousands of urban students have invested nearly 1.4 million hours of service into transforming their communities and empowering themselves. Today, 674 schools are bringing quality education and a chance out of poverty to 90,000 children and adults in the developing world.

None of this would be possible without you. THANK YOU!

WE: Verrry versatile

WE has some inspo in store for you.

• Positive without overdoing it
• Conversational and inclusive messaging
• Attractive visual, although a face would be nice
• Sincere appreciation, could use some specifics

Image source

“With the new year comes a sense of renewal: an opportunity to bring out the best in ourselves, moving forward with positivity and purpose. Thank you for being part of the WE Movement this year—whether you’ve been with us every step of the way or have just joined, we truly appreciate having you in our community.

Together, we change the world.”

Office Luv: Faces!

Office Luv nails it.

• Actual employee faces!
• Short and sweet
• No “we’d like to take this opportunity to..”

Later: Future-focused

The thank you section of Later’s 2020 December newsletter is one to model after.

• Conversational tone, with emojis
• Specific thank yous
• Future-focused
• Has a CTA, but just to Instagram profile

2020 has been full of challenges in the social media world and beyond, and we wanted to take a quick moment to say thank you. <3

Thanks for turning up, reading our emails, joining the conversation, sharing the love on social – you’ve made all of our days a little brighter this year.

We promise 2021 is going to be bigger and better than ever – so stay tuned for more new blogs, training, and of course, exciting new Later features!

[Stay tuned]

Chiropractor: Super-personalized

Try out something like this if you’re a solopreneur.

• First name personalization
• Inclusive graphic and smiling face
• Fun poem
• Sense of community
• Sincere thanks

Happy Holidays Kristen!

I know by this point everyone is nestled in and hopefully enjoying friends, families, and holiday cheer! Yet I didn’t want this season to go by without an official Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

We count you among our friends and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your dedication to your health and in creating your healthy home and life. It means more to us than you know, so thank you!

Wishing you joy and peace,

Dr. Lizie

Send a holiday email this year that your customers will appreciate

You now have all the words, phrases, tips, and templates you need to send an authentic holiday email message to your customers. You have no excuses!

Want more holiday messaging templates?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a buzzword in society, particularly with the widespread attention garnered by advanced AI platforms like ChatGPT in recent years. However, even before AI became a household term, it was already embedded in the fabric of digital marketing strategies through platforms like Google Ads.

Google has been a pioneer in harnessing AI to transform the advertising landscape, leveraging machine learning and automation to help businesses optimize their online presence and advertising performance.

In this article, we’ll explore helpful Google Ads AI features that can help you enhance your outcomes, forge stronger customer relationships, and deepen your marketing know-how.

Let’s delve into how these Google Ads AI features are purpose-built to amplify your success:

1. AI-driven search campaigns
2. Performance Max AI features
3. Automatically created assets
4. Conversational Experience in Google Ads
5. Google Analytics 4 measurement enhancements
6. Optimized targeting
7. YouTube AI-powered creative tools
8. App campaigns

AI features in Google Ads

Let’s take a closer look at the essential offerings that seamlessly incorporate AI to elevate your Google Ads experience.

1. AI-driven search campaigns

Leveraging the sophistication of machine learning, AI-driven search campaigns are now smarter than ever, fine-tuning bidding strategies, broadening match types, and honing ad relevance with incredible precision as it happens. This evolution means your targeting is not just effective—it’s strategic, maximizing your investment returns.

Over the years, the capabilities of broad match have significantly advanced, allowing you to refine your search ads campaigns further. By pairing broad match keywords with Smart Bidding and responsive search ads, you’re not just casting a wider net but also capturing a plethora of conversion opportunities that might have otherwise slipped through the cracks, thereby unlocking new avenues for ROI.

🛑 Want to improve your Google Ads results? Find out where to focus with a free, instant audit >> Google Ads Performance Grader

2. Performance Max AI features

By now, most digital marketers are familiar with Performance Max, a crucial tool in Google’s advertising suite. But are you fully aware of all its AI-driven features?

Performance Max stands apart for its ability to leverage the extensive range of Google’s advertising channels and resources, going beyond traditional search terms to identify opportunities for high returns on investment.

It’s engineered not just for broadening reach but for diving deep into previously unexplored audience segments and conversion opportunities.

At its core, Performance Max harnesses Google’s vast data resources to unearth potential customers who might otherwise remain hidden, tapping into new market segments and user interests. This capability is powered by sophisticated AI signals and machine learning, which analyze user behavior, preferences, and trends across the internet, offering a more nuanced and effective approach to targeted advertising.

3. Automatically created assets

This tool is a standout for enhancing search ad relevance. It crafts headlines and descriptions based on your ad’s context, like the landing page and existing ads, improving Ad Strength. Supporting multiple languages and soon integrating generative AI in the US and UK, it offers even more tailored content.

Source

4. Conversational Experience in Google Ads

Engage in natural language conversations with Google Ads to create effective keywords and assets. Just input your website URL, and the AI suggests campaign elements, which you can modify. In beta testing for English in the US and UK, it’s a significant time-saver and a source of creative inspiration.

⚡️ Is your Google Ads account set up for success? Download now >> The Last Guide to Google Ads Account Structure You’ll Ever Need

5. Google Analytics 4 measurement enhancements

Incorporating AI, Google Analytics 4 stands as a robust measurement tool that can automatically extract insights and anticipate future consumer trends. This predictive ability is particularly valuable for advertisers looking to refine their campaigns for optimal performance and gain a more nuanced understanding of their consumer base.

To illustrate this, I’ve crafted a video detailing how reports within GA4 can effectively integrate purchase data and revenue predictions.

This resource is designed to empower advertisers with the knowledge to leverage GA4’s advanced reporting features to their fullest potential, ensuring that every campaign is backed by data-driven strategies and a clear view of expected financial outcomes.

6. Optimized targeting

Optimized targeting with AI represents a leap forward in audience solutions. It doesn’t just work with the top audiences you already know; it also harnesses signals from across Google’s entire ecosystem to direct you to new, relevant customers. These customers are selected based on their likelihood to convert, aligning with your specific campaign objectives.

Your understanding of your customer base and their value is crucial—it guides the AI to make smarter, more relevant matches. When you blend this understanding with Google’s AI capabilities, you’re not just expanding your reach; you’re also fine-tuning it for relevance, which can significantly enhance your ROI.

This synergy between your insights and Google’s technology paves the way for more efficient campaigns that don’t just aim for reach but aim for the right kind of reach.

7. YouTube AI-powered creative tools

AI-powered creative tools on platforms like YouTube are revolutionizing the way video ads are created and enhanced. This is especially relevant given the diverse ways audiences consume content. Whether it’s scrolling through Shorts, watching the latest drop from a favorite creator on the TV screen, catching an upcoming NFL game, or tuning into live events like the Oscars, YouTube is where the world watches.

In this landscape of varied viewer habits, connecting with audiences on YouTube is easier than ever. Using AI-driven tools, you can generate engaging video ads or enhance existing ones with options like trimming, flipping, and adding voiceovers. These features ensure your ads are not only high-quality but also perfectly tailored to match the viewing preferences of your audience.

Source

You can also launch targeted video campaigns tailored to your specific goals. For instance, Video reach campaigns are great for building awareness, Video view campaigns are designed for driving consideration, and Video action campaigns are aimed at prompting action. This strategic approach, using AI-powered tools and campaign types, helps you not only reach your audience on YouTube but engage with them in the most effective and relevant ways, regardless of how they interact with the platform’s diverse content.

8. App campaigns

App campaigns, specifically tailored for mobile applications, utilize AI to streamline the promotion of apps across Google’s most prominent channels within a single campaign. They are adept at identifying and retaining high-value app users, as well as re-engaging those who already use your app.

Whether you’re marketing a retail app or rolling out a new game, App campaigns are your go-to strategy for connecting with the most valuable users. By simply setting your goals, these campaigns leverage the full might of Google AI to effectively promote your app across vast channels, all from one consolidated campaign effort.

To take this further, consider trying AI-powered solutions like App campaigns for engagement and tROAS (Target Return On Ad Spend) for ad revenue. These tools are excellent for re-engaging existing customers and exploring new avenues to grow revenue. They represent the cutting edge in digital advertising technology, enabling you to maximize both reach and profitability with unprecedented ease and efficiency.

Find the right Google Ads AI-powered feature for your business

In conclusion, the integration of AI in Google Ads represents a significant advancement for digital marketers. It multiplies your expertise, allowing you to augment your creativity and knowledge with powerful, data-driven insights.

This technology enables you to market faster and more effectively, meeting customers precisely where they are, even in the most unpredictable scenarios. Most importantly, it drives reliable and strong ROI, unlocking new avenues for growth.

By leveraging AI in your Google Ads campaigns, you’re not just keeping pace with the digital marketing landscape; you’re setting the bar higher, transforming challenges into opportunities for success and growth.

You can’t grow an agency if you don’t get new clients. Heck, you can’t even stay the same size, as some clients will leave eventually. And that’s why new client acquisition is always a top challenge for agencies.

AgencyAnalytics proved what most know: getting clients is a constant struggle for agencies.

What’s even harder is finding the right clients. You know, the ones your agency can make successful and that you actually enjoy working with.

That’s why we included tips in this guide that will not only help you get new clients, but also sift out the clients that aren’t a great fit (and will become a drain on your resources).

We’re focused on ad and marketing agencies here, but most of these principles will help any service provider get more amazing clients:

1. Generate referrals
2. Get reviews
3. Network with complementary businesses
4. Turn employees into ambassadors
5. Share your secrets
6. Present fixes to prospect’s problems
7. Price properly
8. Be active on social media
9. Create an ideal customer profile
10. Go big on social proof
11. Be transparent

1. Generate referrals from past and present clients

Referrals come from happy clients that introduce your agency to new prospects. That means a referred lead already has some trust in your agency, making it one of the most valuable types of leads you can get.

The first step in generating more referrals is simply to ask for them. Reach out to current and even past clients and ask if anyone else they know could benefit from the results you’ve provided.

But to really put your new client acquisition on overdrive, take a page from other high-growth companies and create a customer referral program.

B2C companies like Hello Fresh rock customer referral programs and your agency can, too.

To get your referral program going:

• Choose the offer: Pick an incentive, like a free service or future discount, to give to clients that successfully refer a new lead.
• Make it easy: Create a simple form clients can use to refer other businesses.
• Promote your program: Remind clients during regular meetings and via email so your referral program is always top of mind.

🛑 We’re just getting started! Get this free guide and learn actionable strategies to get new clients, expand your team, and refine your agency offerings.

2. Get reviews

Reviews are like referrals on blast. A single detailed review of your services in a highly visible place like Google can influence hundreds of would-be clients. And since 88% of people say an online review is as influential as a personal recommendation, reviews are an important method to get clients.

Reviews on popular online platforms are new-client magnets.

Of course, the first step in getting great reviews is to provide great service. Assuming you have that covered, you’ll want to attract new reviews in as many ways as possible.

Here are a few tactics you can use:

• Directly ask (here’s a list of templates to ask for reviews by phone, email, and more)
• Add a link with a call to action on your website
• Hand out physical “leave us a review” card
• Include review opportunities in customer satisfaction surveys

Don’t forget to respond to reviews, since most people reading a review also see your response. It’s a chance to celebrate great reviews and rectify the less-than-flattering ones.

3. Network with complementary businesses

Other businesses in your sphere need clients, too. You can help each other out by trading referrals.

Let’s say you focus on content marketing, but one of your clients needs help running PPC campaigns. Offer the lead to a PPC agency you trust and ask that they return the favor sometime.

LinkedIn is an amazing place to build your professional network. Message complementary businesses and let them know you’ll look out for them if they do the same.

4. Turn employees into ambassadors

Each of your employees has a network and a sphere of influence. As they work in their field longer, their influence grows. Tap into this network by helping your employees become ambassadors for your agency.

Even if it’s just reposting content your agency creates, employees can introduce your agency to lots of new audiences.

An easy way to do this is to ask your team to post about important company milestones on their social media accounts. Maybe it’s your 100th client, 10-year anniversary, or the company retreat. Posts like this help build your brand without pushing a hard sell—something many people would be reluctant to do on their personal feeds.

Another option is to send employees to conferences. Junior team members can benefit from the educational and networking experience. Senior employees could be speakers or panelists. In either case, you’ll have people out in the field drumming up awareness for your business.

5. Share your secrets

Most people will run marketing in house before they turn to an agency. Teach people how to do it themselves, and your agency will be at the top of the list when it’s time to hire.

That may sound counter-intuitive, but some of the biggest modern businesses grew rapidly using that exact technique.

TikTok is a sleeper hit for educating prospective clients with quick, fun videos.

The good news is, there are plenty of formats and channels to educate your future clients. Without getting terribly creative, here are 10 options:

1. Produce a blog (bonus points because it’ll help your SEO)
2. Create a newsletter
3. Speak at conferences and events
4. Publish guest posts
5. Be a podcast guest
6. Create (or co-host) a webinar
7. Share educational videos on TikTok or YouTube
8. Post content on social media (especially LinkedIn!)
9. Create mini-courses on your website
10. Hold in-person lunch-and-learns

With a little imagination, you can probably come up with more. The goal is to pick the platforms that you’re comfortable with and that will appeal to your future clients.

6. Present fixes to prospect’s problems

This is an underrated tactic for getting new clients. Google companies in your target niche and see what their existing ad campaigns look like. Make a list of what you’d do differently, then email the company with ideas for them to improve.

This strategy works great for any type of marketing agency because advertising is, by nature, public. You can also use tools like Ahrefs or Moz to learn more about what’s working or not with your prospect’s marketing efforts.

Sure, some will take your thoughts and run with them. But many will want your help to make sure their next campaign is better.

7. Price properly

Agency pricing isn’t just about making a profit, it’s part of your brand. Let’s break this down.

Do you offer a truly a premium option with white-glove service? Then your pricing should be a little higher than your average competitor. Not just to cover the costs of the additional service, but also to signal to clients that what you do is different.

Alternatively, if your niche is helping fledgling businesses get a foothold online, and you do it at scale using automation, then your pricing might be lower. Again, it’s not just about the cost-plus-profit calculation. It’s another way to express your brand.

👋 Want to know how other agencies price their services (plus what they see as their biggest challenges)? Download the free State of the Digital Marketing Agency Report and find out.

8. Be active on social media

It’s impossible to understate the value of time spent on social media. Nowhere else can you build a network, prove your expertise, and directly connect with future clients on such a large scale.

But here’s the thing: you can’t just be a lurker. You have to be consistently active to get the benefits of social media.

Don’t just post on social media; reply to comments on your posts and comment on other people’s posts.

Here are a few actions that’ll get you more clients quickly from social media:

• Look for hashtags relevant to your business and join those conversations
• Reply to other people’s posts
• Save your replies and expand on them to create new posts
• Reply to everyone who comments on your posts
• Fill out your profile completely (add links, professional images, and a business description)

9. Create an ideal customer profile

An ideal customer profile (ICP) is a little like a buyer persona, but it focuses more on your client’s organization than just the point of contact. This works well for agencies selling to other businesses, since people change positions, but the company remains relatively the same.

Creating an ICP takes a few minutes, but the time is worthwhile. An ICP will help you find the clients that help you be more successful while filtering out those that’ll drain your agency’s resources.

Here are a few steps you can use to create a basic ICP for your agency:

• List client traits you want to have on your ICP: For agencies, it’ll be things like marketing goals, business model, company size, and industry.
• Review past clients: Where do successful and less successful clients fall in these categories?
• Create a point system: Assign points to each trait (so if your dental clients are always successful and construction clients aren’t, then dental prospects get 3 points and construction prospects get 0).

Place all of this on a spreadsheet. Then continue to refine your ICP based on the success of new clients. Over time you’ll have a foolproof way of finding the best clients for your agency.

10. Go big on social proof

We’ve already mentioned how positive reviews and referrals help you build a fast-growing agency. Social proof does the same thing, only it’s much broader and more flexible.



Splash your awards, reviews, and results all over your website.

Social proof is just about any trust signal that shows people how awesome your agency is. That can be quotes from customers, the total revenue you’ve earned clients, logos of companies you’ve helped, or awards you’ve won.

Social proof can also be long form, like customer stories or case studies.

As you gather proof that your agency is awesome, put that stuff on everything. Landing pages, emails, proposals, anywhere a potential client might learn about your business should be decorated with social proof.

11.Be transparent

It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of signing a new client. But it’s really important to communicate the realities of working with you at the very beginning. If the truth of what you do and how you do it scares a client away, that’ll save you a ton of headache later on (and allow that client to find the right agency for them).

Here are a few points to make clear as you’re wooing new clients:

• What you can and can’t do: If you’re a PPC expert but haven’t focused on SEO, let the client know.
• Set a communication schedule: Let your new client know they’ll get a review every month and that Fridays are off-limits.
• Set proper expectations: Tell a customer upfront that results will take a while if they’re in a heavily populated market and have a small budget.
• Don’t be afraid to say no: If a client asks for something that will not work, tell them so.
• Put everything in writing: Document each call in an email that you can refer to if there are questions later on.

You may turn a few clients away who have unrealistic expectations. But know that they’ll be back after the agency that lies to them doesn’t deliver.

Learn how to get clients faster

If you don’t have a team of dedicated, experienced business development professionals selling your agency, then you might find it difficult to keep new clients flowing through the front door.

No problem! Just remember these tips and you’ll find plenty of ways to get clients, even without a team of salespeople.