Cyber Monday is for ecommerce merchants and Black Friday is for traditional merchants. Thanksgiving, however, is for email service providers.
Online retailers sent an average of 5.3 emails in the five days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday in 2012, with 83 percent of retailers sending at least one message on Thanksgiving Day. In order to profit from this marketing channel, brands need to find a way for their message to stand out from the competition. After all, many consumers who are already in the buying stage see these messages.
Not every email can be a winner though, and it is often difficult to spot the studs from the duds. The only thing that marketers can do is abide by best practices and continue to test and optimize based on their subscribers' preferences. To see how well some of the biggest enterprises abide by best practices, Website Magazine put 15 subject lines sent on Thanksgiving Day to the test with the best practice algorithm testing on subjectline.com. This is how they ranked:
"SHOP NOW: Black Friday Savings Begin!"
Rating: 96
"Our top 3 Black Friday deals"
Rating: 91
"Free Sh*t Friday"
Rating: 91
"Your BLACK FRIDAY Deals are Here!"
Rating: 84
"Nordstrom Exclusive: UGG Australia Faves in New Colors"
Rating: 84
"Early Access to Black Friday Deals - Email Exclusive!"
Rating: 81
"EXTRA 10% OFF: For Early Shoppers Only!"
Rating: 80
"Fancy this: 30% off site-wide and free shipping."
Rating: 74
"Extra 50% Off Sale & Free Shipping! Hooray!"
Rating: 74
"Thank you for shopping at Fancy. 20% off and free shipping all day."
Rating: 68
"Yay! Black Friday & Doorbusters are Here!"
Rating: 62
"Feast your eyes on 5 Black Friday Tips + our fab 50% off sale!"
Rating: 50
"$10 off + free shipping = our thanks to you"
Rating: 43
"USA Le Dogue Treats, Arctic Freeze Balls, Horgan Harnesses, and Happy Thanksgiving!"
Rating: 38
"12 Days Of Gifting Has Arrived! 30% Off EVERYTHING, Plus $30 Credit When You Spend 200+."
Rating: 6