Back to School Email Marketing

When it comes to email marketing, you need to understand when consumers are preparing to make purchases. By understanding those time periods and events, you will be able to get your messaging in front of shoppers when they are already inclined to spend money. The fact they have signed up for your email campaigns puts you in a great position to have them consider buying from you.

While consumers are currently enjoying travel and trips to the beach or the local pool, next month they will turn their attention to gearing up for the upcoming school year. School supplies have changed quite a bit from back when we were kids, although new clothing, binders, pens and pencils are still necessary. When shopping for my kids I noticed that Trapper Keepers are still a thing! Kids these days need headphones, tablets or laptops, and of course a new backpack to hold all of their books and supplies.

Families are expected to spend an average of $850 on school supplies, so this is a great opportunity to highlight your products that appeal to back to school shoppers.

In this guide, I will go over the timing for Back to School campaigns, the messaging, and opportunities to leverage automated campaigns to help you optimize your conversions as we get ready for summer to turn into autumn.

Timing for Back to School Campaigns

School starts at different times based on the school district, while colleges tend to begin a week or two later, closer to Labor Day. So it is a good idea to check the calendar for your local school district to identify the actual start date for your local elementary, middle and high schools.

Generally speaking, primary schools tend to start somewhere between mid and late August, while universities start sometime around the first week of September. So it’s a good idea to plan your campaigns on or around August 1st. Most families do not plan Back to School shopping very far in advance so 2-4 weeks before the school start date tends to work out nicely.

So in the case of a monthly email campaign, you would send out your email right around the first of August. This would give your subscribers the biggest window to visit your site while your inventory levels are high and shop your promotion.

For a Bi-Weekly campaign that would include two messages, your first message will announce your Back to School promotion and then the follow up email would remind people that your promotion is about to end. I like to send the reminder email 48 hours before the promotion ends; this creates a sense of urgency and prompts those who were meaning to shop your site to stop what they are doing and take a look at your promotion.

In the case of a weekly campaign, you can use your first message to promote your sale and then use the next two messages in the series to promote specific categories or bestsellers. Trending products are always popular as everyone wants to know what is currently popular. Finally, with your fourth and final message you would send out a “last chance” message to remind your subscribers that the promotion is about to end.

Back to School Messaging

As kids get ready to head back to school, they want products that are cool and also show off their personality and interests. Whether it’s a Stranger Things backpack, a Ryan’s World lunch tote, or an Odd Squad shirt, kids want items that show the world what they are all about. While you may not carry items that feature intellectual property, you can keep this principle in mind as you craft your messaging.

Colors or colorways are a simple way to allow kids to select an item that they feel tells the world who they are. Backpacks come in a wide variety of designs, allowing kids to find the pack that best suits their needs and signals what they are into: sling style packs for bikers, hiking style kits for outdoor types, laptop bags for hardcore gamers, and packs made from recycled materials for environmentalists are just a few examples of how you can market your products to appeal to specific customers.

For the young environmentalist, there are stores and brands that will offer used clothing at a discount or will give you credit for turning in clothing that you or your family no longer uses. The appeal here is not so much a particular design or brand but more the impact your shopping has on the earth. Think through what it is that your customers find most interesting or unique about your brand and values and do your best to convey this through your messaging.

Leveraging Automated Campaigns

One of the biggest assets you have when it comes to optimizing the conversion rates for your Back to School messaging is the use of automated campaigns. As you send out your emails, you should have Abandoned Cart and Browse Recovery automations live on your site. So as subscribers respond to your campaign and visit your site, they will be eligible to receive these automatons which gives you another chance to get someone to convert if they did not do so the first time they visited your site.