We’re one week away from Black Friday and just after that is Cyber Monday. Then it’s another three-week sprint of holiday shopping. You should be in full email marketing sales mode, right? Yes … and no.

Many businesses see their peak sales during the holiday season. Email marketing assists that. However, that’s only half of the strategy for success. You want your subscribers to feel that holiday cheer all year long. The best way to do that is by balancing your sales with some positive branding in your holiday email marketing campaigns. So back to the question for this post: how can you do it?

No matter which holidays you celebrate, there is some consistency to the way in which people celebrate. Time with family and friends. Special meals. Perhaps an exchange of gifts. Traditions that fill us all with warm feelings. Translate that into an email marketing campaign focused on branding.

There are a few ways to deliver holiday cheer via the inbox. The first is to simply wish your subscribers happy holidays. You can even elaborate upon that and share a favorite holiday memory or tradition. This can go a long way to humanize your brand and leave your subscribers happy with the establishments with which they chose to do business.

Another way is to seamlessly blend the sales and branding in one campaign. The buy one, give one strategy adopted by TOMS and many other businesses come to mind. You can also agree to donate a percentage of your holiday sales to a charity which aligns with your brand ideologies. This at least brings some good will in along with your holiday sales.

Regardless of the strategy you choose, it’s key is to remember balance. An easy way to do that is to always remember to put your customer first. Yes, you want to make sales. However, more importantly, your customers are trying to find the perfect gift for their loved ones. Do not lose sight of that.