When summer rolls around, Marché SecondLife—a Quebec-based company that rescues imperfect fruits and vegetables and packages them into affordable produce boxes—knows to prepare. As customers go on vacation and daily routines shift with the warming weather, the company braces for a wave of buyers who will pause their weekly produce boxes because they’ll be out of town. With that seasonal shift comes another impediment to sales—a dip in email engagement.

Email marketers know this time well: nicknamed the “summer slump”, promotional emails get ignored or unopened at higher rates as people knock off early, spend more time outdoors, and check their inboxes less frequently. When Marché SecondLife decided to beat the order pauses with creative, summer-friendly email campaigns, they turned to Cyberimpact, a Quebec-based email marketing platform that has been helping small Canadian businesses and organizations with email communications since 2006. Their clients have included Montreal’s bicycle share system Bixi, Parks Canada, and the University of British Columbia. 

Though the summer months may shake up routines—and sales may drop—Cyberimpact General Manager Geoffrey Blanc says it’s a great time to boost brand awareness and nurture sales leads, even if your business (or your audience) is in vacation mode. Here, Blanc offers six practical tips to keep subscribers engaged—no matter the season. 

Don’t stop spending in the summer

Even if open rates go down and engagement drops off, continue sending emails year-round. Blanc advises businesses to send at least one email per month throughout the year to continue brand awareness, regardless of the season. Businesses who don’t send anything for two or three months may see a spike in people hitting “unsubscribe” when emails pop up again, seemingly out of nowhere.

Their client Marché SecondLife opted to send out at least one email per week with short, colourful messaging that appealed to an on-the-go audience with snappy subject lines like “3-minute grilled zucchini.” The same logic goes for businesses who are busy come summer: keep sending in the winter. That way, when it’s time to run promotions or send reminders about events, the recipient is used to seeing your communications. Blanc says this is the case for Bixi, who builds brand awareness throughout the year and pivots into campaigns to convert customers come summertime—prime time for biking.

Opt for mobile-friendly designs

At Cyberimpact, mobile open rates are consistently above 70 per cent in July and August as people more often check emails on their phones. Users could be catching up during a road trip or skimming an email poolside, so formatting mobile-friendly emails is important, Blanc says. 

Slimmed down newsletters is key: less text, more visuals, and quick takeaways. One way to catch the eye of a weary scroller is to incorporate interactive content suited for mobile, like quizzes, GIFs, or videos. “We tend to push our clients to start using more interactive content,” Blanc says. 

Quizzes in particular can boost interaction while gathering valuable information about the subscriber that can better personalize your next email campaign. For example, marketers could ask subscribers a question, like “What’s your favourite summer time sport?” with five different options. Those who choose biking over hiking can be offered more personalized, targeted offers later on. “It’s a win-win,” Blanc says. “Your clientele has fun, and you’re gathering information.” 

Keep it light—and relatable

Summertime is hardly the time to run a serious campaign. Instead of trying to convert sales, embrace relaxed summer vibes to boost your brand and build trust with audiences. Blanc suggests keeping subject lines light, fun, and playful with the use of emojis. 

To tap into the summer mindset, Marché SecondLife featured summer produce boxes geared towards BBQers and picnickers. Knowing some customers would be out of town, they also created a referral campaign that offered subscribers a free smoothie box if they referred a friend. Both campaigns were successful—people shared the service with house-sitters, neighbours, and family members while they were away, and order pauses dropped due to proactively engaging with subscribers. Compared to the previous summer, Blanc says Marché SecondLife saw a 28 per cent increase in click-through rates during the June to August period. 

Being honest about summer priorities can be a benefit in such cases. “You can talk about the fact that your company is also in summer mode – like, we understand you’re on vacation, and we are too.” Blanc says the Cyberimpact team communicates to subscribers when they are taking a break for vacation, and reminds clients that customer service agents are still available for any queries. 

Adjust send times to match summer routines

Send times will likely need to be adjusted in the summertime, as users engage more during the weekends, later in the day, or in the evenings. Finding the best send time in the summer is trial and error, Blanc says, and it will be specific to each business, so running tests can help hone in on when your email list is most active. 

If a summer campaign results in click throughs, Blanc suggests starting a marketing automation flow, which will send a series of emails to that user. “If you see some engagement, it’s important not to ignore them,” he says. 

Know your audience: segmentation and personalization

Segmentation, which divides customers into smaller groups based on shared characteristics, and personalization, which creates individual experiences for those groups, is especially important in the summer. Segmenting your database to send more relevant information is essential. 

For example, when Cyberimpact sends out an email featuring their latest webinar, they segment by industry to target small businesses, non-profits, or governments, depending on the content: there’s no sense in sending a webinar on how to drive more sales to government clients. During the summer, they’ve observed higher click-through rates—up 22 per cent—on educational resources, like free tool kits, compared to emails about product updates in the summer months. 

Personalization is a deeper dive into the individual. For example, Montreal’s bike share company Bixi could use personalization to figure out which recipients have families. Then, they can send out a promotion for a family bike pass. “It’s not worth sending that to people who don’t have a family,” Blanc explains. (One way to gather this information ahead of time is by leveraging quizzes or polls.) 

Related: Thinking About Launching a Business Newsletter? Here’s How Wealthsimple Did It

The takeaway? Stay consistent

While it’s tempting to take a break in the summer, email marketing efforts should continue during the off-season. Sending one email per month in the summer months is a good rule of thumb to keep brand awareness running. “Just because it’s your off-season doesn’t mean you should stop,” Blanc says. “Email marketing is going to bring a lot of value to your business.”