Happy Hanukkah Email Best Practices for Ecommerce

Hanukkah is right around the corner!

Sent by Lake Champlain Chocolates

While giving presents for Hanukkah is a fairly new tradition, giving gelt—coins—isn’t. The act represents the independence of the Jewish community after the Maccabees defeated the Greeks and rebuilt the Jewish temple in Jerusalem around 200 B.C.

Today, gelt is given in the form of wrapped chocolate coins just like the ones Lake Champlain promotes to its subscribers. The chocolate store warns the recipient that now is the time to order chocolates (“Hanukkah starts in 12 days!”) and repeats this warning more explicitly at the bottom of its email, where it mentions that it can’t guarantee delivery dates due to increased order volume.

In terms of content, Lake Champlain doesn’t just link directly to its store. It also includes a Hanukkah Gift Guide for those who don’t want to instantly hit the “shop” CTA button.

The gold, blue, and white colors of the email are typical for the Hanukkah color pallet.

A sustainable festival of lights ✨

Sent by Made Trade

Families celebrate Hanukkah together for eight days straight. That involves a lot of eating. Made Trade helps its subscribers set the table by presenting them with a curated selection of Hanukkah-themed tableware and decorations. Each item has its own call to action that leads directly to the product page, but the email also contains a link to Made Trade’s decor guide for those who want to browse around a bit more.

And because Made Trade sells more than just tableware, the brand is able to create a Hanukkah gift guide as well and link to products that would make great Hanukkah gifts. This email is a great example of how you can double help your audience— and sell more—by helping them organize the festivities and helping them find presents.

Last Chance for Thanksgiving & Hanukkah Orders ✨

Sent by Jacques Torres Chocolate

The winter holiday season is email marketing prime time. If you want to avoid annoying your subscribers with too many emails, consider bundling different holiday messages into one email when it makes sense.

In 2021, Thanksgiving fell on November 25, and Hanukkah started on November 28. It made sense for Jacques Torres Chocolate to send its subscribers one email to let them know that if they wanted to get their chocolates in time for both holidays, they had to order “today.” Both the email subject line (“Last Chance for Thanksgiving & Hanukkah Orders”) and the email copy induce a sense of urgency, while the orange “shop now” button is hard to miss.

Jacques Torres also does a good job at presenting Thanksgiving and Hanukkah favorites, knowing these are the products that are most likely to make its subscribers click.

The Hanukkah countdown is on 🕎

Sent by Mixology Clothing Co

Coming up with eight different gifts, perhaps for multiple people, is no easy feat. Mixology knows this and so it put together this email gift guide with gift recommendations “for the homebody”, new homeowners, girls who like unique gifts, and other types of people. And if the shopper still isn’t sure what to get their loved ones, they can always opt for a gift card.

The email’s layout focuses on Hanukkah with its blue and gold colors, but it also has a countdown timer that includes Christmas and Kwanzaa, an African-American holiday. This makes it a little more inclusive in case the email lands in the inbox of someone who doesn’t celebrate Hanukkah.

Celebrate and SAVE BIG on Hanukkah!

Sent by Kid Made Modern

If your audience consists of parents, help them through Hanukkah by giving them ideas of things to do with their kids. Even better if those things require the products you’re selling. That’s the approach Kid Made Modern takes with this email. While the brand stays true to its colorful color scheme, the blue CTA buttons and product images enhance the Hanukkah feel of the email.

The one color that truly pops out is the red of the “50% off” label and the word “save.” The message here is not just to get crafting during the Festival of Lights, but to save money at the same time.

8 nights of Hanukkah happiness

Sent by MacKenzie Childs LLC

This email by MacKenzie-Childs takes the gift guide strategy a step further. Written as if coming from the brand’s Director of Creative Services, it presents one gift for each of the holiday’s nights. Many of the recommendations fit the Hanukkah theme as they come in the colors gold, blue, and/or white. Through the copy and by including Raina’s photo, the recommendations get a personal touch—and we all know people are more likely to follow other people’s recommendations than those coming directly from a brand.

Hanukkah celebrations begin today!

Sent by Hickory Farms

When Hanukkah starts, send your subscribers a Happy Hanukkah email. You can still promote your products, like Hickory Farms does in this email, but lead with your recognition of the holiday and wishes for your audience. Hickory Farms does this well, with a funny Hanukkah-themed hero image that showcases some of its products, an email design that features the Hanukkah blue, and relevant gift recommendations for last-minute shoppers.