As the year comes to a close, more and more of your subscribers will be starting to turn on their out-of-office replies. You may find they are harder to reach, and when you do get them to open your emails, their commitment to purchase is a little less than favourable.

This is normal, especially after a big Black Friday period. Many customers are recovering, planning for their annual leave and likely already have most of the Christmas gifts they need. Trying to force sales on customers as they are packing their suitcases for a holiday can feel like fighting a losing battle. So, does this mean you go email-quiet for a few weeks until normality comes back?

This is your time to build customer loyalty, so your customers are thinking about you, even at the very back of their minds. This fosters loyalty that can turn into a purchase come 2027.

We have suggested, in previous blogs, that one way to do this is via educational emails. But does it all have to be an endless cycle of information dumping until mid-January? No. Another way to build this loyalty, while still appreciating that customers may not want to shop, is through a summary email.

What is a Summary Email?

A summary email at the end of the year is exactly what it sounds like. You summarise the year that was, everything you achieved and everything to come in 2027. We recommend a more personal approach on this one, and prefer to write these summary emails in first person from our founder, as they feel more intimate.

The idea is to bring customers into your world, if only for a few minutes. It thanks them for their support, recognises shared challenges (which can humanise your brand) and guarantees some excitement for the year to come.

What Should a Summary Email Include?

Summary emails will be different from brand to brand. Typically, the general structure that most follow as a starting point includes:

Together, these turn a quiet end-of-year inbox moment into something that deepens the relationship, no hard sell required.