We’re sharing six of the most common winery email marketing mistakes, so you can keep your revenue flowing instead of getting ghosted by your sales.
It’s SCARY how fast you can kill your winery’s holiday email momentum. If you’re not careful, these frightful tactics will haunt your revenue all OND (October, November, December) long.
👻 1. Leaning on Clichés
Zombie subject lines like “Get Boo-zy with Us” or pumpkin clip art from 2005 make your emails feel stale, not seasonal. Your audience scrolls right past.
Fix it: Tell a story that ties back to your brand. Use real winery moments: harvest highlights, winemaker favorites, or behind-the-scenes prep for the holidays. Storytelling brings your campaigns back to life.
👉 Pro tip: Add a human touch with “meet the maker” or “holiday pairings” instead of tired puns. If storytelling is the muscle you want to build, start with how to write winery emails with purpose.
🧟♂️ 2. Blasting Instead of Segmenting
Sending the same discount to everyone on your list is like haunting the wrong house. Your club members, first-time buyers, and brand-new subscribers deserve different treatment.
Fix it: Segment your list by:
- Purchase history (reds vs. whites)
- Club status
- Location (ship vs. pickup availability)
Segmentation keeps your message relevant, and keeps your subscribers from unsubscribing. New to it? Start with the three segments every winery needs.
👉 Inside the Email Tasting Room: You’ll find a Black Friday / Cyber Monday Success Kit with templates ready for your data.
🧛 3. Panic Discounting
When sales look slow, it’s tempting to yell “50% off!” That’s the vampire draining your margins. Deep discounts devalue your brand and train your customers to wait for sales.
Fix it: Bundle instead of slash. Add complimentary tasting notes, gift packaging, or member perks instead of discounting. Your emails should feel premium, not desperate.
💡 Try this phrasing: “Your loyalty deserves a little something extra. Enjoy complimentary shipping on your holiday bundle.”
🧟♀️ 4. Campaign Clutter
When you cram every SKU, event, and announcement into one email, you create a monster. It may be stitched together, but it’s confusing.
Fix it: Pick your hero product and make it shine. Use a single, clear CTA button per email (“Shop the Holiday Bundle”) and move secondary content into follow-ups or P.S. lines.
🪄 Remember: Clarity converts. Chaos confuses.
🪦 5. Ignoring Timing & Shipping Cutoffs
This ghost haunts wineries every December. If you promote “last-minute gifts” after your ground shipping cutoff, customers get disappointed, and you eat rush fees.
Fix it: Build your email calendar around actual shipping deadlines. Start early. Then plan a final “last-chance” send that highlights pickup or e-gift options.
🕯️ 6. Forgetting the Follow-Through
Sending one email and calling it a day? That’s silence from the graveyard. Your campaigns need a three-act play:
- Launch
- Resend to nonresponders
- Final reminder (“last chance”)
Fix it: Map your sequence before you hit send. Automate resends based on engagement, and track which offers convert.
🧩 Inside Mavens On Demand, you’ll learn how to plan and automate your campaigns without the overwhelm.
🍷 Why This Matters
Email remains the highest-ROI marketing channel in the wine industry. Top-performing winery brands focus on segmentation, personalization, and creative consistency. Not sending more. Sending smarter.
Your OND strategy should nurture customers, not spook them. This is where smart storytelling and clear offers win the sale (and protect your profit). For the full season plan, pair this with the nine holiday campaigns that sell more wine.
FAQs about scary email tactics
What’s the worst email mistake wineries make during the holidays?
Panic discounting. It sacrifices margin in the exact quarter when demand is highest, and it trains your best customers to wait for the sale instead of buying at release.
How do I create urgency without fake countdown timers?
Use deadlines that are actually real: shipping cutoffs, limited case counts, club allocation windows. Honest urgency converts better and doesn’t burn trust when subscribers see the same “last chance” three weeks running.
Is it okay to resend an email to people who didn’t open it?
Yes, once, with a new subject line, to engaged segments. It’s one of the easiest revenue lifts available. Resending unchanged to your whole list is how you end up in the promotions tab permanently.
🎁 Ready to Fix Your Winery’s Email Strategy?
If you’re ready to ditch the scary stuff and sell more wine this season:
👉 Get MOD: weekly coaching, templates, and strategy built for wineries.
Need a little more holiday help? 🎁 Pour a glass and binge the Email Mavens Q4 Holiday Playlist, packed with winery-tested tips for your Black Friday and Cyber Monday campaigns.
Stop letting your campaigns haunt your bottom line. It’s time to resurrect your OND strategy, one smart send at a time.
