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“Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays" - nearly double the conversion rate.

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Re: “Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays" - nearly double the conversion rate.

#71

Post by wensing »

jrockway wrote: post #42
patio11 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I sold a few hundred dollars of BCC with an email whose subject line was "Merry Christmas from Bingo Card Creator" It went to somewhere like 1,500 teachers who had previously expressed an interest in playing educational bingo and asked for a monthly email newsletter reminding them about activities they would probably like. The content is pretty predictable: it is almost Christmas, you're busy, here's something which…

Like I said, I don't doubt that it's effective. I, 0.001% of your non-userbase, don't like it. I don't care if people spam my grandma. Just don't spam me !

I think his point is that at some point it isn't right to call it spam. Double opt-in mailing lists for a product or service that you enjoy isn't spam.

Re: “Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays" - nearly double the conversion rate.

#72

Post by ceejayoz »

electromagnetic wrote: post #56
ceejayoz wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm not religious, it's just the goddamn holiday. They're saying "Happy Holidays", not "Happy Holiday". There are all sorts of holidays in December, including New Years.

When was the last time you bought a new years present, or even card? Stores aren't selling new years, they're selling Christmas - hence the christmas trees they put up. I've yet to see 'Happy Holidays' when they're selling me Easter Eggs. So I grant your technicality but they're not using it that way given their own usage methods for multiple holidays. I'd understand this terminology more in British-speaking countrie…

> When was the last time you bought a new years present, or even card?

That doesn't stop it from being a holiday. I don't shop for Christmas presents at my grocery store, but they still put up decorations and wish me a Happy Christmas or Happy Holidays. Both are accurate, and neither rely on me buying stuff for said holidays.

> I've yet to see 'Happy Holidays' when they're selling me Easter Eggs.

There aren't multiple popularly celebrated holidays at Easter time, so it'd be inaccurate then.

> You can never be logical and politically correct...

[citation needed]

Re: “Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays" - nearly double the conversion rate.

#73

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

ugh wrote: post #60
electromagnetic wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The conversion rate could be much better because people rarely see Merry Christmas any more. I'd have bought something from Walmart if they just said 'Merry Christmas' over 'Happy Holidays'. I'm sorry, I'm not celebrating 'happy holidays' I'm celebrating mother fucking Christmas. I'm not religious, it's just the goddamn holiday. I don't say 'happy holidays' to a Jew, because it's flat out rude . They're Jewish, it's…

„Frohe Feiertage“ is the German equivalent to “Happy Holidays” (usually only referring Christmas and New Years because minorities play a much smaller role in German society) and I’m not aware of anyone who was ever offended by it. (I’m also not aware of anyone who was ever offended by „Frohe Weihnachten“, the German equivalent to “Merry Christmas”.) The local catholic priest will get very angry at Santa Claus but he…

I have to say that I have never met anyone who was offended by Merry Christmas. I'm an atheist and I hate "Happy holidays." I know what the holiday is: just say its name. My Druid ex-girlfriend would point out to me that it was a Christian usurpation of a pagan festival and then wish me Merry Christmas after the lecture :-)

I've known more people who were upset by "Merry Xmas" than anything else.

Re: “Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays" - nearly double the conversion rate.

#74

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

electromagnetic wrote: post #47
DannoHung wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So if it's before/during Hannukah and you're not sure if they're Jewish or not... Oh, and what if you're talking to a Pagan? Do you identify them by the sacrificial blood they are so clearly wearing?

I usually detect my Pagans with a divining rod, I find it the much more applicable way. Similarly I detect Jews by throwing ham at people and judging their reaction, it becomes a little difficult with the Arab Israelis, but you can judge them by carrying around a selection of Halal non-Kosher products. Note: This method isn't 100% accurate due to the lack of verified studies into the field of divination, and the fact…

Considering that the person who introduced me to bacon and garlic pizza was Jewish, I can attest that this method does not always work.

Re: “Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays" - nearly double the conversion rate.

#76

Post by electromagnetic »

ceejayoz wrote: post #72
electromagnetic wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When was the last time you bought a new years present, or even card? Stores aren't selling new years, they're selling Christmas - hence the christmas trees they put up. I've yet to see 'Happy Holidays' when they're selling me Easter Eggs. So I grant your technicality but they're not using it that way given their own usage methods for multiple holidays. I'd understand this terminology more in British-speaking countrie…

> When was the last time you bought a new years present, or even card? That doesn't stop it from being a holiday. I don't shop for Christmas presents at my grocery store, but they still put up decorations and wish me a Happy Christmas or Happy Holidays. Both are accurate, and neither rely on me buying stuff for said holidays. > I've yet to see 'Happy Holidays' when they're selling me Easter Eggs. There aren't multipl…

So Good Friday is no longer a holiday? Hmm, I'll notify the Church that the Christ's death is now irrelevant.

Re: “Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays" - nearly double the conversion rate.

#77

Post by ceejayoz »

electromagnetic wrote: post #76
ceejayoz wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> When was the last time you bought a new years present, or even card? That doesn't stop it from being a holiday. I don't shop for Christmas presents at my grocery store, but they still put up decorations and wish me a Happy Christmas or Happy Holidays. Both are accurate, and neither rely on me buying stuff for said holidays. > I've yet to see 'Happy Holidays' when they're selling me Easter Eggs. There aren't multipl…

So Good Friday is no longer a holiday? Hmm, I'll notify the Church that the Christ's death is now irrelevant.

Here in the States, it generally gets considered as part of the Easter holiday, for the same reasons the eight days of Hanukkah do, or New Years Eve and Day.

Re: “Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays" - nearly double the conversion rate.

#78

Post by saurik »

rorymarinich wrote: post #16
dkokelley wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People like the author of this post try to abuse my attention, and that is not OK with me. What does 'abuse my attention' mean to you? Is it unsolicited (spam) email, or just any form of marketing/promotion in general? This is an important point to address for startup founders who often rely on obtaining and nurturing attention relationships with their users.

When you email me, that means that you update one of the only two applications on my Dock that's programmed to show a number — and the other one is a To Do application. Is your email as important as my to-do list telling me what I've got due today? If not, don't send it. When you email me, that means you update one of the only three applications on my Phone that are enabled to show me a number — and the other two are…

(Doh! Despite actively checking, I see other people have made this point already: I must be way too tired and was scrolling in the wrong direction. Regardless, I think some of my comments are not jhst restatements.)

Dude: you chose to let email interrupt your flow. This is simply not how reasonable people use email: most people turn their computer on once a day or two and see if they have any email. When friends want to get a hold of them, they call them on the phone or maybe send a text message.

The question should not be "would you call me with this announcement", it should be "would you send me a piece of snail mail with this announcement". Seriously: when you insist that email be used in this manner /you/ are the person who is being the jackass.

I will also point out that letting friends interrupt you is also ludicrous. "Hey bill: next Thursday I'm thinking of going bowling; want to come?" should not force you to stop everything you are doug and drop out of flow. The next step is that you start going to your friends and yelling at them for forwarding you something they found funny and legitimately thought you would enjoy (and which most of their other friends also enjoyed).

Where does it end? This kind of email addiction is exactly what all of those "how to be happy and effective with your work" books spend most of their time trying to stamp out of you (as people who make their life around business and computers often fall into this trap).

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