How to survive the summer slump and attract more customers

Don’t wait for autumn! Here’s what to do during the summer to maintain your sales levels and prepare for a successful year-end.

Summer often brings a dip in sales. Research shows that email open rates tend to drop between June and August as vacations and shifted schedules break daily routines. On top of that, competition in the inbox heats up with seasonal sales.

But don’t hit “pause” on your marketing. For many—like travel agencies, delivery services, and online schools—summer is actually peak season. The key is simply adapting your strategy.

Table of Contents

Reconnect with existing customers

Your current customers already trust you. They’re less busy in the summer, so it’s the perfect time to reach out, remind them of your brand, and see what they need right now.

For instance, run an email campaign for your current, valid contact list.

Important: Before sending, double-check that you have explicit consent and run a list validation if you haven’t sent anything in the last few months. In NiceSender, you can set up automatic consent collection using the subscription form on your website. Learn how to do this in our article.

Adapt your email strategy to summer mode

Don’t increase your email frequency in the summer to compensate for seasonal drops—that’s a quick way to trigger spam filters. Instead, use a systematic approach:

• Simplify your content: Attention spans are shorter now. Keep your emails visually light with one clear Call to Action (CTA). Save long, complex messages for the high season.
• Stay consistent: Keep to the frequency your audience expects. If you don’t have big news, don’t force it—it’s better to skip a mailing than to send one just for the sake of it. A “just-to-send” email without a clear value proposition, promotion, or useful content only risks harming your sender reputation. If you’re struggling for ideas, check our blog post “32 Infopods for Your Email Campaigns in July“. If you still don’t have anything worth sharing, it is better to take a break than to clutter your subscribers’ inboxes.
• Use the “Didn’t open the email” filter: To reach those who missed your email due to the summer bustle, send a follow-up 24–48 hours after the initial campaign. Use the “Didn’t open the email” filter to select only those who didn’t open your first campaign. Always use a fresh subject line and preheader for this follow-up to grab their attention.

Spot the difference: Slump vs. Loss of Interest

A drop in open rates doesn’t always mean your audience is bored. Check your NiceSender dashboard for the last 3–6 months:

• The “Active Core”: These are your regulars who paused in June. They haven’t left; they’re just on vacation. Keep communicating with them—they’ll likely bounce back by September.
• “Dormant” contacts: If they haven’t engaged since winter, they’ve lost interest. Resending to them just hurts your reputation. Instead, launch a short re-engagement sequence (2–3 emails). If there’s still no reaction, it’s time to say goodbye and remove them from your active list.

Focus on professional development

Summer is the ideal time for experiments that fall off your radar during the “high” season. Use this period to test hypotheses and sharpen your strategy:

• Test new subject lines: Experiment with short, intriguing topics. Evaluate what yields the best Open Rate in your niche during the summer.
• Simplify your design: Mobile internet can be unstable for subscribers traveling or away from the city. Try to make your emails visually lighter: use minimal graphics, replace large images with clear text blocks, and ensure your CTA is visible even if images aren’t loaded.
• Invest in your skills: Enhance your expertise, engage in product development, and generate new, bold ideas for the upcoming year.

Stay connected across multiple channels

Summer is a great time to build consistency, not just in email, but across other channels. If you’ve taken a break from social media, start posting now at a steady, calm pace.

By autumn, when buyer activity picks up, your audience will be “warmed up” and loyal to your brand. These consistent, small efforts now will pay off with higher sales during the high season.

Host webinars

Webinars are an effective way to expand your client base during the summer, especially for service-based businesses: online education, accounting, legal services, consulting, and marketing. If you use webinars to share your expertise, it’s a powerful tool to stay connected with your audience.

How do webinars attract clients in the summer?

Summer webinars allow you to engage busy clients who have a problem your business can solve, but they lack the time or motivation for a traditional meeting with you. By hosting a webinar, you offer potential clients a chance to learn more about what you do and how you can help them.

For example:

You’re a management consultant. Instead of persistently trying to secure meetings with a few high-level decision-makers, you can record a short webinar lasting 10–30 minutes. In the video, showcase a few slides and discuss how you’ve assisted others in similar situations.

Then ask potential clients if they would like to join you for a live session or watch the recorded version of the webinar. All you need to do is:

• record your “presentation” using screen-sharing and recording software like Google Meet, Zoom, or any other option;
• upload the video to your YouTube channel;
• share the link with the audience in email campaign.

Set goals for the fourth quarter

Establish goals for the autumn and winter, and create a plan to achieve them.

Write down affirmations and goals that outline how much you plan to earn, what goals you are going to accomplish, and how you will feel after you accomplish it all.

Fear holds you back, while dreams push you towards achievements. Start smiling every day, feeling satisfied that you are taking steps toward what you planned.

Use the summer to create a clear and positive vision for the remaining part of the year, and let it inspire you to achieve your goals.

Nourish your mind

Read books that inspire and motivate you, teaching you new things.

You likely have a list of uplifting reads that you’ve been meaning to tackle. Choose one book and commit to reading at least a page a day or more. This way, you’ll be making progress toward your goals.

Sum up

Summer is the perfect time to prepare your business for the high season. Consistent communication, combined with relevant content in your emails and webinars, will help you maintain your current customer flow and set the stage for growth.

By adopting this approach, you will enter the busy season ahead with a solid strategy and a loyal audience ready to buy.