august marketing ideas Archives

august marketing to do list Hard to believe August starts on Monday, so prepare your small business with my Marketing to do list August.

Back to School

If you sell anything back-to-school-related, the searches have already started. According to Google Trends, these were the top searches this past week:

“Back to School events near me” has increased over 100%.
“Back to School haircuts” and “Back to School cookie cutters” searches have both more than doubled.
“Bento boxes” searches have increased over 250%.

And the top back to school products are:

Mesh Backpacks
Clear Pencil Cases
Storage for College Dorms
Twin XL Mattress Protector
Bed Risers
Shower Caddy

Labor Day Sales Publicity

If you get the free HARO (Help a Reporter Out) emails, you will see that there have been several requests in the past week from major blogs and publications looking to feature Labor Day Sales. It’s a great way to get free publicity for your sale, and “Labor Day Sale” is one of the top searched sales of the year. Also read: Labor Day Sales Opportunity.

More PR Opportunities

If you’re a hispanic-owned business, start pitching to blogs now to be included in articles such as, “Hispanic Small Businesses to Support for National Hispanic Heritage Month”, which starts September 15th.

SEO Tips

Something as simple as adding the current year to your keywords can help your SEO, as people do search this way. i.e. Fall 2022, Back to School 2022, Halloween 2022, etc.

Create Social Media Posts

Post a reel to Instagram (as it is the most viewed type of content) of a quick pan overview of all of your new fall 2022 collection #reelsofinstagram.

Don’t forget about Pinterest, because it is still used as a search engine by millions of people. So create a Pinterest board titled with a long tail search phrase (4 to 6 words) related to what you sell and even make it seasonal i.e. The Best Fall Sweaters for 2022. Then make sure that every pin you pin to it, also has that long tail search phrase (or at least the keywords) in the pin title and description.

Be sure to read my post, Social Media Ideas for August, and my post Creating Social Media Posts Using Canva.

Halloween Products & Services

Halloween has become the second biggest retail buying occasion. Last year, spending on costumes, decorating and other Halloween items was more than US$10 billion. In fact, it is so big that many retailers have already launched their Halloween collections, which might inspire you:

More Marketing To Do Lists

My 12-Month Marketing Plans are essentially marketing to do lists, but much more detailed and specific to your business. They will help drive more traffic and sales, without spending a lot of money. Be sure to also read my post, My Top Marketing Ideas for August.

Prepare for Holiday Sales

Click to download

If you sell on Etsy, download my best-selling 2022 Etsy Holiday Sales Planner, packed with the top search phrases, product trends, planning tools, press contacts and so much more!

Me in the Press!

I was quoted in an article on Yahoo Finance called, “4 Types of Businesses to Start in the Fall“. Check it out for more inspiration!

About Me

A 20+ year marketing professional, small business consultant, ebook author & blogger, my advice has been featured in the NY Times, Forbes, Success Magazine, Yahoo Finance, American Express, GO Banking Rates, Big Commerce, Business2Community, SheKnows to name a few – so this is professional advice you can trust!

I sell online on Shopify, Etsy, Gumroad and on Amazon back in its early years. This, combined with my decades of marketing & business experience means I can advise, mentor as well as come up with creative new ideas for your business. It really does help to talk to someone who is objective to get a new, but professional, perspective.

I have also written publicity pitches for clients that resulted in them being featured in Real Simple Magazine, Apartment Therapy, House Beautiful, Vanity Fair, Houzz, Martha Stewart, Glamour Magazine, LONNY, DesignMilk, Emmaline Bride – just to name a few. Be sure to try my Publicity Pitch and other Marketing Services.

I hope you enjoyed my marketing to do list for August.

by Gail Oliver, Online Marketing Consultant

My Tactical Marketing Planner for August is out now, and if you are having trouble getting traffic and sales at your online shop, and just don’t have a lot of time to spend on promotion, this downloadable, printable planner is for you (keep reading for BONUS offer)!

August is all about Back to School, Going off to College, End of Summer Clearance and early Fall shopping – all opportunities your online shop needs to take advantage of, and my tactical marketing planner will help you do just that.

I start off with my list of daily tasks that I want you to do this month, including unique opportunities only an insider knows about! These tasks include some of my proven secrets, as well as publicity, advertising and promotional opportunities. Doing these tactics just for 30 minutes a day will really help drive traffic to your online shop.

Then I give a daily social media “to do” including all of this month’s hot trending topics you can really take advantage of to be part of the conversation on social media and get your shop seen.

Finally, I include a variety of very useful worksheets because you need to measure your marketing efforts. These worksheets will keep your marketing organized and focused and allow you to measure the value of your efforts. Time is money so you don’t want to waste time on tactics that are not working. 10 pages in all.

As usual, I offer it at an amazing price of just $7!

I have two planners. One is for independent online shops and the other is for Etsy shops. If you have both an independent shop and an online shop, the Etsy one is best for you.

BONUS OFFER: If you pin the graphic above (and let me know you did) when you order the August planner, I will send you July’s planner for FREE that included 40 media contacts for print holiday gift guides.

Important! Holiday Gift Guides Submissions

Due to a number of requests, I’m offering a pitch writing service just until August 25th, as now is the time to be pitching your products to the PRINT media for their annual holiday gift guides. I’ll write a compelling pitch email for you to send along with your product submission. I will even advise you on the product I think has the best chance. I have written pitches for customers that got their products in the holiday gift guides for Real Simple, Vanity Fair, House Beautiful, LONNY, and more. Keep in mind, this NOT a guarantee of publicity, this is up to the magazine’s editorial team. You can purchase my Holiday Gift Guide pitching service ($39) here.