Small Biz Success Tips – Since 2012

Tag: holiday marketing ideas

5 Genius Holiday Marketing Ideas for Your Online Shop

Ready for some holiday marketing ideas? Did you know that searches for holiday gifts start as early as this month, so is your online shop ready?Holiday Marketing Ideas

Here are 5 marketing ideas from my Etsy Holiday Sales Planner that will help give your shop an advantage.

5 Genius Holiday Marketing Ideas
  • I always recommend posting on social media, curated content on How to Cook a Turkey, on the day before Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, as this is when searches for this phrase skyrocket. Make sure your shop name in on the graphic so if it gets shared, it can be traced back to you.
  • Have you created a one-page holiday gift guide featuring items in your shop and the gift recipients that they would be perfect for? Start including these flyers in all of your customer packages now.
  • Email is a large part of holiday marketing success, so it might be worth investing in some holiday theme email templates as well as adding call to action buttons in the email itself. 
  • Download a free holiday recipe card template, add in a favorite Christmas cookie recipe, and then brand the card with your business name, logo and url. Include in all customer packages as this is something they will keep, and pull out year after year, remembering your business.
  • Holiday Marketing IdeasAdd in a few holiday theme product photos, including ones featuring Elf on the Shelf. People will share on social media if it is cute enough, especially Etsy.
  • Discover more great ideas, planning tips, holiday SEO keywords and more in my Etsy Holiday Sales Planner. 
About Me

Do you need your Brand Story written or an SEO-Optimized Blog Post or a Personalized Business Consultation? As a 20+ year marketing professional and small business consultant, all of my services are super affordable.

I have consulted for thousands of small businesses since 2012, and my advice has been featured in the NY Times, Success Magazine, Yahoo Business, American Express, Big Commerce, Business2Community to name a few – so this is professional advice you can trust!

My Publicity Pitch service has also gotten my clients 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.Holiday Marketing Ideas

I also have a wide variety of business & marketing downloads you can check out at my Shopify store.

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©2020 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. 5 Genius Holiday Marketing Ideas. 

 

3 Marketing Ideas To Try To Get Holiday Shoppers

Marketing-ideas-holiday-shoppersThe big holiday shopping season is upon us.

If you need marketing ideas to get holiday shoppers into your retail store, then try these three marketing tactics and see if they bring in the buyers you are looking for.

1. Relook at How You Are Using Twitter

Please stop just tweeting out your products. It doesn’t work. Instead, create and then tweet out a Pinterest board, with a really attention grabbing title like Gifts for Men Who Have Everything (i.e.  and make sure a few of your products are amongst them). Use the trending hash tags #gifts, #Christmas, #Pinterest #BlackFriday and you’ll see better results. Use the camera icon in the bottom left corner of the Twitter box to include a photo of the board. Encourage people to RT.

marketing ideas holiday shoppers

2. Use the Senses to Draw Shoppers In

If you have a retail shop, place of business or are exhibiting at a show or event, draw people in ways you can’t always online. Through smell, sight, taste and sound. Decorate your store windows, door, signage, shopping mall cart, whatever you’ve got. It doesn’t have to be for Christmas, it can just even be for winter and it can be something quirky like Anthropologie using marshmallows as snow in the photo above (note: you can also use a cool window display to get publicity in your local paper). Have holiday music playing and piped out into the street (if allowed). Have some sort of amazing scent, whether it is food or a holiday scent like cinnamon luring them in. Hand out hot chocolate or pumpkin lattes with your business name on the cups. Bring the spirit and you’ll bring the shoppers.

marketing ideas holiday shoppers

Store Window at Anthropologie

3. Display Quirky Signage

People love funny, love quirky and they love quotes. Put up interesting signage that gets people talking, and in this case, are good calls to action. Sometimes people don’t need much convincing to buy something they probably don’t need, especially at those Black Friday sales (44% of Black Friday shoppers buy for themselves).

marketing ideas holiday shoppers

One of the best ways to drive endless, free and qualified traffic to your business is through a blog. If done correctly, over time, one blog post can bring anywhere from 2,000 to 20,000 visits a month. And SEO has proven to convert the highest into sales, more so than email, advertising or social media. I offer a blog writing service if interested!

Read more advice on my blog.

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© 2013 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Marketing ideas holiday shoppers. 

8 Creative Holiday Promotional Ideas for Your Online Shop

If you sell online and are looking for some creative marketing ideas to help increase holiday sales at your online shop, try some of these:

Don’t Just Promote Gift Ideas

Position your products not just as potential gifts, but also sell as part of the holiday experience. For example, include a fly-out on the product photo that says, “Ideal Christmas Party Outfit” or “For the Holiday Table” or “Perfect for Santa Photo”.

Offer a Flat Shipping Rate 

High shipping costs do turn customers away. However, if you can’t offer free shipping, then offer a “Holiday Flat Shipping Rate” such as $8 or $9.95. This way there are no surprises at checkout and no abandoned carts.

Screen shot 2013-12-08 at 7.31.57 PM

Add a Little Holiday Décor 

I love these animated “snowing” photos on West Elm’s site and the holly decorations at Ones Kings Lane.

Allow for the Creation of a Wish List 

Give customers the ability to make a wish list and email it to themselves or the potential gift giver. If you can’t do that, then encourage them to pin your products to their Christmas Gift Wish Board (if they don’t have one, you just gave them the idea).

Promote Gift Cards 

You should have a separate listing for a gift card and at the end of each product listing remind buyers again with either a link or icon that tells the buyer, “Can’t Decide? Go for our Gift Card, available here…”.

Holiday Promotional Ideas for Your Online Shop

Create Gift Inspiration Boards 

Get together with some other complimentary online stores (not competitive) and create a Gift Inspiration Board. Then all of you circulate it on your social media sites extending the reach of it even further.

Holiday Promotional Ideas for Your Online Shop

Gift Inspiration Board at Eat.Drink.Shop.Love

 Get Found on Social Media 

Use your hash tags when promoting your products on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and Pinterest such as #gift, #Christmas, #GiftForHer, etc.

Holiday Promotional Ideas for Your Online Shop

Remind Buyers of Less Obvious Recipients

Not all gifts are for him or her. There are a lot of searches such as, “gifts for boyfriend’s parents”, “gifts for Dad who has everything”, “gift for employees” (get those volume sales!), and “ideas for stocking stuffers”.

Holiday Promotional Ideas for Your Online Shop

About Me

Do you need your Brand Story written or an SEO-Optimized Blog Post or a Personalized Business Consultation? As a 20+ year marketing professional and small business consultant, all of my services are super affordable.

I have consulted for thousands of small businesses since 2012, and my advice has been featured in the NY Times, Success Magazine, Yahoo Business, American Express, Big Commerce, Business2Community to name a few – so this is professional advice you can trust!

My Publicity Pitch service has also gotten my clients 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.

More SEO Articles

 

 

 

© 2013 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Holiday Promotional Ideas for Your Online Shop

Pitch Your Products to be in Holiday Gift Guides NOW

holiday gift guide pitchesIt’s that time of year for holiday gift guide pitches.

Major magazines typically work about four months in advance. So in other words, right now they are planning their November issues, and a big part of any November issue is a holiday gift guide. So if you want your products to be included, you need to be pitching them to editors now (in late July).

When you pitch your products to be included in a gift guide, there are few things you need to include in your pitch:

  • Specify who the potential recipients could be, such as husband, wife, daughter, boss, teacher, etc.
  • Specify the price, as a lot of gift guides are categorized as such i.e. Gifts $25 and under, Gifts $25 to $50, etc.
  • Specify the type of person who would like it. For example, the Fashionista, the Fitness Buff, the Geek, the New Mom, etc.Holiday Gift Guide Pitches
  • Specify if the gift gives back (part of the proceeds go to charity, shop supports third world vendors, etc.)

Holiday issues are typically the most widely read issues of the year. So you can also pitch your products to be included in other aspects of the magazine’s holiday editorial. Consider these suggestions:

  • Decorating – Do you have products that work for holiday decor? Pitch those for decorating articles.
  • Entertaining – All those holiday parties require food, serve ware and table decor. Pitches those products for holiday entertaining articles.
  • Travel – The holidays are high travel times and magazines are always writing about products that make it easier. Pitches those for holiday travel articles.
  • Fashion – Maybe your products add to the perfect outfit to wear to a holiday party, Christmas day or New Year’s Eve. Pitch those for holiday fashion articles.
  • Cards – Holiday cards, as well as invitations to parties, house warmings, etc., are obviously in big demand. Pitch those for Holiday cards and invitation articles.
  • Photos – Everyone wants that family photo for the holiday card, so it’s a great time to promote any product that will enhance the photo i.e. special outfit for new baby, Santa hat for dog, Happy Holidays sign, etc. Pitch those for holiday photo articles.

Holiday sales are usually the biggest of the year for most businesses, so don’t wait until the last minute to plan for it, or you may be too late. There are over 80 holiday gift guide media contacts in my 2022 Etsy Holiday Planner digital download below. 

More Holiday Marketing Articles:Holiday Gift Guide Pitches

Check out my Etsy shop for marketing plans, planners and other downloads.

© 2013 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Holiday Gift Guide Pitches.