Tag: marketing ideas for online stores

Holiday Product Ideas for Your Online Shop

September 20, 2016 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

by Gail Oliver, Online Marketing Consultant

Are you ready to be inspired? My post today is definitely going to get you thinking! Christmas is the biggest buying season of the year, and, as an online shop, it provides you with new selling opportunities, particularly for holiday and Christmas-related products. Here are some ideas to consider:

holiday-products-ideas-for-your-online-shop

Christmas Decor Products

Think about all the places people want to decorate for Christmas. Beyond the obvious such as the holiday table, the mantle, the door, the tree and the exterior of the home, also realize that kids want to decorate their bedrooms, teens want to decorate their lockers, college students want holiday décor for their dorm rooms, and a lot of people want Christmas in every room of the house from the kitchen to the bathroom. Another hot trend is office cubicle decorating parties to bring a little festive fun to the workplace.

Holiday Card Photos

People are planning now for their holiday card photo, so they are looking for coordinating hats and outfits and they want a cool card design. Even if they don’t have a formal photo planned, just think of how people will be documenting every little aspect of Christmas day on Instagram. Holiday-related photography props could be huge!

Christmas Flavors & Scents

I think (and hope) the Pumpkin Spice Latte trend will start to fall off after this year because it is getting a little old, but Christmas does offer you opportunities to add flavors and scents to your products if applicable – gingerbread, candy cane, sugar cookie, christmas cookie, peppermint, eggnog, fruitcake, mulled wine, cranberry, nutmeg, eucalyptus, white spruce and apple cider are all the hot ones, but try combining two or more to really be unique. Peppermint Cranberry Eggnog anyone?

Christmas Fashion

Now, there is tasteful Christmas fashion, such as outfits needed for the holiday photo or something stylish to wear to the office party, and there is also the more whimsical Christmas fashion where everyone in the family wants to be draped in something with a Christmas theme (for those photos mentioned above). From ugly Christmas sweaters for your dog to “My First Christmas” baby bibs to light up Christmas tree earrings to family Christmas onesies – stretch your imagination to see if you can come up with the next hot fashion item for the holidays that is sure to attract press and attention on social media.

Christmas Movies and Songs

Quotes from classic movies and Christmas carols will once again find themselves emblazed across everything from napkins to t-shirts to mugs to phone cases. Which of your products could feature a memorable Christmas phrase?

Christmas Nostalgia

If you sell vintage, you still have plenty of opportunities at the holidays because people love reminders of their childhood Christmas. So dig up or even reinvent as many popular holiday items from Christmas past including vintage Christmas ornaments, art, cards, dinnerware, elves and toys.

Christmas Weddings

Wedding shops, these will be busy months for you as well as brides who are having a Christmas wedding will be shopping in October and November for Christmas place cards, Christmas cake toppers, Christmas pew bows and Christmas wedding programs.

Hanukkah and Kwanzaa Celebrations

Obviously not everyone celebrates Christmas and there are millions of people celebrating Hanukkah (December 24 to January 1) and Kwanzaa (December 26 to January 1st), so you may want to consider adding unique items reflecting these celebrations to your shop as well.

If you need creative ideas on how to market your shop for holiday buyers, including new products to add, try my 30-Minute Phone Consultation and I’ll come up with a ton of ideas! Be sure to also get my October Marketing Plan, which includes a Holiday Shop Checklist!

My Marketing Tips for Your Online Shop Post Black Friday

November 30, 2015 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

If you are looking to drive traffic and sales to your online shop, here are a few things to try this week.

Marketing To Do List for December 1 to 7

Thank all customers who bought from you on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday by emailing them a coupon for use in January.
Pantone introduces their color of the year on Wednesday and it always trends big on social media. Be ready on social media with any products you offer that match the color they announce.
Send out pitches to print media now for Easter editorial (for fashion, decorating, entertaining, etc.)
Follow all new customers on their social media sites and add them to your email list.
Run a one-day $25 Facebook ad for gift ideas based on products in your shop.
Respond to any relevant Help a Reporter Out (HARO) media requests.
Submit an entry in Instagram’s Weekend HashTag Project and comment on all entries.
Kindly ask friends and family to post a favorite product from your shop to their social media pages.
Trending hash tags to capitalize on this week: #NationalPieDay (Dec 1), #GivingTuesday (Dec 1), #NationalCookieDay (Dec 4), #SantasListDay (Dec 4), #Hanukkah (Dec 6), #MondayMotivation, #ThursdayThoughts, #FridayFeeling, #gifts, #gift, #giftideas.

Also to Read:

©2015 Gail Oliver, Attention Getting Marketing. All rights reserved.

3 Marketing Ideas to Try on Pinterest

December 2, 2013 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

Today I have three Pinterest marketing ideas to try.

Pinterest is a great social media site for driving traffic to your online store.

Traffic on the site has never been higher, especially this time of year with people searching for holiday recipes, gift ideas and decorating ideas.

So take advantage and brush up on your Canvas skills to create engaging and SEO-optimized pins that can essentially act as free ads for your business.

Here are three ideas:

1. Create a Pin Describing Who Needs Your Product

One Kings Lane is great at creating “pinnable” images. This one is promoting why you should consider buying a bow tie for the men on your list (you will have to make this pin horizontal and put the text on the bottom in order to work on Pinterest). You can use other text with the image, like a quote or a customer review.

2. Create a Pin Announcing a Sales at Your Shop

What better way to announce a sale then to pin it for all your followers to see, like this one from West Elm? What is key here is to ask all of your followers to “Re-Pin”.

3. Create a Pin of a Gift Guide Showcasing Your Products

Take photos of a variety of your products and arrange them into a collage for an overall image (like this one from Bauble Bar). Then pin. In the comments, be sure to include hash tags #gifts #gift ideas #gifts for women, etc.

Pinterest is a great medium for driving traffic to your shop, you just have to make sure to stand out among the all the images, and these ideas will help.

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.

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