Prep Your Holiday Campaigns in One Day

September 9, 2022/Marketing, New Images

hey-hey-hey, ho-ho-ho let's get those holiday campaigns good-to-go!

"But September is waayyy too early to be prepping for holiday campaigns..."

NOPE! Stop right there, brilliant lady! While you still might be mentally in April (we're right there with you) it's officially September and therefore the perfect time to start thinking about your holiday marketing campaigns and thinking through your holiday sale strategy.

But if the thought of all that holiday marketing work stresses and/or exhausts you - first off, we feel you. Among the million other to-do's on your plate each day, it's hard to set aside any time to focus on next week, let alone the next few months.

However, we're on a mission today to show you it doesn't have to be something you avoid doing or thinking about until the last minute. It doesn't even have to take more than one day. Yep, you heard that right. One. Day!

After all, whether you're an e-commerce or service-based business, the best holiday marketing strategies are well-thought-out and rooted in empathy.

Read on for four ways you can prep today to get those holiday marketing campaigns in great shape, so you aren't scrambling come November to throw something together.

1. Figure out what sale you’re running AND all of the details

Ask yourself these questions:

Will you participate in Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday, Giving Tuesday?
What would intrigue and grab attention from your target market? If you've run the same Black Friday promotion every year for the past 5, maybe consider surprising them with a Cyber Monday or free shipping deal instead.
Will you host different promos or sales for the different sale days? For example, will your Black Friday sale be drastically different than your Cyber Monday sale, or do you plan on running the exact same discount throughout? There’s no wrong or right way here - choose what makes the most sense for your business and operations.
How long will your sales run?
Which discount codes will you use?

We want to encourage you to really get down to the nitty-gritty here. If you can sit down for an hour and figure out all of these little details and create an action plan for getting the work done, we promise it will make a world of difference.

2. Collaborations

Reach out to people for joint post campaigns, gift guide partnerships, etc.

Don’t underestimate the power of social sharing during the holidays!

3. Think from your Customers Perspective

We believe all marketing should be rooted in empathy. If you approach your holiday campaigns with empathy, we truly believe you can't go wrong.

Here's a few questions to ask as you begin planning your campaigns in order to really get into the heart and mind of your customers:

What will they actually love to receive in terms of marketing?
Which emails, posts, videos, or content will inspire them to FEEL something?

If it helps, think about yourself as a customer of one of your favorite brands. What do YOU want to see from them? What would get you excited?

We think you'll be amazed at how this empathetic approach changes the game.

4. Add a day in your calendar (early November/late October) to create and plan out your holiday content. Use a scheduling platform like Later or Planoly to have this entirely ready to go without you having to think about it.

Don’t let this go unprioritized! You know you won’t post/email/market as much as you should unless you create the space for it now.

If you have a biz bestie, see if they want to do this together! Meet at a coffee shop or over Zoom for accountability (and it makes it way more fun. ;) )

Here's to holiday marketing that doesn't feel scary or hard or exhausting! Prepare now and we guarantee you won't regret it, friend.

Follow us on Instagram for more tips + ideas to work smarter, not harder this holiday season.