We’re well into the fourth quarter now. Your holiday marketing plans should be going strong.
If you’re still looking for inspiration, though, here are some holiday ideas to get your creative wheels spinning. A few are worth implementing right away.
10 Holiday Marketing Ideas to Inspire
Monster Halloween Blow-out
You don’t have to sell costumes to clean up at Halloween. Tap into the fun, and offer a special discount on whatever you sell.
Fall Clearance
You can use any excuse for a clearance: the change of seasons, the turning of the leaves, your favorite time of year, or anything else you can think of. But this particular promotions works well if you sell seasonal products.
Thanksgiving Special
Why not hold a special sale just to say thanks to your loyal customers. You could offer a special discount to your best customers or make it available to everyone.
Or turn it around. As a token of your thanks, give a special gift to your fans and followers.
Black Friday Doorbusters
No explanation needed here. But why not get an early start? Ask people to sign up now to receive emails and tweets about your Black Friday specials. Of course, you can let them know about other sales as well.
Here’s how Best Buy is doing it.
And this example is from Home Depot.
Cyber Monday Sale
As with Black Friday, let people know in advance what specials will be available. Walmart’s approach is similar to Best Buy and Home Depot, but it looks much better.
12 Days of Christmas
As a unique promotion this year, consider discounting a different product each day of the holiday season. It could be as simple as this ad, dressed up with holiday-style.
Before Christmas, ask people to sign up for your Deal-of-the Day email list. During the promotion, each day, update the link on your website and send an email to your list, promoting that day’s special deal.
NOTE: When uploading this article, I noticed a typo in the subhead of this section. I corrected it, but only after thinking twice about it. The typo has style and might actually be usable. Give it a try if it fits your campaign: !2 Days of Christmas.
Winter Solstice Sale.
As I mentioned above, you can use any reason for a promotion, and this one is proof positive.
If you can make a connection between your business and a special time of year, consider turning it into an event. Natural Spaces Domes makes use of Winter Solstice, like this.
Christmas Eve or Christmas Day Sales.
Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, it’s a great time to sell to forgetful or time-strapped shoppers looking for last-minute gifts.
If you want to get an early start, offer a deal that’s too good to pass up, like this one from Winter Park Lodging.
Or do as Halfords and announce your last-minute deals early.
Year-end Closeout.
Don’t forget to clear out your inventory with a year-end closeout sale. You can follow Toyota of Orlando’s example and frame your sale as a celebration. (Feel free to leave off the hype.)
New Year Specials.
Everyone is offering specials and discounts this time of year. Stand out by doing something unique. In this promotion, Red Earth put just 14 items on sale for the 2014 New Year. What 15 items could you promote for 2015.
What inspiring ideas would you like to share?
Whether you sell physical products, digital products or services, the holidays are a great time of year to build your list and move products. After all, people are eager to buy this time of year. The challenge is to do more than create coupons or slash prices.
What holiday marketing ideas have worked well for you?
