Create Powerful Marketing Campaigns this Fall

Just this week we started to feel it — the air is turning crisp and before we know it, the leaves will be turning golden. And for seasonal businesses, that can only mean one thing. 

Holiday Campaigns are almost here. 

For those of us who are what I like to call "Q4 Reliant" — this next season can be a make or break for our businesses. Whether you're a product designer who sells most of their product for holiday sales, or a service-based business who makes most of your revenue during October through December, you know both the pressures and challenges that the holiday season can bring:

• There's lots of online noise during the months of Oct, Nov and December
• Folks are busy with shopping and parties, meaning they're paying less attention to inboxes
• Speaking of inboxes, most of ours are stuffed with offers and sales from brands
• The quarter is really only 10 ten weeks, once you take out all of the vacation times

 

Q4 is a time to get really strategic with your marketing

Here are our top tips of how you can create powerful marketing this fall:

 

GET ORGANIZED

KNOW YOUR DATES: Especially if you are working with a physical product, getting organized with an editorial calendar is incredibly important. You'll need to know some pretty important dates:

• Date that you get product in hand
• Date that you'll have any product imagery in hand
• Date that your cart opens
• Date that any sales start
• Last shipping date Internationally
• Last shipping date the US

KNOW YOUR GOALS: All of this information should be laid out in a calendar well in advance. You'll also want to be clear about what your sales goals are this fall season, and how you're going to support those goals with blog, newsletter and social media content. 

OUTLINE EMAIL CAMPAIGNS

Once you have your dates lined up and your goals written, you need to walk through which emails you'll be sending. You'll want to be clear about the call-to-action on each email, ensuring that it backs into your sales goals. 

You'll want to be highlighting products or offerings that you're looking for promote this season, along with any key questions or barriers to purchasing that your customers might have. 

CUT THROUGH NOISE WITH VALUE

Fourth quarter is loud and it can be difficult to stand out from everyone else's message. The way you can cut through the noise is to focus on being helpful.  In fact, we recommend that every step of your campaign you stop and ask yourself, "Why am I doing this?"

Making the most of holiday campaigns isn't about adding to the stress and noise, it's about making intentional steps to share in a meaningful way. Don't send emails or post to Instagram stories just because you "should" be doing it. Think about what your customer actually NEEDS, and create meaningful content to support them.

GET A BIG PICTURE PLAN (OR A PARTNER)

If creating an end-to-end holiday plan makes you want to barf a little, there's good news — we can help with that! We're opening a new offering for makers and Q4 reliant businesses to hold your hand every month through Q4, called The Golden Holiday Bundle.  

We'll meet with you in October, November and December to set goals, make editorial calendars, and brainstorm content throughout the month. We'll check in on metrics, and make adjustments. 

If you need a holiday campaign partner, head on over to our Golden Holiday Bundle page and book your sessions!