We get it.

Every year it seems like the Holiday season starts earlier and gets louder. But there is a good reason. The upcoming season is “make or break” for many ecommerce businesses.

Another thing that happens is too many businesses wait until the holiday season is in full swing before solidifying their promo lineup. And because of this, they miss their chance at hitting an ROI homerun. 

Simply slapping some holiday-themed banners on what you already have is doing your business a disservice. It’s just…not enough these days. Taking full advantage of the most important season for revving up revenues and profits to close out the year strong means getting started NOW. 

So, as the sun starts to set on the summer season, here is a taste of what you need to be doing to prepare, execute, and reap the benefits as soon as the holidays set in. 

Plan Your Holiday Calendar NOW

Before you can take action—you need a plan of action. 

So, start by pinpointing which holidays to focus on, and then you can proceed with your strategy. 

Core holidays to consider include (but are not limited to) Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Hanukkah. Then you’ve got the purchasing holidays that surround those. Your list might include Black Friday, Gray Thursday, Cyber Monday, and Small Business Saturday—not to mention all the weeks in between! 

So let’s take Christmas as an example. A straightforward plan of attack for promotions may look something like this:

– Black Friday Deals 

– Cyber Monday Deals 

– Week of Christmas Final Promo Push

– Post-Christmas NYE Promotion

Okay, now you need to break out what is going to drive the success of each campaign. Here is a simplified example:

– Black Friday Deals: Amazon promotion, Google ads, Facebook Ads, email campaign 

– Cyber Monday Deals: Amazon promotion, Google ads, Facebook ads, email campaign 

– Week of Christmas Final Promo Push: Facebook ads, email campaign, SMS text, website holiday branding

– Post-Christmas NYE Promotion: Follow-up email campaign, on-site NYE countdown, Facebook ads

Look at you! You have the what and the how; now comes the most important part—the when: 

When your campaign needs to launch and when you need to start building all of your promos, messaging, and testing to get it ready to go. 

For example, your Facebook Ads planning might look like this for Black Friday (BF): 

– 8 weeks to BF: Create messaging for new Facebook ad testing

– 5-7 weeks to BF: Launch ad testing phase for product & promo effectiveness 

– 4 weeks to BF: Ad creatives have been tested & data collected

– 3 weeks to BF: All Facebook ads created & ready to launch

– 2 weeks to BF: Launch “Deals Not To Miss – Round 1”

– Thanksgiving Week: Launch “Deals Not To Miss – Round 2″

– Black Friday is here!

To succeed, you need to start planning now. Start with where you want to go (and by when) and then work backward to see what it will take to get you there. 

Test Your Facebook Ads NOW

Speaking of testing your way to achieving your goals—if you are planning on running Facebook ads for the holiday season, now is the time to begin. 

You have a variety of options to choose from beyond just switching up your campaigns. 

Last year we launched a smorgasbord of new paid and organic campaign types like daily deals, week-long “holi-deals,” and remarketing campaigns. 

Each is its own tactic that ties into the bigger strategy. Here are just some of the considerations you should have in the back of your mind:

– What products sold best last year?

– What overstock do you need to unload?

– What messaging and promo codes are you using?

– What ad creatives (e.g., live video) will take the most time?

– What new vs. returning customer campaigns should you run?

You need to review last year’s wins and losses and complete enough testing (this year) to know what the right mix will be. Do your customers convert higher with a discount code or a free shipping offer? Are your video ads converting better than static image ads? Did last year’s customers buy more single products or product bundles?

Testing now will help you get closer to the answers you need to crush your goals this holiday season!

Get Your Emails Ready NOW

Now let’s get into something non-negotiable in terms of necessity and effectiveness—email marketing. Whether you are running on-site promos, Facebook ads, or Google ads, adding a solid email marketing component is sure to help set you up for greater success. 

As we like to say around here: email addresses are low-hanging fruit. If you have an email address for a customer or prospect, you are already one step closer to making another sale during the holiday season. You should be planning now for all the fruit you can harvest with some well-formatted emails (combined with some enticing messaging). 

Here are just a few examples to help get you started:

– Last year’s customers: If they purchased from you last year, let them know what is coming this year. Don’t wait for them to come to you. Remind them of the great buying decision they made last year, and give them first dibs on early promotions. 

– Current customers: If you have gained new customers this year, create a sequence of emails (tailored to them) for the upcoming season to bring them back for more.

– Website subscribers: If you are using a “Join Our Email List For 15% Off” pop-up on your site, now is the time to take advantage of it! Create holiday-specific promo emails to send to these soon-to-be customers. 

– Abandoned carts: This should already be in your bag of (year-round) tricks. If customers are leaving their carts before closing the deal, make sure you are reaching out to them. A simple reminder or an enticing “Complete Your Order And Get Free Shipping” message might be enough to close the deal. 

Regardless of which path you choose, start testing your best-performing email messaging and see how you can tweak it for the upcoming season. 

Lock Down Your Promotions NOW

Yes, we already mentioned some promotions earlier, but they can’t be overstated. After all, this is the season when customers expect epic deals, and if you don’t offer them—a competitor will. 

Don’t just offer a standard “20% Off The Retail Price” of a product or service.

Entice your customers with an offer they can only get this time of year from your business. For example, if you always have free shipping but you are now highlighting it as a promotion, things are going to fall flat. But if shipping costs are usually reserved for orders “Over $200,” but now “All Orders Get Free Shipping Until Christmas,” this is something you can work with. 

Here are a few promotion types that will spark some ideas and help you stand out this season.  

– 12 days of deals: Introduce a new product deal leading up to the week of December. Promote this on your site, in emails, and via paid ads. This can build daily anticipation as to what you will offer next.

– Free gift with purchase: Offer a surprise (or not surprise) gift with every purchase that is perfect for stocking stuffers and complements the already-purchased product.

– Deals countdown: As a species, we hate missing out. So, if you have a killer deal, add a countdown clock to it. “The 12 Days Of Deals Ends On Friday At Midnight – So Act Now!”

– Early access holiday deals: These are perfect for past customers and loyalists alike. Add this messaging to your site to encourage visitors to “Get Early Access” to your holiday promotions. Anyone who signs up will already have a higher chance of converting.  

– Batching and bundles: If you have products that complement each other, offering bundles at a discount is a smart move. Shoes need socks, suits need shirts, and scarves need matching gloves. You have options. Research what is cost-effective to bundle and see what happens!

As you can see, an ideal promo is as much about the process as the dollar amount attached. Think of your promotions as opportunities. Customers and prospects need to take advantage of what you have to offer—or they might need to wait until next year. 

We Are Building Strategies NOW

We practice what we preach around here, and we wouldn’t be shouting this message from the rooftops if we weren’t doing it ourselves.

Everything presented here (and much more) is already in the mix for our clients.

There is a lot to consider, and we 100% understand. You may have a million ideas but not the bandwidth to do everything you want to do for the holidays. 

Just pick a few ideas, a couple that you know you can do, and at least one that will push you. Put at least one new idea into play to build upon your success last year—one new campaign, one new type of email, and one new promotion. 

If you know where you want to focus your advertising dollars (i.e., Facebook ads or Amazon), we have you covered. On the other hand, if you don’t know your best move, we can guide you to the best opportunity for the holiday season. 

Check out our case studies for some additional ideas, and then jump over to our contact us page to meet with one of our team members to see what is possible. 

See you around the holidays!