The summer sun may still be shining, but savvy e-commerce business owners know that now is the perfect time to start planning for the holiday season.
By getting your ducks in a row early, you’ll avoid the last-minute scramble and set yourself up for a successful and stress-free holiday shopping period.
In this post, we’ll cover three crucial steps you should take now to ensure you’re ready when the festive season hits.
Let’s get to it!
1. Craft Your Promotional Calendar
The foundation of a successful holiday strategy is a well-planned promotional calendar. This is where you’ll outline all your special offers, discounts, and marketing initiatives for the season. Start by thinking about the big picture: What major sales events do you want to participate in? Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and last-minute Christmas shopping are all key periods to consider.
Think about what specific promotions you want to run during these times. Will you offer percentage discounts, buy-one-get-one deals, or free gifts with purchase? Consider creating special bundles or limited-time offers to entice customers. Don’t forget to plan how you’ll display your merchandise to maximize these promotions, both online and in-store if applicable.
Once you have your broad promotional strategy in place, it’s time to drill down into the specific tactics you’ll use to promote each offer. This might include email campaigns, social media posts, paid advertising, or influencer partnerships. By planning these details now, you’ll be able to create a cohesive campaign that resonates with your customers throughout the entire holiday season.
2. Prepare Your Ad Creative
With your promotional calendar set, it’s time to focus on your advertising assets. This is a crucial step that often gets left to the last minute, leaving businesses scrambling to put together rushed, subpar campaigns. By preparing your ad creative now, you’ll be ready to launch polished, effective campaigns as soon as the holiday season kicks off.
Start by creating a list of all the visual assets you’ll need. This might include product photos, lifestyle images, video content, and graphics for social media posts. Think about how these visuals will align with your brand and the specific promotions you’ve planned. If you’re offering holiday-themed products or bundles, now is the time to schedule photo shoots or start designing graphics.
Next, turn your attention to ad copy. Write compelling headlines, product descriptions, and call-to-action phrases that align with your promotional calendar. Remember to create variations for different platforms – what works on Facebook might not be as effective on TikTok or in an email subject line.
Don’t forget about any technical requirements for your chosen advertising platforms. Each social media site and ad network has its own specifications for image sizes, video lengths, and text limits. By preparing your assets with these requirements in mind, you’ll save yourself a lot of headaches down the line.
3. Design Your Email and SMS Campaigns
Email and SMS marketing are powerful tools for engaging with your audience and driving sales during the holiday season. By preparing these campaigns in advance, you can ensure they’re perfectly aligned with your overall marketing strategy.
Start by mapping out your email and SMS schedule. Think about how often you want to communicate with your customers and what messages you want to send. This might include announcing sales, showcasing new products, sharing gift guides, or sending last-minute reminders about shipping deadlines.
Next, design templates for your emails and SMS messages. These should reflect your brand identity and the festive spirit of the season. If you’re using an email marketing platform like Klaviyo, you can even schedule these messages months in advance, taking one more task off your plate during the busy holiday period.
When writing your email and SMS copy, make sure it aligns with the promotions you created in step one and the ad creative you prepared in step two. This consistency across all channels will reinforce your message and make your marketing more effective.
Remember to segment your audience and personalize your messages where possible. Holiday shoppers are bombarded with marketing messages, so the more relevant and targeted you can make your communications, the better chance you have of cutting through the noise.
Get Your Shopify Store Ready for the Holidays With These 3 Things You Need to Do Now
By starting your holiday planning now, you’re setting yourself up for a smoother, more successful season. This proactive approach allows you to focus on fulfilling orders and maintaining high customer satisfaction levels during the busy season. It also gives you the flexibility to fine-tune your promotions based on real-time performance.
So dive into your planning, and get ready to sleigh your holiday sales goals!
Want help taking your e-commerce store to the next level? Click here to learn more about Brandhopper Digital and see if your business is a good fit to work with us!