In a year that feels like we’re somehow all still stuck in the wackiness of March, yet find ourselves nearing the end of August, the thought of holiday campaigns as a small product based business can feel a biiiiittt more overwhelming than the usual holiday season.

But here we are. It’s August and it’s officially (beyond) time to get those 2020 holiday marketing campaigns planned out, wrapped up, and tied with your very best bow.

Read on for three things to think about before you start planning your 2020 holiday season marketing campaigns.

BE EARLY AND EARLIER

Holiday searches on Pinterest were up quadruple in APRIL of this year. Usually they start to pick up in September. Blame it on quarantine and needing something to look forward to, blame it on all of us going crazy in our homes, but don’t discount the fact that we’re all shopping earlier this year.

The early bird gets the worm, and when it comes to the holidays, the worm is even sweeter, as you know.

Now’s the time to reach out with holiday specifics to your retailers (most retailers I know plan to have ALL of their wholesale ordering wrapped up by September at the LATEST) and continue to communicate with them long past order date and delivery. In September, check back in. Same with October and November, of course.

Go ahead and start updating your own website with holiday specifics – yes, even now. Put that ‘HOLIDAY 2020’ link in your footer if you don’t want it quite front and center just yet.

Organize your inventory, create your gift guides, start determining your promo or sale details now.

MAKE IT EASIER THAN EASY

Us humans are lazy people. We don’t want to think anymore than we already have to, and especially not this year. 2020 has stolen all of our brain waves.

So don’t make your people think. Make it easy, fun, and simple for them and utilize the HECK out of those gift guides.

Create holiday gift guides by style, type, price, recipient and even bundles of products.

Once your gift guides are created and it’s seasonally appropriate (so maybe NOT in August), have those babies up on your website ev-er-y-where.

Remember, we don’t want to think more than we have to. So don’t make your customers have to actively search too hard for the guides, either.

SWEETEN THE POT

As lazy as we all are, we’re also getting a little too expectant these days too. We can blame this one on Amazon Prime and Target’s same day delivery, but regardless, it never hurts to sweeten the pot a bit.

However you can this year, try to make the buying experience with your small business extra special. You can’t compete with Amazon’s free and freaky fast shipping, but you aren’t Amazon.

You’re a small business with a beating heart bigger than the sky outside and can provide the most personalized, magical touch to your customer’s day… Something that makes them go “awwww! that was so freaking sweet.” and gives them the warm happy fuzzies every single time they think of you.

I recently purchased two insanely beautiful earrings from BR Design Co.. When my order arrived they had included a hand written note addressed to me AND an extra pair of earrings.

The ladies took the time to write a note and include additional product (for FREE!) in a time when the world is going haywire and income has never been as inconsistent. This spoke volumes on their behalf and made me feel like the luckiest customer in the world. Months later and I STILL get giddy and excited thinking about it and seeing and wearing that extra pair of earrings.

This is surprise and delight done well.

An extra card, a fun ornament, surprise holiday goody bags (ex: spend $40, get a fun surprise goody bag!), etc. Whatever you can do, try to do it.

And if you can, free shipping is always the big one. This you know. 24 hours, last minute when the clock is about to strike 12, before the big rush of November orders… It’s always there in your back pocket. Deploy it how you can!

ARE YOU READY?

The holiday season can make or break your year, as we both know. There’s NO reason this year has to be a dud just because the rest of 2020 has been so gosh darn bizarre.

Take the time NOW to sit down, strategically plan out and think about how to set up YOUR holiday season for major success. I promise this can be a beautiful season of fulfillment and joy. Let’s do the work to get your business there.

If you want some help strategizing YOUR holiday campaigns, creating and executing all of the marketing material (newsletters!, website banners!, cart abandon emails!, Instagram Stories and feed posts!, photography!), send me a note about working together via a VIP Day to get all of your holiday 2020 marketing materials done in a day.

We’ll also be planning allllll of our 2020 holiday campaigns together in Bespoke Content Club next month! Take a peek at what BCC is all about and let me know if you want in for September!

Regardless of how you get your holiday content planned out, just make sure to actually do it, okay? And do it early! You’ve got this, my friendola.

Until next time,
Allie