With the holidays only 4 months away..yikes!..now is the time to begin preparing for a spike in sales. Even though the economy is down, people will still be buying gifts for the holidays and I wouldn't be surprised if they look to Etsy as their shopping destination. After all, you can get a handmade, OOAK, high quality gift for a fraction of the price that you would pay at a department store. But, that doesn't mean you shouldn't be doing some smart pre-marketing and strategizing on how you will drive that traffic to your shop.
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Below are some tips on things you should be doing, thinking about or preparing for....
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1. Create promotional fliers or purchase a design (like these) that you can send via email reminding your past customers that your shop is a great source for their holiday shopping needs. Offer them a "valued customer" discount if they shop in your store between certain key dates (Oct-Dec 24)
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2. Stock up now. If you sell items that can be pre-made, start building your inventory.
***3. Remember to be politically correct. Regardless of what holiday you celebrate, remember that your customers may not have the same religious beliefs as you. Don't push any one specific holiday in your ads. Use the word "holiday". Be diplomatic.
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4. Create (or hire someone to create) custom holiday cards that you can send out to your past customers. Make sure to put your web address and company name prominently on the card. If you haven't been keeping past customer emails in your contacts list, start now!
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5. Have a sale. Do this right before Christmas day, about 1 to 2 weeks prior to December 24.
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6. Offer free shipping or free gift wrapping. Most big businesses do this cost effectively by adding the cost of the "freebee" into the cost of the item. Is it really free? No. Free stuff never really is. It is however, a good marketing tactic.
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7. Team up with a charity. Promote this this like crazy! Any charity is great, and you will not only be generating good PR but you will be doing something for a good cause.
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Remember, it's never to early to be prepared, especially when it comes to your business!
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Great tips! It's so scary to even be thinking about the holidays, but they are coming...same time, same place this year too!! I better get on the stick!
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