Running a little late on your holiday promotional planning?
You’re not the only one. Most small business owners start their holiday marketing a little later than they’d like, and that’s okay.
The pressure is real, especially when the holidays can make up nearly half of a small business’s yearly sales (source). But instead of stressing about what you haven’t done yet, let’s simplify what you can do.
You don’t need an elaborate campaign to get results. Simple still works best, especially when everyone’s short on time and feeling overwhelmed.
So here’s the plan: we’ll give you tips on creating a quick promo you can run now and show you how to keep things for easier setup next year. Sound good? Let’s go.
Start with the Big 3
Every promotion has three core elements:
1) The Offer (the hook)
What incentive are you putting in front of customers so that acting now is a no-brainer for them? Keep it simple and specific, like a discount, a limited-time bundle, a free bonus or add-on, priority scheduling or free shipping. See related posts for more ideas.
Examples: “15% off holiday service,” or “Book a Design Consult, Get $100 Off Materials.”
- RELATED: 3 Last-Minute Holiday Promotion Ideas for Small Business
- RELATED: How to Make Holiday Promotions Stand Out for a Service Business
2) The Creative (the design & words)
This is how your offer appears: headlines, short body text, images/graphics, and variations for email, website, or social. Aim for a strong headline, one clear graphic or visual, and one written call to action (“Book your spot before it’s gone” or “Get your Holiday bundle”).
Examples: A holiday-themed email graphic with your offer, a “limited-time offer” social post, or a timeless intro video about your business that starts or ends with your current holiday offer on screen.
3) The Rollout (the launch plan)
This plans when and where it runs and how you’ll track it. Choose 2 to 3 channels (email, website banner, and social media, for example). Set dates, schedule posts, and include a simple way to measure success (sales, coupon code, link clicks, or “How did you hear about us?”).
Examples: Two weeks before the holiday, add a banner to your website and set up emails and social posts. Schedule 4 to 6 touches in the days leading to the event. Track results through tagged links, sales or unique coupon codes.
If you already have past promos:
Great, start with what worked. Refresh the headline and visual, update dates, and send it out. Then save everything (copy, images, links) in a folder for next time.
If you don’t have assets yet:
Start a Promo Library you can reuse next year:
- Offers: Create a running list of 6–10 ideas.
- Creative Assets: Save a few reusable templates where you can just drop in a new photo/graphic and re-use (email, social, or web banner).
- Rollout Plan: A one-page checklist (timing, channels, tracking).
What’s your offer?
To get started for this holiday’s promotion, focus on the offer first.
It’s tempting to start with the artwork first, it grabs attention. But start with your offer first. What would appeal most to your customers?
If you’ve been telling them how your product or service can solve their problem, now’s the time to give them an incentive to buy or take action.
Choose something clear-cut and simple. A simple promotion executed well beats an ambitious one that runs out of time.
You can even recycle a past winner. Try a previous offer with a new holiday angle and headline. It can work as well as launching something new and takes about 10% of the effort.
Simple prep for next year
To take things further, let’s look beyond this holiday season and into next year. Simplified planning can work then too. Because if there’s one thing we want to avoid, it’s trying to do too much. It’s one of the biggest mistakes small business owners make.
Choose holidays or seasons that make sense. You don’t need a promotion for every holiday. Instead, look at your past sales data. Which seasons naturally bring in more customers? When are people most ready to buy what you’re selling? Those are your best opportunities.
If you’re in your first year of business and don’t have data yet, think about your customers’ habits. When are they most likely to need your service or product? What time of year creates the most urgency or desire for it?
Build your promotional calendar around seasons or dates that make sense for your business.
Oh, and increase the number of promotions you run each year too.
Double your promotions? Yes!
We challenge you to double your promotions next year. Go beyond Christmas.
About 60% of small businesses count on the holiday season for up to half of their yearly sales per a Constant Contact survey. If this sounds like you, there are ways to change that.
Increasing the number of promotions you run each year is the best way to reduce your dependence on holiday sales and build steadier revenue year-round.
So here’s your assignment for next year:
- If you usually run one promotion, run two next year
- If you run two, aim for one each quarter (four total)
- If you already run quarterly promos, congrats, add one or two more
Challenging? Maybe. But if you have offers and creative assets saved and ready to go, you’ll just need to refresh the artwork (or not) and hit publish.
Remember to Stay Flexible
In these days of constant overwhelm, it’s important to be flexible with timing.
Those promo dates you picked above? Put each one in your phone calendar and set an alert for 90 days before.
This gives you enough time to plan and to run each promotion for one to two weeks leading up to the holiday. It also builds in some breathing room for when life and business get busy, especially when you’re doubling your promotions.
Also have a Plan B, a scaled-back plan you can use if things go sideways.
Of course, you can also hand it over to us to do it for you. Let us know.
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