Holiday Marketing Tips
The holiday season is coming up fast so it’s time to start thinking about your business and if/how you are going to market it. Researchers believe there is proof that ‘holiday spirit’ is real just by thinking, seeing or hearing things that trigger thoughts of the holidays. The holiday season can represent almost 30% of annual sales for businesses, making it the perfect time to get a big boost in revenue. If you love being festive and want to incorporate that into your website we have some great WordPress plug-ins and themes to choose from. There are also many other strategies that you can incorporate into your website as well.
WordPress Plugins & Themes
If you are looking for a Christmas countdown, there is a free plugin widget that will add the countdown to the sidebar on your website. If you like the idea of Christmas lights, there is a free plugin for that as well. If snow is more your style there is also that option as well for your page. We don’t usually recommend our users to change their WordPress theme for a specific event or holiday season. However, if you have a personal website and really want to change your theme to a holiday theme, there are several you can choose from. With a holiday-themed website you’ll be sure to boost your sales and traffic!
VIP Treatment
The holidays are a time to show all of your customers, readers or listeners how much you appreciate them. There are several ways to ensure that you spread the holiday cheer. Vamping up your giveaways or special offers on social media to create a buzz. will give your website more attention. Offering exclusive items or early access deals to your subscribers will keep them coming back for more. Everyone loves a great deal and is eager to tell others about it as well. If you have a newsletter or emails that you send out to your subscribers you could also offer coupons or discount codes to jump start their holiday shopping. A contest on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram would also be another great idea to create traffic for your company.
Partner with other Businesses and Influencers
If you are a small business, team up with other local businesses to enhance the ultimate holiday shopping experience. For example, if you are a photography company, reach out to a local hairdresser or makeup artist and combine a package deal with a discount. Doing this could result in new customers and more sales for you and the other business. Reach out to influencers as well and boost your popularity as well. 17% of companies spend over half their marketing budget on influencers. Influencers will give you a whole new audience of people to amplify your product or service.
Standing out against Competition
There are so many companies competing for your customers that you have to find ways to stay above the rest. The term ‘you have to spend money to make money’ comes to mind in these instances. Running paid advertising campaigns could be the key to more visibility. Using Google ads, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn can help you reach your desired audience. Also consider running commercials on TV or radio ads to reach consumers you may have missed online. Commercials are a great way to showcase your eye-catching brand and reach larger groups of people at one time.
Don’t Underestimate the Power of Email
With so many other social media options out there today we tend to put email on the back burner, however there are many positives to using email as a marketing tool. With email marketing you can reach out to your VIP group and offer those exclusive deals, advanced sales, free shipping, etc. The great thing about email is that it’s in your inbox and the customer has to do something with it. If your subject line is catchy and your email address shows the company name it may catch their eye before they send that email to the trash.
Final Thoughts
Just like anything you do for your business it’s always a great idea to write out your plan and what you have in mind for goals. Your targeted audience needs to feel a personalized experience in order to keep coming back so be sure you have all the insight you need to provide them with top notch service. I hope some of these tips will help jumpstart your holiday campaign and boost your end of year sales goals!
Creating a WordPress Email Newsletter
Have you ever wondered if you should start a newsletter to your customers, readers or listeners. There are so many great reasons to send out a newsletter so let’s explore them!
Who
Who should receive a newsletter? The answer is everyone! Anyone that is a customer, a reader, or listener should want to be a subscriber to your newsletter. Social Media can get overwhelming and posts can get missed. If you offer a newsletter it’s a reminder that your site is still up and ready to assist them. It puts something in their inbox and in turn means they have to do something with it; hopefully bringing them back to your site.
How
Growing your email list can be hard to do but once you have your subscribers you will be off and running! You can grow your list by creating a link to the form on your website. Another way to do this is by having a pop-up or other attention-getting icon. Offering a free giveaway may also entice customers to subscribe to your newsletter. Be sure, however, that the giveaway is something that has to do with your website such as a free book if you have a book blog.
Why
Let’s discuss why your reader would want to become a newsletter subscriber. You have to entice your audience by giving them something they won’t get by just going to your website. Things like VIP groups or exclusive sales is a great way to grow your newsletter subscribers.
What
Once you have your subscribers you will need to figure out what you want to put in your newsletter and how you want it to look. Make sure you use fonts and colors that are appealing to the eyes. Your layout needs to look clean and flow easily. Make sure to write about informative topics and subjects your subscribers will want to read. Try a double opt-in method to ensure your newsletter doesn’t get lost in your subscribers spam folder. That means after someone gives you their email address, you send them a confirmation email they have to acknowledge. Typically, that’s done by clicking a link to verify that they want to be added to the list. Your email subject line is also an important step in protecting your newsletter from being flagged as spam. Make sure it has to do with the content in the body of your newsletter. Your email address should contain your name or company name so it’s easier for the subscriber to identify the sender.
Where
To find the newsletter plugin follow these easy steps.
-Go to the WordPress Admin Panel
-On the left-hand side under plugins link select New
-Search ‘Newsletter’
-Install Now
-Activate
Once you have your audience and the content of your newsletter you should be ready to take off. I hope you have great success with creating and maintaining newsletter subscribers. As always if you need assistance with WordPress hosting, we at AweWP would be happy to help!
What Is A WordCamp and How Can It Be Beneficial?
Whether you are new to WordPress or a seasoned user, a WordCamp conference could be beneficial for you. A WordCamp is a conference that is organized by a community and centers around the WordPress publishing platform. There are several guidelines that need to be followed which can be found at WordCamp.org. Most of the time these conferences aren’t big and fancy but more like a meet and greet or low-key gathering where people come to learn together.
Meet Potential Clients
Just like many conferences there are a wide variety of people to meet and get to know. By attending WordCamp you have the opportunity to meet expert users that could help with your projects or questions. There are even WordPress designers/developers that could give you advice or tips on how to do anything from blogging to social media to business.
New Community of People
When you attend WordCamp your eyes are opened to how big the world is. You get to meet people from all over the world and all different stages of users. Because this event is so low-key it is affordable and open to anyone. There are so many different groups to be a part of and with the guidelines that WordCamp.org provides you have ample opportunity to find your community. Who doesn’t want to geek out for a day or two with people that are as obsessed about WordPress as much as you are?
Learning new Things
As with anything there is always something to learn. Even expert users can learn an easier and more efficient way of doing something on WordPress by attending the camps. Oftentimes there are WordPress core developers at these conferences. There are always new and exciting updates to WordPress and so it can be highly beneficial for you and your business to seek out a WordCamp in your area.
Finding a WordCamp
If you are interested in finding out where WordPress WordCamps are or even how to host one yourself there are a few ways to do that. You can go to https://central.wordcamp.org/schedule/. You can also check your local newspapers or even social media sites. If there isn’t a way to attend a camp you can always sponsor an event and you will receive tips and highlights from the event. Since the event is all paid for by organizers and sponsors this also helps with the costs of food/pamphlets, etc. To do that Contact Us.