marketing

What’s next? Black Friday vs Valentine’s Day

If you’re a maker or creative business owner in retail, the next few weeks are pretty much the most intense of the year. If you hadn’t noticed, it’s Christmas, and this year, things are even more unpredictable.

In this blog post, I’m making it really easy for you to market your products right now, and plan ahead for future success. To read this and do all the things I mention, you probably need about 30-45 minutes. Doable, right?

So let’s pretend for a moment that fulfilling orders is a breeze, you’re totally on top of that, and you have no worries in that area.

In fact, let’s pretend that your only job right now (imagine, my dear solopreneurs and tiny teams! just one job…) is marketing.

As the Marketing Manager for your business, you have a few things on your mind:

  • Black Friday
  • The rest of December
  • Valentine’s Day

Partly, you’re bringing in sales right now – that is your urgent job – but you’re also thinking strategically about the future – that is your important job.

Let’s look at how to balance the two:

Black Friday

Black Friday is next week, the 27th November, with Cyber Monday on 30th November. These are big online shopping days, not just for those looking for discounts, but also in general: November payday happens, and we as a society actually acknowledge that Christmas is coming.

In good news, this year there’s a huge movement for shopping small and shopping early. Royal Mail are sharing the message, and Google are running tv ads about supporting small businesses.

Black Friday can be noisy – lots of big brands and businesses now rely on a Black Friday week to generate discounted sales. And that can be off-putting for small businesses who feel their voices are too quiet.

As I’ve said in my Tuesday pep talks over on Instagram, it’s still worth sharing your products over Black Friday weekend, even if you don’t discount. People are still looking to shop.

Here are my top tips for Black Friday weekend (and the rest of December):

  • Post regularly on social media, ideally scheduling ahead of time
  • Send out an email (two if you’re running a discount) – read this blog post for a content rundown
  • Be really clear about how people can order from you (this is especially good in IG Stories, but also on your feed):
    • Where do they need to go?
    • When do they need to order by?
    • What’s your experience with delivery right now? Even if it’s good, say so!
    • Can you gift wrap and send direct to their recipient?
    • Make it REALLY EASY to place an order!

Valentine’s Day

But here’s the thing: Valentine’s Day is hot on the tails of Christmas. Urgh, I know. The Worst.

As your business coach and mentor, I am morally obliged to remind you that 2021 is coming, and you, amazing human, deserve to succeed in the coming year, as well as in the coming weeks.

So absolutely take care of yourself and your orders and maximise this opportunity. AND let’s think long-term, too.

Here’s how to spend 15 minutes on Valentine’s Day that will pay off big time:

  • Book a photoshoot in January. Seriously. Do it now. Whether it’s your own time or with a professional. (I recommend Girl Behind The Lens for remote product photography.)
  • Plant the product development seeds in your creative brain. You don’t have to design everything before Christmas, but maybe jot down some ideas of what you’d like to share for Valentine’s Day.
  • Mark some key dates on your calendar, like when you’ll open your Valentine’s Day shop (I recommend 25th January), and when you’ll need to upload your listings (probably the week before!).

I have made all this take even less time and feel even easier with the Valentine’s Day Launch Plan, which not only has a printable calendar for you, but also then has all the marketing content templates for email, Instagram, and Facebook from pre-launch to last order dates. (Seriously, I just want to remove the obstacles getting in your way.)

So there’s a quick rundown of how to juggle immediate and long-term success. Let me finish with a reminder that I absolutely believe in you AND you are worth taking care of. Sleep. Water. Good music. Great snacks. Ask for help.

You’ve got this.

Jenny x

PS That link again to the save-you-time, make-you-money Valentine’s Day Launch Plan.

3 easy emails to send before Christmas for more sales

Here we are, staring down the barrel of the busy Christmas period. If you’re a maker or an online business owner, you’re probably thinking about how to maximise sales AND how to stay sane. Both are important!

To give you an easy step towards more sales, more confidence, and less stress, I’m sharing three key emails you can send before Christmas, including key dates, subject lines, and what to include.

So are you ready to find out more and get them scheduled? Let’s go!

Email 1: Black Friday / Cyber Monday

Whether you’re offering a discount, other offer, or just keeping your shop open as usual, the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend is a big peak for people buying online. Yes, people will look for deals, but they’ll also have had their November pay cheque and will have Christmas firmly in their sights!

It’s a great time to nudge more people to spend their hard-earned cash with you – on your unique, uplifting, and super-desirable products. (I know you have them ready to go…)

Here are the details for this email:

Date: Friday 27th or Monday 30th November

You can choose whether to send this on the Friday, the Monday, or somewhere in between. You might have strong feelings on how other businesses are approaching this weekend, or have an offer you want to align your email with. If in doubt, go for 8am on Friday 27th November.

(And if you do have a discount or offer running over the weekend, don’t be afraid of sending two emails – one with the offer announcement, and another reminder email just before the offer ends!)

Subject line options:

  • The best email you’ll open all day!
  • Shop small this Christmas (plus a special offer just for you!)
  • Shop with {discount detail} this weekend only

You can tweak, edit, and make your subject line work for you. Add an emoji or two. But make sure you keep it short, snappy and enticing!

Email content:

  • Use a short, bold headline, such as “Shop with 20% off this weekend” or “Ready to get your gift list sorted?”
  • Include a short paragraph introducing your offer or sharing your approach to Black Friday as a small business owner, for example, “It’s a strange year to be a small business, but as a thank you for all the wonderful support I’ve received this year, I thought I’d share 20% off during this busy weekend. I’ve got my party hat ready to do a happy dance for every order that comes in!”
  • Then include two or three gorgeous product images – products that you’re known for and are bestsellers – plus a nice big “Shop now” button linking through to your shop.
  • Have a discount code? Make it really clear and a big link to your shop.
  • Share a customer review or a quick recap of your offer details.
  • Add a sign off and a final link to your shop.

Email 2: Last Chance To Order

Date: whenever your last order date is

(And you can totally get this drafted and ready to send if you’re not quite sure when that will be yet!)

Subject line options:

  • Last chance for {product type, eg festive biscuits or gifts to delight} this Christmas
  • The Christmas train is leaving the station…
  • Order today! (I don’t want you to miss out)

Email content:

  • Use a clear, bold headline that gets straight to the point: “Today is the last day for orders!”
  • Add a short sentence: “I don’t want you to miss out, so here’s a reminder that today is your last chance for Christmas gifts this year. Let’s get that list sorted!”
  • Share 3-5 product images with a big, clear call to action: “Shop now!”
  • You could include a few key product types, such as “Gifts for grandparents” or “Last minute stocking fillers” or “Luxury gifts for BFFs”.
  • Include a short and sweet review from a customer to cultivate trust.
  • Sign off and include a final link to your shop.

Email 3: Merry Christmas

Date: Thursday 24th December

This email isn’t a sales push – but that’s really important! This is a chance to thank all your loyal, generous, amazing customers for their support and wish them a Merry Christmas, wherever they are and whatever they’re up to.

Subject line options:

  • Merry Christmas from {brand name}
  • Stockings up? ✔ Twinkly lights on? ✔ Merry Christmas ??
  • From my home to yours, {customer name}

If you collect customers’ first names, automate that last subject line with a tag to pull their name through. If you don’t, just leave it out!

Email content:

  • Use a headline like “Thank you” or “Merry Christmas”
  • You can write a short paragraph to thank your customers, or tell your Christmas Eve story, eg “Well, here it is: Christmas Eve. I’ve got a cup of mulled wine, the presents are wrapped, and my heart is full. Thank you to every single one of you for your orders, support, and encouragement this year.”
  • Use an illustration or a photo to highlight your Merry Christmas message.
  • Don’t forget to wish them a Merry Christmas: “I hope your Christmas is full of love and magic, even if it isn’t quite what you hoped for this year.”
  • And finally: “I’m going to hibernate at home for a couple of weeks, but I’ll be sharing snapshots on social media, so join me there. Otherwise, I look forward to seeing you again in January!”
  • Sign off

It’s time to amplify your success this Christmas

And that’s it! Those three emails are going to keep your newsletter subscribers engaged through the Christmas period. They’re going to generate some sales for you. And they’re going to make you feel organised and on top of things.

And that, my friend, is worth it.

If you need help or have any questions, you can get in touch.

And if you found this helpful, you’re going to love the Better Business Collective. Join the waitlist now.

The ONE thing to do to boost your marketing before Christmas

I don’t know if you knew this, but Christmas is coming up pretty soon. 

(Ha! If you’re a product-based business, you’re probably not thinking about much else, amiright?)

And, having worked with small creatives for 11 years, I know that mid-October is when things start to feel kind of… intense.

So I’m not here to give you a whole new marketing plan to implement, or loads more to do.

Yes, I’m obsessed with email marketing. Yes, I really hope you’ll join The Better Business Collective when it opens in January, where I teach email marketing for product businesses.

In the meantime, I have one teeny tiny request…

The ONE thing I want you to do to boost your email marketing for next year: make sure you’re enabling customers to opt in to marketing emails when they order with you this Christmas.

You don’t have to email them now. You don’t have to have a fancy welcome sequence.

All you need to do is have a checkbox that they can tick if they’re happy to receive offers and inspiration when they’re buying their Christmas gifts, decorations, treats and more.

Why is this step so important?

One of the things email marketing is great at is cultivating that loyal repeat customer base that’s just so valuable for small businesses. It’s easier and cheaper to retain a customer than acquire a new one, and having them on your email list makes it happen.

You’re focused on sales right now, sharing your Christmas products. I don’t want to distract you from that. This little step means you can keep generating sales, sharing your social media posts, but also know that you’re building an email list that you can use and enjoy next year. You’re welcome, future self.

And? It’s not going to take you very long. The majority of retail website providers make this really easy, and I’ve linked to a couple of tutorials below to help you get it done.

(If you’re feeling positive and motivated, there are a couple of bonus actions you can take, too.)

How to collect email addresses at checkout

Here are links to tutorials on some of the main ecommerce platforms my clients use. (Have I missed yours? Let me know and I’ll add it in!)

Don’t get overwhelmed with Email Service Providers

Because I don’t want you to get overwhelmed, at this stage, you don’t need to put your subscribers into Mailchimp or figure out your email service provider. (That’s the app or service you’ll use to actually send out your marketing emails.)

You just need to have permission to send emails in the future. This is the big opportunity at Christmas: you’re simply capturing the increased number of people buying from you.

Extra Credit

If you’ve got that fresh feeling and really want to go to town on building your email list, and getting sales through it this Christmas, here are a few ways you can jump on board the email marketing success train:

  • Choose an Email Service Provider (Mailchimp, Shopify marketing, Klaviyo and Convertkit are all good options) and make sure the subscribers are importing automatically
  • Create a “welcome sequence” – two or three emails that are sent out to your new subscribers after they join your list to tell them a bit more about who you are and how you make their lives better
  • Add a pop-up sign up box that appears when customers have been browsing for a little while
  • Send 4-6 email newsletters between now and Christmas, sharing your products, promoting your last order dates, and wishing your customers a merry Christmas
  • Encourage your social media followers to sign up to your newsletter list too

You might find my free cheat sheet handy – it includes 30 inspiring email subject lines to help you get that next email ready to go. Download it now.

So, without wanting to add loads to your to-do list (I usually like taking things OFF your to-do list!), I hope you’ll get permission to email your customers next year. You’ll thank me later.

optin-cup

Enter The Forge

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