If you’ve thought of holding some kind of promotion/sale/discount in your business around the holidays, you’re not alone! It can be a great way to drum up new business and hit the ground running as we head into a brand new year.
There are many ways to hold a promotion in your business. You could offer a percentage or flat dollar amount off one of your services. You could throw in a freebie for those who sign up for a particular service. Or you could offer a cash-back reward for new referrals. The sky is the limit!
But the real question here is, once you decide on your holiday promotion, how can you use your website and digital marketing strategy to make the MOST of it?
Follow the five tips below to make sure evvvvvverybody knows about your promotion so that all those who would opt to take advantage of your sale, in fact, do.
#1) Announce your sale at the top of your website homepage.
Many business owners tend to forget the single best thing about websites: they’re F-L-E-X-I-B-L-E. Meaning, what’s currently at the top of your homepage doesn’t have to stay there. One of the best ways to make your holiday promotion more visible is by using all the space above the fold on your homepage to advertise it. Use a headline in a contrasting, eye-catching color along with a featured photo background, compelling copy, and a big call-to-action button and you’ll be good to go.
It’s also worth mentioning here that if you for whatever reason don’t have the ability to change the top of your homepage at will, it’s worth talking to your web designer about. And if they say it’s not a possibility, it might be time to find a new one.
#2) Feature your sale in a pop-up or sticky bottom bar.
A colorful, attractive popup like the one pictured below is a fantastic way to get more eyeballs on your most important content. To make sure ALL website visitors know about your holiday promotion, describe it merrily in a popup! And if a popup isn’t your style, a sticky bottom bar (also pictured below) is a wonderful alternative. If you’re not sure how to set this up in WordPress, get in touch with me.
#3) Requite visitors to subscribe to your list to get the sale.
I’m guessing at some point you’ve subscribed to a mailing list on a website to get a coupon code, right? Well, take note. People who are interested in your promotion will most likely be happy to subscribe in order to get it. How to set it up? Once a visitor enters their email address and hits subscribe, either send them straight to a page that gives them their coupon code or set up an automated email in your email marketing platform (i.e. Mailchimp, etc.) to send them their coupon code right after they subscribe.
#4) Write to your email list and tell them about your sale – MORE than once.
Have you ever heard the statistic that customers need to see or hear about something SEVEN times before they’ll take action? For those of us who have a hard time with self-promotion, I know this can feel tricky, but don’t just write your email list about your promotion once. Do it twice, or even three times. People who are interested may see it the first time but then be reminded and prompted to take action by lucky #3.
#5) Schedule a series of posts on social media over 5+ days.
A holiday sale or promotion is a great time to schedule a fun, themed series of posts on social media. For example, post a Q+A each day about your sale, or a benefit of the service you’re featuring. If you can, it’s best to use a template (i.e. one designed in Canva) for the entire series so they have visual continuity. For extra credit, think of ways to get your users involved i.e. commenting or sharing for bonuses.
In Closing
Although holding a sale is not right for every business, for those it is right for, it’s critical that you do all you can to make your sale VISIBLE. The five methods above will help you to do just that. Good luck!
Looking for more?
If you enjoyed this post by Janelle (that’s me) at Ellanyze, check out these other related quick-read posts:
How to Sell Without Being Pushy or Salesy: It’s All About Mindset
How to Attract High Paying Clients: Your 5-Step Formula
What Pages Should a Website Have? Here’s the Must-Have List.
Great idea. I would like to try this next year as it will be useful for students trying to meet regular admission.
I think that’s a wonderful idea Elizabeth 🙂