Shopify store owners are aware of the importance of holiday season for their business. People buy presents. They buy stuff for themselves. So you get exposure to an enhanced need for making purchases. This can mean only one thing: you get to sell more.
Or do you?
The truth is, you’ll sell more over the holiday season only and only if you make an effort to do so. People are bombarded with these season offers from all over the place. How will you make your online store stand out? We have 20 tips that can help you boost the sales this holiday season.
1. Make sure your website can handle the traffic
Is your website ready to handle all visitors you attract with this campaign? Make sure it’s fast enough! Shopify gives you specific steps to follow to enhance the speed of the website.
2. Create a holiday theme
Your brand has to be recognizable through a specific theme.
Did you know that Coca-Cola already started their holiday season marketing campaign? All social media profiles of the brand are now in the theme of positive vibes. Love, friendship, sharing—that’s what holidays are all about, and this brand sure knows how to benefit from such a spirit.
So get your own theme! All visual content you produce will fit into it.
3. Offer discounts
Obviously, the holiday season is the right time for discounts. Your audience expects them, and you have to deliver what your audience expects.
What discounts are you going to offer? Are you going to rely on coupons or are you simply going to reduce the prices at your website? How big are these discounts going to get? Make a plan!
4. Give coupons to your e-mail list subscribers
Maybe your website will have discounted prices for all shoppers, but you still want to make your loyal users feel special.
Sending a special coupon that they can use on top of an existing discount is a great idea! You may make this offer even more effective if you check out the purchasing history of the recipient and offer a personalized coupon for the type of products they like the most or the ones they saved in their wishlist.
That will definitely lead to more conversions.
5. Offer a deal of the day
We’re not talking about a single holiday and sales peaking during a single day. We’re talking about a season, which fits almost two months. You don’t want your campaign to get boring and you don’t want people to start delaying the purchase, thinking there’s plenty of time for them to decide.
Offering daily deals creates the sense of urgency. If they don’t get this product ASAP, they will waste the opportunity. Since they have to make an urgent decision, they don’t have much time to consider other stores, so they will come to you.
6. Free shipping is the best
According to the Walker Sands Future of Retail 2016 report, 9 out of 10 online shoppers consider free shipping as a priority when choosing an online store.
When it comes to the holiday season, free shipping is even more important!
7. The speed of shipping matters, too
What if someone orders a present and they get it after the holidays? Disappointing!
You want to make sure that the delivery will be quick and effective! Give proper information to your buyers, so they will know exactly when they can expect their packages. If fast shipping needs an additional charge, offer it as an option.
8. Enable free returns
This is the time when people buy stuff for others. They often doubt the decisions. What if the other person doesn’t like the present? What if they pick the wrong size? A guarantee for free returns will give them the confidence boost they need to place that order.
9. How about a competition?
Social media contests are great for gaining more exposure. For example, you can invite your customers to snap creative holiday-theme photos that feature some of your products, and tag your brand in the description. The best entries will receive free product packages.
How will this help with sales? Well, you get more exposure across social media, so more people get to see and like your products. The logic is clear.
10. Encourage the buying spirit through high-quality content
Some online stores have great discounts, but don’t make people happy to purchase there. Many shoppers feel guilty about spending too much money over the holidays. When you eliminate that sense of guilt through a smart content marketing campaign, you’ll be on your way to a great sales boost.
Your content has to express the spirit of giving. Buying a present for others or for yourself is not for spending money. It’s about showing appreciation.
This is the time to really pay attention to the content marketing campaign, so investing in the cheapest writing services will yield great results.
11. Don’t focus on sales; focus on holidays
This is another aspect of a successful content marketing campaign. Instead of bombarding your potential customers with products and prices, fit your offer into a more informative content about the holidays.
What does Thanksgiving mean? What are the origins of this holiday? When did Black Friday start? Why do people give presents on Christmas? There are so many topics that would drive people towards your website.
12. Use social media every day
You need to spread the word about the great seasonal offers. So get active on social media accounts! Use at least one of them to its full potential. Facebook, for example, gives you options to boost posts, pay for ads, and expose your brand through stories. Use all opportunities to get your message seen.
13. E-mail marketing is also important
When the holidays approach and people get ready to shop, they check the Promotions folder in their inbox more frequently than usual. You want to get your messages there!
Boost your e-mail marketing campaign with a special offer and better content. Write subject lines that really get attention. Make the body of the message visually attractive, and don’t miss an irresistible call to action.
14. Invest in paid ads
Paid ads will grant you exposure to your target audience. Facebook, in particular, is very smart at offering the right type of ad to the right type of buyer. You should also consider Google Ads (AdWords), so you can boost your holiday campaign to a whole new level.
15. Update your blog
Blogs are a huge aspect of e-commerce marketing. That’s the content that gets ranked on search engines, so people will get to your website when they search for relevant keywords.
Update your blog! Post high-quality content related to the type of products you sell. Analyze what issues your audience faces and provide good answers. Quora is a good place to see what questions your target buyers have.
16. Update the website’s theme
Everything is in the holiday spirit. Shift the color scheme and add symbols that indicate celebration time.
17. Stay organized!
Don’t even think about posting random content and coupons whenever you feel like it. You need to have a strategy for the holiday season. Map out the marketing activities in your calendar and follow that plan step by step.
18. Track the results
Do you know why you need that plan? So you can measure how well you’re achieving the goals. Now, more than ever, you’ll need to set up Conversion Goals in your Google Analytics and track where you’re getting your conversions from.
With these insights, you’ll be able to focus on content that works.
19. Target the abandoned carts
During holiday seasons, people hunt for online deals, so they check out multiple online stores at the same time. In the middle of the process, they change their minds and abandon the carts.
Target the abandoned carts! Maybe some of these customers just need a push. Offer an additional discount, so you’ll get them back.
20. Drop a holiday greeting card in the package
Just wish them happy holidays. It’s a sign of appreciation that could never go wrong.
Are you ready for this?
It’s never too early to start planning your marketing approach for the holiday season. The tips above are enough to get you started. So don’t waste your time and make a plan today!
