Essential and Free Marketing Actions in the run-up to Christmas (Part 4)

For many businesses, the weeks leading up to Christmas represent the peak opportunity to generate revenue, followed by a surge from Boxing Day to New Year, as people spend money received as gifts. Optimising your opportunities during this period not only ensures short-term sales are maximised but also creates long-term benefits for future marketing efforts.

This will be a series of six articles, focusing on each one. If you would like to view the entire guide without waiting, which outlines the six essential marketing actions that every business should take, all of which can be implemented in a single day, click here.

4. Do not wait to be found - shout more frequently and louder than usual!

Due to the increased number of people in a ‘ready-to-buy’ mindset during the festive period, now is the time to promote your product as the right choice over competitors. This is the moment to re-contact your existing audience and break through the social media algorithms that might otherwise limit your content’s visibility. Waiting until January will be too late.

How Often Is Too Often for a Newsletter?

The answer is—it depends. It depends on your audience, their expectations, how they joined your mailing list, and so on. Generally, sending one newsletter per month works well for most of the year. The primary goal of newsletters is not always to generate immediate sales; rather, it is to stay in the minds of your audience. This ensures that when they shift from interest to intent to buy, particularly around Christmas, they think of you.

However, the run-up to Christmas is different. Now is the time to ensure that your audience’s intent to buy is activated promptly. At a minimum, aim to send one newsletter each week leading up to Christmas. Sending newsletters after your final postage date is unlikely to be effective, so plan to send newsletters around these dates:

7th December - 14th December - 21st December - 28th December - One in the first week of January

This may seem frequent, and you might worry that people will find it excessive and unsubscribe. However, I would argue that those who unsubscribe were unlikely to purchase from you anyway. A smaller, more engaged email list is far more valuable than a larger, uninterested one, which also incurs higher costs on mailing platforms.

I also encounter businesses who say they do not know what to say. This is never true. If you have five products, you have five emails to write about. If you are running a business, you are always doing things that people find interesting. And wherever you live I am sure that you encounter beautiful or intriguing things daily that could be shared. These three elements—your products, your business activities, and your surroundings—make for engaging newsletter content.

To simplify the process, spend half an hour creating a content plan. Just jot down a list of bullet points for each email—it does not have to be complicated.

How Often Is Too Often for a Social Media Post?

Everything that applies to newsletters also applies to social media. However, social media algorithms significantly restrict the reach of your content. While paid advertisements can help, the simplest way to overcome these restrictions is to post more frequently. For example, LinkedIn has published statistics showing that even if you post twenty times a month (more than once every two days), you will still only reach about 40% of your followers. The takeaway? Increased posting frequency leads to greater visibility. Additionally, more content online means more opportunities to rank for keywords, which can increase organic traffic.

In the run-up to Christmas, aim to post at least every two days on the platform where you have the most traction. While you should prioritise your strongest platform, also cross-post on all other platforms—it only takes a few extra minutes, so why not? More content, more visitors.

Actions:

• Create a content plan for the run-up to Christmas and New Year, listing bullet points for messages to be included on set dates.
• Create your newsletters in advance and add reminders to send them on the 7th, 14th, etc. Remember, there will be a flood of emails the day before Christmas, people will have gone on leave from work, and their minds will be elsewhere at that time. Avoid sending them then.
• Make a list of post ideas and publish these on social media at least once every two days during December.

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The ' Essential and Free Marketing Action' guide was written by Elliot Forte of Business Think.

If you have any questions or would like to work with Business Think to improve your marketing performance, please email: info@businessthink.co.uk for more details. Click here to download the full guide in PDF format.

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Elliot Forte is a business consultant and Director at Business Think, bringing over three decades of expertise in consultancy, marketing, and strategic planning. Known for his innovative approaches and practical insights,

Beyond his consultancy role, Elliot is a published author of three highly regarded business books that delve into strategy, leadership, and marketing. His passion for knowledge-sharing extends to academia, where he teaches graduate and postgraduate courses in strategy and marketing at university.

Elliot is also the creator of the Life-Led Business Programme, an innovative framework designed to help entrepreneurs and business leaders balance professional success with personal fulfillment, with a focus on individual well-being.

Based in the picturesque town of Bude, North Cornwall, his consultancy work extends well beyond the region, supporting businesses across the UK and North America.

Photo credit for featured image: Kevin Bidwell (Pexels.com)