12-Step Blitz for Holiday Marketing Success: Don't Wait, Act Now!
By Christine Schmidt on
12-Step Blitz for Holiday Marketing Success: Don't Wait, Act Now!
It’s December 1st, and the clock is ticking with the last of this year’s holidays just 3 weeks away! If you’re wishing you had your marketing campaigns together by the end of the month, it’s going to be tight on time, but it’s actually not too late. Let's dive into our 12-step blueprint to make this holiday season a marketing slam dunk for your fitness studio.
1 - Set Your Targets, Now!
You need a crystal clear game plan. What's your goal? Filling up those classes? Selling gift cards? Promoting your special holiday packages? Decide on ONE now and let's roll!
2 - Create Authentic Content
In the world of email and SMS marketing, it's all about content that connects with readers through the screen. Craft holiday-themed content that stops them in their tracks. Use persuasive words, eye-popping visuals, and a call-to-action (CTA) that practically screams "Buy now!"
3 - Personalize or Perish
Don't you dare send out generic messages! Personalize those emails and SMS like you're reading their minds. Conveniently, if you’re using LoopSpark, you have over 50 ways to add customizations using our merge tags. Specifically, you want to use their first names and segment your list by their interests, past attendances, and past purchases. Personalization equals engagement, and engagement equals conversions.
4 - Build a Blitz Campaign
With just a few weeks to get this built, we're in a full-court press. Plan a series of quick, punchy, and short messages. Kick off with a teaser, unleash informative emails and SMS messages, then wrap it all up with a 24-hour reminder holiday bang.
5 - Mobile Mastery
Fact: Most folks read their emails and texts on their phones. Make sure your content shines on those small screens. It's a non-negotiable these days. How can you do that? Keep things fun but simple, so you know that images and text don’t stack in weird ways. Not sure if they will? Make sure you preview your creations on all device options available.
6 - Inject Urgency, Right Now!
Want them to act fast? Slap on those limited-time offers, countdowns, and limited quantities. Make them feel like they're missing out if they don't jump on your holiday train TODAY! Oh, and if you are ending a sale by a certain date, please end it on that date. If you let sales or specials last longer than they should, your clients may not take your urgency seriously.
7 - Parade Your Raving Fans
Don't be shy – show off your satisfied clients. Drop in testimonials, reviews, or success stories. Social proof is like dynamite for winning over prospects.
8 - Test, Tweak, and Turbocharge
Every minute counts. Take a look back at your previous sales communications. Which ones had high open rates? Which ones had high click rates? Isolate what you did that was different from others that didn’t perform as well and replicate those techniques.
9 - Stay Legal, Stay Smart
Don't get caught on the wrong side of the law. Ensure your campaign follows regulations like the CAN-SPAM Act and the TCPA. Make unsubscribing easy, and respect their wishes – no exceptions. Specifically, let’s take a moment to talk about SMS messaging. I know that we think we want to reach everyone we can on their mobile device, but we really don’t want to. We only want to reach highly qualified individuals through their personal devices. How do we know they are highly qualified? You isolate individuals based on recent interactions with your business. A few examples being; someone clicked on the sale email button and did not buy, someone’s contract or package expired but they were a fairly frequent user, etc.
10 - Eyes on the Prize
Keep your eyes glued to metrics – open rates, click-through rates, and sales. Use analytics to laser-focus your campaign and understand how things are going and how things may need to be updated along the way.
11 - Automate for the Win
Harness the power of email and SMS marketing automation tools. Platforms like LoopSpark are your secret weapon for scheduling messages, segmenting your list, and tracking results with zero hassle.
12 - Post-Campaign Victory Lap
When the holiday dust settles, don't vanish on your new customers. Follow up, thank them, and build relationships that last. That's how you turn first-timers into fanatics.