Holiday Marketing – Plan Now

ByDebra

It’s time to talk about preparing for holiday marketing.

I hear you moaning already. “It’s only August.”

Yes, that means you have time to strategize, plan, write emails, create memes, and get it all scheduled. Which also means, you can relax and enjoy the holidays instead coming up with marketing ideas at the last minute.

I have rarely done holiday sales, but this year I’m going to try something new.

$100M Offers, holiday marketing

Think Divergently

As I write this (in July), I’m currently reading Alex Hormozi’s book $100M Offers: How to Make Offers so Good People Feel Stupid Saying No. I’ve learned so much from this book already, and I’m not finished reading it!

This may seem off track from holiday marketing, but Hormozi states that part of creating a grand slam offer is to define the audience’s problems and to come up with solutions for them. He uses divergent thinking (I highly recommend you check this out) to do it.

Applying Problem-Solution to Your Book Marketing

Hormozi’s book isn’t written to address book marketing, but I think the principles can be applied here.

Your nonfiction book solves a problem, does it not? Your fiction book solves a problem, too, most likely entertainment but maybe more. Using divergent thinking you can brainstorm (which is divergent thinking!) every problem a buyer might have that your book is a solution to.

This will open the door to problems you’ve never thought of before but that apply to your book (or service).

Next, you turn the problems into solutions. Hormozi states you turn problems into solutions “by thinking, ‘What would I need to show someone to solve this problem?’” That can often be done by “adding ‘how to’ then reversing the problem.” (The link above on divergent thinking gives an example of how this works with marketing.)

Examples

Since we’re all writers here, let’s look at problems for the want-to-be-an-author people.

Problems:

  • I don’t even know where to being writing.
  • I don’t have time to write a book.
  • My grammar and punctuation are terrible.
  • Who am I to write a book about ?

Solutions:

  • I don’t even know where to being writing. → How to Begin Writing in 3 Easy Steps
  • I don’t have time to write a book. → How to Find Time to Write Your Dream Book
  • My grammar and punctuation are terrible. → 5 Easy Steps to Improve Your Grammar and Punctuation
  • Who am I to write a book about ________ ? → How to Conquer Impostor Syndrome

Don’t stop at 4 problems. Brainstorm everything you can think of. Maybe enlist the help of others.

To Market or Not to Market

If you choose not to try divergent thinking, that’s fine.

If you don’t want to market at all, that’s okay too.

Realize that your sales will be small if at all if you don’t do some kind of marketing to make people aware of your book.

If you want to take advantage of holiday buying, make a plan now and create the memes and emails needed. In fact, you might beat the holiday inbox glut by sending emails in Sept/Oct with an “avoid the holiday rush and time crunch” email encouraging them to buy now so they can enjoy the holidays later.

My point is, allow yourself some creative thinking where your marketing efforts are concerned. If you want to avoid Black Friday and Christmas competition, look ahead on the calendar and see where you can capitalize on other holidays. Can you tie into something like National Cancer Prevention Month (Feb) or National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day (Aug. 4, my favorite sweet treat)?

If you missed “The Marketing Mindset You Need to Love Marketing” from Aug. 4, give it a read and watch the embedded video. It will give you a new outlook on your marketing and sales.

Are you ready? Let’s do this together! Reach out via the comments if you have any questions.

(This post contains affiliate links. You don’t pay extra but I earn a little extra.)

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