Well…Halloween has been and gone…

…and my local stores are now in full-on, 100% Christmas mode!

Before that comes Thanksgiving in the USA and the subsequent “Black Friday” frenzy (pretty much globally these days).

So if you haven’t already started planning and preparing for your end-of-year and other holiday promotions…

…there’s no time to lose!

Below, you will find a republishing of a special guest post that has proven popular since it was originally published some years ago on the “Total Package” site (sadly no longer active).

It’s from Troy White…

…with some great marketing tips that can be applied for other seasonal events, not just Christmas.

Before that…as a starter and useful addition to the main piece…here’s an extract from a post by Ryan Deiss and the folks at DigitalMarketer… [Read more…]

Here’s the regular look ahead…

…this time at the coming month of November 2019…

…for events, occasions and anniversaries to use for campaigns and promotions in your marketing calendar for November 2019.

FIRST…a reminder that the end of the year and CHRISTMAS is fast approaching!

For pretty much all marketers, Christmas and the New Year is a time of peak opportunity to make sales…

…BUT there is a lot of competition of course. So, it’s important to be well prepared.

Before that, November in the USA also means…THANKSGIVING (this year quite late, on November 28).

(In Canada, Thanksgiving Day is a month earlier on October 14).

“Black Friday” follows, which marks the start of the Christmas season shopping frenzy!

On a more somber note, November 11 is Remembrance Day (Veterans Day in the USA).

One other occasion to note…

…”Singles’ Day” in China on November 11…which has become one of the world’s biggest online shopping days of the year.

Here’s a more comprehensive list of events and occasions… [Read more…]

Here’s a look ahead at the month of October 2019 and some of the events, anniversaries and occasions that smart marketers can use as the basis for an event-driven promotion…

…to create your own marketing calendar for October 2019.

Of course, the stand out occasion, beloved by many marketers, is “Halloween” on October 31.

The origins of Halloween seem to be a mixture of pagan festivals marking the end of summer…

…combined with the idea that at this time of the year the spirit-world comes close to our world…

…adopted by the Christian religion as the eve of “All Souls Day”.

Whatever, it’s the traditional occasion to acknowledge the after-life and the supernatural.

So, an opportunity to use themes in your promotions like…

“It’s Scary What You Are Missing!”

“Now a spooktacular, very limited time, opportunity”

“Terrifyingly scary profits coming your way…”

…and so on.

The theme of FEAR (of loss, for example) can also be used…

…but don’t get too terrifying about it!

Apart from Halloween October has plenty of different events and occasions… [Read more…]

Even when times are good, it makes sense to get the most out of what you are spending on marketing and advertising. In more challenging times, extra sales can make the difference between prospering and struggling…even going under.

In this article, you’ll discover 5 proven and straightforward ways to boost your sales…without having to spend a single extra cent on advertising…or having to make radical changes to what you are already doing.

Here’s the first one… [Read more…]

A warm welcome to the “Looking Ahead” feature where we consider the coming month…

…and the events, occasions, anniversaries and holidays that smart direct response marketers can use as the foundation for event-driven marketing promotions in a marketing calendar for September 2019.

After the lull of the last month or so…

…it’s a time of a change of seasons. The September Equinox falls on September 23 at 07.50 UT (that’s 08.50 UK time…check for your particular location).

It’s Autumn in the north and Spring in the south…

…and these can be used as broad themes for a promotion.

Tied in with these, in the northern hemisphere it’s “Back to School” or “Back to Work” and the start of the run-in to the end of the year.

In the southern hemisphere, “Spring Time” or “Spring Cleaning” can be used as a theme.

Looking at some specific occasions… [Read more…]