Great Idea for Your Holiday Promo
As we head into the holidays, photographers are trying to think of holiday promos. I have the perfect solution: next year plan ahead and decide what to do in, say, July or August.
Sorry. I know that sounds harsh, but the reality is, if you haven’t planned out your promo by now, you are throwing something together and it will likely not be very successful. If you are lucky, you may get a little bump in web activity, but it is unlikely that you’ll get the payoff you could get from a well planned promo.
The pressure to think up something this late is an extra roadblock you just do not need. Also, if you do come up with a good idea, the short time frame for execution is another hurdle. So often, when you make last-minute promo plans, you will get so busy with work-work (not a bad thing in many ways, of course) that you won’t have the time to execute your promo plan correctly.
So, here is what I suggest: if you don’t have a promo ready to go, take the ideas you are getting now and write them in your calendar as a tickler to pop up in July of next year. Instead, make this holiday one where you just give and don’t try to make anything marketing-ish out of it. Contribute to your favorite (non-religious) charity and shoot your list an email letting them know that is what you are doing this year. Thank your clients for making such gifting possible.
In fact, you can make that your traditional promo for each year instead of spending on self-promotion. Not to toot my own horn, but this is what my company does every year. I buy a big pile of toys (mostly games) and contribute them to Toys for Tots. Doing so helps those who would otherwise not have a very happy holiday season and, honestly, the response I get from my list is always incredibly positive. No one misses getting another holiday promo.
But doing a great holiday promo can be fun, your targets can love it, and it can help your business. So next year, plan on doing something fabulous. Maybe a motion photography holiday “card.” Maybe have a party for your local targets where you also can gather contributions for the local food bank. Maybe make great t-shirts or develop a holiday app. But if you don’t have plans yet this year, don’t panic, and help others instead.
One Response to 'Great Idea for Your Holiday Promo'
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Here’s another thought. Skip it. Be authentic and send heartfelt greetings to those clients you know and love.
My thought is that the number of prospects out there who will look at your holiday promo and say: “Wow, what a clever use of imagery and prose for the holiday” is approaching .0000001%.
If you must – Leslie is right – create a promo that is aimed at going viral; one that will make prospects think you are SOOOO cool they want to BE YOU!
Good luck.