Seasonal marketing: how to use commemorative dates to make your digital business take off

In recent years, digital entrepreneurs have inspired many retailers and traditional vendors with their sales strategies. However, there is much to learn from retail. The use of seasonal marketing, exploring the commemorative dates in the year, is something the best vendors master like no one else.

Have you noticed how every retailer, as a general rule, uses commemorative dates to boost their sales? Many brands and store-owners plan, months in advance, their campaigns for Christmas, Mother’s Day, Easter and other special dates.

Producers and Affiliates can also hitch a ride in this traditional strategy and explore new sales opportunities. The market of digital products doesn’t yet explore seasonal marketing very well, and digital entrepreneurs who are already suiting their campaigns according to the time of the year stand out.

Another important advantage for those who sell digital products is that when there is a peak in sales, in a determined time of the year, it does not incur in logistical challenges. As the delivery can be 100% automated, the effort to sell 1 or 1,000 products is the same. Those who have an e-commerce with physical products do not share the same advantage and can run into obstacles when it is time to ship the items to the buyers.

Without having the hindrance to ship products, the increase in sales happens with a slight increase in investment. Producers and Affiliates need only change the promotion strategy and reap the benefits of the opportunity marketing which happens at specific times in the year.

Some of the most important dates celebrated all over the world are: Christmas, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Father’s Day, and Children’s Day. But other dates, such as Easter and the very popular Black Friday, also give a boost to the market in specific niches.

In order for digital entrepreneurs to take advantage of these commemorative dates without losing the focus, it is necessary to take some tips into consideration. Besides adapting the promotion campaigns, it is worth it to direct your attention to some other points.

How to create a calendar with commemorative dates

Working with commemorative dates means planning your actions really well. Those who start thinking about Christmas campaigns in the month of December are already way too late to do something that will create impact.

The first step is to map the dates that can impact your business the most, in advance. Therefore there will be enough time to make the necessary adjustments to the product and to the promotion strategy.

In order for you not to miss any opportunities, you should check some seasonal calendars on Google. With this research, you can select the dates that relate to your niche or that can, in some way, boost your sales.

More than just the obvious dates, such as Christmas and Easter, a national calendar can give you some lesser-known opportunities that can bring excellent results. For example: if your product is about cooking and gastronomy, the World Pizza Day may have a positive impact on your promotions. And an entrepreneur who promotes beauty courses can take advantage of the National Hairdresser Appreciation Day to offer a special deal.

Understanding your audience and your business life cycle

To better take advantage of commemorative dates, it is necessary to understand your business model really well. Understand your product life cycle and to whom it is aimed. For example: a store in a shopping mall carries out a beachwear campaign before the summer. But the wholesale supplier needs to start his promotion even before the winter begins.

The same logic applies to digital entrepreneurs. Does your product teach people how to make Easter eggs? Then you have to start contacting your buyers in January or February. Starting the campaigns during Easter wouldn’t be a good idea. That’s why we have to reinforce the importance of planning the campaigns in advance.

After mapping the most important events in the year for your business and understand your audience, let’s move on to the tips that can boost your sales in the dates selected:

1. Use commemorative dates to find sub-niches

This is the golden tip in this post. Producers and Affiliates focusing on a specific market niche can see commemorative dates as an opportunity to create and promote products in different sub-niches. Let’s take a look at some examples?

Take the personal finances niche, for example, and see how it can be adapted to each period of the year:

• Valentine’s day: a product about personal finances for couples who wish to start a life together;
• Children’s day: a product for parents who wish to save money to finance their children’s education;
• New Year’s: financial planning tips to make your new year’s resolutions possible.

The same logic applies to all other niches in the market. We can think about another example. Take the arts and crafts niche:

• Easter: a product on how to create Easter-themed ornaments for gifts;
• Valentine’s Day: a product on how to customize romantic gift wraps;
• Children’s Day: a product on how to create toys out of recycled material.

These products, used to take advantage of the seasonal marketing of your business, can be sold separately or in your sales funnel strategy. With seasonal products, the digital entrepreneur can adapt the offers in the funnel according to each time of the year. This is an excellent way of reaching the same audience of the main offer to make different sales.

2. Use commemorative dates to adapt the bonus in the offer

For some entrepreneurs, the tip on creating themed digital products according to the time of the year can be a little bit complicated. After all, the strategy requires many different launches and promotions.

However, there is a simpler way of achieving a similar result. As digital entrepreneurs, Affiliates and Producers can and should offer some automatic bonus to the buyers. Taking this opportunity to create a themed bonus for different commemorative dates can prove to be an excellent boost to sales.

Unlike the Product itself, the bonus you offer can be something simpler, such as a supplementary material, a short ebook, a podcast or even an extra video lesson. The important thing is to adapt all the campaigns, including the sales page and emails, to inform the buyer of the benefit. Make it clear that the bonus is completely free so that the main offer becomes more appealing.

Observe the international calendar for commemorative dates

When the product is connected to the international market or it has been translated into other languages, it is important to take advantage of the commemorative dates in other countries. The festive calendar varies immensely from country to country, and with this in mind, the digital entrepreneur can explore new sales opportunities.

An entrepreneur with a product that relates to the Brazilian culture, for example, can use the Carnival in his campaigns. And an product on Spanish gastronomy can take advantage of Three Kings’ Day. These are simple initiatives, which can have a positive impact in your promotion strategies and set you apart from the competition during these times of the year.

Make changes to the Copy and Design in your campaigns

The simplest way of exploring commemorative dates in a digital business is to adapt promotion campaigns. If the entrepreneur doesn’t think it will be a strategic move to make changes to the product or bonus, it is worth exploring the opportunity marketing in the ads.

Creating themed campaign templates, with a design that applies to the commemorative date, can be a good way of standing out in the crowd. The digital Producer can also make this media available at Hotmart so the Affiliates are able to use it their campaigns.

It is even simpler to adapt the copy in the ads according to the time of the year. A product in the relationship niche can’t miss the opportunities that arise from Valentine’s Day, for example. With simple changes to the promotion copy, it is possible to create a link between the product and the time of the year.

Use commemorative dates in your relationship with the client

The digital entrepreneur with an email list can take advantage of the commemorative dates to contact his leads. In these contacts, not necessary does he need to promote a digital product. The communication can be a friendly way of keeping in touch with the customers, wishing them a Merry Christmas or Happy New Year, for example.

It’s important to remember that carrying our email marketing campaigns with the sole objective of making sales can lead to rejection from your contacts. That’s why you should always offer free, relevant content, to your leads.

Offer seasonal deals and draws

A great of celebrating the commemorative dates is by giving people presents. After all, for most of the holidays and special dates, people do exchange gifts with one another.

Special deals and raffles increase engagement and reach of your campaigns. The digital entrepreneur can incorporate this strategy to his business.

The raffle can give out a special gift, or even free access to a product. The promotion of this special campaign can be made through all channels, such as your blog, social media, and email marketing.

Producers and Affiliates who wish to include seasonal marketing in their strategies don’t necessarily need to carry out all the ideas in this post. It is possible to start with just a few of them, test the waters and see how the audience accepts it, and measure the results. After that, you just need to select the ones that were the most successful.

The tendency is that, year by year, the entrepreneur will identify the most suitable commemorative dates for his business. Then, it will be easier to replicate what was successful and correct the mistakes.

On a final note, a tip: use the “Black Friday” to boost your digital business. The date is getting stronger and stronger, all over the world, and it is an excellent period to offer deals on your digital product. The success in a Black Friday campaign is directly connected to the discount offered. On this date, buyers are looking for excellent deals that they cannot find at any other time in the year.

If you liked this post, take the opportunity to plan your seasonal marketing campaigns. Also, learn how to organize your content for social media and ads in our post how to create an editorial calendar.