Just like that, the holiday season approaches again. With it, seasonal marketing campaigns will flood inboxes and clutter the snail-mail of your favorite customers. This is an important time of year to develop an innovative strategy to boost awareness and bring in business.

How can you capture the coveted attention of your target audience during the most wonderful time of the year?

To make the most out of your marketing efforts, you’ll want to prepare ahead of time and develop a strategy specifically for holiday campaigning. Your competitors aren’t going to hold back, so neither should you! Keep your print marketing campaign top of mind by following these four tips.

1. Plan Ahead

There’s no time to waste. Map out your holiday marketing campaign in advance so you have plenty of time to create, design, produce, and distribute your material. It’s never too soon to start brainstorming and researching other successful holiday campaigns. You can also get a step ahead by reaching out to your printer and preallocating time and materials for your project. (They’ll appreciate the heads up!)

Timing is key: You have a very specific window during which your audience will be shopping for the right holiday products. Sending out your materials at the right time is just as important as having an effective design. Engage your audience too early, and your efforts may very well be forgotten or disregarded entirely. 

Send them out too close to Christmas time, and your competitors will already have one foot in the door. Let your marketing campaign trickle throughout the season, starting around or after Halloween and picking up steam into December.

2. Offer Variety

Aren’t you sick and tired of receiving the same holiday gifts from your family and friends? You know the ones: A person can only own so many pairs of fuzzy socks or holiday mugs. In the context of marketing, your materials are like holiday gifts—don’t just hand out the same trinkets as your competitors for the sake of convenience. Your campaign should reflect creativity and thoughtfulness if you want to stand apart from the crowd.

From personalized holiday cards and address labels to holiday booklets and calendars, there are plenty of direct mail products to choose from that are as practical as they are promotional. Within your business, try creating seasonal posters, banners, and window displays to attract prospects right from your storefront and neighborhood. No matter what you choose to create, take care to craft an effective message. This time of year, you’ll find more success with warm, friendly messaging than you will pitching a cold, hard sale. ‘Tis indeed the season to be jolly!

3. Target Your Audience

You’ve heard it plenty of times before, but a friendly reminder never hurts: Know your audience.

This advice is critical for any marketing campaign, but it’s especially important during the holidays due to the overabundance of mass-marketing efforts from businesses of all kinds. While it sounds tempting to go all out and hit as many prospects as possible, casting a wide net is not the answer.

Take a moment to reflect on your target audience and current customers. Are they likely to purchase from you during the holiday season? Will they require a bit of convincing? Is there a promotion or announcement you have in store that may benefit a particular segment of your audience? Understanding where your warm leads reside can help you direct a more successful campaign.

4. Make it Magical

The holiday season is the best time of year to add something flashy to your print projects. Take full advantage of your options: You can use metallics, foils, special inks, and dyes to enhance the wow factor of your marketing material. The weight of paper alone can change a prospect’s perception of your marketing efforts. With so many shoppers making purchases during the holiday season, this isn’t the time to cut corners and hope for the best. Think big and consult your printer for innovative ways to elevate your project and rake in sales.

If you’re planning a direct mail campaign, here’s some advice on how to make it as successful as possible.

Spread Holiday Cheer

Print marketing during the holiday season is a no-brainer, but success lies in your approach. Take care to observe the above advice if you’re looking to make a real impact this year.

You’re going to need a print provider that can bring your vision to life. That’s Advertisers Printing: We’ll help hit your target with customized, high-quality products that are guaranteed to impress. Contact Advertisers Printing, a St. Louis printing company today to start on your holiday print marketing campaign.