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It’s the best time of the year, and we know what exactly you need for Christmas – the right marketing strategies to sell your online courses. The holiday season is the most profitable time of the year, and for edupreneurs like you, it’s an incredible chance to increase your sales and profits. So it’s crucial that you deploy the top strategies to take advantage of increased spending while you can.Â
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We’ll show you the finest holiday marketing methods in this detailed blog so you can make your online course ready for the festive season. Let’s get this party started!
Table of Contents
What is holiday marketing?
Holiday marketing is defined as the process of increasing consumer attention through a range of marketing channels in order to provide them with additional valuable offers and raise revenue during the holidays.
Why should you create and implement holiday marketing strategies?
We humans, by nature, enjoy holidays, festivals, and other types of celebrations. It’s the time of year when people celebrate, spend time with their loved ones, and, of course, spend a lot of money. As the holidays approach, pay attention to how happy and excited the people around you are. Holidays are excellent times to interact with prospects and express thoughts of thankfulness and companionship. You may now use these feelings to create stronger emotional relationships with your customers, which will help you develop trust and credibility. It’s the most effective technique to generate a positive impression on customers and grab the audience’s attention. If you don’t have proper Christmas marketing efforts in place, you’re going to miss out on the significant potential to increase sales and profits.
Which is the right time to start your holiday marketing campaigns?
Many online business owners may find it challenging to decide when to start their holiday marketing campaigns. Clients may find it annoying if you begin too early, but you risk losing customers to the competition if you begin too late. In fact, the best timing to launch your marketing initiatives is determined solely by your organisation, its customers, and the product/service (online course in your case).
June – July period is ideal for preparing products and themes for your holiday marketing campaign. August to October is a fantastic time to get started on Christmas content, including video, photos, and other digital content. The Christmas marketing campaign should begin in November. When everything has been adequately planned and delivered, it’s usually time to sit back and evaluate the campaign’s success during December.Â
What are the best strategies for holiday season marketing?
To successfully sell your online courses during the holiday season, deploy the following strategies:
Use data from the previous year
It’s critical to evaluate your past data while deciding on the ideal holiday marketing approach. Because no two businesses are alike, you should build and leverage your own marketing holiday strategy based on your data instead of depending on a one-size-fits-all marketing approach. You may use Google Analytics to better understand your website traffic, demographics, and conversion rate, among other things. Your Christmas sales figures should be the first type of data you examine. Study the last holiday data to see which offers the best bang for your cash and which ones failed to deliver. Remember that just because something didn’t work out the first time doesn’t mean it won’t work out next time. Nevertheless, a reassessment of what occurred and why it was insufficient is required. After examining your holiday marketing statistics, you may quickly set standards for your online teaching business and discover areas for improvement.
Create and deliver ‘trending’ courses
Investing in education, self-development, or coaching is upswing during the holiday season. Certain courses gain more popularity during this period. As a result, trainers have the highest chance of selling online courses over the holiday season. One of the finest gifts to give during this season is a course that helps people reach their future goals. It’s the ideal time for you to promote your online courses as a tutor; all you have to do is come up with a hook to pique people’s interest in what you have to offer. Personal development courses are in high demand during this time of the year. Some courses are meant to make people look and feel better. You may sell online courses on diet, nutrition, fitness, yoga, cooking, or whatever you’re an expert to the right audience by focusing on their desire for the advice or services provided.
Leverage the spirit of the holiday season
Many people experience a wide range of emotions over the holiday season, from worry to joy and everything in between. Make sure to get emotional with your messaging if you want your online course to appeal to these emotions. Instead of talking about how fantastic and valuable your course is in your messaging, tell an emotional narrative about it. You can also highlight success stories, explain how your course can better people’s lives somehow, or give examples of how studying what you’re teaching has benefited others.
Offer course bundles as holiday season edition
People frequently desire to get a gift for themselves while spending money on gifts for others. They may even prefer to invest in their own education or development while helping others. It is especially true of courses that would be enjoyable with a friend, such as exam preparations to encourage each other, dieting, arts and crafts, dancing, or just about any new passion. You can leverage this idea and run a “buy one, get one free” campaign by offering a free course coupon that they can redeem on a dual enrollment after someone buys your course. Alternatively, you might provide two course coupons or discount redemption cards. Just remember to make it a limited-time offer to encourage customers to buy right away and remind them how to gift a course from your landing page.
Holiday course bundles serve a valuable purpose, and they can yield a considerable return on investment during any busy shopping season. If you have more than one course, come up with a tempting offer and develop a course bundle that gives away two or more courses for less than the cost of buying them separately. It allows learners to purchase many courses simultaneously, saving them both time and money. After all, why sell one course when you can sell two, three, or more.
Treat customers with special holiday offers
This is the time of year to be merry and give to others. Offers and bundles can be complicated, so you’ll need to strike a balance to avoid losing money. But that’s one of the best aspects of the holiday season. Because it’s a busy shopping season, you can count on a big return on your investment based just on volume. For individuals looking for yearly promotional discounts, holiday or special seasonal deals can benefit. In addition, December is the second-best month for trainers to make enormous sales. What’s even better is that you can do it in diverse ways. Discounts, coupons, freebies, gift cards, and extras all work well as additional incentives in this situation. For instance, you may offer a free course as a bonus with a purchase or a discount on an existing course to attract new learners. Alternatively, you can provide a discount by creating a limited-time coupon code.
Be active on social media platforms
A successful online tutor should expand their business beyond a website or an e-learning platform. In this case, an online coaching platform that allows you to integrate with your other social media accounts is crucial. Once you’ve figured that out, start looking for online communities related to your course. Then, using social media marketing, publicise your holiday specials and, of course, sell more of your online course. Utilise social media sites such as Instagram and Facebook. Let your audience know you’re offering a discount on online courses and what’s available right now. Also, join online forums and social media groups relevant to your course themes or that you believe are part of your target audience. Then provide a link to a landing page (specific to your holiday season campaign) where you can give away free material. It’s tough to ignore strong content marketing in the form of a blog post or a video that describes who you are, as well as some promotional offers. You can create an events page on Facebook to develop anticipation and a sense of urgency utilising last-minute discounts. You can also use countdown postings to let people know when your deals are about to expire.
Decorate your website
People enjoy festive-themed websites, especially around the holidays. Of course, the way you adorn your website will be determined by your niche and sector. However, even a Christmas theme or wintery iconography might make your website more inviting. People notice when online businesses go above and beyond—bonus points for innovation. You can also take this opportunity to adorn your new site to match your campaigns or special deals. Redesigning the entire site is an arduous task, and we don’t suggest you do it at this hour of rush. Instead, with a few festive tweaks and marketing efforts, you may customise your site for the Holiday season. You can, for example, make banners and hero images to promote your Christmas and New Year sales. You can also add a timer or countdown clock to the side of a special event or advertising opportunity, replete with snowflakes or Santa visuals. You can also use templates to design graphics and promote your festive sale. Updating some items on your website to say “It’s New Year!” will encourage people to keep buying and stay in the spirit of the holiday season.
Update your landing page and messages with holiday season theme
Try to include a brief description on your course landing page that appeals to the festive season. If possible, change the promo video to be more seasonal (i.e., wear a Santa hat, use holiday-themed background music). Also, add Christmas colours and imagery in your promotional emails and social media posts. When users see your promotion, they will quickly recognise that it is seasonal, and they will be more inclined to pay attention.
Alter course keywords to appear in the holiday search results
Search engine optimisation or SEO is a highly effective marketing tool. You can utilise SEO to market your online course at any time of year, whether it’s during the week or over the holidays. Consider including Christmas-related keywords in the title of your course. If that’s too much trouble, include them in the subtitle or course description instead. It will help to get your course in front of your intended audience. Your primary course keywords should still appear in the title, subtitle, or course description. But, if there’s a way to incorporate a seasonal keyword phrase, go for it.
Conduct a giveaway
Gift cards can be used to give a little present to loved ones, partners, family, and friends. Those who believe that books make the best gifts are more inclined to invest in an online course that provides valuable information, the opportunity to learn a new skill or even a new hobby. Gift cards have always been the most popular present! Giving customers a choice to purchase access to a course is an excellent method to send out gift cards to those who find the course interesting. You can combine gift cards with a holiday theme with a Christmas or New Year card, an e-card, or New Year offers and discounts.
Engage your audience with a holiday season themed webinar
Webinars are a terrific way to communicate with potential customers and convert them into paying customers. It is ideal for those who provide step-by-step instructions and tutorials on DIY and craft projects, as well as culinary and catering services. Hospitality and retail industries can profit the most from this because they can be tailored to the holiday season. If you do video presentations, you can pick a holiday-related topic and discuss it in a webinar where you can offer free expert advice. Make it even more festive by adding a Christmas theme. While this does not guarantee increased sales or conversion rates, it does assist in engaging customers and persuading them to purchase courses. Make sure your webinar broadcast system is reliable. Mykademy’s white label LMS platform is ideal for conducting instantaneous webinars and does not require any extra translation software. The platform is also highly customisable, making it simple to incorporate a holiday theme into your webinars.
Consider giving charity
Kindness is the theme of this season. Small businesses might profit from donating to a charity not only monetarily but also in terms of brand visibility. An organisation that supports a charity that consumers care about has a more positive image among customers. They’re also more likely to switch brands if the quality and pricing are similar. Promoting a charity can help you attract donors who wish to help a good cause. It’s not only a perfect method to support a worthy cause, but it’s also a brilliant marketing approach. People will be interested in an online course that promises to donate a particular proportion of all earnings to a charity that will make someone else’s Christmas brighter.
Use affiliate programs
Affiliate programmes, especially when coupled with a reputable SaaS LMS provider, are a great way to create consistent revenue. It’s also relatively simple to operate. All you have to do is develop high-quality content. The next step is to advertise it adequately. Collaborate with affiliates to promote holiday season specials. It shouldn’t be too difficult to locate. You can find partners from a variety of places, including conferences, affiliate directories, and even your current customers. Make sure these websites are holiday-themed. You can promote your holiday deal using affiliates by sending out custom-made content to your academy’s most active participants. You can give them incentives in this manner, such as performance awards or prizes. You may even design a special coupon to give to your affiliate’s audience and direct them back to your website.
Generate a sense of urgency
While there are multiple ways to create a sense of urgency in the lead-up to the New Year, you might want to consider offering a special deal for your first 50 customers. It could be anything from a low-value free gift to a limited-time discount. Customers will feel compelled to act if you announce offerings that are only available for a limited time. It brings us to our next suggestion of strategy.
Offer limited-period bonus
People, in general, are more likely to participate in an offer if they believe it will expire after the holidays are past. Hence, it will be wise to use limited-time bonuses and your other promotional deals to boost the value of your online course subscription. Add limited-time offers like individual sessions, consultations, or even discounted learning materials to your regular deals. Bonuses could also include consultation calls, one-on-one or video group coaching, access to private social media groups, or other e-learning materials, including e-books, PDFs, videos, and others. These are more likely to persuade people to take your offers seriously and act on them. These give your audience a sense of urgency.Â
Invest in the power of email campaigns
Emails are potent channels to communicate with your engaged audience explicitly. Building your own email list and optimising your email content, on the other hand, is the key to success. People tend to underestimate the power of email marketing. Businesses can gain enormous benefits from email marketing. On the other hand, a business owner must be strategic in their approach. An article published by Snovio states, email marketing = ROI, and the subject line of an email influences 47% of email receivers. Hence, make it holiday-themed because it’s the season! During the holidays in 2019, there was also a 68% increase in mobile-based retail spending, states DigitalCommerce360. Take advantage of the situation. Select an online course selling platform that complies with this requirement. Mykademy’s all-in-one LMS platform that supports mobile learning is ideal.
One of the most effective methods to use email marketing is to segment your database so that only the most relevant content is sent to your recipients, increasing open rates, click-through rates, and conversions. Here are some holiday email marketing ideas to get you started:
- Make announcements –Â Send announcement emails to existing subscribers beforehand to let them know about the highlights of holiday sales, as well as reminder emails when the deal begins.
- Limit sale offers –Â Sending a hot deal that is exclusively available to email subscribers is a brilliant way to capture the attention in a tightly packed inbox. One of the best holiday marketing ideas is to send conditional discounts. For example, if your consumers purchased a specific amount this year, they will receive a bonus discount on all of your products the next year.
- Greet your customers – Subscribers will feel special if they receive emails with Christmas or New Year wishes or greetings on any special occasions for that matter. Surprisingly, these emails also help subscribers know that you are reaching out to them not just to sell but also to show that you care.
- Send reminders – You can send reminder emails with countdown timers a few days before the holiday deal finishes to encourage customers to shop immediately.
The different types of emails that are appropriate for your holiday email marketing campaign are:
- Welcome emails – These are the emails you send to your newly added subscribers to welcome them to your institution or school. These have a 45.7% open rate, which is significantly higher than promotional emails, which have an open rate of 18.8%. Because welcome emails have such a high open rate, they’re an essential marketing tool. This email form helps establish a personal relationship with customers, thereby increasing customer lifetime value. There are several ways to optimise your welcome emails, such as sending it immediately after subscription, including branded media, or making it human-friendly instead of writing a default message saying ‘Your subscription is verified. ‘Make sure your brand is easily identifiable by including a high-resolution logo that reminds people who are contacting them. Let them participate by recommending things that will make them continue shopping. Offer customers incentives, such as coupon codes or free shipping, to encourage them to read your welcome email.
- Relevant promotional emails – Promotional emails are sent with the goal of completing a purchase or achieving another conversion, and they frequently end with a call to action that directs the recipient to take the desired action, such as buying, downloading, or signing up for an event. For this type of email, it’s crucial to focus on the relationship you develop with your customers and describe who you are, rather than merely stating the obvious. Holiday consumers will be interested in knowing what offers and promotions you are providing this year. And the most effective approach to do so is to send an email that contains the latest relevant promotional offers. It will set customers’ expectations if you give them details about your holiday deals. Here’re a few things to optimise your promotional emails: Try to segment your database and focus on the basic needs of your audience like intimacy, self-worth, progress, self-realisation, freedom, etc., that the offered course can provide as well as the level of security that can influence them to take the next step beyond price/discount. Be mindful of how frequently you send emails; sending too many of them can backfire. Remember to experiment with different promotional email formats or designs and types, such as surprise offers, limited-period offers, newsjacking, contests, new product launches, freebies, sales, and selective promos.
- Post-purchase emails – These are follow-up emails sent with the intention of increasing your sales. They can recommend other courses, another one of your products or a bundle, or even send a coupon to use again or give to a friend. To strengthen the after-purchase communications via emails, you should create an ambience, express gratitude, and welcome new learners by demonstrating their next steps. You might also give them a present, such as coupons or discounts.
Take away
Timing is everything when it comes to marketing, promotion, and sales. If you want the holiday season to be a success, make sure you’re providing your potential learners with what they need at the right moment.
Customising your online school’s theme to meet your learners’ needs while also providing a touch of the festive season is vital, and you don’t want to miss out on this fantastic chance. An online course selling platform that supports customisation, white-labelling, and the use of multiple course formats such as video, text files, and audio will come in handy here. Your course will look more professional with a simple screencast or video. You may use it to attract more customers. At the end of the day, whether it’s the holiday season or not, you’ll need to come up with innovative marketing methods to promote and sell your online courses and use the resources available to you to flourish as an online tutor. Mykademy is undoubtedly the best platform for selling online courses. Reach out to our website to schedule a demo or take a 14-day free trial as your first step.
We hope that the holiday marketing techniques we’ve assembled will assist you in satisfying customers, increasing traffic, and raising profits! Keep yourself motivated, make realistic goals, and remember to put your customers first!
Kick off better sales in 2022. Cheers folks!
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