The holidays are a special time for family and friends and a critical time for Christian businesses, ministries, and organizations. Not only do consumers tend to spend more money during the holidays, but they are also more likely to be in a positive mood and open to new products and experiences. As a Christian marketer, you have a unique opportunity to appeal to your target audience’s interests and generate substantial engagement and sales during the Christmas holiday and end-of-year giving season.
The key is to start early. If you want a strong, comprehensive holiday campaign, it requires a multi-channel marketing plan with enough time to build awareness and interest. The best time to start is now–whenever you’re reading this. And to help get you started, we’re sharing six strategies to make Christian marketing for the holidays count this year.
1. Create an Emotional Connection with Your Audience
The holidays are all about feelings of love, joy, and togetherness, and you should appeal to people’s emotions during the holiday season. Whether you lean into gratitude during Thanksgiving or generosity during Christmas, you can speak to what people are thinking about and instantly relate to them.
An excellent way to do this is by developing a Thanksgiving and/or Christmas devotional to publish on the YouVersion Bible App. At FrontGate Media, we’ve helped create and publish over 20 (and counting) successful devotionals, and yours could be next. Learn how we can help you get featured in the YouVersion Bible App with your holiday-themed devotional.
2. Infuse Your Website with the Holiday Spirit
Your website is one of the first places someone will go to learn more about your holiday products or donation opportunities. Make sure it’s festive! It can be as simple as adding a Christmas-themed banner to your website homepage or some holiday-inspired images to help promote your campaign and get your audience in the holiday spirit. Not sure what to do? Let our Digital Creative Team give your website a seasonal makeover.
3. Reposition Your Products and Collections
Even if you don’t have holiday-specific items to sell, you can still reposition your products or collections to generate more sales during Christmastime. For example, you can bundle existing products into gift baskets. If you sell Christian books and gifts, create a gift basket people can purchase and give to someone as-is. Or, you can offer gift cards that make the perfect stocking stuffer or gift for coworkers. Make it easy for your shopper or donor to make a quick decision with your top 5-10 options.
If you’re a ministry or organization that wants to increase donations during the holiday season, you can do something similar. For example, rather than a gift card, give people the option to donate in honor of someone. It is the season of giving, after all.
Once you decide how you want to market your products or donation opportunities for the holidays, you can participate in our Christan Women Bloggers Network to get the word out. Let our vetted group of Christian bloggers review and promote your holiday offerings for you. Learn more!
4. Use Email Marketing for the Holidays
Email marketing is one of the best strategies when it comes to Christian marketing for the holidays. With a direct email campaign, you can show up in your target audience’s inboxes with content, offers, and products. At FrontGate Media, we have access to 20 million+ Christian consumers and donors across multiple lists. We can help you develop a holiday email marketing campaign, write and design your emails, and reach and engage the faith and family audience via direct email. Learn more about our Direct Email Marketing Services!
5. Offer Sales and Holiday Promotions
Take advantage of holiday-specific opportunities like gift guides and Black Friday sales to generate more engagement for your brand. You can create Facebook and Instagram or Google advertisements to get the word out and drive traffic to your website. This works for product-based businesses and ministries and organizations with giving opportunities. For example, rather than having a sale on Black Friday weekend, you can promote a matching fund that doubles someone’s donation if they give during a select period.
Whatever type of sale or promotion you offer, reach more people with Facebook/Instagram Ads. Learn how to create advertisements on Facebook, or reach out to us, and we can get a campaign up and running in no time!
6. Stay Active on Social Media
Last but not least, get active and stay active on social media to make the most of Christian marketing for the holidays. Expand beyond your existing audience by partnering with Christian influencers to spread the word about your holiday marketing campaign for you. Learn how our proprietary Christian Influencer Group can get your holiday campaign in front of millions of people, generating donations or purchases, brand awareness, interest, and engagement for your opportunity.
Christian Marketing for the Holidays Made Easy with FrontGate Media
Are you ready to create a one-of-a-kind holiday campaign to reach and engage the faith and family audience this holiday season? FrontGate Media can help! From online advertising to direct email marketing, we can tailor a campaign that will fit your needs and budget. We also offer a variety of creative services, so we can help you come up with a unique way to spread the word about your business, ministry, or organization. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you make the most of Christian marketing for the holidays!