How to Thrive & Survive This Holiday Season
The holiday season is suddenly in full swing! It can be an exciting time for business, but also hectic and anxiety-producing as we hustle to reach our end of year goals.
We wanted to take a moment (and a breath) to check in. As a small business owner or creative entrepreneur it often feels like you are just trying to stay afloat. We feel you and want to help! We are sharing a few tips below on how to not just survive this holiday season, but thrive.
1.Ruthlessly Prioritize
Whether it’s a goal you’re working towards, a collaboration, an event, or a networking coffee – it’s OK to push non-urgent items to next year. In fact, it can be beneficial to your business to give yourself a little more time to plan in advance and be thoughtful about an outstanding initiative or to-do item rather than try to rush and make it happen this year. Rework your to-do list and prioritize. Everything that is not urgent, move it over to a 2024 calendar. Our 2024 PR Plan template is a great tool to organize this.
2. Map Out an End-of-Year Plan
Put pen to paper and map out a plan from now until the end of the year. Write down key dates (promo launches, holiday shipping deadlines, etc.), events or initiatives (pop ups, launches, giveaways, collaborations, etc.), and content (website updates, blog posts, newsletters, social media announcements) to make sure nothing gets overlooked during the chaos.
3. Collaborate
The holiday season is a great time to collaborate with other small businesses or influencers who you already have a relationship with. A few ideas for a holiday collaboration:
A co-branded giveaway: Partner with 1-2 like-minded brands who have the same audience as you to coordinate an exciting, festive giveaway item. This could be an Instagram giveaway or newsletter giveaway, depending on what your business goals are.
Gift guide: Curate a gift guide with products and services from other brands you love. Share it on social media and/or your blog and newsletter. Tag everyone so they can reshare!
Spotlight feature: Spotlight a small business owner or influencer you love on your Instagram and/or blog and newsletter. Ask them about their favorite holiday traditions or how they are using your product/service this season. If there is time for them to snap pictures of your product/service to share on their channels as well, even better!
Send holiday gifts: Select 1-3 influencers (or like-minded small business owners) to gift your product or service to in exchange for posting to their Instagram.
4. Thank Your Customers
The end of the year is a nice moment to say thank you to your customers. Here are a few way you can say “thank you” and treat them this season:
Include a special gift with purchase on orders placed through the end of the year
Include handwritten notes with all orders
Offer promos exclusively to your newsletter subscribers
Send an end of year “thank you” email letting them know how much their support means to you and what you have been able to accomplish over the past year with their help
5. Look Ahead and Plan for 2024!
It may be hard to pull yourself away, especially when you are at your busiest, but starting to plan for next year is an important in getting off the hamster wheel and shifting to a proactive mindset rather than reactive.
Start by doing a visualization exercise and think about where you want to be this time next year. Would you like to be launching an exciting new capsule collection? Partnering with your dream influencer? Securing a press placement in your favorite publication’s seasonal gift guide?
Our free 2024 PR Plan Prep series provides videos, a planning worksheet, and a PR Plan template to guide your planning.
6. Take Time Off
When you are doing it ALL on your own, it’s challenging to unplug. Proactively block as much time as feasible for YOU now so you have plenty of time to sort out any logistics needed to make it happen. Spend this time doing whatever will help you start the new year feeling refreshed and ready to tackle your goals – whether that is napping, Netflix binging, reading, morning walks, coffee breaks, baking cookies, or quality time with family.
