5 Easy and Effective Holiday Marketing Ideas for Your Business

It seems that, at least in the US, the holiday season starts earlier and earlier, with Christmas cards taking over most of the card section of any store right after Halloween (if not before!).

And while it bugs me to hear holiday music over the store speakers while I'm shopping for my daughter's Halloween costume (because by the time Santa does visit, I'm quite tired of dreaming of a "White Christmas"), as far as planning on how to market for and during the holiday season for my business, it's almost never too early.

As you may know, one of the mantras of Client Abundance is "Giver's Get," in the sense that you are giving from a place of having no expectation of getting anything in return.

What follows are 5 ways that you can give in your business, feel really good about it, and reap the rewards from the Universe.

1. Thank your clients and customers.

An obvious one to do around Thanksgiving is to show your gratitude to your current clients and customers for their business. But you might be surprised at how few business owners actually take the time to do this.

It could be something as simple as expressing your thanks in a short email. Or you could send a thank you card in the mail. Or you could take it a step further and do what I'm doing this year - sending a postcard expressing my gratitude with a link to a special - and fr*e - gift to my VIP clients and customers.

Taking the time to say thank you goes a long way towards deepening that all-important relationship with your current clients and customers. If you do nothing else this holiday season, at least do this.

(See this article for many more ideas of how to show appreciation to your clients and customers.)

2. Give your ezine list a gift.

Your 'pot of gold' in your business in your email list of potential clients and customers. You should always be treating them well, but at least once a year, offer them a gift - no stings attached - just because...

This year, I'll be offering my second annual 12 Days of Christmas series to my ezine subscribers (that's you!), where they will receive something of value that will benefit them in building their business once a day for the 12 days leading up to Christmas. This was a huge hit last year, and it was a blast for me to come up with something new each day.

You don't have to offer 12 gifts, however. Just one will do very nicely as well.

3. Give a holiday coupon.

As a gift to your list as well as to give you a boost in your income, why not offer a coupon towards one or more of your offerings. You could offer a 2-for-1 coaching session, or a 20% off discount for one of your ebooks or ecourses, or you could offer a special price for the month of December only on one of your programs.

4. Give your affiliates a gift.

Your affiliates are also one of your greatest assets in your business. Show your gratitude to the folks who have chosen to join your 'sales force' by increasing their commissions for the holiday season.

Ideally, your commission rate should be at least 25%. Why not reward them further for promoting your offerings by doubling their commissions to 50%?

5. Give yourself a gift.

And don't forget yourself! If you haven't already, hire a virtual assistant*** to help you now so you can enjoy more of your holidays. You'll be so glad you did and you'll never go back to being a lone ranger!

I'd like to invite you to choose at least two of these ways of giving in your business to implement this holiday season. And then let me know how it goes - email me directly at alicia@clientabundance.com.

© 2006 Alicia M Forest and ClientAbundance.com

Alicia M Forest, MBA, Multiple Streams Queen & Coach™, founder of http://www.clientabundance.com/, and creator of "21 Easy & Essential Steps to Online Success System™, teaches coaches, consultants, online entrepreneurs, and self-employed professionals how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE tips on how to create abundance in your business, visit http://www.clientabundance.com/