the busy season

It’s officially November, and that can only mean one thing – the start of the busy holiday retail season.

For most makers I know, this is the time of year to make some serious money. Online sales pick up and craft shows are packed with enthusiastic shoppers.

But if you aren’t ready for the influx of holiday traffic, you may miss out on the opportunity to have your most profitable months of the year. So here are a few of my tips for making the most of the busy holiday season:

1. Get your website ready for traffic.  One of the biggest ways to maximize your holiday sales is to be sure that your website is optimized to convert visitors into buyers.  Do your product descriptions entice people to buy? Are your shipping and return policies clear?  Is shopping on your site secure?  Is the checkout process easy?  Go through your website (and have a few friends do the same) and make sure you’re doing everything you can to maximize conversion.

2. Capture email addresses (and then don’t be afraid to use them). Even though people are more likely to buy during the holidays, people will still find their way to your site who aren’t planning on buying right now.  Which is why one of the best things you can do is create a clear place for capturing email addresses.  A sign-up form in the upper right hand corner is the best place, but really anywhere that’s prominent will help.  Then don’t be afraid to email your list throughout the holiday season.  If you stick with delivering useful information to your list, like gift recommendations (from your collection), holiday tips, and shipping deadlines, it won’t seem like spam at all.

3. Set clear shipping deadlines. And speaking of shipping deadlines, make sure you’ve got a clear deadline for when items must be ordered to arrive by the holidays.  I’m a big fan of keeping holiday shipping open as late as possible (and even offer a free upgrade to priority shipping in December).  People tend to be last minute, so if you’ve got items in stock and can ship them up to a few days before Christmas, people will really appreciate it.  Of course, if you’re items are made to order and have a four week lead time, that’s ok too.  Just make that clear on your site.

4. Get your inventory ready.  I have mixed feelings when it comes to creating a lot of inventory ahead of time.  Having a lot of money tied up in inventory can wreak havoc on your cash flow.  But at the same time, not having enough product made ahead of time can mean missing out on sales opportunities.  (Or missing out on your family’s holiday party because you’re frantically trying to get orders out the door.)  If you’ve got a clear idea of your best sellers, you’ll want to be sure you’ve built up a healthy stock of those.  (Use last year’s sales as a guideline.)  If you don’t have a lot of sales data to go on, you’re probably better off focusing on increasing web conversion and marketing than on stocking up on inventory you might not sell.

5.  Make a press push. Just because you don’t have a new product out doesn’t mean you can’t pitch the press.  And while print publications had their holiday issues together months ago, bloggers are still looking for content for the next two months.  Compile a list of blogs that target your ideal customer, and then draft a pitch that highlights a product or two that you think are perfect for the holidays.  It might be a seasonal decoration, the ultimate holiday gift, or the perfect accessory for the office party.  Just remember to address each pitch personally, and never send a mass email.  While you won’t get a feature on every blog you contact, coverage on a few sites might be all you need to take your holiday sales from so-so to great.

These are some of my favorite strategies, but if this isn’t your first holiday season, I’m sure you’ve developed a few of your own.  I’d love to hear in the comments, what are you doing to get ready for the holiday shopping season?

(image credit)

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PS.  If you’d like even more help getting your business ready for the holidays, Tara and I are offering a two-week free trial of The Creative Empire.  Join by Thursday and your first two-weeks are free.  It’s the perfect opportunity to see what The Creative Empire is all about.  You’ll get access to the forums and all the great content (including several conference calls where we brainstorm ideas to get your business holiday ready.)