The holiday season is a busy time for small business owners and nonprofits. Use these tips to stand out from your competition, reach your audience, and have your best season yet!

2. 1.3 billion

3. That’s the number of emails
Constant Contact customers
sent last year in the week
leading up to Cyber Monday.

4. With so much competition in
the inbox, you may be
wondering how you’re going to
STAND OUT
this holiday season.

5. We recently reached out to 21
small business experts to get
their best tips for standing out
during the holidays.

6. Here’s what they had to
say…

7. 1. Start early
Vito Marchese
Founder, Whiteboard Studio Inc.
@VitoMarchese
“Plan ahead — set up an
automated email series to help
plan for the holiday season. Do all
the set up in the slow summer
months and execute/launch it
during the busy holiday season.”

8. 2. Put your customer first
Barry Moltz
Author of How to Get Unstuck
@barrymolt
“Ask yourself: How does
your company want the
customer to feel during the
holidays? Make that
happen!”

9. 3. Offer something valuable
Anita Campbell
Founder, Small Business Trends
@smallbiztrends
“Give existing customers a discount
on something you know they really
value — your best-selling item, for
instance. Give them a code to share it
with someone else, too.
By giving preference to existing
customers, you show you value them.
And they can spread the love, if they
wish, with the discount code making
them heroes, too.”

10. 4. Give gift ideas
Dawn Noble
Owner, La Provence
@laprov
“One year I did 50 gifts under $50,
and I had a whole slideshow I
sent out. People really responded
to that! I'll try to insert buttons
into my emails, so they can just
shop right in the email, and get
back to my website.”

11. 5. Be sentimental
Bryan Caplan
CEO, BJC Branding
@bjcbranding
“For the vast majority of people,
holiday time is all about family. To
differentiate from your competitors,
take this chance to let your customers
know that they are more than just a
dollar sign to you — they are your
extended family that helps to provide a
roof over your head, clothes to wear,
and meals to eat.
You'll find the sentiment (and
subsequent sales) exist long after the
holidays are over.”

12. 6. Keep it simple
Heath Bowman
Owner, Southeastern Underdeck Systems
www.southeasternunderdeck.com
“You probably don’t even need as
much content as you start with,
so just write something up and
keep it simple.”

13. 7. Use video
Natalie Gouché
Founder, L.A. Social Media Trainer Inc.
@NatalieGouche
“Business owners can make sure their
marketing stands out by including
more VIDEO across all platforms.
There will be so many people
promoting the same thing (as them)
and video helps customers make a
more informed decision by seeing
exactly what they are getting.”

14. 8. Show your gratitude
Vincent Ng
President, MCNG Marketing
@vincentng
“When it comes to marketing, beat
the December crowd and send out
Thanksgiving cards to your clients
and customers. Tell them how
grateful you are for their business
before all the other guys do during
Christmas.”

15. 9. Get creative
Sarah Waters
Brand Director, Treat Cupcakes
@TreatCupcake
“You don’t have to always send out
sales. If you send out a creative
recommendation (like our cupcake
centerpiece) or unique gift idea, that
can be a breath of fresh air among all
the special offers. We try to solve a
problem for them or inspire our
customers.”

16. 10. Provide a “WOW” experience
Gail Goodman
CEO, Constant Contact
@Gail_Goodman
“This holiday season make the most of
the personal connections you’ve
formed with your customers,
connections that your bigger
competitors simply don’t have.
Engage and reward your loyal
customers — ideas include giving
them special shopping hours, great
gift ideas, free wrapping, shipping or
more. Create personalized “wow”
moments that drive positive word of
mouth — and more prospects through
your door.”

17. 11. Be strategic
Jake Burns
Founder, South Direkt
@SouthDirekt
“Consider all of the typical
messages your potential customers
have coming their way during the
holiday season (Sale, BOGO, Santa).
Now, recall your unique value
proposition and what would drive
you to engage if you were the
customer. Implement a simple,
easy-to-execute plan that
frequently, consistently, and
meaningfully conveys your value
proposition and offers via email,
social media, and other marketing
channels.”

18. 12. Do something different
Jeremy Goldman
Founder, Firebrand Group
@jeremarketer
“Look at what everyone else is doing
and rather than zig — do something
incrementally better than everyone
else — try to zag.
This could mean a non holiday-
themed color palette, a marketing
tactic that none of your competitors
are trying, or a type of unique
promotion you haven't seen
anywhere within your industry. That's
my best advice: break through the
clutter and stand out.”

19. 13. Be bold
Peter Lovis
Owner, The Cheese Shop
@concordcheese
“I have a cheese parade. I guess
that stands out…”

20. 14. Go behind-the-scenes
Donna Moritz
Founder, Socially Sorted
@SociallySorted
“Empower team members to get
festive and share visual content
leading in to the holiday season —
short video and images that show
the humans "behind" the business
will resonate with fans who are in
celebration mode. Let the festive
engagement begin!”

21. 15. Communicate warmly
Martin Shervington
Consultant, Plus Your Business!
@MartinSherv
“Marketing is about communication.
And right now people are feeling
connected to friends and family, as
the holiday season arrives.
Evoking such emotions and attaching
your product or service to such warm
and fuzzies is a good start. But you
also need to create action once you
have people's attention. Think how to
relate to where they are and move
them forward: 'Perfect for
Thanksgiving', 'An ideal way for
holiday makers to relax, and let
[product] do the hard work.”

22. 16. Stay consistent
Kolbie Richardson
Online Manager, No Rest for Bridget
@norest4bridget
“We discount a few ‘surprise’ items
for every Friday in December and
let our subscribers know with
email.
By having this consistency with an
ongoing sale, we are able to stand
out from our competitors and it
also gives our customers
something exciting to look forward
to every week in December!”

23. 17. Create something memorable
Mike Gingerich
Co-founder, TabSite
@mike_gingerich
“Create a digital-wide plan (social
media and web) that touches the
heart and is cohesive across all
your assets.
Marketing such as Coca-Cola's
Polar Bear commercials were cute,
warm, memorable, and left you
with that "Aww, that's nice" feeling.
This touch of the heart will go
much farther than screaming "Buy
Now for Best Discount!"

24. 18. Go mobile
Chris Litster
SVP Sales and Marketing, Constant Contact
@cmlitster
“Don’t let your long To Do list
overwhelm you. Take advantage
of your phone by creating,
sending, and tracking mobile-
optimized email offers wherever
and whenever — chances are your
customers will be reading and
acting on those very same offers
while they’re on the go too!”

25. 19. Say thanks
Melonie Dodaro
CEO, Top Dog Social Media
@MelonieDodaro
“Take the time to acknowledge and
thank your customers.
It’s important to remember that the
holiday season isn’t joyous for
everyone, some people really struggle
at this time of year, especially if they
are alone or recently lost a close family
member.
Find ways to include small, random
acts of kindness and make them feel
special. If you want to really wow them,
take it offline and mail handwritten
cards to some of your best customers!”

26. 20. Go above and beyond
Kathy Hays
Digital Strategist, Xcelacore
@Xcelacore
“Small Businesses can make their
holiday marketing stand out by doing
something totally unexpected but
appreciated.
For example, a small gift shop can
offer free gift wrapping; a oil change
shop can offer a free interior car
vacuuming; a local restaurant can
offer an extra $5 dollars for a gift card
purchase of $50, or an extra $10 on
the card for an additional $100 card.”

27. 21. Show you care
Chris Del Grande
Founder, Valued Merchant Services
@ValuedMerchants
“Show empathy, be human and
think like your customer.”

28. Make this your best holiday season yet
with stand-out email marketing!
Try Constant Contact for free today.