The holiday season, from Black Friday to New Year’s, is a golden marketing opportunity for small businesses. For small business owners and marketers working with limited budgets, these practical and easy-to-implement holiday marketing strategies can boost visibility, drive engagement and increase sales during the festive period. This article can help you build a smart, seasonal approach to marketing with 10 holiday marketing tips.
From early planning and budget-friendly promo ideas to online strategies and emotional storytelling that taps into the spirit of the season, we’ll walk you through Christmas marketing ideas for small businesses based on thousands of small business holiday campaigns VistaPrint has supported over the years. So you’re getting tried-and-tested festive marketing advice from a printing and marketing partner who understands what works.
- Planning ahead is essential. Finalize promotions, prepare social media content and stock inventory weeks before key holiday dates to stay on track and reduce stress.
- Limited-time seasonal offers and festive product bundles attract customers and increase sales over the holidays.
- Collaborating with local influencers or businesses can expand your reach and build trust.
- Giveaways and community events are powerful, low-cost ways to engage your audience and strengthen relationships during the festive season.
- Emotional storytelling, festive packaging and seasonal updates to your website can elevate your brand and enhance the customer experience.
Plan ahead
The holiday season can sneak up fast, especially when you’re juggling daily operations. That’s why one of the most effective holiday marketing strategies is giving yourself enough time in the run-up to the festive period. Mapping out your key dates and content early can help businesses stay focused, consistent and prepared to make the most of the season.
Use these holiday marketing tips to help plan ahead:
- Mark your calendar: Flag major retail dates like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas and New Year. Then work backwards to plan when you’ll launch promotions, send emails or post on socials.
- Give yourself lead time: Aim to finalize your holiday promotions four to six weeks before each key date, leaving time to design assets, schedule emails and stock enough inventory.
- Create a content checklist: Include email marketing, social posts, website banners and any printed materials. Break it down week by week to stay on track.
- Set up reminders: Use a shared calendar or project management tool to remind yourself of go-live dates, deadlines and tasks.
- Include breathing room: Give yourself buffer time in case of last-minute changes or unexpected delays during the busy festive period.
A little structure goes a long way. Laying out your holiday calendar now can save you time, reduce overwhelm and help your holiday marketing strategy run smoothly from start to finish.
Create exclusive seasonal offers
Nothing sparks action quite like a limited-time deal. Creating exclusive holiday offers adds urgency and excitement to your seasonal campaigns, giving customers a reason to shop now and not later. Holiday promotions don’t just boost sales; they help your brand feel festive, relevant and connect with customers during the holiday season.
Holiday marketing ideas for exclusive seasonal offers:
- Bundle up best-sellers: Curate limited-time product bundles at a slightly discounted price, adding value for your customers and increasing your average order size.
- Offer personalized holiday packages: Custom sets or giftable items tailored to different audiences make gift-buying easy, e.g., “For the Foodie” or “Gifts for Mom”.
- Flash sales: Short, surprise discounts lasting 24 to 48 hours promoted via email or social media can create a fun sense of urgency that holiday shoppers love.
- Test your pricing strategy: Offer early-bird discounts for pre-holiday purchases or a tiered pricing approach to reward bigger spends.
Exclusive deals are a smart way to stand out during the busiest time of year and give your customers a reason to choose you, helping you drive sales and boost visibility without stretching your budget.
Partner with local influencers and businesses
You don’t need a massive following to make an impact; sometimes it’s more effective to join forces with others in your community. Partnering with local influencers or micro-creators is a smart, budget-friendly way to boost visibility and build trust during the holiday season. By collaborating with like-minded creators and businesses who genuinely align with your brand, you can tap into engaged audiences in an authentic and relatable way.
“Partnerships can be one of the most cost-effective ways to acquire customers. Growth partnerships should get your brand in front of another brand or person’s audience and can be pulled off with little or no budget. Look to brands in non-competing categories whose customers overlap with your own and think of creative ways to get your brand in front of their community and vice versa. Try social media giveaways, swapping shout-outs in email marketing, swapping samples for a gift-with-purchase partnership, or offering cobranded bundles around holidays and themes.”—Jasmine Garnsworthy, Founder and CEO of Female Founder World
You might co-host a giveaway, appear in a seasonal gift guide or even invite them to a local event. When done thoughtfully, influencer partnerships can create a ripple effect, expanding your reach, building social proof and adding a personal touch to your holiday marketing strategies.
Run holiday giveaways
Giveaways are a fun way to increase brand visibility, grow your audience and spread seasonal joy. Depending on which items you give away, giveaways can be an affordable, thoughtful and on-brand part of your holiday marketing strategy.
Holiday giveaway ideas for different budgets
Partnering with another small business is a great way to share the spotlight and reach a fresh audience, plus it halves the effort of organising a giveaway. Consider offering a prize, like a gift card or one of your best-sellers; these are always crowd-pleasers and can encourage shoppers to return even after the holidays.
Under $50
- Mini bundle of samples or smaller products
- Partner with another business to co-gift lower-cost items
- Festive mystery box using leftover or seasonal stock
- Subscription box trial or one-month service
Under $200
- Gift card or store credit under $200
- Best-selling item from your shop under $200
- Bundle of best-sellers or curated gift sets
- Joint giveaway with a complementary small business
Under $1000
- Larger gift bundle with high-value products or full collections
- Big-ticket item or experience, like a holiday or spa weekend
- Year membership or subscription
- Giveaway hundreds of lower-cost items, e.g. branded hats or mugs
Keep entry requirements simple—things like liking a post, answering a question or tagging a friend tend to get the most engagement. And don’t forget to celebrate your winner publicly! It builds trust and keeps your community excited for the next round.
Organize community engagement events
The holidays are the perfect time to connect with your community in real life, not just online. Hosting a seasonal event, even something small and low-cost, can build lasting relationships and put your business at the heart of the local holiday spirit. From festive pop-ups and open studios to charity drives and DIY workshops, these community moments create meaningful experiences that go beyond the sale.
“I discovered that the most effective way to promote my business was by actively participating in the community. Whether it was attending local markets or contributing to silent auctions, I took every opportunity to increase my visibility.”—Liv Kelly, Founder of LivLush and VistaPrint Brand Ambassador
Run holiday-themed social media campaigns
Bringing a little holiday cheer to your social media is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to engage your audience over the Christmas period. Themed campaigns help reinforce your holiday marketing strategy and showcase your brand’s personality in a fun, seasonal way.
Holiday-themed social media campaign ideas include:
- 12 Days of…Share a different product, service or discount each day to build momentum up to Christmas Day and keep followers coming back for more.
- Holiday countdowns: Create visual countdowns to Black Friday, Christmas or New Year’s Day using eye-catching graphics or short videos.
- Behind-the-scenes content: Show how you’re preparing for the holidays, from packaging orders to decorating your workspace or setting up a holiday pop-up event.
- Themed giveaways: Run a festive giveaway with a holiday twist. Ask followers to share their favorite seasonal traditions or festive photos and tag a friend to enter.
Create festive window displays
For brick-and-mortar businesses, your storefront is prime real estate, especially during the holiday season. A creative, eye-catching window display can increase foot traffic, tell a story and increase sales by turning passersby into customers.
Festive window display ideas for different budgets
Start with a clear, seasonal theme, and choose a concept that’s true to your brand identity and speaks to your target audience. Then, spotlight products that make great gifts, including best-sellers or pre-wrapped bundles ready to pop under the tree. Bring your display to life with handmade touches, like handwritten signs, paper snowflakes or upcycled decorations.
Optimize your online presence
During the holiday season, your digital storefront matters just as much as your physical one, maybe even more. Shoppers are searching with purpose, so giving your online presence and digital marketing a seasonal refresh is a simple but powerful way to attract and convert more customers.
Here are a few holiday marketing tips to help you get your digital channels holiday-ready:
- Refresh your website visuals: Add seasonal banners, festive colors or a holiday-themed homepage to match the mood and grab attention the moment visitors land on your site.
- Tweak your SEO: Update product titles, meta descriptions and blog content to include holiday-specific search terms like “personalized Christmas gifts,” “last-minute holiday deals,” or “best gifts under $25.”
- Segment your emails: Tailor your online messaging to different customer groups, such as VIPs, new subscribers or last-minute shoppers, for better engagement.
Tap into emotional storytelling
The holidays are all about connection, so your marketing should be too. One of the most effective holiday marketing tips is to lead with heart. Emotional storytelling helps small businesses tap into the spirit of the season through authentic, relatable content that makes people feel seen, appreciated and inspired.
“There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to small business marketing. In fact, understanding who you serve is just as important as the product or service you offer. Once you’ve found your tribe, focus on building that community and creating authentic connections. Social media is a powerful channel to reach your biggest advocates at scale with exclusive offers but don’t overlook the impact of more personalized engagement tactics to bring your story—and your voice—to life,” says Emily Whittaker, EVP, NA & Global Marketing at VistaPrint.
“Once you’ve found your tribe, focus on building that community and creating authentic connections.”—Emily Whittaker, EVP, NA & Global Marketing at VistaPrint
Share genuine thank-you notes and appreciation messages from customers, and highlight loyal clients, dedicated team members or local collaborators through personal stories that bring their connection to your brand to life.
“Work on building an emotional connection with your following and customers. Community will always get you far, because they will always support you and stand with you through your growth.”—Tova Vaginshtein, Founder of Reborn Club and VistaPrint Brand Ambassador
Invite your audience behind the scenes with festive glimpses of how you prepare for the holidays, whether it’s wrapping orders or adding sparkle to your shop decor. Thoughtful gift guides based on customer preferences, needs and stories can help shoppers find meaningful Christmas gifts, while emails and social posts can tell heartwarming tales of how your products bring joy to customers and make life’s little moments more magical.
Use festive packaging
Packaging may seem like a small detail, but it can help brands to make sales, especially during the holiday season, when the unboxing moment is everything. Adding seasonal touches to packaging helps to reinforce your holiday marketing strategy through every stage of the customer experience.
Festive packaging ideas for different budgets
Add a festive feel to your orders with a few simple holiday packaging ideas. Christmas-themed stickers and inserts, like thank-you cards or discount vouchers, are a great way to show appreciation and spread festive cheer. If sustainability is part of your brand story, highlight your use of eco-friendly packaging using kraft paper, recyclable boxes or reusable fabric wraps.
Swap your brand colors for a seasonal color palette to make your packaging more Christmassy.
Under $50
- Holiday-themed stickers, stamps or inserts
- Printed thank-you cards with a seasonal message
- Digital discount code cards printed at home
- Simple kraft paper wraps with a red or green twine bow
- Reusable seasonal stamps to decorate plain packaging
Under $200
- Custom-printed holiday sleeves or boxes
- Branded festive tissue paper and ribbon
- Die-cut or letterpress thank-you cards
- Vouchers with foil or embossed details
- Recyclable boxes or mailers in a festive color palette
Under $1000
- Fully custom holiday packaging sets, including boxes, tissue paper and tape
- Custom Christmas cards for every customer
- Branded keepsake packaging, like a tin or pouch
Read our guide on how to wrap a present to make each order feel extra special.
Make this holiday season your most impactful yet
Holiday marketing doesn’t have to be complicated or costly; it just needs to be thoughtful, well-timed and true to your brand. Whether you’re refreshing your packaging, running a giveaway or creating heartfelt seasonal content, the right mix of holiday marketing strategies can have a big impact. VistaPrint has supported thousands of small business holiday campaigns, so we know what works, and we’re here to help you do it right.
