Whole Halloween spending within the US is predicted to hit a report $10.6 billion in 2022, with the typical family planning to splash out greater than $100 on the spooky vacation.
That’s an entire lot of jack-o’-lanterns, Spider-Man costumes, and sweet corn.
What’s extra, figures from the Nationwide Retail Federation present that 69 % of Individuals plan to rejoice Halloween this yr. For comparability, that’s a better proportion than a bunch of different large seasonal holidays, together with St Patrick’s Day (54 %) and Valentine’s Day (53 %).
Huge ranges of participation? Widespread attraction that cuts throughout demographic divides? Huge quantities of cash being spent? No marvel Halloween is such an enormous deal for retailers.
That can assist you capitalize on “spooky szn”, I’ve rounded up seven of one of the best Halloween advertising and marketing methods I’ve seen this yr. Be happy to select your favorites from my listing and use them as inspiration on your personal Halloween campaigns.
1. Develop Your E mail Record With Seasonal Popups
In the event you’ve ever learn any of our content material earlier than, you’ll know we’re large proponents of e-mail advertising and marketing.
(And if you happen to haven’t, I hope you want what you’ve seen thus far.)
In response to Litmus, e-mail advertising and marketing delivers an unparalleled ROI of 36:1. It’s too essential a channel to disregard at any time of yr, and Halloween isn’t any completely different.
However e-mail advertising and marketing will solely work if you happen to put money into constructing your e-mail listing.
With out an ever-growing database of present and future prospects desperate to study extra about who you’re (and what you promote), you’re not going to see the outcomes you want.
So how do you construct an e-mail listing to assist your Halloween campaigns?
Probably the greatest methods is to add an e-mail seize popup to key pages in your web site. If you may make it at the least considerably Halloween-related, all the higher.
Now, I do know what you’re pondering. “Skeletons, pumpkins, and cobwebs aren’t a terrific match for my model. I don’t need to splash them throughout my homepage and class pages.”
Don’t fear—you possibly can at all times take a barely extra refined strategy by using a easy, seasonal-themed popup.
On this instance, BlackMilk Clothes makes use of a fall-related popup to seize e-mail addresses:
This popup feels sufficiently seasonal with out being off-putting (or off-brand).
My favourite factor about this popup? Using imagery.
Not so way back, we analyzed a couple of billion web site popups. Our analysis discovered that image-based popups convert 83.57 % higher than popups with out pictures:
Certain, a 3.8 % conversion fee may not sound enormous. However it implies that for each 10,000 individuals who go to a webpage containing a popup, you possibly can count on so as to add one other 380 names to your e-mail listing.
Stick with it and you may rapidly seize hundreds of helpful e-mail addresses from potential prospects who’re prepared and ready to listen to about your Halloween provides.
2. Run a Halloween-Themed E mail Marketing campaign
Okay, so that you’ve constructed up your e-mail listing.
Now it’s time to capitalize on all that tough work by sending a Halloween e-mail marketing campaign. There are many ways in which would possibly work. As an illustration, you may:
- Launch a flash sale
- Invite prospects to share user-generated content material
- Provide Halloween-themed product suggestions
- Promote a Halloween-related product launch
- Run a Halloween competitors or giveaway
First up, right here’s an instance from clothes model Johnny Cupcakes, which promoted a special Halloween-based product launch each day for 2 weeks:
Certain, this strategy isn’t going to work for each model. For a few of you, Halloween simply isn’t a sufficiently big deal to justify that stage of consideration.
However keep in mind, this can be a vacation with mass attraction. And with 67 % of Individuals planning to spend cash on costumes forward of Halloween 2022, it’s an actual slam dunk for attire entrepreneurs (as a result of not each “costume” has to contain fancy costume).
In my expertise, this type of multi-day marketing campaign is a unbelievable approach to construct engagement. If somebody opens the primary e-mail within the marketing campaign, there’s a very good likelihood they’ll click on all of the others too.
Simply be sure to kick off your e-mail sequence with an interesting topic line that clearly explains the marketing campaign, like Johnny Cupcakes did right here:
Not solely does this e-mail topic line make it clear that this can be a multi-day marketing campaign, nevertheless it additionally makes use of actionable language (“prepare…”) to encourage folks to work together.
(N.B. Need extra inspiration? Try our roundup of probably the most artistic Halloween e-mail examples we’ve seen.)
3. Construct a Halloween Touchdown Web page
Let’s say you’ve taken a leaf from Johnny Cupcakes’ guide by launching an entire assortment of Halloween-themed merchandise.
Naturally, you’re planning to advertise them by e-mail advertising and marketing.
However you additionally need to show them prominently in your web site all through spooky season.
The answer? Construct a devoted Halloween touchdown web page, like this one from underwear model Shinesty:
This strategy has a pair advantages:
- It offers you an apparent vacation spot web page on your Halloween emails.
- You possibly can add the class web page to your web site navigation, making it simple for guests to search out your Halloween-related merchandise.
- It helps usher in search visitors by providing you with a web page to focus on seasonal key phrases.
On that final level, we will see that Shinesty’s touchdown web page ranks within the high #5 on Google for helpful phrases like “Halloween underwear” and “Halloween underwear”, which generate hundreds of searches all through September and October:
4. Promote a (Spooky) Model Collaboration
On the lookout for a approach to give your Halloween advertising and marketing technique somewhat X-factor? Think about teaming up with one other model for a co-promotional marketing campaign.
This technique places you in entrance of your companion model’s viewers, giving you a chance to promote to individuals who would possibly by no means have thought-about shopping for from you earlier than. And with analysis from Visible Objects revealing that 71 % of shoppers get pleasure from co-branding partnerships, it’s simple to see why a rising variety of manufacturers are open to collaborations.
In fact, the success of any model collab hinges on discovering the correct model to companion with. The aim is to companion with a model that:
- Has an analogous viewers to yours…
- However doesn’t have the very same viewers…
- And isn’t a direct competitor.
It may be powerful to discover a prepared collaborator that ticks all these packing containers.
Nevertheless, BarkBox acquired it precisely proper this yr by becoming a member of forces with one of many spookiest “manufacturers” I can consider—the hit Netflix collection Stranger Issues:
It is a nice match. Not solely is it immediately related to Halloween, nevertheless it additionally performs on the shared traits of each audiences, as I’m about to display…
Stranger Issues is hottest amongst youthful audiences, with 31 % of Individuals aged 18–29 saying they watched each episode, and an extra 17 % watching at the least among the present.
So it’s an enormous hit with Gen Z and Millennials.
Conveniently, Millennials occur to signify the most important share of pet homeowners within the US, with 32 % proudly owning a pet. They usually’re additionally extra probably to purchase presents for his or her furry mates than different demographics, with a 2020 survey revealing that the typical US Millennial deliberate to splurge $51 on their pets in the course of the vacation season.
Taken collectively, these shared traits make for an ideal model partnership.
5. Use Gamification to Drive Engagement
Maybe greater than another vacation, Halloween is about having enjoyable.
Few, if any, of us plan to trek throughout the nation to spend October thirty first with our mother and father. As a substitute, it’s about attending events, carrying fancy costume, going trick-or-treating with the youngsters, and customarily overindulging in sugary snacks.
That sense of enjoyable is unquestionably one thing to lean into together with your Halloween advertising and marketing campaigns.
One strategy is to make use of gamification—including typical parts of game-playing, like factors scoring or competitions, to in any other case mundane actions. Analysis revealed within the Journal of Enterprise Analysis exhibits that buyers discover it extremely participating, with the authors concluding:
“The outcomes suggest that gamification can positively have an effect on model engagement and additional enhance model fairness, and that gamification seems to be an efficient approach for model administration.”
MAC exhibits us how this would possibly work as a part of a Halloween advertising and marketing technique:
Fairly than merely providing prospects a set proportion low cost, it offers them an opportunity to “win” a special prize each day all through October by spinning a (digital) wheel on its web site.
The added air of secrecy makes this a extra compelling provide than a traditional limited-time provide.
6. Goal Final-Minute Customers
Google Traits exhibits us that shopping-related searches on the subject of Halloween climb all through October, solely peaking on the day itself:
What does this inform us? That for a lot of customers, Halloween purchases are an (extraordinarily) last-minute choice.
When you consider it, this isn’t shocking. Certain, plenty of us love Halloween. However it’s not precisely up there with Christmas by way of shopping for priorities. Most individuals don’t begin panicking about their Halloween buying listing weeks or months prematurely.
Use this information to your benefit in your Halloween advertising and marketing technique by sending emails focusing on last-minute customers—individuals who completely want a dressing up, meals and drinks, or a pumpkin-shaped mini waffle maker days earlier than October thirty first:
This e-mail from Mattress Bathtub & Past acts as a useful reminder for purchasers who haven’t fairly acquired spherical to purchasing their Halloween necessities but.
Not solely that, nevertheless it additionally successfully leverages the sense of urgency to compel customers to act now. As with all type of shortage advertising and marketing, this strategy permits Mattress Bathtub & Past to drive purchases with out having to supply a reduction.
7. Be part of the Dialog
We all know that Halloween is an enormous buying occasion, and one which appeals to a broad vary of viewers demographics.
However that doesn’t robotically make it an ideal match for each model. Your prospects are theoretically thinking about shopping for one thing for Halloween, however your merchandise may not function on their buying lists.
So what do you do?
My recommendation is to be a part of the dialog, like Greetabl does on this Halloween e-mail instance:
Greetabl sells playing cards and presents. Let’s be trustworthy: neither of these classes is a pure match for Halloween. I’ve been to my justifiable share of Halloween events, however I’ve by no means as soon as thought to purchase the host a greeting card.
However by merely sending a Halloween-themed e-mail, Greetabl offers itself the chance to generate a bunch of gross sales that it in any other case wouldn’t have seen.
In the event you’re in an analogous boat, watch out to not overdo it.
To this point in October, Greetabl has devoted 50 % of its advertising and marketing emails to Halloween—a far decrease proportion than among the different manufacturers I’ve talked about. As an illustration, 77 % of Johnny Cupcake’s October emails have been Halloween-themed.
Identical to at any time of yr, your aim right here is to faucet into broader traits whereas staying true to your model.
Keep in mind why folks purchase from you, observe your social channels, and signal as much as your advertising and marketing emails—and provides them extra of what they need.
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