Complete Halloween spending within the US is predicted to hit a file $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 p.c of People plan to have fun Halloween this yr. For comparability, that’s a better proportion than a number of different large seasonal holidays, together with St Patrick’s Day (54 p.c) and Valentine’s Day (53 p.c).
Large ranges of participation? Widespread enchantment 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 the perfect Halloween advertising methods I’ve seen this yr. Be happy to select your favorites from my record and use them as inspiration on your personal Halloween campaigns.
1. Develop Your Electronic mail Record With Seasonal Popups
For those who’ve ever learn any of our content material earlier than, you’ll know we’re large proponents of e-mail advertising.
(And in the event you haven’t, I hope you want what you’ve seen up to now.)
In response to Litmus, e-mail advertising delivers an unparalleled ROI of 36:1. It’s too necessary a channel to disregard at any time of yr, and Halloween isn’t any totally different.
However e-mail advertising will solely work in the event you put money into constructing your e-mail record.
With out an ever-growing database of current and future prospects wanting 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 record to assist your Halloween campaigns?
The most effective methods is to add an e-mail seize popup to key pages in your web site. If you can also make it a minimum of considerably Halloween-related, all the higher.
Now, I do know what you’re pondering. “Skeletons, pumpkins, and cobwebs aren’t an incredible match for my model. I don’t need to splash them throughout my homepage and class pages.”
Don’t fear—you may 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 multiple billion web site popups. Our analysis discovered that image-based popups convert 83.57 p.c higher than popups with out pictures:
Positive, a 3.8 p.c conversion price may not sound big. Nevertheless it signifies that for each 10,000 individuals who go to a webpage containing a popup, you may anticipate so as to add one other 380 names to your e-mail record.
Stick with it and you’ll rapidly seize 1000’s 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 Electronic mail Marketing campaign
Okay, so that you’ve constructed up your e-mail record.
Now it’s time to capitalize on all that onerous work by sending a Halloween e-mail marketing campaign. There are many ways in which would possibly work. As an illustration, you could possibly:
- Launch a flash sale
- Invite prospects to share user-generated content material
- Supply 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 distinct Halloween-based product launch on daily basis for 2 weeks:
Positive, 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 bear in mind, this can be a vacation with mass enchantment. And with 67 p.c of People 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 gown).
In my expertise, this form of multi-day marketing campaign is a implausible strategy to construct engagement. If somebody opens the primary e-mail within the marketing campaign, there’s a superb likelihood they’ll click on all of the others too.
Simply be sure you 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, but it surely additionally makes use of actionable language (“prepare…”) to encourage individuals 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’ e book by launching an entire assortment of Halloween-themed merchandise.
Naturally, you’re planning to advertise them via e-mail advertising.
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 provides you an apparent vacation spot web page on your Halloween emails.
- You’ll be able to add the class web page to your web site navigation, making it simple for guests to search out your Halloween-related merchandise.
- It helps herald search visitors by supplying you with a web page to focus on seasonal key phrases.
On that final level, we are able to 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 1000’s of searches all through September and October:
4. Promote a (Spooky) Model Collaboration
In search of a strategy to give your Halloween advertising technique a little bit X-factor? Contemplate teaming up with one other model for a co-promotional marketing campaign.
This technique places you in entrance of your accomplice model’s viewers, giving you a chance to promote to individuals who would possibly by no means have thought of shopping for from you earlier than. And with analysis from Visible Objects revealing that 71 p.c of customers take pleasure in co-branding partnerships, it’s simple to see why a rising variety of manufacturers are open to collaborations.
After all, the success of any model collab hinges on discovering the fitting model to accomplice with. The aim is to accomplice 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 keen collaborator that ticks all these packing containers.
Nonetheless, BarkBox obtained 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:
This can be a nice match. Not solely is it straight related to Halloween, but it surely additionally performs on the shared traits of each audiences, as I’m about to exhibit…
Stranger Issues is hottest amongst youthful audiences, with 31 p.c of People aged 18–29 saying they watched each episode, and an extra 17 p.c watching a minimum of a few of the present.
So it’s an enormous hit with Gen Z and Millennials.
Conveniently, Millennials occur to symbolize the most important share of pet house owners within the US, with 32 p.c proudly owning a pet. And so they’re additionally extra doubtless to purchase items for his or her furry buddies 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 every other vacation, Halloween is about having enjoyable.
Few, if any, of us plan to trek throughout the nation to spend October thirty first with our dad and mom. As an alternative, it’s about attending events, sporting fancy gown, going trick-or-treating with the children, and usually overindulging in sugary snacks.
That sense of enjoyable is unquestionably one thing to lean into along with your Halloween advertising 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 printed within the Journal of Enterprise Analysis reveals that customers discover it extremely participating, with the authors concluding:
“The outcomes indicate 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 reveals us how this would possibly work as a part of a Halloween advertising technique:
Somewhat than merely providing prospects a set share low cost, it provides them an opportunity to “win” a distinct prize on daily basis all through October by spinning a (digital) wheel on its web site.
The added aura makes this a extra compelling supply than a basic limited-time supply.
6. Goal Final-Minute Consumers
Google Developments reveals 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. Positive, numerous us love Halloween. Nevertheless it’s not precisely up there with Christmas by way of shopping for priorities. Most individuals don’t begin panicking about their Halloween buying record weeks or months prematurely.
Use this information to your benefit in your Halloween advertising technique by sending emails concentrating on last-minute customers—individuals who completely want a fancy dress, 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 helpful reminder for purchasers who haven’t fairly obtained spherical to purchasing their Halloween necessities but.
Not solely that, but it surely additionally successfully leverages the sense of urgency to compel customers to act now. As with every type of shortage advertising, 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 mechanically make it an ideal match for each model. Your prospects are theoretically excited by 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 part of the dialog, like Greetabl does on this Halloween e-mail instance:
Greetabl sells playing cards and items. 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 provides itself the chance to generate a bunch of gross sales that it in any other case wouldn’t have seen.
For those who’re in an analogous boat, watch out to not overdo it.
To this point in October, Greetabl has devoted 50 p.c of its advertising emails to Halloween—a far decrease proportion than a few of the different manufacturers I’ve talked about. As an illustration, 77 p.c 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 individuals purchase from you, observe your social channels, and signal as much as your advertising emails—and provides them extra of what they need.
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