// How to plan & execute your holiday promotion to stand out from the clutter

The semi-official start to the holiday shopping season is a great chance for gym owners, personal trainers, and fitness entrepreneurs to attract new clients and bolster your business for the year.

Considering consumers spent more than $7 billion online on Black Friday 2019 and over $9 billion on the following (Cyber) Monday, it’s a no-brainer to participate. But, how do you stand out from the noise?

We’ll give you three key takeaways to keep in mind to make sure your Black Friday doesn’t turn into a whack Friday.

Timing is important

It could be because it wasn’t great timing for them, they simply forgot, or maybe they are researching other products to fulfill their needs. So start thinking ahead on how often you want to communicate and begin creating your calendar.

Also, keep in mind that Black Friday is no longer a one-day event. Many companies run promotions through the weekend and into the following week for Cyber Monday.

• Nov 26th – Create buzz the day before Black Friday. Leverage social media to get in front of people who might not be on your email list and get them excited 
• Nov 27th – Announce your Black Friday offer
• Nov 28th-29th – Send reminders that the sale is still on
• Nov 30th – Announce your Cyber Monday offer and position is as “last chance.” FOMO can really come into play here

Ensure email deliverability

Here’s why you shouldn’t do that:

If email providers (Gmail, for example) detect unusual activity from your email domain, you run the risk of getting blacklisted. Blacklisted means that your domain has been flagged as sending spam and it’s harder for your email to land in the desired user’s inbox.

This can happen when you have a surge in list volume, recipients aren’t used to receiving email from you / don’t recognize your business and mark the email as spam, or you’re using an old email list resulting in high email bounces.

To ensure high email deliverability, make sure that the people on your email distribution list have opted in to receiving communication from you, their email address is up to date, the particular offer is relevant to them, and your email send volume isn’t out of the ordinary of your day-to-day email sends. 

Focus on your email subject line

We’re not saying that you can’t be creative and catchy when coming up with your subject line, by all means, we encourage that. Just make sure that users know what to expect when opening the email and that they won’t be taken by surprise when they see what’s inside of it. 

Best practice is to keep your subject line under 40 characters so that all text is visible, whether opening on a computer or on a phone. Focus on providing a clear value proposition in your email subject line that encourages recipients to open by being clear about the value inside the email.

Customer Empathy

Shoppers this season are more likely to be emotionally exhausted. This means that they will lean towards companies that they have a connection with, one that resonates with them and brings them a level of comfort.

When it comes to email copy, it’s important to make it about the recipient, not your business. Even taking out “we” and “us” and replacing with “YOU” can make all the difference. 

Chances are they probably don’t care that Jenn’s Gym is excited to launch a brand new training program that’s the best out there — anyone can claim that.

But instead that Jenn’s Gym will provide me customized programming to help me become faster and stronger without spending every day in the gym. Now that sounds like exactly what I’m looking for. Think about your value prop (what makes your product or service stand out from the rest), who your target audience is, and what their needs are so that your statement is direct and personalized. Take every opportunity to show that you listen to your customers and you have the solution that is specific to their needs and goals. 

There’s already a lot of competition and there’s going to be even more clutter to break through with the increase in online shopping this year. Customer empathy can go a long way and separate your business from your competition. Creating a good customer experience with trust will keep customers invested and coming back for more.