Getting Ready for The Silly Season

Jenny Marsden --November 19, 2019

Getting your business ready for the silly season

For me the very best thing about the Christmas and New Year period (as a business owner) is that it is perfectly acceptable, expected even, that you close down for at least a few weeks over that time.

With a little effort now, you can put some holiday practices in place and embrace the "set and forget" mentality over the summer holidays so you can best enjoy your own break. Just because you run a small business doesn't mean you aren't entitled to close up shop and take some well deserved time off so make the most of this period, put the items below into practice and turn off your phone!

Start Publishing Your Closure Dates

Establish exactly how long you are going to take off or close your business for and start telling clients now. I mean RIGHT NOW!

If you have or use email marketing, now is the time to get that notification out to your clients. If you can get your campaign out this week that will give your clients 4-5 weeks notice, which is enough for anyone.

If you don't have a email marketing platform consider Get Response , which I use and LOVE! I found Mail Chimp keeps getting harder and harder to use with more and more limitations (6 segments to lists just doesn't work for me), so I moved to Get Response a few months ago and am really enjoying how easy it is.

What to Include In Your Email Campaign?

  • Clearly state your closure dates including your last day of business and your first day back
  • Let clients know of your availability in the lead up to that (IE: your calendar or last date for orders)
  • Keep it light and cheery - don't be afraid to show your excitement about your coming time off.
  • Wish your clients the best for their own holiday season
  • Let them know what contact points will be in place in the case of emergency - however ONLY do this IF your business could possibly have a client emergency. You need your time off so don't tell people they can contact you unless you are prepared for a disrupted holiday.
  • Make sure you email is holiday themed. Like yourself I'm sure your clients are looking forward to the break so embracing the spirit and being a bit silly is expected this time of year.
  • Add a customised pic to your campaign. A staff photo with your Chrissy hats or a personalised graphic for your business. I can create customised images for your holiday campaigns from just $49.00

Where else to publish your holiday info

The more places you publish your holiday information the more chance it has of reaching all of your client base. Don't forget:
  • Facebook - keep up with regular posts and even change your header photo to contain your closure info
  • Instagram - Use stories or just standard posts to tell your clients any information they might need before the silly season is upon us. 
  • Linked In - update your info on LinkedIn to reflect when you will be available.

What else can you do?

Don't forget to add your holiday info to your email signature and make sure you have a calendar item to remind you to set your out of office auto responder for the period you are closed. Also make sure you have a calendar item set to turn it off once you are back to work. 

One more thing....

Wherever you are and whoever you are with, please stay safe this holiday season. I will be spending our break in Samoa for three weeks and then will be back getting myself ready for the coming year for the last week of my break.

Geek Queen will be closed from the 12th December returning the 13th January.  Please don't try something new on your website during that time, as like most of you I assume, I really need some down time this year so will be turning everything off for at least the first three weeks of that period.

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