It’s time for a few treats so the upcoming season doesn’t trick you. We are sharing our content business tips for the holidays.

The block of time between Thanksgiving in the U.S. (Nov. 25) and New Year’s Day, the business world seems to slow down, if not come to a screeching halt. People take time off to celebrate the holidays or use up their vacation, want to use up money left in their budgets, and celebrate clients and colleagues at end-of-year parties.

Are you ready?

Tilt Advice

Now’s the time to prepare from a revenue, audience, and production perspective. Here are some content business tips for the holidays to do just that:

Hey, #ContentEntrepreneurs: Now's the time to plan for the holidays from a revenue, audience, and production perspective, says @AnnGynn. #Holidays #ContentEntrepreneur #CreatorEconomy Click To Tweet

Revenue

People always want to know what to buy their family, friends, colleagues, and customers. Why not have them buy something from you?

Merch is an obvious and simple choice. Think subscriptions, shout-outs, course gift certificates, NFTs, or even sponsored posts, which would be a truly unique client gift.

Make more money this holiday season. Sell gift subscriptions, shout-outs, online course gift certificates, NFTs, or even sponsored posts. #ContentEntrepreneur #Gifts #CreatorEconomy Click To Tweet

Gifting requires a little more work than a standard transaction. Ensure your process allows someone to buy and give. Online retail sites allow buyers to ship to a different address. Can your online shop let buyers “ship” to a different email address? Can the buyer send a gift notification? And can that notification be scheduled?

I had this issue last year. I was gifting a subscription box. Of the half dozen I considered, only one had the option to pick a shipment date so I could share the news when we celebrated in person instead of having the box show up on their doorstep a week before. (Guess which one I bought?)

Does the giver get anything that can be wrapped? Some of your buyers will be gifting in person. They want something to wrap (or at least put in a pretty bag.) A simply designed, old-fashioned gift certificate could work well. Don’t forget to include all the redemption information on the back.

With your content gifting set up, you’re ready to let everybody know about the options. Create a landing page on your site and pin a link to the top of your social media channels. Mention it in your content. Consider doing a small paid campaign on social.

Caveat: Don’t forget to keep good records – operationally and financially. For gifts that need to be redeemed, you’ll be earning the revenue this year but doing the work or getting the new subscriber in 2022.

Audience

Think about your audience. How do the holidays affect them? Consider this from two perspectives: topics and timing.

As you fill out your editorial or content calendar (or revise it), identify subject matter that might be more relevant in this season. End-of-the-year wrapups and goal-setting (i.e., resolutions) are often relevant. You also can go a little deeper. 

For example, a blog with a cooking tilt might include recipes that can be made quickly or with pantry ingredients. They aren’t “holiday” topics, but they answer a need for audience members who are crunched for time more than usual. Or a business-tilted Instagram creator could do a video to help their audience explain what they do for a living when relatives inevitably ask.

Next, figure out if your audience will have more, less, or the same amount of time to consume your content? For example, if you know they usually consume your content while at work, you might want to take a break in your schedule between Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. Or, if you typically get more traffic on the weekends, you might think about adding more content to the schedule because your audience may have more downtime to enjoy it.

Not sure of what’s up with your audience? Ask for their feedback. You could even do a simple poll:

We are looking at our publishing schedule for December. In regards to our content, do you expect to have:

  • More time to consume it
  • Less time to consume it
  • About the same time to consume it

Production

Now, let’s make it about you and your content business. Are you planning to take time off? We highly recommend it.

We at @TheTiltNews highly recommend taking time away from your #ContentBusiness. Plan ahead and revise your production schedule to make #vacation happen. #CreatorEconomy Click To Tweet

Block out the time on the calendar when you won’t be working. Then, pull out and update your production schedule. Adjust the deadlines. If you work with other team members or contractors, talk to them about their time-off plans and incorporate those. Don’t forget to make sure they’re good with the revised deadlines.

Caveat: Give yourself more time to complete your “vacation” content than you think you need. Remember, you still have to produce your current content. 

If you operate a community, whether it’s accepting comments on social media or managing an interactive platform, decide how you will handle them on the days when you’re not working. Is there someone on your team or in the community who could manage it in your absence? Let your community know you’ll be away in a post (if possible, pin it to the top).

Go forth to gift and plan

As the calendar turns to November, it’s the perfect time to take steps to make your business shine in the holiday season, from adding a new revenue stream to giving your audience what they want. And finally, to give yourself a gift of time away from the day-to-day business.

About the author

Ann regularly combines words and strategy for B2B, B2C, and nonprofits, continuing to live up to her high school nickname, Editor Ann. An IABC Communicator of the Year and founder of G Force Communication, Ann coaches and trains professionals in all things content. Connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.