Why You Should Start Your Christmas Marketing Right Now

It might seem like summer just ended, but in the world of marketing, the Christmas bells are already ringing. Your customers may not be putting up stockings yet, but they are already shopping. If you wait until the tinsel is in stores, you could be making a big mistake that could hurt your business. To capture the attention and budget of holiday shoppers, you need a strategy that starts months in advance. 

It’s not about rushing the season to think about Christmas marketing this early; it’s about making smart, strategic plans. A Christmas marketing campaign that starts at the right time can help you build momentum, improve your online presence, and connect with your audience before the holiday rush reaches its peak. This gives you time to come up with interesting, well-thought-out content instead of rushing to come up with ideas at the last minute when your competitors are already dominating the conversation.

This guide will explain why getting a head start is so important for a successful holiday season. We’ll talk about the usual Christmas shopping schedule and give you practical Christmas marketing tips for SEO, content creation, social media, email campaigns, and paid ads. By the end, you’ll have a clear plan for how to make a strong holiday strategy that gets results.

Knowing the Christmas Shopping Schedule

You need to know how and when people shop in order to market for Christmas well. People are less likely to picture a frantic last-minute dash to the mall these days. People today are planners, researchers, and early risers.

The Early Birds (September to October)
Believe it or not, a lot of people start planning their Christmas shopping as early as September. The National Retail Federation says that about 40% of people start their holiday shopping before Halloween. These shoppers are usually careful with their money and want to spread out their costs. They are in the research phase, looking for ideas, making wish lists, and comparing prices.

This is a great chance for marketers. Your goal during this period is to build awareness and be a source of inspiration. Your Christmas brand identity should start to show up in your content in small ways. Now is the time to post gift guides, how-to articles, and other useful content that shows how your products are the best holiday gifts.

The Peak Planners (November)
November is when people really start to shop for the holidays. People are eager to buy because Black Friday and Cyber Monday are two of the biggest shopping days of the year. They are looking for the best deals and have their lists ready. At this point, your brand should be on everyone’s mind.

Your marketing should focus on sales, discounts, and making people feel like they need to act quickly. Make sure your website can handle a lot of traffic and that your customer service team is ready to answer a lot of questions. Your campaigns should be fully up and running, bringing in traffic and turning leads into customers.

The Last-Minute Crowd (December)
Even though a lot of people plan ahead, there will always be some people who shop at the last minute. These shoppers want things to be easy to get, shipped quickly, and available right away in December. They will often look for things like “last-minute gift ideas” or “express shipping.”

Your marketing should pivot to highlight these benefits. Talk about shipping deadlines, push digital gift cards, and offer in-store pickup if you can. The key is to make the shopping experience as seamless and stress-free as possible for this group. 

SEO for Christmas Keywords

You should start your Christmas SEO efforts now because it’s a long-term game. It can take weeks or even months for new content and keyword strategies to gain traction on search engines. If you wait until November to start using Christmas-related words, it will be too late.

Finding the Right Keywords for Your Holiday

Think of a list of words that are related to your products and the holiday season. Don’t just use general terms like “Christmas gifts.” Your customers will be looking for more specific, long-tail keywords.

Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, or SEMrush to find relevant terms. Look for keywords with decent search volume and relatively low competition. Some examples are: “sustainable Christmas gifts for mom,” “unique tech gifts for teens 2025,” “Christmas gift guide for coffee lovers,” and “corporate holiday gift baskets.”

Making content that is good for SEO

Make content that is worth a lot of money around your keywords once you have them. This is where you can put together a Christmas news package that will keep your audience informed all season long. Some ideas are:

• Gift Ideas: Make gift guides for different groups of people, like “Gifts for Him,” “Gifts for Her,” and “Gifts Under $50.”
• Articles on how to: Make posts that help with holiday-related issues, like “How to Decorate Your Home for a Modern Christmas” or “Easy Christmas Baking Recipes.”
• Spotlight on Products: Make posts about your best-selling holiday gifts, showing off their features and benefits.

Making Your Website Better

Make sure your website is ready for the holidays in terms of technology. This includes:

• Creating a Holiday Landing Page: A dedicated landing page can be the main place for all of your Christmas products and promotions.
• Improving Page Speed: If your website takes a long time to load, people may leave it. Use Google’s PageSpeed Insights to find and fix problems.
• Mobile-Friendliness: Most people shop online on their phones. Ensure your site is fully responsive and offers a smooth mobile experience. 

Making Christmas content that people want to read

Your content is the heart of your Christmas marketing campaign. It’s how you reach out to your audience, show off your brand’s personality, and make sales. If you start early, you’ll have time to make a variety of content that will appeal to your target audience.

Make a calendar for your content

Your content calendar is your guide for the holidays. Make a plan for what you’ll post, where you’ll post it, and when. This keeps the content coming in regularly and stops people from panicking at the last minute. Your calendar should have a variety of content types:

• Posts on a blog: Long pieces of writing, like gift guides and how-to articles.
• Short, interesting posts for sites like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.
• Videos: product demos, behind-the-scenes footage, or holiday how-tos.
• Content created by users (UGC): Encourage your followers to share photos of your products using a branded hashtag.

Tell a story

People relate to stories, not just things. Tell a story about your Christmas brand with your content. What do you believe in as a brand? What sets your products apart from others? You might get your materials in a way that is good for the environment or give money to a local charity. The holidays are a great time to tell these stories and get to know your audience better.

Take in the visuals

There are a lot of things to see during the holidays. Invest in high-quality photography and videography to make your products stand out. Create a festive aesthetic that is consistent across all your marketing channels. Think of warm lighting, comfortable places, and a little bit of holiday sparkle.

Using social media for Christmas campaigns

Social media is an essential channel for reaching your audience during the holidays. It’s where people go for inspiration, recommendations, and to share their own festive experiences. 

Make content fit each platform

Don’t just post the same thing on all of your sites. Every social media site has its own audience and way of doing things.

• Instagram: Make sure your pictures are beautiful. Use Reels to create short, entertaining videos, and Stories for interactive content like polls and Q&As. 
• Facebook is great for sharing longer content like blog posts and running ads that are aimed at specific groups of people.
• TikTok: A great platform for reaching a younger audience with fun, trend-driven video content. 
• Pinterest is a visual search engine where people actively look for gift ideas and inspiration. Make beautiful pins that take people back to your product pages.

Hold a contest or giveaway during the holidays

A giveaway is a great way to get people excited and get more people to follow you on social media. To win one of your products, ask people to follow your page, tag their friends, and share your post. This can greatly boost your reach and engagement.

Collaborate with Influencers 

During the holidays, influencer marketing can be a very useful tool. Work with influencers whose followers are similar to your target market. They can make real content that shows off your products and gives their followers a trusted recommendation.

Christmas email marketing ideas

One of the best things you can do for your business is build an email list. These people have already shown interest in your brand, so they are a good audience for your holiday ads. An effective email marketing Christmas strategy is crucial. 

Break Up Your Email List

Don’t send the same email to everyone. Segment your list based on factors like past purchase history, engagement level, and location. This lets you send content that is more relevant and personal. For example, you could send a special offer to your most loyal customers or a reminder to those who have abandoned their carts. 

Plan Your Email Sequence 

Plan out a series of emails to send during the holiday season.

• Early Bird Offers (October): Tell people about your holiday collection and give them a special discount if they buy it early.
• Black Friday and Cyber Monday (November): Get people excited in the days before these events and send them several emails on the day with your best deals.
• Reminders at the Last Minute (December): Send out reminders about shipping deadlines and tell people about digital gift cards.
• Post-Christmas Sales (Late December/January): Target those who received gift cards or are looking for post-holiday deals. 

Make Subject Lines That Get People Interested

The first thing your subscribers will see is your subject line. Make it interesting enough that it stands out in a full inbox. Use personalization, emojis, and a sense of urgency to increase open rates. 

Paid Ads for the Holidays

Paid ads can give your holiday campaign a big boost by helping you reach more people and get the right people to your site.

Facebook and Instagram Ads 

These platforms offer powerful targeting options, allowing you to reach users based on their demographics, interests, and online behavior. Use clear calls to action and eye-catching images to get people to click. Retargeting ads, which are shown to people who have already been to your site, can be very effective.

Ads on Google

Run search ads that use the holiday keywords you picked. This puts your brand at the top of the search results when people are looking for things like what you sell. You can also use Google Shopping ads to show your products right in the search results.

Set a budget and keep an eye on your results.

Set a budget for paid ads and decide how much you want to spend on each platform. Use tools like Google Analytics and the Facebook Pixel to keep an eye on how well your campaign is doing. This will help you figure out what’s working and make changes to get the most out of your investment.

Get Ahead of the Game This Christmas

It takes time to come up with a good Christmas marketing plan. It takes a lot of planning, creativity, and knowledge about your audience. By starting now, you give your brand the best chance to stand out from the holiday noise and reach your sales goals. Every step you take today, from improving your SEO to writing interesting content and planning your ad campaigns, is an investment in your holiday success.

Don’t let the holidays sneak up on you. Plan your Christmas marketing campaign now so that this year is your most profitable one yet. The team at Business Kiwi can help you make a full marketing plan that will help your business do well this Christmas and in the future. We can help you come up with a custom plan that fits your goals and speaks to your audience. Get in touch with us to set up a meeting and get started.