Black Friday has come and gone. This year, we endured even more sales and marketing hoopla than normal. My email was flooded with hundreds of special offers. The Saturday after Thanksgiving we opened our mailbox to no fewer than nine catalogs. Unfortunately, I don’t expect that to stop any time soon.

I believe this is a wonderful time to purchase gifts to show those we love how much we care. I do not, however, enjoy the constant barrage of “buy, buy, buy” signals we receive as consumers. It is overwhelming.

Frankly, it grates my nerves and turns me off.

As a company, we support small businesses. All businesses need to advertise, and create deals, or risk being left behind. As a small business, it’s crucial that you create these marketing messages without turning off your audience.

So, how do you strike that balance?

3 Tips for Successful Holiday Marketing Campaigns

1. Newsletters Creating a newsletter that allows you to send your message directly to an email list of people who are already interested in you is invaluable. I mentioned how frustrated I was with all the emails I received, and it’s true I was. This is partly because these emails flooded in over a holiday weekend and interrupted my free time. Make sure you take your customers’ schedule into mind when sending your newsletters. Send at a day and time they’ll be most likely to respond to your content. Also, make sure your subject line is catchy. Without these elements, it’s unlikely your newsletter will gain the traction you desire.
2. Consider Paid Ads Rather than putting up 8 Facebook posts about the same special in hopes people will see your posts, consider paying to promote your posts. This can drastically increase your reach with a nominal budget. The reality is, Facebook may be free but at a time of year when everyone is vying for attention, a paid ad may be what gets you visibility over your competition.
3. Avoid spam Some companies that tried to contact me sent up to 3 emails in a single day to “remind” me of their sales. All they did was frustrate me and make me feel like they were trying to suck money out of my wallet. Make sure your message gets heard but don’t annoy your customers while doing it. No one needs three emails in a day.

If you’re running holiday specials, how are you trying to reach your customers?