The holidays are approaching with a speed I never thought possible. If you, like me, are shocked by how close Thanksgiving and Christmas (and Black Friday and Small Business Saturday are, chances are you haven’t given much thought to your holiday marketing plan.

So, if you’re feeling behind the 8-ball, here’s a quick to do list to get ready for the holiday season.

Plan your Holiday Marketing in 3 Steps

1. Craft an Offer It makes no sense, especially at this time of year, to craft an offer that won’t turn heads. You need to draw people to your store, whether it’s online or a physical location, to get them interested in what you have to offer. Whether you’re offering 25% off of purchases over a certain amount or a must-have item at rock bottom prices, you need to give customers a reason to choose you over the competition. It’s a stressed, expensive time of year – how can you make that easier for your customers?

2. Craft a Newsletter Once you know what you’d like to offer, put together a newsletter and send it out to all your trusty list of existing customers (you have one of those right?). With the insane amount of emails one receives during the holidays, it’s easy to forget about brands you love. Make sure your customers don’t forget about you by sending them an email letting them know about the super-mega-fantastic sale you’re having. Just don’t send it on Thanksgiving or Black Friday when no one will be paying attention because they’re getting a bajillion emails. Unless it’s a one day only super-mega-fantastic flash sale. My point is: think it through from your customer’s perspective so you can send your newsletter at a strategic time.

3. Craft a Facebook Ad Ok, so you emailed your trusty list of existing customers. But what if they didn’t open it? And how do you reach customers who aren’t already on your trusty list? You craft a Facebook ad. For a relatively low budget (but some potential pulling out of your hair over terms and restrictions) you can reach customers and potential customers alike. No time to learn to craft a Facebook Ad? Feel free to outsource that service to get the best results from your ad.

While there are many other components you can add to build out your holiday strategy, this is a no fuss basis to start from. This will help you get through your holidays – from a business perspective at least. I can’t help you with what to buy grandma.

(That’s not true. Get grandma a framed picture of your family. Even if she doesn’t like it, she can’t really complain.  )