Prepare your Valentine’s campaign with Carson

Is your store prepared for Valentine’s Day? Though it’s an unofficial holiday, it’s quite a busy one for online shopping. According to the National Retail Federation, spending in 2019 reached $20 billion! An interesting statistic is that many people buy gifts last minute, with peak shopping days falling on Feb. 12 and 13. However, the 2 weeks preceding the 14th are when shopping starts ramping up. Keep this in mind when prepping your store.

Posted 4 years ago by Tatiana Dudin

Even single people say that they will somehow mark the occasion, so don’t forget to show them some love too. Singles celebrate either through treating themselves to something special or celebrating with other singles. As an online retailer, you simply can’t miss out on this Holiday.

But how do you effectively run a Valentine’s Day campaign that resonates? It’s more than just deciding on a last-minute sale and sending an email about it. If you haven’t started preparing yet, don’t worry! It’s not too late to execute a perfect Valentine’s Day campaign. This handy 4-step guide will help you with your preparations over the next 4 weeks.

Preparations should start right about now!

1. Decide Which Channels to Advertise On

Just like love is meant to be shouted from the rooftops, news of your Valentine’s Day campaign has to be communicated to your existing and potential customers. Options include social media ads, banner ads and marketing emails, to name a few. Each have a unique way of reaching your intended audience, so set an advertising budget and start thinking about the best way to reach your target market. As you’re trying to reach new customers, don’t forget about your existing ones and reward their loyalty!

Social media ads will probably reach a younger audience, while cleverly placed banner ads will reach an older audience. It all depends on who you’re trying to get the message across.

2. Decide What to Sell

If your store has been around long enough, look at your own data to see which products were selling best last Valentine’s Day. This should point you in the right direction of which products to focus on this year. Alternatively, if your own data is unavailable, then look at what products sell best around Valentine’s and take your cue from those.

Research ecommerce Valentine’s Day successes and take your cue from those as well. Beyond the traditional chocolate and flowers, people are looking for a great deal. So even if your store doesn’t sell the conventional Valentine’s products, you can still take a cut of the Valentine’s Day ecommerce pie with prices that can’t be beat.

Consider adding themed product labels to your collection pages so your visitors know exactly which products are on sale and are reminded of your offer as they browse.

3. Consider Creative Assets

Now that you’ve decided on what to sell and where to sell it, you need some romantic copy and graphics to announce to the world about your Valentine’s Day Sale! Even if you run a simple, no-frills campaign that’s titled ‘Valentine’s Day Sale’, you will need a few images.

Whether it’s a new hero image for your homepage, social media ads or a newsletter image, Carson’s dedicated graphic design team can collaborate with you to create your vision. Give your in-house graphic designer or our team plenty of time to do their thing. Brief them now with what you’ll be needing to give them enough time to create the assets and for you to give feedback.

If you’re a wordsmith, make sure your copy is succinct and gets to the point – you’re competing against thousands of other stores. Get creative with your messaging and if you’re running an email marketing campaign make sure your subject lines entice your customers to open the email and click through to your site.

4. Execute and Monitor

You’ve decided on your campaign channels, what you’re going to sell and your writers and graphic designers are busy creating your assets. The last step is to make sure the images and copy are loading correctly and test everything before going live. 

Make sure your mobile site is functioning and optimized – more and more online shoppers are using their cellphones to buy online. Since many leave Valentine’s Day shopping to the last minute and probably try to keep what they’re buying a secret, they will be using their mobile devices for the sake of convenience and privacy. 

When the campaign goes live, monitor it closely and make sure everything is going according to plan.

Will Love Be In The Air?

Whether you’re a seasoned ecommerce owner or just starting out, giving yourself plenty of time before running a Valentine’s Day campaign is crucial to its success. With a bit of planning and foresight, you can have a romantic and profitable Valentine’s Day and your online store can benefit from a holiday that’s focused on buying and giving gifts.

Did you know that Carson’s turnaround time for task completion is 2 business days? Check out our complete task catalog for other ideas on how to get your store ready for Valentine’s Day.