It's Time to Deck the Halls (re-visited)

(This is re-post from last year. The tips are still fresh and valuable.)

Well, as Halloween comes and goes, stores are already putting out Christmas decorations. Yes, it's hard to believe that the holidays are just around the corner. And, if you haven't already started planning your holiday marketing campaign, now is the time.


But, before you run out and deck the halls with marketing messages remember: holiday campaigns must be integrated with your overall marketing strategy. They must have clear goals, objectives, target audience, and must stay consistent with your overall brand promise. A focused plan can help your company generate sales, increase awareness about your product/service, and show appreciation to your existing customers, employees and partners.


If your campaign will rely on heavy email-marketing, the right time to start will depend on what product or service you are offering, to whom, and when they are likely to buy it. Restaurants may want to begin now in promoting holiday parties and gift cards, while last-minute gift retailers should wait until the beginning of December. Internet marketing expert Paula Skaper encourages that your email campaigns allow enough time for readers to receive the promotion, respond and receive delivery of their products/services on time for Christmas (click here for full article).

In her article 10 Tips for Designing Your Holiday Email Campaign, Karen Scharf further suggests to segment your merchandise and mailing lists to make shopping easier, such as Gifts for Men, Gifts for Children, etc. Or if you are a service-based company, segment by market--Specials for Retailers, Specials for B2B Companies. "There is so much competition for the in basket at this time of year, don't waste your customers' time with promotions that are irrelevant to their shopping habits."

Because I'm big on the personal touch, consider investing in a small postage budget and mail a gift card or coupon to selected loyal clients and customers. It's a good way to say "thank you" and generate business.

Bottom line: start planning now for happy holidays. Waiting until Thanksgiving will be a little late and will have you and your team scrambling at the last minute--and there is nothing happy about that.

Click here for more holiday marketing tips.

On the Personal Side: Commit NOT to Over-Commit

(On The Personal Side are rare personal entries by the owner of this business journal blog. We hope the insights here have value for your life.)

Well, this week marks two months since my surgery that I was so excited about having. What was supposed to be a 5-day recovery turned out to be a 2-month ordeal of complications and after-effects (some very serious). So much so that one of my doctor friends said that if I had gone through this 20 years ago, I would not have made it. While I didn’t know the medical implications, I did know that the combination of infection, fibroids tumors breaking down, dehydration, menstruation, vomiting, and excruciating pain was horrible.

So, I am certainly grateful for the miracles of modern medicine, but I know that it was the effectual prayers of the righteous that truly availed much on my behalf (James 5:16b). Now, my infection is cleared, blood pressure is great, hemoglobin levels are good, food is staying down, and pain is manageable—all opposites of where I was 3 weeks ago. I continue to work on my stamina. I still get tired easily, especially while talking. So, thank you for your patience with me if I’ve not yet responded to your caring phone calls. I do check all of my messages and soooo appreciate them. I also check my email and respond to those a little quicker. I love, love, love, love, love all of you so much.

I am starting light duty this week with the expectation that I will be strong enough to return to normal duty the 1st week of November… But, a word about that “returning to normal duty”--I learned something during this journey back to health.

While my healing process has been a painful and draining one, it’s not been all bad. I’ve seen many good movies, read good books, experienced my husband as a good caretaker, enjoyed my dog, seen my parents twice (to help take care of me, my good caretaker husband, and my dog), re-discovered my love for old-fashioned letter writing, and learned Il bel far niente--the beauty of doing nothing (as taken from the lesson learned in Italy by Elizabeth Gilbert in Eat, Pray, Love—one of the good books I read.)

There were so many days that all I could do was stare at the sky that I began to appreciate the value of doing so—(I mean doing so when I am not in excruciating pain and on heavy, street-value drugs). That’s something I rarely ever allow myself to do. Between working 14+ hour days with various large and small clients; and maintaining a house, healthy marriage, and an over-active dog, taking/making downtime was a luxury I couldn’t afford. So, during the last 2 months, in between doses of medicine and all the after-effects that I mentioned, I had a few days that I felt well enough to do nothing but read a few pages of a book without the weight of all my other responsibilities, and I liked it.

Excited about my new Il bel far niente discovery, I sent my friend Melanie a text message to tell her. She kindly noted that I actually wasn’t doing nothing, because I was reading the book and texting her. So, OK, maybe doing nothing is a stretch, but the art of doing less-things-than-I-normally-do is what I am seeking. Or, as my other friend Kay said, “maybe just try to do two things, instead of your normal 20.”

I think that is doable. Strangely, it helps that right now two things is about all I can manage; but I do expect to gradually restore my stamina back to a normal level and I want to be intentional about not restoring my activity to a normal level. I confess it was a bit much, even for me. I also confess that, while it sounds noble to lighten my load, I know it won’t be easy. It means making some hard and sometimes unpopular choices. But I’ve got to do it—for my health, for my sanity, and for my longevity.

So, I’m making a commitment NOT TO OVER-COMMIT, and I’m asking all of you to help hold me accountable. What do you need to commit to?