Startup Guides > How To Promote Your Business Between Thanksgiving And Christmas

Black Friday might hold the first position, but there are eight other special holiday shopping days that can help you build business before Christmas this year.

In addition to the 9 holiday shopping days mentioned below, don't forget to use online marketing sites for your year-round promotion. You can visit 40billion.com which is the fastest-growing network of entrepreneurs and crowdfunders. They specialize in promotion of small businesses by broadcasting and promoting to its large network of several million users across the most popular social networking sites for small businesses - including Twitter, LinkedIn, 40Billion, and even Facebook. Innovative services like tweet ads and promoted company listings were created for small entrepreneurs to tap into a growing, active network online without spending thousands on pay-per-click ads or traditional advertising. They also offer crowdfunding promotion and promote crowdfunders and their campaigns/projects.


1. Gray Thursday a.k.a. Thanksgiving Day

Gray is the new black, and Gray Thursday has wedged its foot firmly into the doorway when it comes to supplanting Black Friday as the real start of the holiday shopping season. In 2013, Gray Thursday, better known as Thanksgiving Day, saw the addition of Thanksgiving Day holiday shopping hours by many major retailers whose doors have traditionally been closed until Black Friday.

2. Black Friday

The Friday after Thanksgiving Day. Black Friday is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year.Extending special offers to your most valuable customers or motivating members of your rewards clubs to take action could help you attract more shoppers and boost profits during the holidays.

3. Small Business Saturday

The Saturday after Thanksgiving Day. Small Business Saturday was first held in 2010 and has been the means of putting local, independent businesses into the conscious minds of consumers throughout the U.S. every year since.

4. Cyber Monday

The Monday after Thanksgiving Day. With the advent of online shopping and dominance of cyber retailers including amazon.com as well as digital stores representing most major retailers, Cyber Monday, with its strong selling point of convenience, may well surpass Black Friday as the busiest shopping day of the year between Thanksgiving and Christmas in the near future.

Even if you don't sell online, you can still use digital marketing to make sales which will be completed in your brick-and-mortar store location.

5. Giving Tuesday

The Tuesday after Thanksgiving Day. The idea behind Giving Tuesday is to have a day when Americans (and - by extension - American businesses) "give back" to others after the long weekend of spending:

• Giving Tuesday would be a great day for you to focus your marketing channels on telling your customers about the different ways your business gives back to the local communities, charities, and the impact that small business has on the local economy.

• Considering donating a dollar amount or percentage of sales made on Giving Tuesday to a local charity or to be used to purchase gifts for a giving tree.

6. Green Monday

The second Monday of December. Green Monday is so-called because it's the color of money; a title well-suited for what is traditionally the busiest shopping day in December. Think of Green Monday as a second chance at Black Friday.

7. Free Shipping Day

One week before Christmas Day. For merchants offering free shipping for all holiday purchases (or only on Free Shipping Day), this is traditionally the last day that free shipping with guaranteed delivery by Christmas Eve is offered. You can hold a Free Shipping Day on December 18, or take advantage of other ways to observe this special holiday shopping day.

8. Super Saturday

The Saturday before Christmas Day. Super Saturday is the last Saturday before Christmas Day. For people with full time, Monday through Friday jobs, this could well be the day they finish their holiday shopping. This is the perfect day to have.

9. Gift Card Exchange Day

December 26 - The day after Christmas Day. So-named because of all of the people headed out to shop with newly-received gift cards in hand, Gift Card Exchange Day could well be the busiest day for retailers - busier even than Black Friday in terms of numbers of transactions.

Believe it or not, some retailers actually let customers exchange gift cards from other businesses for their products and services (or for a gift card from their business). While this may not be practical for your business, you can still attract shoppers on Gift Card Exchange Day with:

• Special one-day only clearance offers on unsold holiday merchandise.

• A discount or freebie for gift cards purchased on Gift Card Exchange Day (such as a free $25 gift card with purchase of a $100 gift card).

• A free gift or add-on (such as $10 gift card or Starbucks card) or any $50 (or $100, etc.) purchase made that day.

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