One of the best marketing tools your small business or non-profit can create during the holiday season is a gift guide. Everyone needs a little inspiration this time of year, so why not showcase your products and services in an easy-to-buy format?
To help you create a gift guide, we turned to Tom Fallenstein, CEO of Fun.com, a website that utilizes online guides to sell gifts and costumes to customers.
“People still window shop online,” he says. “Like store windows, digital gift guides can catch shoppers’ eyes and pull them in.”
In this post, we’ll show you examples of gift guides and explain why they work, plus we’ll give you some actionable tips to create your own.
J. Crew: Gifts for Her
J. Crew created a gift guide that offers inspiration for those shopping for that special woman in their life.
Why it works:
- Clean and simple design and layout
- Products all have a similar color scheme
- Prices are front and center
- Eye catching pictures of each gift
- Call to action buttons for each gift of “Quickshop”
Regina Humane Society: Gift Catalog for Supporters
Non-profits like Regina Humane Society can create a gift catalog that allows supporters to purchase products or services for those in need.
Why it works:
- It gives meaning to each donation
- It highlights specific services and products that supporters might not think of
- The images draw the reader in
- The description of each gift is in-depth
Leanhart Plumbing: Bathroom Gadget Gift Guide
This plumber thought out-of-the-box and created a gift guide that his clients could use. The items on the list aren’t necessarily products that he expects people to buy from his company, but later on when clients are in need of plumbing services Leanhart Plumbing will spring to mind.
Why it works:
- A creative gift guide that’s not self serving
- Ideas pertain to the business
Unclutterer: Gift Ideas That Won’t Clutter the House
Unclutterer, an e-commerce site that helps its audience get organized, created a list full of gifts that won’t take up space in your home.
Why it works:
- Clever ideas that can be used in any location
- Ideas fit the business
Fun.com: Cheap Gift Ideas
Fallentstein’s Fun.com has a variety of gift guides on its site. This particular guide showcases affordable gifts.
Why it works:
- Affordability is something everyone is looking for
- Great images of gifts
Tips to creating a gift guide
With the guides above as inspiration, you’re ready to create your own gift guide. To get started, here are a few tips to captivate your audience and increase holiday sales:
1. Pick a specific category
Keep it simple. Create gift guides that cover a specific topic or group. For example:
- Gifts for Him
- Gifts under $25
- Top 5 Gifts to Give from Bob’s Auto Repair
- 3 Homemade Gifts to Give via Sarah’s Etsy Store
Fallenstein says categories are crucial. “Create categories by putting yourself in the shoes of the consumer and cater to how they shop,” he suggests.
2. Highlight 3-7 items
You don’t want to overwhelm your viewers, so don’t try to highlight every product or service that you offer in one guide. Remember, you can create and send more than one guide during the holiday season. It’s better to send several smaller guides than it is to send one big one.
3. Use visuals
Your gift guide should showcase the items or services that you want people to buy. For retailers, that means taking some high-resolution photos of your products. Service-based businesses and non-profits can take a picture of their staff offering a service, or check out sites like iStock or Shutterstock to find images that represent your business or organization.
4. Host the guide on your website or blog & email it
Your gift guide should live on your website or blog. Then, email the guide to your audience linking back to your hosted gift guide. Use that same link to promote it on your social media channels. Pinterest is a hot spot for gift guides. Here’s an example.
5. Promote your guide
To make sure your guide gets maximum exposure, you’ll want to promote it. Your social media channels are a natural platform for promotion, but get creative with your posts.
Let’s say your guide highlights five items. Most small businesses will send out a tweet that says, “Check out our gift guide.” That’s fine. However, you can get more mileage out of your guide by breaking its contents into five posts. Each day for five days tweet a picture of one item, write a creative description and share the link.
6. Make checkout easy
If someone is interested in making a purchase, the process should be ridiculously easy. Make sure that links from your guide take the consumer to the checkout quickly.
“The easier their decision is from picking their gifts to checking out, the better,” Fallenstein says. “It leaves the customer feeling good about their purchase.”
Too many steps will keep consumers from following through.
Does your business or non-profit create gift guides? If so, share in the comments section below.
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The post Tips to Creating an Online Gift Guide That Delivers the Goods appeared first on VerticalResponse Blog.
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