Use the holiday season to grow your audience

Is your business ready for the holiday season? 

Although we lived in perilous times, last year, we saw huge increases in subscriptions during the holiday season as people gave subscriptions as gifts, treated themselves to content they loved, and watched holiday specials. Black Friday definitely isn’t just for retailers, and these six tips can help you craft your end-of-year strategy.

1. ‘Tis the season for (gift subscriptions)

With Vimeo OTT, your customers can gift subscriptions of your content to others. It’s no surprise that the holiday season is when we see the most gift subscriptions purchased, and 2018 was no exception. 

People purchased 150% more gift subscriptions between Black Friday and Christmas Eve than the rest of the year. Gift subscriptions make an excellent present for a number of reasons:

• Shoppers don’t have to worry about wrapping or shipping a gift subscription. They can select the date they’d like the gift subscription to be emailed to the recipient.  
• A gift subscription makes a perfect last-minute gift since it can be sent to the recipient right away. In 2018, last-minute holiday shoppers caused gift subscriptions to increase by 6X on December 23 and a staggering 10X on December 24. 
• A well-chosen subscription is a thoughtful gift. Wouldn’t you rather receive several months of a subscription to watch a genre of films and series you love or try some fun fitness classes from the comfort of your home than getting another fruit cake or candle? 

Your existing fans already love your content, so it’s natural that they might want to share it with their friends and family. Customers can purchase a gift subscription by simply hitting the “Gift this” option during checkout.

2. Release seasonal content

Remember how watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” on TV was an annual event every holiday season? Fans love holiday-themed content to put them in the spirit of the season. 

Tello Films knows this well. They’re releasing their first-holiday movie this year and plan on making it an annual occurrence. “Our community has been screaming for that content for the past two years,” said Christin Baker, Founder of Tello Films. “We realized how oddly satisfying those films are.” 

How can the holidays inspire you programming? If you run an instructional network, try adding a holiday craft tutorial or a winter cocktail-making class. If you’re using OTT Live, broadcast a holiday greeting or stream a special event for your subscribers. Adding content on a regular basis, whether it’s on-demand or live, is one of the best things you can do to engage and retain your audience.

3. Offer promo codes 

Treat yo’ self! That’s what consumers are thinking as they do their holiday shopping — and subscribing. 

In 2018, non-gift subscription purchases between Black Friday and Christmas Eve increased by 44.5%. The week after Christmas saw subscription sales at 3X their normal weekly rate compared to the rest of the year.

Discount promos go over huge during the holiday season. 50% off promos are the most popular during the year, and the same goes for the holiday season. Customers who subscribe with a promo code tend to stick around longer and have a higher lifetime value as a result.

You can set your promotion length for one, two, three, six, nine, or twelve months. One-month promos are the most redeemed from what we’ve seen, but every network is different — feel free to experiment. 

With holiday promos, it’s good practice to display them on your homepage and across your social channels, so customers can easily find them. Dekkoo does a great job of displaying their promotions on their landing page so new prospects are enticed to subscribe.

4. Give away free trials 

Free trials are another way to entice people to sign up and try your subscription. Over 63% of free trial signups convert into paying subscribers. If you aren’t currently offering free trials, the holidays are a perfect time to try out the tool. You can offer 3-, 7-, 14-, or 30-day trials. 7- and 14-day trials are the most popular.

Over 63% of free trial signups convert into paying subscribers.

5. Try a win-back campaign 

The holidays are an opportune time to woo back former customers. If you have a good sense of why the majority of churned customers left, you can use that understanding to shape your win-back messaging. 

On the subscribers’ section of your dashboard, you can see the responses and comments people leave when they unsubscribe from your site. “Price too high” tends to be a common reason for cancellation. If you find this to be the case, extend the giving season by sending former customers an exclusive promotional rate. 

6. Say thank you 

Gratitude is powerful and often underrated. 

A simple (and free) way to show some appreciation for your new customers is to customize the thank you message they receive when they sign up for your service. This small personalization is a great way to build loyalty with your new customers. Use it as an opportunity to suggest which videos they should check out first, share any links to your online community with them, or let them know your mission and thank them for supporting an independent subscription service. 

You can even create a thank you video to show your gratitude to your loyal customers.

Black Friday will be here before you know it, and it’s never too early to have your holiday sales plans in place and ready to go. Having a growth boost at the end of the year is a great way to set yourself up for a successful new year. 

We made you a list; check it twice! Grow your network this season with this holiday sales checklist.