Make Every Day is Christmas

How to Sell Sell Sell 365 Days a Year

By Meredith Keller Merkell, Inc. Founder and President Although retailers do the most business during the Christmas holiday season, it is important to keep in mind that gift-giving is a 365-day-a-year activity. People always have occasion to indulge their loved ones and even themselves. As an internet retailer you can make this work for you because, in addition to gifts, people love convenience. In order to make your shop the place people go for every occasion, it's important to be cognizant of the other events that take place throughout the year and stock your store accordingly. A seller needn't resign herself to a slow trickle of sales once the Christmas rush is over. They should be preparing for the next big rush: Valentine's Day. As soon as people put their Christmas sweaters away, the Valentine's Day pressure begins. "What do I get my sweetie?" is on everyone's mind. The internet retailer should be there to help. Here's how:

The savvy internet retailer capitalizes on popular gift giving occasions through out the year and tailors his or her product line to consumers' seasonal gift giving habits.

First, stock up on products that are an appropriate fit for the holiday. If possible, offer products that are appropriate for men and women or even singles to give their other single friends as novelty gifts. Second, plan a press campaign in advance to get bloggers and magazine editors buzzing about your product line being perfect for the occasion. Last and most importantly, include keywords in your product descriptions that get you on the search engine map when people search for Valentine's Day gifts. Sometimes a change in product line isn't even necessary, just the suggestion that an existing item makes a great Valentine's Day gift can improve sales. Featuring your Valentine's Day items on the front page of your virtual shop is also a good idea.

Think you're done come February 15th? Think again. You'll want to repeat the above process for each seasonal event. After Valentine's Day comes St. Patrick's Day, and then Mother's Day and Father's Day. Next comes graduation season and then wedding season, which means bridal shower gifts, wedding gifts and anniversary gifts -- not to mention the gifts brides and grooms have to get their bridesmaids and groomsmen. By summer's end it's time to turn your attention to back-to-school items and Halloween novelties. Before you know it, it will be Christmas again.

It's also important to remember that in addition to seasonal gift giving, people have to get gifts for birthdays, bar mitzvahs, new babies, housewarmings, thank yous, get well soon, congratulations, and generally because they want to say "I love you" to someone in their life. Maintaining a product line that serves all of these different occasions and using keywords that help shoppers find you is essential to making your shop the go-to place all year long.

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