The most commonly used phrase in subject lines this time of year? Free Shipping! And, there’s a reason why. These two little words can make all the difference between someone just browsing your site or actually buying. Although there are only 4 weeks this year between Thanksgiving and Christmas, there are still things your business can do to make this a stellar holiday season. One of these is participating in Free Shipping Day on December 18th. Free Shipping Day, started in 2008, is a one-day online event in which thousands of businesses offer free shipping with delivery by Christmas Eve. Any business that has an online presence and wants to join in, can! We all know there are people who wait ’till the last minute to do their shopping, and this is a fantastic way to target that group and get them spending! Here’s how to get started:

Sign up – While you don’t have to sign up to participate, it can get new customers in the door. The website freeshippingday.comwill list businesses that sign-up on their site, which means someone else gets to do some marketing for you. Holiday win! They’ve started listing participants already, and if you ask, they’ll wait to post your business until the 18th. The only requirement is that you offer free shipping on all purchases that day. If you wish to offer a discount as well, you can.

Share – Once you’ve decided to participate, let everyone know. Share Free Shipping Day info on your website, social media networks and in your emails to spread the word to your customers and in turn, their friends. Ask your customers and followers to share your Facebook or Twitter posts about Free Shipping Day, and encourage your readers to forward your emails to friends. The more you share about Free Shipping Day, the more your customers and followers will have an incentive to shop that day as well. Freeshipping.org also has a Facebook and Twitter page set up; follow them and then share some of the posts, effortless social marketing for you!

Use badges – There are badges of varying sizes that you can add to your website, blog, email, etc. and consider adding info about free shipping day on your website. The badge makes it easy for your readers and followers to know that your business is offering free shipping, at least on December 18th.

And, remember to collect information from your new customers! If you don’t have an email opt-in form on your website or blog, add one before you start your marketing. You’ll want to be able add all these new visitors to your email mailing list so you can keep them in the loop beyond Free Shipping Day.

Free Shipping Day is an easy way to get a little more out of your holiday marketing. The last two years have seen spending exceed $1 billion on Free Shipping Day. Even a small piece of that can help make your holiday season bright. And for all those procrastinators out there, it’s a chance to start and finish their holiday shopping all in one go.

How do you plan to take advantage of Free Shipping Day? Share in the comments below!

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