April 25

Your Marketing Timing is EVERYTHING!

16  comments

I could turn this into a VERY long post, but for now I’m going to stay on the surface and discuss the worst times to market…and expect results.

I could dive into specific days and specific times but then I’d be giving away all my secrets!

So let’s talk broad strokes starting today and moving through the year…

Date: April 11-24th

Why: TAX SEASON!! Even if someone has their taxes done, money coming back to them, and not a care in the world, they’re still VERY unlikely to want to take time to study and learn whatever you’re selling them. They also already have plans for money coming back that doesn’t include trading tools/services.

Oh yeah, then there’s spring break for kids. Most of our buyers have kids, work a TON of hours, and use the spring break as a time for family.

The week after tax season should be better because people have that burden off their shoulders and their minds are like a goldfish when it comes to ‘what did I plan on spending this money on again?’

Date: Middle of June

Why: School’s out!

Going back to my above point–when the kids get out of school, vacation plans are ramping up, kids are taking up more free time, and are already asking for money…so wallets get closed a little tighter.

The summer as a whole is normally a slower time, but when the kids get out of school you’re marketing to a ghost town.

Date: End of August/Beginning of September

Why: SCHOOL!

Remember most of the buyers in our niche are very smart individuals with kids, houses, and bills. It’s this time of year they start to think about school shopping ($), private schools ($), and winter preparations. Their minds are often elsewhere and not 100% focused on trading…that comes once the kids are back in school and mom and dad get a break!

Date: November 20-30

Why: Thanksgiving and Travel

It really doesn’t matter who you are…people are expected to spend time with family (which is a good thing!) But in the midst of that…time is taken away from trading and thinking about trading. If you’re not able to get a big chunk of a buyer’s attention then chances are slim for a close, and slimmer that the buyer will be able to use the tool and KEEP IT (refunds).

One could argue that  since they’re on vacation they can study more, so try to convince me in the comments!

But for the most part they’re not going to be buying and if they are, refunds will be higher because they couldn’t truly give it a shot!

Date: December 19th to January 5th

Why: Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Years

Does this really need describing?? Holidays = LOTS OF MONEY BEING SPENT…and 99% of the time it’s not being spent on oneself. Same is true with traders and buyers. They have a lot of gifts to think about, pay for, and they won’t be able to really get back into their routine until after New Years.

Again, the vacation argument could be taken, so if you have input or results post away in the comments!

Date: February

Why: Credit Card Bills!

Those holiday gift costs are coming to roost and February is often a slow month with belts being tightened, and the reality of how much was spent smacks people in the face. Now, it’s not ALL February, as sales will still come in and convert, but plan on lower-ended price points.

This is just a broad list that I’ve put together in my head from years of marketing experience in this niche. I’ve seen brokers push stuff hard that’s flopped and I’ve seen bloggers who’s sole income is affiliate marketing crash hard. It’s just one of those things!

So if you have any thoughts, or input on the above dates (or one I’m missing) please comment below!

Cheers,
Brad


Tags

affiliates, brokers, dates NOT to market, dates to market, worst dates to market, worst times to market


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  • Brad, Brad, Brad… so when are the good times to market?

    I agree, when the refund check arrives, buying the latest trading service isn’t first on the wish list. But let’s look the other side of tax season – before year end, when our customers still have time to buy that educational service and generate a write off.

    When I used to work at Agora (I wish I could forget about that), September was always our biggest month – after the seasonal vacation time, but before the holiday’s… still in time for a write off. If you pay attention to Scamsberry (I mean Stansberry’s) marketing efforts, you’ll see that they market their highest priced product – The Private Wealth Alliance – during… well… September. This is why… (Although they did do it in April this year…maybe something changed)

    For me personally, December has always been my biggest month, but there are other reasons for that, and SFT only has 2 years of sales history.

    However, outside of December, for SixFigureTrader.com, our biggest month has been September. So I’m saving my biggest launch of the year for September 2011…

    It’s gonna be a doozy 🙂

    https://sixfiguretrader.infusionsoft.com/go/affsignup/fmpgbrad/

  • Brad,

    Great information as usual. I have one more time frame to add and a slightly different experience with Thanksgiving and Christmas.

    The week leading up to Independence Day has always been very slow for us. This isn’t just email marketing response rates but e-letter open rates are lower, incoming customer service emails are fewer, and even customer service phone calls are lower. People are just mentally checked in the days leading up to that holiday. I’ll be other marketers have had the same experience.

    As for Thanksgiving and Christmas: the actual holidays don’t do well. In fact, over the past few years out of respect we’ve held off promoting on those days altogether.

    However, the day after each: wow. Open and click rates are high and total sales are good. Combine this with some sort of REAL sales offer (not the BS “offers” we marketers so often do) and sales take off. I first tested this about four years ago based on personal experience at Christmas time from the year before. It was the day after Christmas and I was with my in-laws kind of bored and frankly needing a break from them. So I found myself checking my work and personal email accounts, surfing the web, etc. I got to thinking that I cannot be alone in this. So the following year we tested running our usual promotions. And bam! Home run. The next year we did the same but tied in a bigger promotion and the sales were even better.

    It’s worked so well that we know schedule big REAL promotions around those two holidays. In fact, in 2009 we did a launch of a product the day after Christmas: rung the register.

    So to everyone out there, test those days after Thanksgiving and Christmas when everyone is sick of their family and dying to read any email that is even slightly interesting. You just might get a bunch of extra sales coming in.

    PS: New Year’s works well, too, particularly when New Years Day is a Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.

  • Good points, Brad… for 10+ years now, that’s why I never schedule big launches or live seminars during the weeks surrounding tax time, as people are in a scarcity mindset, since many (especially us entrepreneurs) are busy finishing up tax work and paying taxes. And right re avoiding major holidays like Christmas/Memorial Day weekends.

    ken ca|houn
    daytrading university

  • Aren’t the holidays and the markets on the same patterns? What I find is sales ebbing and flowing based on the market’s ups and downs, for instance last week the market took a nosedive and sales dried up, then started picking up as the market came back. You can sense the hesitation at first, but after a few days of bullish action, the more sales return to normal. This is anecdotal, so maybe somebody could graph sales and market action. (I would do it but I’m taking care of the kids during their Easter break!)

  • Hi Brad, Nice post. Just curious — are these time frames and your analysis empirical, are are they simply based on intuition and deductive reasoning? I actually had a very good February with a big-ticket promo this year. And historically, December has always been a high-performing month for me in the financials (I’ve always attributed it to people being in a spending mode around Christmas time). Thanks.

    • It’s a combo of the two, but mainly based on results I’ve seen around these times over the past 6 years across many different sites and niches.

  • Contrary to what marketers fear, I’ve always found the best time to market isn’t based on holidays, its based on big wins! If you have a big win the day before someone pays taxes, subscribers aren’t worried about spending…its too bad so many people in “this industry” focus on marketing gimmicks and tactics rather than just solid research and actually making their subscribers $…thats the secret to how I’ve growing to multi-millions per year without spending a dime buying any lists…that said, my video drip lessons created by the one and only Stafford are a HUGE time saver and convert very well 🙂

    • That’s 100% true Tim…there are ways to charge over or take advantage of holidays. ALWAYS stay away from gimmicks…stick to what you do best, be honest, and there are challenges that can be overcome!!

      Thanks for the hat-tip ;)…but those lessons wouldn’t convert without your skills and knowledge!

  • Right on the money Brad. Add Easter to the list. A big launch this last Easter Monday did not go as expected.. was it the product, the price or the timing? I’m betting timing had a lot to do with it so in my opinion, it makes sense to stay away from any vacation dates (particularly sensitive holy times) unless your running a tourist-based business. Having said that, I’m personally focused on developing and marketing evergreen services that are not focused solely around launches which I think both customers and affiliates are getting really tired of. Enough already with the same old launch gimmicks. Its turning us all into used-car sales people!!

  • So true! Used to have a sushi restaurant and quickly/sadly learned this quickly! February is the worst, november is the best!

    • I’d recommend a real-estate blog 😉 BUT I’d assume those times might be better since people look for homes and travel during those times…

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