The holidays may still feel months away, but for businesses, September is the perfect time to start thinking about holiday marketing. 

Waiting until November to begin planning can leave your team scrambling to create promotions, design graphics, schedule content, prepare advertising campaigns, and update your website. Starting earlier gives your business time to develop a thoughtful strategy and build momentum before the busiest part of the season arrives. 

So, when should your business start planning its holiday marketing? Ideally, the planning process should begin by September—if not earlier. 

Why Start Holiday Marketing Planning So Early? 

A successful holiday campaign involves more than deciding to offer a seasonal promotion. 

Depending on your business, you may need time to plan social media content, schedule photography or video, design email campaigns, create digital ads, update website content, develop landing pages, or prepare print materials. 

Starting in September gives you time to determine what you want to accomplish and coordinate each part of your campaign without rushing. 

It also gives your business an opportunity to review previous marketing efforts. Which promotions generated the most interest? Which emails received the most engagement? Which social posts or ads performed well? Looking at past performance can help guide this year’s strategy. 

Decide Which Holidays Matter to Your Business 

Not every business needs to market around every holiday. 

Identify the dates that are most relevant to your audience, products, services, and industry. Your marketing calendar might include Halloween, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s, or other seasonal events. 

For some businesses, the holiday season may be less about discounts and more about customer appreciation, community involvement, year-end services, gift ideas, or preparing customers for the new year. 

Choosing your priorities early makes it easier to create a cohesive campaign rather than posting something simply because a holiday is approaching. 

Plan Your Content and Promotions in Advance 

Once you’ve identified your key dates, determine what you’ll need for each campaign. 

Will you need new photography? A promotional video? Holiday graphics? Email marketing? Social media posts? Paid advertising? Website updates? 

Creating a marketing calendar can help you map out when campaigns need to launch and when the materials supporting them need to be completed. 

Planning ahead also gives you more time to ensure your messaging remains consistent across your website, social media, email, advertising, and other marketing channels. 

Don’t Wait Until Customers Are Ready to Buy 

Holiday marketing isn’t only about reaching customers on the day of a major sale or holiday. The weeks leading up to it provide opportunities to build awareness and keep your business top of mind. 

You might tease an upcoming promotion, introduce seasonal products or services, share gift ideas, build your email list, or simply begin creating excitement around what’s coming. 

By the time your primary campaign launches, your audience may already be familiar with your message. 

Start Preparing Your Holiday Marketing Strategy Now 

September might feel early to start thinking about the holidays, but good marketing takes time. Planning now gives your business more flexibility to develop strong creative, coordinate campaigns, make adjustments, and avoid last-minute marketing decisions. 

At Marketing Business Solutions (MBS), we help businesses plan and execute integrated marketing strategies across social media, email, digital advertising, websites, photography, video, design, and more. 

Contact MBS today to start planning a holiday marketing strategy that keeps your business ahead of the seasonal rush.