Hi, %$firstname$%,

It looks like fall is tiptoeing in, here in Austin. After 90 days of triple-digit heat, we are certainly ready for some cooler weather!

Fall means football in our house. My 2 oldest boys have a healthy college football rivalry going on, and my youngest is playing for the first time.

The change in season also means there are a lot of holidays right around the corner. And this got us thinking about how we could best plan for the end of the year. Take a look at the article below for some inspiration for your winter marketing calendar.

To Your Virtual Success,
Peggy

Now that it's time to hang up your summer marketing suit what will you put on next? This is a great time to plan some holiday marketing campaigns. There are so many options you have available to you online. Let's take a sneak peek at a few ideas.

Holiday Coupons...with a Social Twist

Don't we all like to get coupons on our favorite goodies? I know I sure do! And I'm sure your customers would love a special discount or coupon. Keep in mind with online coupons and discounts, give them a reason, a story. Make your customers remember your business, keep them coming back and even more powerful...they'll tell their friends.

We can even take this one step higher. Create a special discount just for your Facebook business page fans. Only those who are a fan can see the coupon. See the awesomeness here? They get an amazing deal and you are creating a viral buzz for your business.

Giveaways are a Blast...for Your Optin

Make someone's day with a giveaway, or even a few people. It's a win, win, win situation. Let's get a few ideas spinning. Create a themed giveaway with a catchy title. Get all your ducks lined up in a row and launch it! Use your Facebook business page to add viral social features to your giveaway (sharing, commenting, liking, all that jazz). Now add in Twitter too! Look all this traffic your getting and of course to win you have to have their name and email address. Can you feel your email list growing?

Contest...and They Think They're Winning

This one will vary depending on your target market as each audience prefers to interact differently. Knowing your market is extremely important anyways, but you know that all ready! With that in mind, create a contest that your audience will jump to enter, and the hidden gem here is you will learn even more about your market! Here's a couple of ideas;

• A Video Entry Contest
• A Picture Entry Contest
• A Written Entry Contest
• A Voting Contest

So this could go a few ways, remember have fun with these. You could have a few videos or photos (say of products or potential products) and you ask them what their favorite is and offer them to share their thoughts suggestions on them too. In return after they vote give them a free ebook or something of value. Or ask them to send in videos or photos they created (say for an upcoming launch you're going to have). Let them be the designer! And they will of course get full credit for their work and exposure to your entire network. I'd enter that contest!

Be creative and think of what will really speak to your potential customers. What do they really want or need? Think around that pain and factor in their interaction preferences Then formulate an awesome marketing campaign and get your offer out there to your market.

Happy Marketing!

Peggy Murrah, founder of PMA Web Services, launched herself at the Internet over 20 years ago (ironically after trying for two years to convince her husband "we really don't need a computer").

Starting her Virtual Services organization in 1999, Peggy is the "behind-the-scenes" Web Guru to many top multi-millionaire Internet Marketers, Speakers and Coaches. Armed with an insatiable desire and commitment to help small business owners get their message out to a global audience, she has built a solid and rapidly expanding multi-VA firm.

Peggy co-authored the the Amazon bestseller “42 Rules to 24 Hour Success on LinkedIn” – the successful industry “go to” resource for using and maximizing LinkedIn.  She lives in Texas with her husband, their three sons (and a happy assortment of small pets).