The holiday season is likely to be tough on most business owners this year, but you know what makes it tougher? Being invisible, so no customers can find you.

You know what helps make you visible?

How did you guess I was going to say press releases?

This being the season of giving, you most DEFINITELY want to show everyone that you and your business are good citizens and members of the community.  Contributing to charitable causes is a great way to get picked up by the media. And they score you karma points and make you feel good about yourself.

So pick a cause that you want to contribute to, and send out press releases to announce your charitable giveaway. Timely suggestions – a homeless shelter, a battered women’s shelter – these are really vulnerable populations who could use a pick-me-up this holiday season. 

Now: 

1.) If you have a brick and mortar business, find out what your charity needs, and ask your customers to help. Put up a poster in the front of the store, set out a big basket, and solicit donations of clean clothing, canned goods, etc. Write up a press release and send it to all of the local media to let them know about this. Before you send it out, find out the appropriate contact person at each media outlet, and when it is best to submit a press release to them.

2.) Get together with a group of other merchants to make the charitable campaign even more powerful – and list all of the stores on the press release, and talk about how you came together during the holiday season to create a happier holiday season for everybody. Perhaps all the stores on your block or in your strip shopping center would get in on this. Perhaps you can come up with complimentary gifts from area stores – say you own a beauty salon. You contribute toiletries to the local homeless shelter or battered women’s shelter, a shoe store contributes shoes, a clothing store contributes clothing, a grocery store contributes food, etc. 

3.) If you only have an online business, or your business does not lend itself to having customers stroll in and donate, you can still do this. Announce that you are offering a certain product or service for 20 percent off and all the proceeds for a certain time period – a day, a weekend – will go to charity. Send out the press release to online press release services announcing your giveaway. 

4.) Aside from charitable giving, there are other holiday promotions that can be done. Send out press releases to announce holiday specials, new products, sales, etc.

5.) Hold a contest and send out press releases to announce it. Make sure it has a holiday theme. Thanksgiving dinner for six delivered to someone’s home on Thanksgiving…a weekend getaway or a spa day for 2 during the holidays…maid service to clean up after holiday dinner…and so on. 

6.) Have Santa come to your store and send out a press release announcing it. Even better – Santa, a sleigh kids can sit on, and (most likely fake) reindeer. Fabulous photo opportunity! 

7.) Have a holiday decorating contest for kids, display all of the entries, and send out a press release announcing it and awarding prizes.

8.) Form a Christmas Caroling group with local merchants, go to senior citizen centers to perform Christmas Carols, and hand out gifts, and, you guessed it – announce this in a press release.  Do the same at a local children’s hospital.

9.) Have a mailbox for letters to Santa set up in your store, and answer all of the letters to Santa. Announce this in a press release.

10.) Collect hot selling items like a wii or an iphone, and raffle them off for charity at a holiday event. Did I mention, announce this in a press release? 

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