104 | How to host an advent calendar giveaway to grow your audience this holiday season
Grow Your Audience with a Collaborative Advent Calendar Giveaway this Holiday Season
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In this episode, we’re diving into a fun and festive strategy to keep your audience engaged and grow your email list throughout the holiday season—a collaborative advent calendar giveaway! I’ll walk you through exactly what an advent calendar giveaway is, the benefits of hosting one, and how you can host your own collaborative event this December!
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The holiday season is right around the corner, and if you're like most business owners, you’re already thinking about ways to make the most of this festive time of year. While Black Friday and Cyber Monday are prime opportunities, there’s an often-overlooked strategy that can keep the momentum going all December long: a collaborative advent calendar giveaway.
In this blog post, I’ll walk you through what an advent calendar giveaway is, the benefits of hosting one, and answer some common questions. Plus, I’ll share how you can access exclusive resources to help you set up your own giveaway event!
What Is an Advent Calendar Giveaway?
If you celebrate Christmas, I’m sure you’re familiar with traditional advent calendars - they hold little chocolates hidden behind doors in a cardboard box, and every day, you get a little treat as you countdown to Christmas.
A digital advent calendar giveaway works on the same principle, but instead of chocolates, you’re giving your audience something valuable each day.
For a digital advent calendar, these gifts can include:
Free resources, like e-books or mini-courses
Discounts on products or services
Access to exclusive content or trainings
Bonus tips or guides that align with your expertise
Each day, your audience gets to “unlock” a new surprise, which builds excitement, engagement, and anticipation. Hosting this as a collaborative event is especially effective since each participant can contribute gifts, promote the calendar to their audience, and help grow each other's reach.
The Benefits of Hosting an Advent Calendar Giveaway
An advent calendar giveaway offers many benefits, especially during the holiday season when people are looking for value and festive experiences. Here are some of the top reasons to consider hosting one:
1. Increased Engagement and Excitement: The daily countdown gives your audience a reason to check in each day, boosting engagement and excitement.
2. Audience Growth: By requiring participants to sign up to access the advent calendar, you can grow your email list with aligned leads throughout the holiday season.
3. Collaboration for Greater Reach: Collaborating with other business owners means each partner promotes the calendar to their audience, exposing your brand to a wider group of potential clients.
4. Quick Cash Injection: If you want to, you can also use this as a revenue-generating opportunity by charging a small fee to access the advent calendar, creating a holiday cash injection for your business.
Common Questions About Hosting an Advent Calendar Giveaway
I’ve been talking about hosting a collaborative advent calendar event both with my private clients, and with my members inside The Audience Growth Club, and a few different questions came up about how they could host their own giveaway event. Here are some of the questions they asked:
1. How Long Should Your Advent Calendar Giveaway Run?
There’s no set rule for how long your calendar should run—it’s all about what works best for your business. You could go with the classic 24 days leading up to Christmas, or shorten it to 12, or even 5, days. The most important thing is consistency and manageability. A shorter calendar can be just as effective if the offers are valuable enough.
2. Is an Advent Calendar Giveaway Only for the Holidays?
Not at all! While an advent calendar aligns perfectly with the Christmas season, you can adapt this concept for any time of the year. For example:
Host a "12 Days of Organization" event in spring
Celebrate your business anniversary with a countdown of special offers
Launch a “5 Days of Black Friday Deals” calendar in November
This flexibility means you can use this strategy whenever it suits your goals.
3. Should an Advetnt Calendar Giveasway be a Free or Paid Event?
The choice to make your advent calendar giveaway free or paid depends on your goals. If your primary aim is audience growth, a free event lowers the barrier to entry and can attract a large number of new subscribers. If you want to monetize it, consider charging a small fee (between $9-$27).
Ready to Host Your Own Advent Calendar Giveaway?
Hosting an advent calendar giveaway is a fantastic way to keep your audience engaged, grow your email list, and spread some holiday cheer! If you’re ready to try this holiday event out for yourself, you’ll find an in-depth training available to you inside The Audience Growth Club.
Within this training, you’ll have access to a step-by-step guide, templates, and resources to streamline the process and ensure you have everything you need for a successful holiday giveaway.
I’ll walk you through…
Deciding on your advent calendar theme and creating an engaging name
How to pitch your contributors or set up an application process
Setting up your registration page
Creating materials to help your contributors promote and drive sign ups for your event
How to deliver the advent calendar itself
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hey, I'm Tish!
I'm a multi-passionate business owner, digital marketing strategist, business mentor & part-time digital nomad ✈️
I'm on a mission to help you create more time, freedom & profit in your business through the implementation of sustainable & scalable business and marketing strategies!
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The Simple Marketing Podcast is for ambitious entrepreneurs who want to build a sustainable & scalable online business. With bite-sized, actionable episodes, you’ll learn how to create more time, freedom & profit in a way that feels good to you.
