Holiday marketing tip 13: 'Tis the season to run ads

Hi! 👋

If you have some budget to spare as a creator, maker, or artist, I highly suggest investing it in running online ads during the holiday season—whether you want to get shoppers' attention in these last few days or if you wish to sell any leftover pieces from your collections after Christmas and before the year ends, with a good old discount campaign.

Welcome (back)! 🤗

This is Petra from ​The Creators' Diary​. If this is your first TC’D newsletter, welcome! We’re happy you’ve subscribed!

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Holiday marketing tip of the week 🎄

Let me iterate. If you’ve ever thought about running ads for your work, the time is now. Mid-December is when traditional online ads (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Google) can make the biggest difference for your holiday sales.

Yes, ad prices go up before Christmas because brands are competing even more for shoppers’ attention anyway, but that’s also exactly why you should invest now, too:

Right now, everyone is looking for gifts, scrolling constantly, ready to shop, and you want a piece of that, right? 

If there’s a time of year when ads are worth your budget, it’s the final stretch before the holidays when the last-minute shoppers are emerging.

Practical tips for running online ads as a creator during the holidays

• With your Meta Ads, on Facebook + Instagram, use carousel ads or single images showing your products wrapped as gifts, styled in holiday scenes, or in use. 
• TikTok Ads: Show your products in action, like someone unboxing, styling, or gifting them. TikTok loves fun, engaging, relatable content; that’s true for ads, too. 
• Google Ads: Best for reaching people who are actively searching for gifts like yours. Use clear, keyword-focused headlines like “Handmade jewelry gifts” or “Unique art for Christmas” to capture buyers who are ready to purchase.

+2 tips:

• Set your campaign to run until Christmas Eve and check it once a day to make sure it’s still delivering. 
• Drive traffic to your shop, not just your socials. That’s where actual conversions happen.

And remember: This is your window—the short period of time when nearly everyone’s shopping and spending without a doubt. With ads, you can make sure that your brand rises above the holiday noise and turns attention into real sales.

Creator snippet of the week 📌

Vanna Kids is a Hungarian brand that creates unique and adorable baby books that engage kids from a few months of age to the time when they spend every minute role-playing.

They're running a sponsored post on Instagram that promotes their Xmas coupon code and ticks every box I recommended above for IG ads—a combination of carousel ad, product shown in use, and holiday scenes. Here's a gallery of the images they used:

See you next week,

Petra