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It seems as though the entire year is filled with holidays now - Christmas trees hit stores in October, Thanksgiving decorations appear in September, the Fourth of July celebrations are advertised in May and on and on. Since people obviously like to celebrate the holidays, why not throw a little cheer their way with your marketing materials?

Here are some ideas to use the holidays in your marketing campaign:

Thank your customers. It's as simple as that - use a holiday or two out of the year to thank them. Thanksgiving and Christmas probably come to mind as good times to do this, and they are, but you can use other holidays too. For example, use Memorial Day to thank veterans (and everyone else while you're at it by sending out a thank you note or letter). Print greeting cards that are tailored to whatever holiday you are using to thank your customers and include a handwritten thank you note inside. Ask your printing company for a discount if you order cards for multiple holidays at once - for instance, you could get Fourth of July cards, Thanksgiving cards and Christmas cards all in one order and send them out at the appropriate time of year.

Give out a special coupon. Make it a gift to your customers and offer them something special, like 50 percent off or a "free item with purchase." You can also just send out a free-item-without-purchase coupon, like Victoria's Secret does. Victoria's Secret sends out coupons for a free pair of underwear a few times a year, which gets people in their stores for their free item. While people are in the store, they end up browsing and buying items to go along with their free underwear.

Pitch your product to local media for their gift-giving guides. Many newspapers, magazines and television stations run a special segment on great gift-giving ideas for Christmas or for Father's Day and Mother's Day. Be sure to check when they start putting these segments together - many magazines start 4-6 months ahead of time so you need to plan ahead to get your product in the guide.

Update your Web site for the holidays. Show customers that you're in the holiday spirit by updating your graphics like adding a Christmas tree or firecrackers for the Fourth of July. Promote gift memberships or gift lists comprised of your products.

Volunteer with a local charity or organization. Give your time by volunteering for a local charity and/or sponsor a local organization's holiday events. By sponsoring local charity events at the holidays, you'll be seen as helping your community and will be associated with a good cause.

Give away something needed for the holiday season. You can hold contests to give away a free Christmas tree or a free turkey. Or, you can just give your customers something that is associated with the season, like an ice scraper for their cars. Include the gifts in your shopping bags and your customers will get a pleasant surprise when they go home and unload their packages!

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