DURBAN - Small business owners can help their business grow using celebratory days like Father’s Day, by creating a guide filled with recommended gifts or experiences especially for dads according to Stefano Maruzzi, the Vice President for EMEA at GoDaddy
Creating a Father’s Day gift guide on your blog or website to showcase great dad gift ideas is easier than you might think.
Here are five tips to help make your Father’s Day gift guide a success:
Think about products or services that can appeal to fathers
What do most dads really want? Do a bit of market research to find out which of your offerings might best appeal to fathers in your target market:
1. Ask friends and family members who are dads.
2. Pose the question to your followers on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or other social media networks where your business is active.
3. Send an e-mail to your subscribers and customers or create an online poll.
You can also look at other Father’s Day gift guides online and in magazines, but you’ll want to make sure you’re looking for inspiration that will appeal to your business’ target market.
Think of themes that work well with your company. Once you start brainstorming, you might be surprised how quickly you come up with a solid list of gift ideas.
You could team up with other local companies to create your dad gift guide. For example, a restaurant could partner with a golf club to offer a round of golf followed by a meal or a spa could join forces with a barber to offer makeovers for dads.
Narrow your list down to the best ideas
Keep your Father’s Day gift guide short and simple to make it easy for customers to choose. Too many products will overwhelm them and they’ll look elsewhere for inspiration. Think a dozen or so items.
If you choose to include more than a dozen items, you might want to consider to break it up into categories or themes so your reader doesn’t get intimidated by the selection list. Be sure to cater to a variety of budgets and tastes that could range from beer to champagne, if you have a diverse product range.
Use awesome photos for each item
Photos can make or break your dad gift guide. Besides on your website, you’ll need great photos and graphics to share on social media. Depending on what you’re selling, a classy product shot could help seal the deal. You could also try to tap into the purchaser’s emotion with evocative scenes and action shots, especially if you’re selling an experience rather than a product.
Tell people where and how to purchase each item
The whole point of creating a dad gift guide is to generate sales. Whether you’re making money off your own products or services, or getting a commission on someone else’s, you want people to buy using your links and referrals.
For every item on your list, you should be sure to include:
1. The full name of the product.
2. The company that sells it.
3. The physical store or e-commerce website to purchase the item (if not yours)
Compile, publish and promote
Put these materials together on a dedicated webpage and/or blog post in an attractive and search engine optimised fashion. You’ll want to include an eye-catching title, an attention-grabbing intro, the list of dad gifts with links, photos and descriptions, a personal touch that speaks to the reader and makes them want to give you their business and description of each gift that includes keywords people are already searching for online.
Once you’ve written the post and hit the publish button, it’s time to go into full promotion mode. Keep sharing your dad gift guide on social media, in your e-mails and wherever else you see fit until Father’s Day. Take note of what’s working, what’s yielding the most clicks, and any comments people are making. The things you learn could help you determine how to make an even better gift guides in the future.
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