Update: This article was originally written in 2019. However, it's been updated to reflect current information.

Did you know that Halloween is one of the biggest holidays of the year in terms of consumer spending? Now is the time to plan, and start running your campaigns.

This article will give you lots of Halloween marketing ideas you can use to generate more leads and sales from now through the end of the year. The ideas you'll receive in our free guide can be applied to any holiday you decide to promote. 

If you're seeing this after Halloween, no worries, be sure to mark your calendar for a July/August planning session, and check this post next year.

This article will cover our suggestions, tips and tools you can use to get your Halloween promotions underway. The goal is to earn passive income during the holidays and beyond.  

There's a Huge Interest in Halloween

It's amazing to know just how many people, young and old really get into Halloween. Whether it's families and organizations that create fun, kid focused events or adults that throw "fa-boo-lous" themed parties, allowing them to sport their renditions of their favorite alter-egos for one day a year, there are lots of people who love Halloween.  

The data shown in the image above covers 2023, and it shows how Halloween spending varied from 2019 (before the pandemic) and afterward.

The chart shows that consumers are enthusiastic about Halloween, with a focus on saving money while getting the best value.  If you're a business owner, now (like yesterday) is the time to start a plan for the promotions you'll promote for the rest of the year.

Things are opened up and the goal is to put the pandemic in the rear view mirror.  The hope is that participation will be back on track this year as well. As a business owner, you don't want to miss this opportunity for increased visibility and sales.

Short on Time? Watch the Video

According to the National Retail Federation, in 2020, 58% of Americans participated in Halloween activities, spending on Halloween costumes, decor and candy, despite the pandemic.

Check out the charts and diagrams below for insights into how things have gone over time. Last year's activity can be a huge indicator as to how things will go this year, especially if the pandemic remains manageable. 

If you're planning holiday promotions for your business (and you really should be), here are a few tips on putting together easy, creative Halloween focused blog content, email campaigns, mailings and giveaways that can help you generate leads, and make more customer connections this Halloween season.

Setting Goals

What do you want to accomplish with your Halloween promotion? Describe the customer that will be the best fit for your promotion. What kinds of items will they be looking for during the Halloween season that your company can offer?

Set SMART goals for your promotion, so that you know whether it was successful or not. These goals can help you improve the next promotion. 

For example, do you want to generate leads, create brand awareness and give visitors a way to get more information? Are there products you can sell?  If that's your goal, create lead generation pages to capture first names and email addresses.  

Would you like to increase the number of products sold? If you want to sell more, be sure to send your promotion to your email list.

Your list should consist of people who have bought from you before, as well as people who have signed up to learn more about your company. They know who you are and would be more likely to make a purchase. 

Let's say you want to increase sales by 20% and your list consists of 100 people.  That means you would want to sell 20 widgets to meet your goal. If you sell 20 widgets, you will have reached your goals. If not, you would try to figure out why you were not able to meet your goal and apply what you've learned to your next promotion.

Get Your Promotion on Your Calendar

This is where having a business planner that you can use to write down your promotional plans, comes in handy. Take a look at your calendar to come up with a start and end date for your promotion. You want your promotion to have time to run before the holiday or event. 

Ask yourself if your promotion will have enough time to run to help you reach your goals. Consider that people start planning for events and holidays well in advance.

Listen and Subscribe: Discover How to Generate More Leads and Sales During Halloween

Create Your Visuals

You can also find mock ups, videos, photos, graphics, presentation templates, music and sound effects for your promotions with Envato Elements. If you're making items you can share in your shop, you might need mock ups. If so, use a tool like Placeit to create great looking mockups.

The marketplace allows you to access everything you need to promote your business with unlimited downloads for one low price.

Build Your Sales and Marketing System

Once you have your visuals, you are ready to build your sales and marketing system (funnel) to build your list and generate sales with your holiday promotions.

This is the system that you will drive traffic to so that you can reach the goals you set for your promotion. Learn about the different types of opt-in forms and how they can be formatted to help you reach your goals.

Your system will include a lead magnet, opt-in landing page, a product or service, and as an option, an upsell that you can offer to new subscribers.

The process of creating a system you can use to promote your Halloween offer is described in detail in our video, called How to Set up a Opt-in Page for Passive Income .

Create eye catching, scroll stopping visuals that will grab the attention of the people you want to reach with your promotion.

Depending on the length of your promotion, you might want to create more than one visual. I would recommend having at least one visual per week that you can use in your campaigns. 

If you have a blog, create a blog post for your promotion as well as a video, and add a mention on your podcast, in addition to posting on social media. 

If your budget allows, use paid ads to get your promotion in front of as many eyes as possible.

Time to Implement: Schedule Your Content

Use the dates outlined on your calendar to schedule your promotion, hopefully a range of dates that will give your promotion ample time to distribute your marketing messages.

Determine how often and on what platform you'll schedule your blog posts, images, text and video. Use a mix of each to reach the widest audience. 

I would recommend creating at least one post per day per social media platform that sends traffic to your lead generation page. You can also use this page on a link tree, link in bio or in your profile during the Halloween season.

Use tools like Tailwind, Hootsuite and Buffer to schedule your posts on social media on auto-pilot. This will enable you to do other things while your content is being displayed across the Internet. 

Run any paid ads (optional) using Facebook ads or the ad network you've selected.  

Track your promotions using tools like Google Analytics, Tailwind analytics and any analytics provided by your social media tools. If you've used Facebook ads, use the analytics in those programs to track your progress.  

Here is an insightful article on how to track a sales promotion.

Interesting Statistics from Halloween 2023

Use the information below to make a few predictions for your business this year. Here are a few stats from the National Retail Federation in 2023:

Halloween-related activities resumed to pre-pandemic levels, with 69% of consumers planning to celebrate the holiday in 2022, up from 65% in 2021 and comparable to 68% in 2019, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics.

• Celebrants planned to spend an average of $100.45.
  
• Over 96% of celebrants planned to buy candy, while others planned to spend their Halloween budgets on decorations, greeting cards and costumes for themselves, children and even their pets.
  
  At Walmart get candy by ordering online and picking up in the store, driving up and having it walked out to your car, or same day delivery to your door. 
• Women were much more likely than men to celebrate by carving pumpkins and decorating their homes. Men, on the other hand, are significantly more likely to attend a party.  
  
  
• The top places to find Halloween inspiration include online searches, inside a physical retail store and through friends and family. Pop culture continues to be a source of inspiration.
  
  
• Pinterest was the choice of 25% of women but only 12% of men. YouTube was cited by 19% of men and only 10% percent of women. Instagram was almost evenly split at 15% percent of men and 14% of women.
  
  
• More than a third planned to start their shopping in September or earlier, which is the highest the survey has seen since 2013 when the question was first asked.
  
  
• Four in 10 women are likely to start this early, compared with only 33% of men. 

What Does This Mean for Your Business?

If your business (blog, affiliates, eCommerce, network marketing, etc. ) sells products related to Halloween, now is the time to use the information above, along with the information you know about your audience, to plan and execute your Halloween promotions.

For example, the treat bags in the photo above, are a great way to say thank you to salon and nail spa customers.  Even a Halloween related promo code, discount or coupon can go a long way to build and solidify relationships. 

Promote Through an Affiliate Network

If you want to earn extra cash and you have a blog or website, take a moment to learn about affiliate marketing. No matter what industry you're in, you'll find well known brands like Walmart, Kohl's, Macy's and Target, that will pay you to promote their products. Then all you have to do is find products in their line that compliment your business.

Join an affiliate network like Shareasale, Impact Radius or Rakuten. These networks will enable you to find a sponsor and get paid for your great content. 

A great way to get started for the Halloween season is to find complimentary products. Then write a few well written, targeted Halloween related articles that include links to the most popular products from retailers that are trusted by your customers. 

You can post articles, images, videos and infographics on social media sites for your audience. Make sure to thoroughly read the terms of each program you plan to advertise.

If you don't have a blog or website, you can still join networks and find a two or three programs to join. You can promote using social media. Without a blog it will be harder to be accepted, but it's still worth pursuing.

Be prepared to let companies know specifically how you will promote their products on social media or through paid advertising.

In addition to advertising using paid ads on Google and Facebook, post for free on social sites like Pinterest, in relevant Facebook groups and more.  Place your message on these platforms so that they can gain visibility and reach with your existing readers and a new group of potential customers. 

Test your messages by placing them in front of several different groups of people, and decide which audience gives you the best return.

Finally, what it means for your business is that you have an excellent opportunity to earn and generate goodwill with your customers from now until the end of the year.  

Take a few moments to create a plan and make it happen!