Marketing wine and wine clubs are uniquely challenging during any season — but especially during the holidays. Many traditional avenues aren’t available for wine-related ads. For example, Google’s alcohol marketing guidelines are extensive and can be complicated to navigate.
Direct sales account for a significant amount of holiday winery revenue, and wine clubs can be a lucrative source of income. People aren’t just buying your wine, though; they’re buying into an experience. By promoting a wine club during the holidays, you’re giving your customers a chance to show some warmth and support your brand, and welcome more of the experiences they crave.
Tip #1: Make a Holiday Brand Connection
During the holiday season, emotions run particularly high. Use this to your advantage during the holidays and reinforce what makes your wine club’s brand unique. When promoting your club, create a clear picture of what your winery cares about and why, and feature the real people behind the business. Set the intention to pull on some heartstrings during the holiday season, when your customers’ hearts are more likely to be open. Show off your location and your people through photos, and use them on all of your marketing materials. Don’t rely on stock photos; show what makes you memorable.
Tip #2: SEO Still Matters
Use effective SEO. Google shows us that people are researching phrases like: “which wine club is the best to join,” or “is it worth joining a wine club,” so you might want your brand to appear in the search results when they do. Start creating some relevant, informative long-form content that answers these questions (and more), so that potential new subscribers will find your wine club site first when they’re searching for wine club options during the holiday season.
Tip #3: Launch Holiday Referral Rewards
Since an average wine collector belongs to multiple wine clubs, holiday referral incentives can boost wine club enrollment. Encourage your biggest collectors to recruit their wine-loving friends, and you’ll easily and effectively increase the size of your wine club community.
- Try inviting your wine club members to tag a friend on social media for a chance at winning a wine shipment for themselves as well as the person tagged.
- Offer a free month for both new and referring members during a specific holiday week or month. Make it a limited time offer.
- Invite current wine club members to bring a friend to an in-person holiday tasting or wine pairing event, and offer a prize for the new and referred members when someone signs up.
Tip #4: Host Holiday Events
Because wine tends to create an experience that people remember, in-person events are key. Once they’ve tasted your wine and respond favorably, they’re likely to be receptive to a wine club subscription. After all, what better way to extend such a delightful experience?
Pop-up wine tasting events are one popular holiday option, although offering a range of creative holiday events can attract a broader audience and increase your numbers more quickly. A holiday sparkling wine brunch, for example, could reach potential subscribers who may not be evening partiers. No matter what type of event you host, have your wine experts on hand to answer any questions and leave a positive impression.
Tip #5: Curate Holiday-Themed Wine Club Shipments
The holidays are a perfect time to show your customers you’re really thinking about them. Consider what types of holiday events or sentiments they might like to celebrate, then curate custom wine shipments to entice wine drinkers who are full of holiday spirit.
Wine drinkers may also be looking for holiday-themed gifts, or to stock up to host holiday celebrations. As well as being thoughtful with the wine collections you offer, you can get crafty with your holiday wine club packaging and make sure you’re remembered.
Custom Wine Marketing Plans
Product and brand loyalties are less and less common as the number of available choices continues to grow, so reinforcing why customers should choose your wine brand is crucial — especially during the holidays. If they’re not backed by a strong brand, wine club subscriptions become price competitions, so you may want to hire an agency like Bauerhaus to clarify and communicate your message through effective marketing campaigns. Schedule your free marketing discovery call!