Happy Thursday!

If you’re anything like me you’re in good spirits. NBA basketball is back. The World Series is kicking off. Football is in full swing. And there’s heartbreak all around as a massive Knicks, Mets, and Jets fan. Sadly I haven’t won a championship in the 31 years that I have been alive and realistically its probably had a lot to do with my resilience.

For those that have been reading along, I just got my first renders of the pilates studio my wife and I are opening this December in Miami. It looks amazing and its so cool to see this baby come to life. This has been a dream that we’ve (mostly her) had on the back burner for nearly three years. We wanted to do it back in 2021, but looked at each other and had to be honest with ourselves that we couldn’t afford it and there was too much risk as we are all in on CROSSNET. A few years later we’re in a much better position and I’m going to give her the studio of her dreams. It feels damn good.

The holiday season is around the corner and although I already am getting my wife her dream studio, we both need to start thinking about the competition.

The brands that crushed it last year got creative, engaged their audiences, and offered something unique. This year, it's your turn to do the same. Stop relying so heavily on giving away free money.

Here are five proven strategies from some of the most successful BFCM 2023 campaigns.

1. Build Themed Campaigns

Holiday-themed branding goes a long way in capturing the festive spirit and resonating with your customers. You can keep it simple by just adding some holiday colors to your assets, but if you want to really get conversions, you can go the extra mile.

For example, last year Walmart built their BFCM strategy on the power of nostalgia. They took over the internet by reviving the characters from Mean Girls to promote their holiday sales.

They made ads featuring original cast members like Lindsay Lohan, mixed humor with key sales messages, all wrapped in a holiday theme. Every week throughout November, they released new ads and posts that referenced the original movie and raised awareness about Walmart’s deals.

This campaign went viral and did insane numbers.

Nostalgia sells, but there are plenty of other levers you can pull. Two tried-and-true motivators are urgency and exclusivity.

Last year, Glossier ran an exclusive "Only Sale of the Year" BFCM campaign.

As soon as you see it, you get a sense of urgency. It also takes the focus away from Black Friday, which is when everyone has their sales, and puts them in the spotlight.

Regardless of your strategy, your main goal should be to build a theme that resonates with your brand and the holiday season. You NEED to make sure that you are redoing your communication flows across ALL CHANNELS. There is nothing worse than your customers getting a $10 discount that they’d normally receive in September via their welcome email when you’re currently offering $30+ and free products.

Nothing can be overlooked.

2. Be Interactive With Contests and Giveaways

If your only strategy is to bombard your audience with ads, you’re not going to get far.

Boosting engagement with your audience during the holiday season can be as simple as turning shopping into an interactive experience. Contests and giveaways are a perfect way to generate buzz and increase brand awareness.

22 Days Nutrition added a twist to their BFCM campaign by turning discounts into a game. The rules were simple:

Each customer received a discount code that revealed a random discount ranging from 20% to 50%. The key is to make sure regardless of what discount they received the company remains profitable at the expense of exposure.

If discount codes aren’t your thing, there’s a tried-and-true method of engagement that’s been used by game shows for decades: mystery boxes.

This is a great way to repurpose old or overstocked inventory. Have a product you’re struggling to move? Put it in a “mystery box” and suddenly everyone is happy to get it.

3. Don’t Run Out of Money

The year is 2023. CROSSNET is cranking on Black Friday and we’re tracking for our best day in company history. It’s 10pm and I head to bed knowing that Australia (complete opposite time zone) is going to be RACKING IN SALES while I sleep. I’m going to wake up rich.

Until I don’t.

I wake up at 6AM to panic and my heart drops. Not a single ad ran past midnight. Our credit card got declined. We were spending tens of thousands a day and ran out of cash. All our money was tied up in retail purchase orders, Shopify, and Amazon and we would not be getting paid out until 48 hours. Our credit card was maxed. Amex wouldn’t up our limit. Although we were making SO MUCH money there was no way for us to pay off the credit cards and to continue running ads.

We vowed as founders to never let that happen again and the team at Highbeam has been there for us ever since.

Gone are the days with taking Shopify Capital loans at 25% interest. Highbeam has helped CROSSNET secure the most affordable rates in this brutal financial market. Whether you need capital for inventory, expanding your team, or handling those hefty Facebook ad bills, Highbeam has you covered.

They’re offering a special 10% APY line of credit through BFCM (you can’t find cheaper) which has been a game-changer for us as we gear up for the holiday rush. I always tell founders: get approved for capital before you need it, because when that rainy day hits, it’s too late.

Book a demo through the link below to get access to 10% APY (trust me, it’s 5%+ cheaper than most options out there).

Try Highbeam Today

4. Launch Holiday Bundles

This year we’re getting rid of big discounts and doing massive holiday bundles instead. Its a proven strategy that will increase order value, provide better margin, and actually make the customer feel like they are walking out with a deal. Way better than 10% savings if you ask me.

Another good example is Tentree's 2023 “Green Friday” campaign. They combined sustainability with holiday shopping by offering special eco-friendly holiday bundles.

Their strategy promoted bundles that planted trees with each purchase, which made their audience feel like they were helping a good cause.

You don’t have to back your sales with a feel good mission. Sometimes people just want a great value to treat themselves (or someone else). This is where gift sets shine.

Sephora is known for being a high-class brand with iconic products. Every year, they leverage that reputation with exclusive holiday gift sets that feature their best-sellers. To sweeten the deal, the create exclusive packaging that customers can only get during the holidays.

These bundles make for perfect gift options for holiday shoppers, but you have to know your audience. Curate holiday-themed product bundles, and position them as the perfect gift solution. 

Use scarcity or limited-time offers to create urgency, then sit back and watch the sales roll in.

5. Influencer Marketing is not Dead

Believe it or not, influencer marketing is dominating right now, especially as Meta and TikTok continue to roll out features in their shops.

The holiday season is the perfect time to leverage influencers who can authentically promote your products to their engaged followers.

By partnering with influencers, you can extend your reach and build credibility by rubbing shoulders with established personalities in your space.

Don’t ever assume you’re too big for influencer marketing. Gymshark is a billion-dollar company, and they teamed up with fitness influencers in 2023 to promote their Black Friday deals through comprehensive fitness gift guides.

These guides not only highlighted discounted products but also gave shoppers tips on what to buy based on their fitness goals​

This strategy had three strong points:

1. Their guides offered relevant value and didn’t just flash discounts in hopes people would give them money.

2. They raised brand awareness by partnering with established creators, ensuring the Gymshark hype wouldn’t fall off as soon the BFCM rush was over.

3. Partnering with creators allowed them to achieve massive reach at a fraction of the cost of traditional media and ad spend.

PRO TIP: Work with influencers in DIFFERENT SPACES. A mom, a dad, a gym rat, a up and coming kid, different ethnicities. We once had 250+ volleyball players on creative monthly retainers. The findings? They were just posting to their volleyball friends who were also on the payroll. 5-10 really good volleyball influencers would have done the same thing as 200 and would have been WAY CHEAPER.

Community is Everything

This newsletter has legit changed my life guys. If you have made it this far down well thank you for caring. It’s been three incredible years of writing every week. It’s made me accountable, unlocked incredible connections, and has honestly helped me create the best business possible.

When I sent out the first edition three years ago it was just a massive email with tips and tricks of things I wish 25 year old Chris knew about the world of running a business. Now its transformed into a real-life community called The Founders Club.

Imagine being part of a community where 200+ ambitious founders from 15 cities, generating over $10 billion in revenue, come together to push each other to new heights. That’s exactly what The Founders Club is — a private, invite-only network of high-growth entrepreneurs who are all about scaling, building, and succeeding.

Whether you're looking for tactical advice, meaningful connections, or a group of people who truly get what it takes to run a business, this is the place to be.

We’re receiving nearly 40 applications a day and pride ourselves on having less than a 20% acceptance rate.

If you want to surround yourself with proven winners who are excited to build each other up, learn more about The Founders Club below:

https://www.foundersclubofficial.com/membership

If not, see you next week!

Chris