Christmas Creep 2: Why It May Want You to Write the Holiday's Seasonal Hubs
A lot of us know Christmas creep all too well: the holiday being peddled months before Black Friday.
If you are shopping in a store (except exclusively Christmas shops) in the hot summer months, you might see a few collectables or decorations of the holiday. You may be thinking that it's too hot for all that seasonal nonsense, but it's their business.
Also in summer, you might see an ice cream truck but hear the din of Christmas songs, signaling kids to gorge on ice lollies and ice cream cones. You wonder why the heck is it playing "Jingle Bells" or "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" months before December, but they play it for revenue's sake.
So what does this phenomenon of promoting the holiday season earlier mean to the online writer - in particular one that writes Hubs?
Why Chistmas Creep Already?
The instances of the holidays being touted earlier have a lot of reasons. In a smaller case, America - in retail terms - has the longest holiday season in the world. One of the cases that have Christmas starting months before December is the Philippines. Filipinos start theirs in September, while Americans start theirs much earlier in business terms.
Speaking of retail, the phenomenon is a method of persuading buyers to buy decorations, gifts, crafts, and more before the rush of the Christmas shopping season. They want to have their hands on the latest toy, for instance. Come the period between the day after Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Eve if they desire to buy it as a gift to demanding kids, they will be fighting over it.
When shoppers buy gifts and seasonal decorations early, they are boosting holiday retail sales.
Don't Be Alarmed by Christmas Creep - It Can Be a Hubber's Benefit!
Why it Could Benefit the Online Writer
Writing about Christmas is deciduous content. It is content that gains traffic weeks before and around the holiday or annual event and loses and stagnates afterward until the next time it happens. Think of it as a deciduous tree: it grows leaves in the spring, loses it in the fall, and stays leafless in the winter until it is spring again.
Compare it with evergreen content, which is content that lasts almost indefinitely and gains steady daily traffic. It's written in a manner that makes it relevant in many consecutive days, months, and years in all seasons.
So why bother writing articles about the songs about Christmas when it's hot outside or when the leaves are on the trees in different colors? Well, Litany Notch, in her article, "Make More Money with Your Seasonal Hubs, Blogs or Lenses," advises you as writer to do so. She suggests that August or September is a good month for writing and publishing Christmas Hubs.
As Many Stores Peddle Decorations Months Before Santa Day...
But here's the catch - when a Hub is published ahead of Christmas, search traffic will slowly increase. But if you promote it dead between the Friday after Turkey Day and Christmas Eve, it's not that potent in traffic (and money). Because the holidays (in particular the holiday of reindeer and wise men) are the most hectic time of the year, people need to plan ahead. That's why a too-early Christmas can be a boon for you as Hubber.
Notch agrees with the fact that the boon of writing about selecting Christmas trees in a hot summer can bring both revenue and traffic. "Think 2 months ahead," she said, "what are people going to be thinking about wanting to buy in 6-8 weeks time." Some writers think even earlier is better.
Are You Bothered By Christmas Creep?
Tips on Creating a Successful Christmas Hub
Besides prior planning, You can make your Hubs on the holidays traffic magnets by following those vital tips:
Don't Mention Specific Dates of Christmas Events or Statistics
Basically, you really want a Hub that can read year after year, particularly Christmas season after Christmas season. So leave out prices of event tickets, dates (except if they are held each Christmas Eve, December 24 of x year, for instance) or attendance figures. It's like writing an evergreen Hub, but you are dating it specifically to Christmas in general.
Write Something that Is Useful for Every Holiday Season
Sure, it's good to write about any given year's top gifts, but it's likely going to make your hub ephemeral content, which is content that is relevant for once in a lifetime. Besides (annual) holiday events written in general, you have to write on topics that are informative and useful for the season. Examples include Christmas recipes, crafts, history of decorations, and music.
Always Follow Conventions of Writing and Promoting Hubs
Don't forget to pay attention to writing mechanics (spelling, grammar, and so forth), usage of keywords, and structure. You really want your work to be pleasing to many a reader's eye to harness more traffic. Also, don't forget to promote your holiday season Hub, even if it pains you to submit to bookmarking sites on an August or September. The earlier you promote them, the better - for traffic's sake.
Sure, You and Your Readers Complain About Christmas Creep, But It's A Traffic Boon to You!
So why fear the Christmas creep? Why gripe at the sight of chocolate Santas adjacent to truffle eyeballs when the leaves are red, yellow, brown, orange, and, especially when it's still hot, green? There's a time and place for caving into it, and HubPages gives you an open opportunity to do so.
If you are thinking about writing the history of a Christmas song or events of the season, consider writing a Hub on either subject in the summer or early fall. You may resent it for writing about Christmas months before December, but it's worth it.