$1000+ During the January Slump: Marketing Strategies That Work
If you want to make at least $1000 in what’s considered the slowest, deadest month for bakers, it’s really not that hard.
January is a time that can bring about panic and discouragement for a lot of home bakers for the fear of seeing sales dip or even worse go completely ghost. So a lot of bakers opt to deem January as just ‘that time of the year’ and not even try.
But what if January is being looked at in the wrong way? The usual strategies might not work during this month, but does that mean it’s hopeless all together? What of January isn’t ACTUALLY a dead month, but an opportunity for strategic moves than can make you thousands??
Well, in today’s post I’m sharing strategies you can implement to turn January from a dead month into a profitable month!
Why Bakers Struggle with Sales in January
I believe a lot of bakers struggle in January for 2 main reasons:
One, they're exhausted from the holiday rush.
And two, they believe there’s no money to be made and assume no one wants desserts after they’ve indulged all December.
But here's the reality: Life doesn't stop in January. People are still having:
Birthdays and celebrations
Personal 'treat yourself' moments
Corporate meetings
Small gatherings
If you’re strategic, you can leverage these truths to make January a valuable month for your home bakery.
Believe You CAN!
Before you can even start to think about implanting any strategies, you have to make sure you have a healthy mindset.
The first strategy is you have to believe you can! I know it seems so simple and cliche, but if you don’t believe you can do it, your mind will literally sabotage you every step of the way and MAKE SURE you can’t do it. I know this from first hand experience!
And if you are one of those bakers that need a little tough love, please realize no one is coming to save you. You really do have to believe and have faith that you ARE capable.
I know sometimes it’s not as simple as it sounds, but in this case, it really IS as simple as it sounds. And what’s going to make it even easier is that by the end of this blog, you’ll have a few strategies to start making moves for your cake business in January.
2. Slow 👉🏽 Strategic
It’s so much easier to believe you can do it and ACTUALLY do it when you have a plan and choose to stick to it! That’s why the second strategy is you have to make is to see slow as strategic.
Your mind really is powerful and can make or break your dreams and aspirations.
Practice shifting your mind from a negative point of view seeing January or even just your business in general as slow, not progressing, and not growing to a positive point of view where you encourage yourself that this is a time where you get to be creative and strategic to make a plan to shift your future.
Because in reality the only difference between you and someone who sees success, is courage and a solid strategy.
Now that you got your mind right about January, let’s get into four more strategies to take January from dead to profitable.
Keep in mind you don’t have to implement all four strategies at once. Just starting with one or two can make a difference.
Birthdays
Did you know there are just as many people who have a birthday in January as all the other months?? Gasp! Whaaaa????
Birthdays don’t just stop because it’s January and all those new year babies want to feel special and deserve to be celebrated too!
January is going to be focused on smaller more intimate options, so you present it as a mini dessert collection that’s just enough indulgence to feel special, but portion controlled so it doesn’t blow their new year resolutions or make them feel guilty for spending more money after the holidays.
It’s packaged like a gift and not just an ordinary dessert.
Here’s what it could look like.
Think half cake, half brownie complete with a candle, personalized birthday card, and the cutest winter themed packaging.
Or even a diy birthday kit with layers of cake, buttercream, piping tips, candle, personalized birthday card and maybe even an edible image!
Via Pinterest: Lola’s Cupcakes
Run your numbers to know exactly what price would make sense for your business and check out my cake pricing series and grab my cake pricing calculator if you need help with pricing your cakes.
Related: How to Calculate the Cost of Ingredients for a home bakery
Off the top of my head, I would personally want to sell these ranging from $25-45. This is just a guesstimate though.
Start promoting this mid December or as soon as possible on social media with posts that say January Birthdays Deserve LOVE TOO. Or, ‘Who says Birthdays stop after New years?’
As you market your products, Create a sense of FOMO with limited quantities, Early bird discounts, and make them feel like they’d be crazy to miss this opportunity.
Just like people don’t want to miss out on their birthdays, they don’t actually want to give up treats either coming into the new year. They want PERMISSION to enjoy sweets. This is another opportunity where your bakery can fill in the gap.
Cheat Day Sweets
Enter in, the CHEAT DAY COLLECTION.
This strategy is all about connecting with people who have made New Year’s resolutions to be healthier.
Instead of marketing as normal Delicious desserts, market your products as a strategic cheat sweet or reward.
Your home bakery business wants to join them on their journey to good health and be there for them on the hard and rewarding days. Because they deserve it!
This could look like Smaller portioned items as just a snack, one for now, one for later or even get one share one. Which is perfect to share with their trainer or coach lol.
You could consider options topped with chia seed and high fiber granola. Or Products packed with high protein peanut butter. Give smaller portions and package products in a way that’s easy to have some now and store the rest for later or share.
Please keep in mind to avoid nutritional claims as products with claims have a different process they must go through. So describe your products but stay away from claims.
Market your products as not just a dessert, but SMART desserts. Use language like planned deliciousness, goal friendly desserts, or even dessert with benefits.
Create your content in a way that doesn’t make them feel guilty, but instead makes them feel SMART about enjoying a treat. It’s a win win for everyone because you know, balance!
Corporate Orders
The next strategy takes on the big dogs. I’m talking about tapping into corporate orders.
January is a great time to position your home bakery as a solution to a problem a lot of companies face: low morale after having to return to work after a wonderful holiday break.
Imagine you stepping in with a solution that could help keep their teams motivated and get excited about starting a new year.
So here’s the plan.
Start by making a list of local businesses near you. Tech companies, local insurance offices, real estate companies, schools and universities, therapy practices, and so on.
Use LinkedIn to find the office manager, HR coordinator, or events manager and reach out to them with your idea.
Here’s an example email you can send to them to introduce yourself:
“Hi (insert name)
I am (your name) with (your bakery name).
January can feel long for teams getting back into the mode of work. We create custom dessert packages perfect for boosting team morale, team meetings, employee appreciation and just because.
Please take a look at our January corporate menu and specials and let me know if you are interested in placing an order.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration.
Signed, you!
When it comes to pricing, there are a few different methods you can play with like setting a minimum order requirement or per person pricing.
You can also promote this on your social media accounts and market them as team building tools and productivity boosters or even as the dessert that saves the day which leads me to my next strategy, converting your December clients into January clients!
Repeat Customers
This is by far one of my favorite ways to bring sales into a home bakery business and is a secret weapon that most successful businesses know.
These are YOUR people. They already believe in you and trust your product so you’ve already crossed the hardest barrier to making sales.
Here’s how you can convert your December customers into January customers.
Start marketing your business for January during your December orders by adding marketing materials like a card to every order you hand out, on your invoices, website and any social media posts you make.
You can say something like “Thank you for making the holidays sweet. Enjoy this exclusive discount. Get 10% off any January order valid until January 15th. Using promo code NewYearTreat.”
Closer to the end of December, send another message or email that says,
Hi! Hope you enjoyed your holiday treats from insert bakery name. As a thank you, here’s 10% off your next order. Reply YES for your exclusive code valid through January.
Keep in mind this doesn’t have to be limited to just those who order in December. You can message all of of your precious clients as well and if you don’t have any previous customers you can post this on your website and social media pages. Just adjust the language to fit your needs.
Then, at the start of January, drop your new years menu possibly featuring your “cheat day” collection or how your customers can be the hero’s at their jobs by purchasing a corporate order for their job or celebrate their friends who always get looked over.
You Can Turn January Profitable for your Home Bakery Business
Many bakers will be sitting around twisting their thumbs just hoping for an order. But not you. You’re going to implement a strategy that will put you ahead of a the rest.
January doesn’t have to be a dreaded month if you believe you it’s an opportunity. You just have to try.
Let me know which strategy is your favorite. Are there any other strategies you implement for a successful January? Drop it in the comments below and I’ll see you in the next blog!!
