The new email design highlights Valentine's Day as well as your message and can include current offers and blog posts to engage your readers. The new email design is truly gift-inspired and perfect for showcasing your spa or salon's Instant Gift Certificates and positioning them as a last-minute gift solution.

Like all SpaBoom emails, they can be automatically generated and sent with your existing offers and promotions or be as customized as you like. All the email templates are professionally designed and included as part of the overall cross-channel marketing integration features we offer SpaBoom clients.

To access the Valentine's Day email design simply select it in the design tab as you create a new targeted email campaign for the holiday.

She showed easy marketing strategies that generate gift certificate revenue and effectively promote your brand this Valentine's Day – you can't miss this, and you have just one more business day to take advantage of our pre-holiday signup deal, too!

Watch the Video: Market the Love for Valentine's Day – Webinar

Download and follow along with our presentation [PDF]

Put a fresh face on your Instant Gift Certificate page's look. No matter how much we LOVE our new designs and think you will, too, we do not force you to update. You can choose at any time to update to new designs, and because we strongly encourage you to, here's how.

The quickest way to begin showcasing those new designs is to apply our default designs in one fell swoop. View them here.

Go into your Setup Tab, then click on GC Designs on the left side of the screen. You'll see your already selected list of thumbnails.

On the left, look for the "Restore Defaults" link, and click on that.

What does "Restore Defaults" mean? It returns GC Designs to the current default settings, replacing any name, category, popularity or hide changes that you've made. Custom designs that you've created will be left untouched. So if you have renamed a design or moved its category or hidden it, that will be undone. Any NEW design of your own is always safe.

Click OK on the next screen, and the new design will be featured on your IGC page! If you hadn't updated in a long time (or ever), you might also have a bunch of new and lovely designs across all categories.

You don't have to do anything to receive the new Instant POP or Collateral designs – just go into your Instant POP and Collateral lists, look for the new design with "2012″ in it, and print away! Enjoy, and Happy February!

If you couldn't make the webinar, we're sorry to have missed you! But, you can download the presentation and watch the video streaming at your convenience right here. Just block out some time for our next webinar – we always have great Q & A sessions at the end, and a limited-time special that you'll want to know about.

Watch the Video: 3 Trends in 2012 You Can't Afford to Miss

Download and follow along with our presentation [PDF]

This edition will launch over a three day period, January 31st-February 2nd, unless you've opted to change the date it goes out. Be sure to make any changes prior to that date! (And be sure to send yourself a test email after making any edits, and remember that Events that encompass the date on which your email is sent will be included in the email as well.)

Note: The new articles that accompany this edition of the Joy of Spa News will appear magically before it goes out to your clients, even if you can't see them in their entirety when you send yourself a test email. No worries, they'll be in place! We promise!

We highly recommend creating Valentine's-related events and relaxing, soothing, service packages to accompany this edition of Joy of Spa News. Helping people choose a great spa gift package for the occasion provides them a perfect gift solution while increasing the average amount of the gift certificates — a win win!

Remember, the Joy of Spa News is branded with your spa's logo and when your client clicks to read more, the website is branded with your logo, too!

Not yet signed up to send a beautiful, branded newsletter to your clients on a regular basis? Now is your time to get onboard! Go to Setup, Basics to put Joy of Spa to work for your spa!

First, we have a one-page guide to success for your first (or fortieth!) Sweepstakes using our experience with small businesses all over the country:

Facebook Success Guide

Included on that guide there is a perfectly summarized video you can watch in under 3 minutes that shows you the simple process of setting up a Sweepstakes.

Now, get going and grow your Likes!

Join us as we discuss the mechanics and psychology of marketing trends for 2012 designed to drive loyalty and increase revenue for spas and salons.

Reserve your Webinar Seat Now!

Title: 3 Trends You Can't Afford to Miss – Webinar
Date: Wednesday, January 18th 2012
Time: 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EDT

This year's Cyber-Monday was a huge success for SpaBoomers, who performed better than the national average, with same store sales increasing 38%! In 2010, SpaBoomers sold a record smashing $10 million in Instant Gift Certificates, a 25% increase over the previous year's same store sales and more then double the national average, with ComScore reporting an overall 12% online sales increase versus the corresponding days last year.

The best news this year? Fewer consumers have finished their holiday shopping and that means that more of them will be looking for last-minute gift solutions. Make sure your spa or salon takes advantage of this by utilizing some creative methods to increase your Instant Gift Certificate sales. According to the National Retail Federation, this year shoppers are more influenced by marketing so spas and salons must execute a strong and clear promotional message to capture sales.

In addition, "self-gifting" is a popular trend this holiday as retailers offer fantastic deals that consumers are purchasing for themselves. According to the National Retail Federation, six in 10 planned to buy non-gift items this holiday season, spending an average of $130, up from $112 a year ago.

So far this holiday, consumer spending has exceeded expectations and there's a tremendous opportunity for spas and salons to capture those last-minutes sales and experience a record breaking season. Stay top-of-mind with your clients this week and reap the revenue rewards this holiday.

Marking the distance between ourselves and others is a very human characteristic. One of the best ways for spas and salons to connect the distance between the business and consumers is by utilizing social media as a networking advantage.

With the holidays upon us one of the quickest and fastest tools to build buzz and generate interest in your Spa /Salon’s holiday gifts is through social media, specifically Facebook.

Facebook is the quickest and most expedient way to share information about your services and holiday gift solutions with a much larger audience now more than ever before. Think about this example – I send my best friend in New Hampshire a gift certificate for her birthday, she posts it on Facebook; her sister-in-law who lives in Spain, sees the post, and buys a spa package gift certificate for the two of them to use while she is visiting over Christmas. What could be better than free advertising, a returning client and the purchase of a larger Christmas package gift certificate? Facebook makes the connection that easy.

You may not like the idea of Facebook, or use it personally, but don’t you want to reach those potential spa and salon goers who are talking about their next purchase, hair cut or service treatment? And who knows, maybe Kevin Bacon will stop in!

SpaBoom's Dynamic Websites can automatically detect a smartphone user and deliver an optimized mobile version of your website. Your address becomes a link to Google Maps so customers can find you, and your phone number becomes a link so they can click to call you. Best of all, unlike creating a separate mobile website, the SpaBoom mobile version of your Dynamic Website is great for SEO (search engine optimization).

So what can your spa or salon do to catch more smart phone consumers sales this holiday?

Provide Stellar Customer Service

During the holiday many stores are too busy to provide customers with great customer service. Make sure your spa or salon is ready with superior service this holiday . You are a service business so use that to your advantage and shine above the rest of the fray.

Check Online Reviews Daily

Take a look at your spa or salon's online reviews every day. If you need to address any last-minute issues do it right now. You don't want to lose a sale over a bad review.

Create Simple, Valuable Promotions for Customers

Spas using the strategy outlined in our recent article on great Last-Minute Cyber Monday Ideas are generating up to 80% more business than a similar promotion from last year. Click here to see how you can set one up too.

Reward Social Media Use

Encourage your clients to check-in on Facebook at your business and give them an extra incentive when they do it. This targeted marketing will increase your online visibility with friends of existing customers.

This Cyber Monday 17.8 million people will use their phones to shop for deals and your spa or salon needs to be ready online to deliver a great experience and stay top-of-mind throughout the holiday.

If your site is not mobile optimized give us a call today!

Joy of Spa invites you to take time to enjoy the holiday's simpler, sweeter offerings. Friends, family, and the time to count your blessings will soon arrive. Be there, be thankful, and embrace the joyous chaos sure to ensue! Happy Happy Holidays from Joy of Spa!

This edition will launch over a three day period, December 14th-16th, unless you've opted to change the date it goes out. Be sure to make any changes prior to that date! (And be sure to send yourself a test email after making any edits, and remember that Events that encompass the date on which your email is sent will be included in the email as well.)

Note: The new articles that accompany this edition of the Joy of Spa News will appear magically before it goes out to your clients, even if you can't see them in their entirety when you send yourself a test email. No worries, they'll be in place! We promise!

We highly recommend creating Holiday events and relaxing, soothing, service packages to accompany this edition of Joy of Spa News. Helping people choose a great spa gift package for the occasion provides them a perfect gift solution while increasing the average amount of the gift certificates — a win win!

Remember, the Joy of Spa News is branded with your spa's logo and when your client clicks to read more, the website is branded with your logo, too!

Not yet signed up to send a beautiful, branded newsletter to your clients on a regular basis? Now is your time to get onboard! Go to Setup, Basics to put Joy of Spa to work for your spa!

So, I can go to Facebook and Like Amazon, then enter the sweepstakes. Guess how many people Like Amazon right now? 1,686,315 (Scratch that.  Since starting this post they are now at 1,689,515.) Now, that might not be nearly the same number as those that have entered the contest, but really, what kind of odds does that represent? That's about a 1-in-fuggedaboutit odds. I might as well buy a lottery ticket. (Or just buy a Kindle. Perhaps that's the real hook.)

However, YOU can give your clients what they deserve — both the amazing gift of YOUR services, and a real actual chance to win. If you have a few hundred Likes, or even a few dozen, or a few thousand, the clients that enter your sweepstakes using the BoomTime Sweepstakes feature, they can count on having a fighting chance on seeing some gift certificate joy.

Now, that's something to get excited about.

Feel free to tout this very sentiment when you promote your Sweepstakes – use my words all you want. I won't mind.

We discussed 3 easy promotions to increase your last minute holiday sales for the next seven weeks without spending more than 15 minutes to put them in action. Download our presentation, or watch the video and get yourself excited!

Watch the Video: Hot and Fast GCs for the Next 7 Weeks

Download and follow along with our presentation [PDF]

Blue Glass blogger, Kerry Jones, offers up 60 creative social media tips that will help you connect and share your unique brand of spa or salon this holiday season. Some of her tips are more applicable to spas and salons than others but her blog post will get you thinking about new ways to add social media to your existing marketing strategy today and throughout 2012.

SpaBoomer's have access to powerful tools to promote great deals so think about running a BoomTime Deal during the holiday. It's easy to set-up and will get your clients excited about your holiday promotions.

A holiday Facebook Sweepstakes takes about 5 minutes to set-up and allows your spa or salon to gather new Facebook fans in a short amount of time. It's viral in nature; the sweepstakes application creates an incentive for existing fans to invite new people to increase the chances of winning. A more robust fan base means more people get your Facebook posts on their news feed during the holiday. In addition, when someone enters your sweepstakes they provide an email address and can give permission for your spa or salon to market to them. Those new email addresses go directly into your SpaBoom account. That means a new set of customers will see your holiday promotional email campaigns.

Use Facebook and Twitter to promote your spa or salon as a gift-solution center. You can promote treatments, product/service packages and create the awareness that your business offers a last-minute gift solution with Instant Gift Certificates.

More and more businesses are hiring out their social media management, often with mediocre or just plain dismal results.

Why doesn't hiring a 'pro' for this work?

Your social media audience, particularly your Facebook friends, want your thoughts, your expertise, your style, your viewpoint out there, not some canned copy that's being used repeatedly and which means, well, certainly less than what you have to say.

SpaBoom takes all the pain out of keeping it real out on Facebook-your posts are created automatically, and reflect exactly what you are featuring and promoting at any given time, so it's always all about your newest news.

3 Social Media Blunders To Learn From, on OpenForum.com, elaborates in Blunder 2:

So put the "real" you out there or you may find your following shrinks, rather than expands like you'd like.

It'll be time well spent.

Join us as we discuss 3 easy promotions to increase your last minute holiday sales for the next seven weeks without spending more than 15 minutes to put them in action.

Reserve your Webinar Seat Now!

Title: Got Sales? Hot and Fast GC's For 7 Weeks – Webinar
Date: Tuesday, November 1st, 2011
Time: 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EDT

Yesterday, Janell and Dena took the tips to the next level – how to maximize and follow through on your online holiday marketing campaigns. We used the word "execute" for a reason – you will be the killer present under the tree for your clients this holiday season – just make sure they know it and keep coming back to everything that you offer.

If you could not be with us, just view and download our webinar files on your own schedule — but do it soon!

Watch the Video: Execute Your 2011 Holiday Campaigns

Download and follow along with our presentation [PDF]

In addition, the Harvard study also revealed that Yelp provides more comprehensive reviews than comparable sites. The researchers used government data, tracking revenue of Seattle restaurants between 2003 and 2009. They found that Zagat and the Seattle Times each had reviews for only 5% of all local Seattle restaurants while Yelp’s consumer rating penetration was 69% for the same geographical area.

But, doing a Groupon actually has the opposite effect, a recent study has shown that it can actually diminish your Yelp rating. This is just one more reason not to do a Groupon.

Key Takeaways For Your Business:

• Your Yelp rating has a big impact on your bottom line.
• Maintaining healthy consumer reviews has never been more important.
• Groupon can reduce your Yelp rating and have a negative impact on your business.
• If Yelp has a strong standing in a market, it will swing revenue away from chains and toward independent restaurants.

Janell and Dena were rockin' and rollin' on Wednesday, taking a holiday-hungry audience through tips to leverage your online holiday marketing campaigns, resulting in growth potential for the coming year and increased revenue for your salon/spa this holiday season.

If you could not join in for the engaging presentation, just view and download our webinar files on your own schedule — but do it soon!

Watch the Video: Ignite Your Holiday Revenue for 2011

Download and follow along with our presentation [PDF]

How quickly the heat of summer wanes and Fall's cool breezes arrive. As the seasons shift, we should take time to assess, and to embrace what we've been given. We're rich beyond measure, but often become too wrapped up in the day-to-day to fully appreciate our gifts. Stop, breathe deeply, and look around you. We'll bet you'll be overwhelmed in a most amazing way by what life has brought you. Happy Fall from Team Joy!

This edition will launch over a three day period, October 2nd-4th, unless you've opted to change the date it goes out. Be sure to make any changes prior to that date! (And be sure to send yourself a test email after making any edits, and remember that Events that encompass the date on which your email is sent will be included in the email as well.)

Note: The new articles that accompany this edition of the Joy of Spa News will appear magically before it goes out to your clients, even if you can't see them in their entirety when you send yourself a test email. No worries, they'll be in place! We promise!

We highly recommend creating Fall events and relaxing, soothing, service packages to accompany this edition of Joy of Spa News. Helping people choose a great spa gift package for the occasion provides them a perfect gift solution while increasing the average amount of the gift certificates — a win win!

Remember, the Joy of Spa News is branded with your spa's logo and when your client clicks to read more, the website is branded with your logo, too!

Not yet signed up to send a beautiful, branded newsletter to your clients on a regular basis? Now is your time to get onboard! Go to Setup, Basics to put Joy of Spa to work for your spa!