8 creative Valentine’s Day marketing ideas to boost sales

By Kelsey Johnson January 26, 2023

Valentine’s Day is the time to show some love to your customers and give them a little pick-me-up after the long, cold winter. Six weeks have passed since the holiday season, and everyone is ready to celebrate something again.

It’s time to give your customers the chance to treat themselves and those they love this Valentine’s Day. But let’s face it, as an ecommerce business, the competition can be fierce. That’s why we’ve put together a list of 8 unique and inspired Valentine’s Day marketing ideas to help you stand out from the crowd.

From personalized gift sets to Valentine’s Day themed giveaways, we’ve got your back. These ideas will help you increase sales, create buzz, and let your customers know that you appreciate them.

So forget about the boring old sales and discounts. Let’s make this Valentine’s Day one for the books for both your customers and your business.

Related: Valentine’s Day GIF guide

Create a Valentine’s Day gift guide

Highlight everything in your store that would make a good gift. Make sure you include gifts at various prices to fit multiple budgets. Also, include blurbs about what each thing is — and the best person to buy it for.

Getting gifts is difficult — and stressful. Make choosing a gift from your store the easiest thing a buyer can do.

Curate gift sets for different types of relationships

There are dozens of different types of relationships you can celebrate on Valentine’s Day — it’s not just for romantic partners. Keep this in mind when thinking about your Valentine’s Day marketing ideas.

Delight your customers and make more sales by showcasing what they can purchase for the love of their life: whether it’s a sibling, pet, spouse, best friend, parent, child, or anyone else who’s their favorite in the world.

Target an anti-Valentine’s Day audience

Valentine’s Day can be divisive. Some people love the holiday and some… well not so much. Instead offer products and services that center around self-care, independence, or anti-Valentine’s Day sentiments.

Offer a “treat yourself” product or discount

No matter what you sell, you have customers who are “on the edge” about buying your products. Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to encourage them to take that step and buy it for themselves.

This is a fantastic marketing option for indulgent products — like jewelry or special skincare products. But it’s also great if you offer a self-improvement course or services, massage or aromatherapy, or anything related to travel. 

What can you offer your customers to treat themselves this year?

Hop on Instagram Live to showcase Valentine’s Day products

One of the best ways to make sales as a small business is by hosting a live stream on Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok. Show your products off in real time while you answer questions, film yourself wrapping and shipping products, or even run a contest or giveaway via your live.

People are more likely to buy from you when they know it’s just you making the sale — a real business. Use Valentine’s Day as a special event to get everyone engaged.

Include a small giveaway with every purchase

No matter what you sell, you can offer a small free gift with every purchase during Valentine’s Day. If you have the perfect bite-sized product, great! If not, don’t be afraid to purchase something small in bulk to offer to every new customer.

This is a great option if you don’t sell something that’s traditionally given as a gift for Valentine’s Day. Do you offer coaching or home services? Sell something practical? Teach digital marketing? Every new customer (or email signup) could still receive a small gift this Valentine’s Day.

Add Valentine’s Day imagery to your website, social media, and email signature

Whether you’re running a promotion or not, you can still add some Valentine’s Day love to your website. Add some subtle hearts around your logo or put a pink ribbon across your banner image.

For an even less time-consuming effect that will still show your love for the day, update the banner images on your social media handles. Plus, you can add a Valentine’s Day image to your email signature.

Encourage customers to share Valentine’s Day images on social media

Are they wearing what they bought from your store? Did they get their special gift? Do they just happen to be nearby? Tell your customers to snap a picture and mention your social media handle.

Sharing will be even more effective when you offer a giveaway or create a contest. Use a specific hashtag so other people can catch the fun pictures.

Promote your marketing campaign with email

No matter which of the Valentine’s Day marketing ideas you choose, make it bigger by sending an email to your subscribers. Start early and often! The more time your campaign has to run, the more effective it will be.

Need an email marketing tool? Try AWeber — an easy-to-use yet powerful marketing software with 24/7 support, amazing landing pages, and email marketing and automation. Sign up for free today.