Marketing and Promotion Activities
The toolkit
Promotion activities include email marketing, content marketing, sales promotions, contests and giveaways, loyalty programmes, referrals, affiliate marketing, influencer collaborations and PR. Email marketing is permission-based: build lists through opt-in, honour consent and unsubscribe rules (for example GDPR), segment by behaviour or lifecycle stage, and personalise. Core metrics are delivery, open rate, click-through rate, conversion and unsubscribe rate - note that open rate is inflated or deflated by image blocking and privacy features, so treat it as directional. A/B testing subject lines or send times is standard.
Content marketing publishes useful material - guides, videos, case studies - to earn attention and trust, with each asset mapped to a funnel stage. Sales promotions (discount codes, bundles, time-limited offers) drive short-term volume but can train customers to wait for discounts. Contests require published rules, eligibility limits and compliance with platform and local law. Affiliate and influencer partnerships pay on results or reach, and should be disclosed. Referral programmes reward existing customers for introductions.
Traps
- Buying an email list - no consent means spam complaints and legal risk.
- Judging an email campaign on open rate alone.
- Running a contest with vague rules or no disclosure of sponsorship.
- Confusing a coupon code (trackable) with a general price cut (not attributable).
Rule of thumb
Match the activity to the intent: use education for awareness and consideration, and use incentives only at the decision point. If an offer could run all year at the same margin, it is a price change, not a promotion.