Listen, I’m hearing it everywhere right now. 

Creatives are getting squeezed. 

The economy is weird, AI is disrupting how people think about creative work, and as a business coach for creative entrepreneurs, a lot of my clients are telling me their cash flow is way down. People are being more conservative with their spending, and it’s trickling down to all of us. 

And now here we are in October, and everyone’s talking about Black Friday marketing strategies and holiday promotions. 

But here’s what I keep seeing that’s driving me crazy: so many creative business owners are putting all their hope in their holiday sales without checking if their pricing foundation is even solid.

Here’s the thing – if your pricing hasn’t been updated to reflect what’s actually happening in the world right now, then discounting those prices for the holidays could actually put you in the red. You could be making sales and losing money, which is the last thing any of us needs this year.

The Reality Check We All Need

I was having this conversation in my mom friend group the other day (a group made up of many fellow entrepreneurs), and we were talking about how everything costs more now. 

Like, everything. 

The school supplies that were $50 last year? Now they’re $65. The contact paper for covering books that I’d never even heard of before? Apparently that’s gone up too.

It’s the same for your business. The materials you use, the software subscriptions, the shipping costs – they’ve all gone up (hello, Kit drama). And if you’re like most of the creative entrepreneurs I work with, you probably set your prices earlier this year (or maybe even last year) and haven’t looked at them since.

But here’s what’s happening: people are pinning a lot of hope on their holiday sales this year. I get it. It’s been a tough year for a lot of small businesses. But I don’t want to see you accidentally put yourself in a worse position by sticking with outdated pricing and then adding holiday discounts on top of it.

Why This Matters Right Now

We’re already in October. If you’re planning Black Friday marketing or any holiday promotions, you need to get your baseline pricing right first. 

You can’t fix this during the holiday rush when everyone’s shopping and you’re trying to keep up with orders.

Think about it this way: would you rather offer a smaller discount on correctly priced products, or a big discount on products that were already underpriced? Because that second option is how you end up working harder and making less money.

I’ve seen this happen too many times. Someone gets excited about their holiday sales numbers, and then they realize they actually lost money because their margins were already too thin before they started discounting (ouch).

The Pricing Foundation Strategy

Here’s what I want you to do right now, before you plan another holiday marketing strategy:

Step 1: Look at your numbers 

Pull up your accounting (I use QuickBooks and swear by it, but a simple spreadsheet can do the trick) and look at your cost of goods sold compared to what you’re charging. Be honest about what it actually costs you to deliver your product or service, including your time.

COO Tip: Need help figuring out your true costs and margins? I’ve created pricing calculators that do the math for you. Check out my Product Pricing Calculator for physical goods or my Service Pricing Calculator for service-based businesses. These tools will show you exactly what it costs to deliver your work and what your actual profit margins are – no guesswork required.

Step 2: Factor in reality 

Have your costs gone up since you last set these prices? Of course they have. Inflation has affected everyone. Don’t pretend your business exists in a bubble where costs stay the same.

Step 3: Update before you discount 

Get your pricing to where it actually needs to be based on current costs. Then, and only then, think about what kind of Black Friday or holiday promotions make sense.

The Truth About Holiday Marketing Strategies

Here’s what most holiday marketing advice gets wrong: it assumes your business foundation is solid. But the most beautiful Black Friday marketing campaign in the world won’t save you if your pricing is off.

I’m not saying don’t do holiday promotions. I’m saying do them from a position of strength, not desperation.

When your pricing reflects reality, you have options. You can offer meaningful discounts that still keep you profitable. You can bundle products in ways that make sense. You can be strategic instead of just hoping something works.

This Isn’t Just About the Holidays

The other thing to remember is that the people who buy from you during the holidays? They have year-round needs. You want them to become long-term customers, not just one-time holiday shoppers.

If you’re losing money on every holiday sale because your pricing was wrong to begin with, you’re not building a sustainable business. You’re just creating a really expensive customer acquisition strategy.

What This Actually Looks Like

Let me give you a real example. Let’s say you’re a graphic designer who charges $500 for a logo package. You set that price last January, but since then:

• Your Adobe subscription went up (not to mention your Zoom subscription, website hosting, and Project Management tools)
• Shipping costs for physical deliverables have increased significantly
• You’re spending more time on revisions because clients are being more particular (stress makes everyone more picky)

Maybe that package should actually be $600 now. If you run a Black Friday special at 20% off your old price, you’re charging $400. But if you update your pricing first and then offer 15% off, you’re charging $510.

That’s a $110 difference per sale. Multiply that by however many packages you sell during the holidays, and you’re talking about real money.

Building Your Money-Making Creative Business

Look, I know this isn’t the fun, exciting holiday marketing advice you were probably hoping for. Everyone wants to talk about Instagram strategies and email campaigns and all the shiny, creative stuff.

But you know what’s really creative? Building a business that actually makes money. Setting yourself up so that when you do have a great holiday season, you get to keep the profits instead of wondering where they went.

Your holiday marketing strategies can be as brilliant as you want them to be. But they need to be built on a foundation that makes sense. And that foundation is pricing that reflects the reality of what it costs to run your business in 2025 (and beyond).

So before you start planning your Black Friday campaigns or mapping out your holiday email sequence, do this one thing: make sure your pricing is right. Thank me later!

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Ready to get your pricing foundation solid before the holiday rush? 

My Pricing Mini Course was designed specifically for creative entrepreneurs. This self-paced course walks you through exactly how to price your creative work for profit, not just to compete.

The mini course includes both the Product Pricing Calculator and Service Pricing Calculator I mentioned above, so you’ll have all the tools you need to get your numbers right.

Because the best holiday marketing strategy is one that’s built on numbers that actually work. Check it out here.