To Jingle or Not…

Around this time of year I start getting lots of questions about whether or not you should add a holiday motif to your site, or even switch to a holiday WordPress theme. Usually, the question is “If I put something Christmas-y on my site, will it hurt my business?”

But the question behind the question is about whether spirituality should play a role in your business, and if so, how to do it in a way that doesn’t alienate others. And there’s always the possibility that alienating some people isn’t always a bad thing.

I think it’s interesting that people are usually asking if  “going holiday” will hurt their business, rather than asking if it will HELP their business. Hmmm….maybe feeling a little scarcity here in the season of giving?

Of course, there is no absolute right or wrong answer to this, because the truth is, it all depends.

On the one hand, you want to be authentically you. (I’ve put my authentic self on the line with my Personal Growth Princess project. Granted, it doesn’t have anything to do with holidays, but it was the fear of what others would think – and do – if I really told people how I feel.)

On the other hand, you don’t want to inadvertently alienate someone over something like having a Christmas tree on your site.

On the third hand [superemotions file="icon_eek.gif" title="EEK"], there’s also been some pretty powerful evidence lately that shows that spirituality in business affects the bottom line in a positive way. (Take a look at Megatrends 2010 – The Rise of Conscious Capitalism by Patricia Aberdene.)

So, since it “all depends”, here are some questions to help you determine the right course of action for you:

• Is your site a personal one or is it a Business? If it’s personal, you already know the answer, right?.
• How much of “you” is presented in your business? Is it a somewhat anonymous site, in that who you are is not germane to the site, or are YOU the brand?
• How important is your particular holiday to you and your sense of who you are?
• Would you feel constrained in some way if you left holiday graphics off the site, or would it be no big deal to you?
• If you are thinking about a way to include all the holidays of this particular time of year, are you clear on why you are doing it? Does it feel good to you? Generous? Does it feel restrictive? Political? Does any of that matter to you?
• Does the thought of using simply a winter/snow theme make you feel great? Make you cringe? Worry about being a Northern Hemispherist, or vice versa (neglecting your business contacts in the other hemisphere)?
• Would losing some subscribers over a holiday issue create a lot of anxiety for you, or would it feel like fine-tuning your list to people who are a better match for you? (If you had a reaction to this question, pay attention. The question is a neutral one, so a strong or emotional response is telling you something.)

Answering these questions honestly can help you get clear about what the right decision is for you.  You may decide that using holiday graphics and ideas is absolutely in alignment with you and your business. Or you may decide it wouldn’t matter one way or the other. Or you may decide it feels too risky.

Let me know what you decide!

p.s. Do you have this same concern over other holidays that may or may not be celebrated by some of you clients or prospects? (Valentine’s Day? St. Patrick’s Day? The 4th of July? Chinese New Year?) If not, why not? Maybe that can give you some insight as well.

Related posts:

1. Is your blog ready for 2010?