BIG ROOTS
MARKETING
"The successful businesses here are the ones marketing every season, not just the obvious one."
Six years running a seasonal business in Scarborough taught me that the hard way.
The year, planned
Four seasons, four different jobs
Spring
Get ready for the season.
Website updates
SEO
Google Business Profile
Seasonal campaigns
Summer
Reach more visitors.
Reviews & reputation
Social media
Promotions
SEO
Capture customer emails
Autumn
Keep the momentum going.
Email marketing
Special offers
Loyalty campaigns
Targeted locals campaigns
Halloween & Autumn events
Winter
Grow your following.
Christmas campaigns
Local promotions
Email marketing
Gift vouchers and special offers
Whichever calendar you're working to
The coast runs on a rhythm everyone knows: manic summers, quiet winters, and a high street that empties the moment the schools open again.
It's tempting to just ride that wave - open when it's busy, close when it's not. But the successful businesses here are the ones marketing every season, not just the obvious one.
Having run a business in a seasonal tourist town myself, I understand how customer behaviour changes throughout the year and how small adjustments can help you make the most of every season.
Tourist facing businesses
The visitors you're not marketing to yet
Couples without school-age children, retired travellers, walkers and hikers — all of them travel outside the six-week peak.
Shoulder-season campaigns aimed at off-peak visitors
Content that ranks before the season starts
Christmas and winter-break marketing
Momentum kept up all year, not switched on in May
Local businesses
Summer is your quiet marketing window
While everyone else is shouting at tourists, you have a clear run at the people who live here.
Leaflet drops in residential areas
Email campaigns segmented by postcode
Social ads aimed at local audiences
Google search ads for local intent
SEO built during the slower periods
The research
I’ve spent months looking at what Yorkshire Coast businesses actually do online
Not just whether people can find them — websites, online selling, reviews, social, and what happens after someone’s visited once. Some of what I found genuinely surprised me.
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The Blog
COMING SOON
Proper guides to running a business online in a tourist town — being found in January for a booking in July, what your website actually needs, and how to get someone to come back.