Episode 342: The 12 Days of Christmas Song – Farm Marketing Edition
Podcast: My Digital Farmer
Host: Corinna Bench
Date: December 17, 2025
Episode Overview
Corinna Bench celebrates the holiday season with a creative twist on the classic “12 Days of Christmas” song, presenting 12 farm marketing “must-haves” that every farm business should implement to drive sales, deepen customer engagement, and build a strong brand. Each “day” is tied to a key marketing concept, along with actionable explanations, suggested podcast episodes for deeper dives, and encouragement to integrate these elements into your sales funnel. The episode is equal parts festive fun and practical crash course in fundamental farm marketing strategies.
Key Discussion Points & Marketing Must-Haves
1. One Weekly Email
Timestamps: [14:26]
- Theme: Keeping your farm “top of mind”, nurturing relationships, and driving value.
- Why It Matters: A weekly rhythm builds trust, connection, and allows for regular updates and soft-selling.
- Advice: Only send emails that deliver real value (“Don’t send an email if it’s bad!”).
- Further Learning: Episode 92 – Why You Need to Send a Weekly Email to Your List and What to Talk About.
“Sending a regular email every week… is the best way to stay connected with them, to nurture them, to build trust, to share your story, to get them to like you.”
— Corinna Bench (17:00)
2. Two Engaging Lead Magnets
Timestamps: [20:03]
- Theme: Grow your email list with appealing freebies such as checklists, guides, recipes, or plant sale catalogs.
- Pro Tip: Ensure alignment between the lead magnet’s topic and what you eventually want to sell.
- Further Learning: Episode 9 – The Anatomy of a Great Lead Magnet.
“It just needs to be something valuable to the audience—something that they’re willing to trade their email address for.”
— Corinna Bench (21:02)
3. Three Key Metrics to Track
Timestamps: [24:04]
- Theme: Focus on the vital numbers that actually move your business forward.
- Strategy: Know and measure the three most impactful metrics for revenue growth.
- Further Learning: Episode 50 – 3 Ways to Increase Your Revenue
“If we can keep our eyes on these three numbers, you can double your revenue very quickly.”
— Corinna Bench (25:01)
4. Four Marketing Peaks
Timestamps: [27:44]
- Theme: Plan four big promotional pushes throughout the year (e.g., CSA signups, spring sales).
- Outcome: Creates predictable revenue and fills cash flow gaps.
- Further Learning: Episode 85 – How to Plan Your Promotional Calendar
“You sit down and you think about when are my revenue and cash flow needs going to happen?... The goal is to have four peaks a year in your marketing promotion calendar.”
— Corinna Bench (29:30)
5. Five Content Pillars
Timestamps: [32:14]
- Theme: Identify five core themes/topics for consistent messaging across your social media and marketing.
- Usage: Ensures clarity, helps followers know what to expect, and keeps you focused.
- Further Learning: Episode 23 – Finding Your Brand's Content Pillars
“This is where you need to brainstorm: What are the key things that we are known for, the key values… What are the topics that you’re talking about a lot?”
— Corinna Bench (33:11)
6. Six Email Nurture Sequence
Timestamps: [35:04]
- Theme: Build an automated series to “warm up” new leads and guide them toward a purchase.
- Tip: Use AI tools like ChatGPT to create nurturing emails faster—have prompts ready.
- Further Learning: Episode 163 – How to Build an Email Nurture Campaign to Warm Up Your Email List
“The nurture email sequence was one of the most powerful and early tools that I built...I saw so much traction the moment I started.”
— Corinna Bench (36:30)
7. Seven Coupon Codes
Timestamps: [39:25]
- Theme: Leverage discount codes for offers, urgency, tracking, and irresistible deals.
- Best Uses: Special promotions, tracking campaign performance, incentivizing specific actions.
- Further Learning: Episode 264 – 15 Creative Ways to Use Coupon Codes for Online Farm Sales, Part 1
“Coupon codes are a great way to incentivize purchases and create urgency and build an irresistible offer and track promotions.”
— Corinna Bench (40:44)
8. Eight Value Added Products
Timestamps: [43:43]
- Theme: Boost profit and customer appeal with processed products (jams, sauces, salsas, dried herbs, etc.).
- Collaboration Idea: Partner with other makers to broaden your offerings.
- Further Learning: Episode 285 – Boost Your Farm's Revenue with Value Added Products (with Kendall Ballantine)
“There is so much revenue in these products… Value added is where the money’s at.”
— Corinna Bench (44:21)
9. Nine Product Badges
Timestamps: [47:26]
- Theme: Use visual “badges” (labels/tags) in your online store to draw attention (e.g., Bestseller, Fan Favorite, Holiday Special).
- Creative Use: Highlight features, awards, or fun use cases, and make them personality-rich.
- Further Learning: Episode 151 – Creative Badges for Your Product Descriptions (includes downloadable PDF with badge ideas)
“The minute you put a badge on there, you stamp it with a certain label… it adds value for the customer.”
— Corinna Bench (48:11)
10. Ten Ready-to-Use Social Media Templates
Timestamps: [50:17]
- Theme: Develop templates for recurring post types—streamlines posting, ensures consistent critical messaging, and saves time.
- Practical Example: FAQ posts, product feature highlights, weekly lead magnet posts.
- Further Learning: Episode 159 – EIeIo: What to Post on Social Media
“There should be certain things that always show up in your social media rotation… the backbone of messaging is in place.”
— Corinna Bench (51:22)
11. Eleven Monthly Offers
Timestamps: [54:42]
- Theme: Have at least one irresistible offer for customers every month to maintain engagement and maximize sales.
- Growth Mindset: Don’t fear “bad” offers; experiment to learn what works.
- Further Learning: Episode 85 – How to Plan Your Promotional Calendar for 2021; Farm Marketing School’s “Build a Better Offer” project.
“Learning the skill of how to build offers is one of the most important first things that you should learn when you are in business. And it is a process… You gotta let that roll off of you.”
— Corinna Bench (56:14)
12. Twelve Google Reviews
Timestamps: [59:43]
- Theme: Systematically collect and display customer reviews to boost trust, social proof, and SEO.
- Action Steps: Set up mechanisms that prompt customers to leave a testimonial.
- Further Learning: Episode 128 – Why You Need to Be Getting Google Reviews
“Reviews build trust, and they make it easier for new customers to say yes… It’s a psychology thing. Once they’ve made the shift [by leaving a review], it’s really difficult for them to unshift and go back.”
— Corinna Bench (1:01:12)
Memorable Moments & Quotes
-
Opening Festive Spirit:
“We're getting festive with a fun spin on the classic Christmas song… Don't worry, I'm not gonna sing. But that was my one moment!”
— [03:10] -
On Systems:
“When we have all of these different elements in place, then everything finally connects. The sales funnel connects, and people move through your business the way they’re supposed to.”
— [06:32] -
On Progress:
“It’s so encouraging when you see progress actually being made little by little.”
— [42:22]
Recap List: The 12 Days of Farm Marketing
[1:04:05]
Corinna wraps up by humorously attempting to “sing” the list backwards, driving home the importance of each of the twelve must-haves:
- Weekly email
- Engaging lead magnets
- Key metrics to track
- Marketing peaks
- Content pillars
- Email nurture sequence
- Coupon codes
- Value added products
- Product badges
- Ready-to-use social media templates
- Monthly offers
- Google reviews
Resources & Deeper Learning
You’ll find all referenced podcast episodes linked in the official show notes: mydigitalfarmer.com/342
Join the free email list or register for the upcoming sales funnel framework webinar: mydigitalfarmer.com/webinar
Explore the Farm Marketing School for hands-on project support: mydigitalfarmer.com/fms
Final Encouragement
“I hope this episode gave you some inspiration, reminded you of some of the key things that really make a difference in moving your leads and turning them into sales, and gave you some practical ideas to take your marketing to the next level.”
— Corinna Bench (1:03:18)
Tone: Warm, approachable, practical, and delightfully festive, filled with encouragement for farmers at every marketing skill level.
This summary provides a comprehensive, actionable roadmap of the episode’s key teachings and references—your “12 Days of Christmas” checklist to level up your farm marketing.