What's Working for Christmas Light Installers in 2026: Getting Jobs, Pricing Right, and Closing More

Installers across the country are having some of their best weeks ever this season. Some have reported hundred-thousand-dollar weeks, and others are simply booking their first jobs. What separates them is rarely luck. The installers who are growing are the ones taking action on a handful of proven things: reaching out to past customers, running ads, putting out yard signs, pricing with confidence, selling the feeling instead of the bulbs, and following up relentlessly.

This guide pulls those together for professional installers who want to grow. If you want more systems for building a Christmas light business that scales, start here.

First, Don't Get Discouraged Before November

If you haven't booked a job yet, hold off on the panic. Mid-October is early. Right now, many people are still tire kicking, seeing what the price would be if they did it. New installers especially are learning many skills at once, and slow weeks in October are normal.

Here is the pattern to plan around:

• November is the month. About 90% of your new clients come in November.

• Clear your calendar. Get all of last year's jobs installed in October so November is wide open for new customers.

• The week before Thanksgiving is typically the busiest week of the year.

• Leads can come in fast. Some installers see very high daily lead counts that week. They get there through referrals, thousands of dollars in ads, thousands of dollars in SEO, a built-out website, posted pictures, Facebook posts, and videos.

So don't judge your season until November 1. If you're doing the work, keep going.

Start With the Easiest Money: Return and Past Customers

The first place to look is your own customer list.

Re-Book Your Return Customers

If this isn't your first year, are your return customers already scheduled? Reach out and get them on the calendar. Once their lights are up, use that time for marketing: take photos of your crew and your finished work, and use them to update your website. Strong photos and a well-built site support Google EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness), which helps your website rank.

Offer Lights to Customers From Other Services

If you're newer, you may still have an email list or customer list from another service. A painter can reach out to painting clients. One deck builder emailed his deck customers and had almost 13 or 14 Christmas light jobs booked already.

Text or email them directly: "Did you know we're offering Christmas lights? Would you like me to offer you Christmas lights?" It costs almost nothing, and these customers already trust you.

Paid Ads: Google Ads and Facebook Ads Are Working

Both Google Ads and Facebook Ads are bringing in leads for installers right now. Some people are running both, and one often outperforms the other, which is why you should test.

Budget matters. If you're just starting, you may spend $25 or $50 a day. Some installers spend hundreds of dollars a day. Clicks are cheaper now than they will be once the season is in full swing, so early spend goes further.

Be patient and adjust. Some installers run Google Ads at $100 a day and haven't seen leads yet. If clicks are low in your area, broaden your keywords to reach more people.

Make sure the foundation is solid. Ads only work if your website is optimized and converts visitors into leads. Make sure your Google Business Profile is up, complete, and full of pictures.

Know What Your Lead Source Says About Your Ticket

Lead source affects your average ticket and close rate. One installer who ran only yard signs last year and only Facebook this year saw a lower average ticket and close rate. The likely reason: Facebook is people scrolling past and thinking, "Ooh, that's pretty." Yard sign leads are looking at the sign and calling because they want it done. Track where every lead comes from.

Yard Signs: Still One of the Best Marketing Tools

Yard signs work. One installer put out 1,000 signs, spent about $3,000, and brought in over $220,000. Several installers make $100,000 a year from yard signs alone. Another installer put out 50 signs for two weeks last year and did $27,000. Few other marketing methods do as well.

Where to Place Yard Signs

Think busy and high-end:

• Busy intersections, which are a favorite spot

• Near hospitals and doctors' offices, where people park

• Near churches and schools, especially high-end schools

• Near high-end grocery stores

• Off the exits leading to high-end neighborhoods

• On the roads going into and coming out of neighborhoods, since signs inside the neighborhood often get pulled

Expect signs to get pulled by HOAs, and that's fine. Signs get pulled fast, and they still generate phone calls.

Choosing Stakes

If you're in a high-wind area, choose the shorter 24-inch stakes because they're less likely to bend over. Taller stakes work well where the grass is high, since you push them six to eight inches into the ground and still want the sign above the grass. In dry ground, use a drill bit to start the holes.

Price With Confidence: $8 to $12 a Foot

Charge $8 to $12 a foot. Pricing is a mindset issue first. Some installers insist you can't get that in their area, and that is a self-limiting belief. Installers in Dallas, Texas are getting $8 a foot. The Washington, DC and Maryland area has plenty of money as well.

You don't need everybody. You would rather have 500 customers at a $2,000 average ticket than 1,000 customers at $1,000. Get your average ticket up.

Build High-End Packages

Your packages decide your average ticket. If you only quote $1,000 jobs, your average ticket will land around $800 to $1,000. If your top package is $4,000 or $5,000, your average ticket moves to $2,000 to $2,500. A high package also makes the base package feel affordable. People who want only the base package will still buy it.

One office target is to sell a $3,000 top package and keep every job at a minimum of over $1,000. That's easier than it sounds. A modest house with a roofline, two wreaths, a tree, ground stakes, and three bushes can reach over $3,000 in lights quickly.

Pricing Bushes, Columns, and Windows

• Bushes: Typically $30 to $50 per strand. To estimate strands, use the calculator at Christmas Lights HQ.

• Columns: From about $100 up to $600 to $800 each. A 4x4 column that's seven or eight feet tall is very different from a three-story, six-foot round column.

• Windows: Skip them. Two $4,000 jobs can take 4 hours or 16 hours, and the windows job is the 16-hour one. Windows also take extra time to fix what falls down. If you must do them, charge something like $20 a foot so they pay for the pain. Focus on rooflines, ridges, ground stake lining, wreaths, and bushes.

Sell the Feeling, Not the Bulbs

This is the biggest shift for most installers. Quit selling and start helping people build an emotion.

About 90% of people buy on a feeling. Think of a luxury purse: it does the same thing as a cheaper purse, but it carries a feeling of status. Christmas lights work the same way. You're not selling bulbs, peaks, or roof lines. You're selling the look on the grandson's face when he comes over, and the memory of visiting grandma's beautifully lit house that grandparents want their grandkids to have.

One installer who charges $8 a foot built a simple display, just two lines on the house, a wreath, and something over the door. What sold the next customer was a video of the mom's face and the little girl in her arms. The feeling was priceless, and that's what the customer paid for.

Read Your Customer

Understanding personality helps you sell. Roughly 69% of people are S-type personalities, who care about people and feelings. About 17% are C-type, like doctors and lawyers, who have already researched everything and need more information. Learn how to read people, including their DISC profile and love language, and adjust your approach.

Your Sales Process Decides Whether You Get Paid

Pretty lights don't matter if customers can't reach you or never hear back. Ask yourself:

• Do you answer the phone on ring one or two? If you aren't answering the phone, you might as well not be doing anything. It's the most important part of this business.

• Do you get the quote out within 5, 10, or 20 minutes, or wait until tonight and forget?

• Do you have a follow-up process, and do you actually follow it?

• Do you call the next day to make sure they received the quote? Customers often don't get it.

Work Every Lead Hard

When leads don't pick up during the day, they often answer a text. Send a text, a voice text, and call. If you have an address, you usually have enough to send a quote.

Follow up relentlessly. One installer follows up about 30 times within two to three weeks, with two to three calls a week plus texts and emails. Another sends 90% of proposals within 45 minutes. If your system sends six automatic follow-ups, are you also calling and texting personally? An automated message may not sound authentic.

Use Scarcity Early in the Season

Early on, give people a reason to book now. For example, raise your price to $9 a foot and offer 10% off if they book before November 1, which puts them at about $8 a foot. If they wait and call in November, you're making $9. Review your phone script too. Are you creating urgency, or sounding indifferent?

If your close rate is down from last year, compare the details: where leads came from, what month it is, and what you changed. October closes differently than November.

Invest in Your Growth

If you want to grow, plan to spend 10% of your revenue goal on marketing. To reach $100,000, spend $10,000. To reach $150,000, spend $15,000. You have two ways to grow: spend time (Facebook, knocking on doors) or spend money. One approach grew a business through Google Ads.

Other Notes From the Field

• Direct mail (EDDM): Skip it in your first year. A wrong letter, picture, day, or offer can ruin results. Spend that money on Facebook ads, Google Ads, or yard signs first.

• Photos: Real pictures beat AI images. Even if you have to do your own house or a friend's house, make it look amazing. Giving one away is a smart way to get content.

• Lifts: When renting, think length over height. A lift that reaches out further means you move it less.

• Taxes: Set aside 10 to 15% of what you earn for taxes at all times.

• Materials: Order before you need them so you don't waste money overnighting product. Christmas Lights HQ typically delivers in two to three days, with an average of two days. Browse commercial Christmas lighting supplies.

Take Action

There is no easy button. Installers who started from zero, including people who were broke, have built seven-figure businesses. A painter doubled his business by getting off the truck, growing from $350,000 to over $750,000. Others make $250,000 to $300,000 a year and are home every day by two or three to spend time with their kids. Nothing special separates them from you. They took action, did the work, and kept learning.

Go knock on doors, send quotes fast, and answer the phone. For more training and strategies, visit ChristmasLights.io.

When should new installers start worrying about not booking jobs?

Not before November 1. October is full of tire kickers, and November is when roughly 90% of new clients come in.

How much should I charge per foot for Christmas light installation?

Aim for $8 to $12 a foot. Installers in places like Dallas, Texas get $8 a foot, so don't let a self-limiting belief hold you back. Learn more at ChristmasLights.io.

How can I raise my average ticket?

Build high-end packages. Quoting only $1,000 jobs lands your average around $800 to $1,000, while a $4,000 to $5,000 top package can bring your average to $2,000 to $2,500.

How much should I spend on Google Ads and Facebook Ads?

Beginners often spend $25 to $50 a day, and some installers spend hundreds a day. Clicks are cheaper before peak season, and you should test both platforms to see which brings better leads.

Do yard signs really work?

Yes. One installer spent about $3,000 on 1,000 signs and brought in over $220,000. They work best at busy intersections and near high-end schools, grocery stores, and neighborhood entrances.

How should I price bushes and columns?

Bushes are typically $30 to $50 per strand, and columns range from about $100 to $600 to $800 depending on size. Use the calculator at Christmas Lights HQ to estimate strands.

Should I install lights on windows?

Generally no. Windows take much more time for the same money. If you do them, charge a high rate such as $20 a foot.

How fast should I send a quote?

Within 5, 10, or 20 minutes of the phone call. Then follow up by text, email, and phone. One installer follows up about 30 times within two to three weeks.

How much should I spend on marketing to grow?

Plan on about 10% of your revenue goal. To reach $100,000, spend $10,000, and to reach $150,000, spend $15,000.

How do I get customers to buy at higher prices?

Sell the feeling, not the bulbs. About 90% of people buy on emotion, so focus on the memory of the grandkids' faces. Find more at ChristmasLights.io.