By Minal BopaiahWhile the holidays often cause a spike in sales for most merchants, subscription sites can have a more difficult time closing sales because of the lack of a physical product to wrap and place under the tree.That’s why we liked this ingenious marketing tactic from Audiobooks — offering holiday gift cards for online subscriptions.

This isn’t the first site to offer gift cards — we’ve seen a previous example from Skype. But what we like about this promotion is the clear holiday tie-in with the snowflake pattern cards, and the ability for the recipient to add cash values.Each of the gift cards — whether for one, three, or six-months of access — entitles the bearer to one audiobook on the site (per month). But the recipient can add value, starting at $10, to be able to listen to more than one book per month.That’s a great way to increase user engagement with gift recipients, often a steeper challenge than when a subscriber signs up on his/her own.In addition, the registration form for the gift card allows for personalization — including the ability for the gift-giver to recommend the first title!

So, in effect, you’re gift-giver is doing some of your on-boarding for you! Kudos to Audiobooks for the great idea!Note: Scribd and Oyster are also both offering subscriptions to eBooks as gift options, but Scribd’s does not allow for personal book recommendations, and Oyster requires an iOS device.