Category: 30-SECOND READ (Page 9 of 11)

My 30-second read blog posts give you a quick hit of marketing or small business knowledge.

Low Sales? This Might Be Why

December 1, 2021 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

I consult for hundreds of small business and e-commerce clients each year. I had an Etsy client a while back, who was so focused on Etsy SEO and felt it was the only key to their success on the platform. They were wrong.

I did some SEO work for them, and did manage to get their listings on the first page of search results. However, their traffic and sales did not increase. As a consultant, I tried to explain to them why, but sadly they just didn’t want to listen.

Here were the REAL reasons for their low sales:

They were selling a product that was in a dying market. Looking at Google Trends, I showed them that searches for the product had steadily decreased over the last five years, with demand now one-fifth of what it was 5 years ago.
They were in a saturated market with not only many competitors, but also many people offering their product for free (it was a digital product). Low product demand combined with a lot of competitors is never a good mix.
Even though I managed to get their listings on the first page of results, they did not see an increase in traffic because they were not getting click-through. They were not getting click-through because their product photos looked exactly like their competitors. They were not doing anything different in terms of the product offering, so they did not stand out.

The moral of the story. Sometimes, the problem is simply what you are selling. Not your SEO, not your marketing, but the product itself. If you don’t accept this, you will continue to have low sales.

I will give you another example. I have a client that sells scented candles. At the time, they were a new shop and things were taking time to get going. In doing my research for them, I saw a breakout Google search for a particular scent. They didn’t have this scent in their shop, so I recommended they add one in, especially since there were only 200 listings for this type of scented candle on Etsy at the time. They took the advice, we optimized the listing for SEO and the candle quickly became a best seller for them.

The demand was high and the competition was low. That combined with good SEO does mean success!

Sometimes the solution to your business problems can be quite simple. If you wish to discuss any issues your business is having, please set up a phone consultation with me.

My Simple Tip to Save Money on Product Packaging

September 6, 2021 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

I know a lot of small businesses want to make a big impression on their customers with their product packaging, as well as help build their brand. The problem is, it is an additional cost that is not always necessary. Now, I am not talking shipping packaging but product packaging.

For example, if I’m buying a gift for someone, then the packaging does matter to me because I care what my gift recipient thinks. However, if I am just buying an item for myself, especially online, the final product packaging doesn’t really make a difference to me, as long as it ships safely.

Now, if I am buying an item in person, as opposed to online, the product packaging can play a part in getting me to notice the product in the first place, and may play a part in how the store displays the product.

Therefore, if you are selling online, and you find your product packaging costs are really cutting into your profits, why not considering giving customers an option, but phrasing it in a way that makes it look like it is more of an environmental issue (which it really is as the US generates almost 80 million tons of packaging waste each year).

In the product’s drop down menu, consider giving the option of:

Item ships without Branded Product Packaging (we want to do our part for the environment)
Item ships with Branded Product Packaging

The “no branded packaging” option should obviously show a price that is slightly cheaper. Make sure to have product photos that show the two options, so customers are not caught off guard. You might be surprised at the number of people that go for the “no branded packaging” option, and it might also mean a lower shipping cost for you as well.

Cool Links

If you need to drive more traffic to your business, and have no idea how to market and promote it, my 12-Month Marketing Plans make it very easy!
Need a personalized business marketing strategy? Set up a phone consultation with me.

Free Profit and Loss Statement Template Google Sheets

February 8, 2021 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

If you’re a small business in need of a simple profit and loss statement template, I have a free one that I did in Google Sheets. Just click the link below to use and edit and customize for your business:

Profit and Loss Statement Template Google Sheets

Free Profit and Loss Statement Template Google Sheets

How to Stay Connected with Customers When Business is Slow

January 21, 2021 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

How to Stay Connected with Customers Want to know how to stay connected to customers when business is slow?

The pandemic has not been kind to a lot of businesses, however, how you use this time can have a positive impact once it’s over and things get back to normal.

Right now, your customers, and people in general, appreciate genuine contact as well as acts of kindness.

For example, in November, when I released a new version of one of my downloads, I sent a free copy to anyone who had purchased the 2020 version in the last quarter of the year, just because I thought it was the right thing to do.

I was amazed by the response. One person even told me it brought them to tears. It was not the reason I did it, but it showed me how much a simple kind gesture means to people, especially when times are difficult.

My feeling has always been when you put out positive it does come back to you. Put out negative, that can come back to you too.

My Advice to Stay Connected with Customers

Give a shoutout on your social media site to a local business, charity or organization that you feel might be struggling. Your customers and followers will appreciate you looking out for a business other than yours.
Post a kind review about any business you have recently purchased from to your social media sites, encouraging others the importance of giving positive feedback (we all get enough negative).
Email your customers a kind message of hope without any type of promotion for your business.
Send your customers something free, like a 2021 calendar page download, which really doesn’t cost you anything but might mean a lot to them.
Simply post to social media asking your customers how they are doing.

I hope everyone is doing well, considering the circumstances, and that 2021 is a profitable year for your business.

About Me

Do you need your Brand Story written or an SEO-Optimized Blog Post or a Personalized Business Consultation? As a 20+ year marketing professional and small business consultant, all of my services are super affordable.

I have consulted for thousands of small businesses since 2012, and my advice has been featured in the NY Times, Success Magazine, Yahoo Business, American Express, Big Commerce, Business2Community to name a few – so this is professional advice you can trust!

My Publicity Pitch service has also gotten my clients featured in Real Simple Magazine, Apartment Therapy, House Beautiful, Vanity Fair, Houzz, Martha Stewart, Glamour Magazine, LONNY, DesignMilk, Emmaline Bride,– just to name a few.

How to Determine Your Daily Online Ad Budget

November 20, 2020 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

Daily Online Ad Budget

Confused by what to make your daily online ad budget? A lot of clients ask me how much should they spend daily on ads. The truth is, it can be complicated and one approach does not work for all businesses.

Whether it is on Google, Etsy, Amazon or social media, one simple way to look at it, is to analyze your ad impressions, ad clicks and the sales that result.

If you take the basic conversion rate rule of 1%, this means 10,000 ad impressions → 100 clicks → 1 sale (worse case scenario).

Breaking Your Daily Online Ad Budget Down

For example, let’s say your sales conversion rate is 2% (orders/clicks). Then 50 clicks → 1 sale.

If you are not getting enough ad impressions to get at least 50 clicks, then it is unlikely that you will get that one sale, and the money spent that day will be for not.

So, your ad budget needs to be high enough to get at least 50 clicks.

If a click on average is costing you .20 cents, this means you need to spend at least $10 day to get the 50 clicks (50 x .20 cents = $10) to result in the 1 sale.

Now, if you are not getting enough ad impressions to get the required clicks, the cause might not just be budget, but also the range and variety of keywords you are choosing.

Therefore, using this as a baseline will help you decide what to budget, as well as if the ads are even effective for you. But sometimes spending too little, is just a waste of money.

If you sell on Etsy, Amazon or your own website, book a Phone Consultation with me and we can review your ad strategy and make sure your daily online ad budget is working for you. Also, visit my online store for downloads and planners.

Popular Gift Keywords You May Not Know About

October 16, 2020 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

In need of some popular gift keywords?

If you want to up your SEO game for gift searches this holiday season (not to mention all of the other gifting times of the year), then you need to understand how people search.

Below are some very popular keywords that people use when searching for gifts. They use adjectives you may not have thought of. Therefore, try one of these search phrases below and see if it makes a difference!

Engraved gifts
Cozy gifts
Popular Gift Keywords
Feel good gifts
Feel better gifts
Trendy gifts
International gifts
Just because gifts
Long distance relationship gifts
Quirky gifts
Relaxation gifts
After surgery gifts
Gifts everyone wants

What to Find More Popular Gift Keywords?

It’s easy. Just go to Google and try into the search box the following phrases and see what fills down. You can also do this on Amazon and Etsy:

Gifts in …
Gifts that …
Gifts with…
Gifts made of …
Gifts for …
Gifts from …

You might also see a lot of searches right now for boss gifts, which is today (October 16th), and Sweetest Day gifts, which is tomorrow.

Also read: 5 Key Holiday Sales Tips.

Be sure to visit my store for downloads and planners.

Fashion Marketing Ideas for Your Clothing Brand

September 17, 2020 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

Fashion Brand Marketing Ideas

Are you an indie designer trying to sell your own fashion or fashion accessories online? Maybe you sell through Etsy or Shopify or just through social media? My 12-Month Marketing Plan for Online Fashion Stores makes it super easy to master marketing and promotions and get your shop seen by shoppers!

8 Fashion Brand Marketing Ideas to Try

Create a Pinterest board called, “Cute Casual Outfits” as this phrase gets searched 5 million times a month on Pinterest, plus Pinterest boards do well in Google search results. Pin to it daily fashion mood boards that include your own designs, and make sure that pin descriptions also include the hash tag “#cutecasualoutfits”.
Explore adding your products (or even a coupon for your shop) to the monthly fashion subscription box, Wantable.
Find a muse who represents your target market, such as a local teen, a stylish friend or a popular mom who knows a lot of people in the neighborhood, give them a few of your pieces to wear in hopes they become a local “influencer” for you.
Submit an email pitch to InStyle magazine recommending one of your products for their Deals & Steals section (should be under $100).
Tweet out or post to Instagram a daily #FashionFail.
Fashion Brand Marketing Ideas
Submit a story about “How to Save Money on Your Summer Wardrobe” or another type of cost saving fashion article to money and budget type blogs, such as WISEBREAD, with a byline at the end of the article that mentions your shop name and a link to your shop.
Post a favorite outfit from a popular fashion blogger every Monday for #MondayOutfit #ootd.
Create a mystery clothing box (a huge trend this year) as a promotional idea. It can be theme-based, seasonal-based or it can feature your products that are discontinued.
Download my 12-Month Marketing Plan for Online Fashion Brands with hundreds more proven tactics to do every month of the year. It will make marketing your fashion store so easy!
Related: 101 Small Business Promotional Ideas

Labor Day Sales Opportunity

August 31, 2020 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

So what is the Labor Day sales opportunity?

Did you know that “Labor Day Sale”, is one of the top “sales” searches of the year, usually about half a million searches in August?

And it is a more popular search than other long weekend sales, such as “Memorial day sale”, “President’s day sale” “Fourth of July sale” and “Columbus day sale” (but not as popular as “Black Friday sale”).

So make sure you are running one (if applicable) and plan your SEO accordingly.