Small Biz Success Tips – Since 2012

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Two Marketplaces for Artisans

Looking for new places to sell online? I have two.

You may or may not know that craft retailer Michaels now has an online marketplace called, MakerPlace, where small businesses can sell everything from jewelry and purses to pet products and furniture.

But another interesting thing Michaels is doing, is offering in-store appearances for artisans to sell their products directly to shoppers, with no commissions on sales. The appearances also allow the sellers to interact face-to-face with customers, get feedback, and take orders for custom items.

The other online marketplace you might not know about is 1800Flowers Marketplace. They have been offering this marketplace for a while now, and any product that would fit in the “gift” category can be sold here. They seem to particularly like food products, garden decor, baby items and bath & body. But keep in mind their commission rate is high, at 25%.

Cool Product Photography Ideas

I’ve said this many times, doing something different than your competitors is an easy way to stand out. It can be with the products themselves, or your marketing, such as your marketing copy, headlines, ads, even your photos.

I saw these two product photos, one for a barbecue sauce and one for an art print, and they both jumped out to me because they were non-typical. Now, I know that this quirky style doesn’t suit everyone’s brand, but it is a way to get attention. They are also very social media savvy.

Give it a try and do something more atypical with your product photos.

About Me

A 20+ year marketing professional and small business consultant, all of my services are very affordable. Read more about me here and view my services here.

 

 

 

© 2024 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Cool Product Photography Ideas

Today’s Awesome Business Idea

I was curious when I saw that a top Google search this past week was, “Delicious Food Delivered Advent Calendar” so I had to check it out.

It turns out it’s a small business in Milwaukee that had a brilliant idea. They took the popularity of advent calendars, along with the desire to support local businesses, and created gourmet food boxes, in the form of advent calendars.

These beautifully packaged Christmas boxes contain one gourmet treat a day – from cookies to jam to cheese – for 24 days, each from a different local food company.

They currently have boxes promoting small businesses in various states, from Kentucky to Ohio, particularly with foods tailored to their respective state.

It is a brilliant idea because they make the perfect gift for family to gift to other family members who live somewhere else in the country, as well as for larger businesses or independent professionals to gift their clients, because not only do people love to receive food, but you feel good supporting the local community.

This idea is also viable for Valentine’s, Easter, Thanksgiving and Halloween, along with wedding gifts, college care packages and housewarming gifts.

If you’re looking for a new business idea for 2024, be sure to read my post, 54 Small Business Ideas for 2024.

©2023 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Today’s Awesome Business Idea

15 Super Easy Social Media Posts for December Anyone Can Do

I know you don’t have a lot of time to think up social media posts this busy time of year.

Therefore, here are 15 super simple posting ideas for December from my brand new 365 Social Media Ideas for 2024 that will help.

15 Simple Social Media Post Ideas for December

  1. Post a #Funfact about a Christmas tradition like, “Why Do We Hang Tinsel on Christmas Trees?” (answer: Tinsel originally was strips of steel, used to reflect candlelight on the trees)
  2. Post an open-ended question such as, “The Best Gift I Ever Got Was ___________________________”
  3. Post a poll: “Vote for your favorite Christmas cookie: Sugar, Shortbread Butter, Gingerbread or Snickerdoodles” for national cookie day on December 4th.
  4. Post a This or That Poll i.e. Christmas Movie: Home Alone or Elf?
  5. Post an answer to a popular search such as, “Who was the first woman to win a Nobel prize”  for the ceremony on December 10th (answer: Marie Curie). 
  6. Post a #reel of beautiful Christmas lights in your city #christmasmagic. 
  7. Post a Yah or Nay: Mulled Wine?
  8. Post a “6 Sleeps Left Until Christmas!” graphic on December 19th.
  9. Post a photo of a frosted window and write in the frost: “Happy 1st Day of Winter” for #firstdayofwinter on December 21st. social media ideas for December
  10. Post a #reel showing the word “peace” in different languages on December 25th
  11. Post a #DidYou Know about Kwanzaa, such as “Did you know that Kwanzaa is a non religious, cultural celebration that only started in 1966?” on December 26th, when it starts.
  12. Post a #FunFact about the Eiffel Tower for the 100th anniversary of the death of Gustave Eiffel on December 27th, such as “The Eiffel Tower will be painted gold for the start of the summer Olympics in Paris in 2024″.
  13. Post a list of your 5 favorite movies of 2023 and ask followers if they agree. 
  14. Post a list of your 5 favorite books of 2023 and ask followers if they agree.
  15. Post an open-ended question on December 31st such as, “The One Thing I Want to Do in 2024 is___________________________”

Made your social media life easier and download my 365 Social Media Ideas for 2024 today. Happy posting!

©2023 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. 

Try This Super Smart Promotional Idea for Your Small Biz

I was waiting in line at the drive-thru for a coffee outlet called Tim Horton’s when I saw they were offering this mug that says, “Sorry for what I said before I had my Tim’s”.

 

I thought it was a brilliant way to promote their business. Instead of just putting their name on the cup, they actually made it more clever and interesting, and tied it back to the brand.

For example, let’s say you have a fashion brand. Why not print a t-shirt that says, “Sorry, this is all I have to wear until I go shopping at XYZ” as opposed to just putting your brand name on the shirt.

The point is, you can simply put your business name on a promo item – like pens, mugs, shirts, tote bags, etc. – or you can add something funny or clever that actually speaks to your brand and really get attention.

Another cool promo idea Tim’s had was this glow-in-the-dark Halloween bucket, for kids to take out trick or treating all while advertising their brand at the same time. Any promotional item that is holiday-inspired is always a good idea, and this will get used year after year.

 

If you need more creative marketing ideas, be sure to check out my 12-Month Marketing Plans, or ask me to create a custom marketing plan just for your business. Email me at attentiongetting@gmail.com for details.

©2023 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.

Go Viral with This Social Media Idea

Last week I wrote about Haunted Car Washes and how I thought this was a brilliant idea as Halloween experiences have become big business. Now I have a cool social media posting idea for you that is related.

If your business is looking for an interesting Instagram Story (the most popular content on Instagram) why not go and film your own experience going through a Haunted Car Wash or other local Haunted Experience in your city, post it as a story and give a shoutout to the business (meaning they might repost).

You might be thinking, “what does that have to do with my business?”, but you can make it apply.

For example, if you sell kids products you could go and film a local Halloween experience that is for kids and post it to your Stories as if you are offering an informative post for other parents in your city. The story still shows your business name and might create enough curiosity for a viewer to click over to your website.

If you’re a travel business, film a Halloween experience in a popular tourist city and post that to your stories.

If you’re a realtor, post a story of how your turned one of your open houses into a Haunted House.

Not to mention, Instagram stories like these have an excellent chance of going viral. social media ideas september

Be sure to use hashtags such as #spooktacular, #halloweeniscoming, #halloweenspirit #scary #instahalloween to really get found.

Need more posting ideas? Be sure to download my 365 Social Media Ideas.

©2023 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. 

This Week’s Easy SEO Tip

I have an easy SEO tip for your business. I was on a major retailer’s website recently and I noticed their website sections as the following:

Two of the section headings, “Featured Outfits on TV” and “Jeans and a Going Out Top” struck me as feeling like a search query.

Since your website sections can also come up in Google search results as their own page, does it not make sense to frequently rename your website sections after popular searches that are showing up in your Google Analytic stats, or just based on trending searches in your market segment as a whole?

SEO Example 1

For example, let’s say you’re a travel agent. Go to Google Trends and type in “trip”, “travel” or “vacation” and look at searches for the last 7 days. One breakout search that came up was:

4 Day, 3 Night Las Vegas Vacation Packages with Flight

Therefore, why not make that a section on your website as it is already optimized for Google SEO?

If you feel that the search phrase is still not right for your local market, then narrow the Google Trends searches down by your city or state.

SEO Example 2Easy SEO Tip

Maybe you’re a realtor in New Jersey. Look at the top Google Trends searches for the last 7 days and you will see breakout searches like, “Lake Houses for Sale in New Jersey” and “2 Family Houses for Sale in New Jersey”. Again, make these website sections to improve your local SEO, even if just for the short term.

SEO Example 3

Maybe you sell throw pillows online. In the last seven days, “Lilac Throw Pillows” was a breakout Google search. I am not sure why, but what could it hurt to make it temporarily a shop section and see what happens.

More SEO tips on my blog:

More in my store.

Top Google Shopping Searches Past Week

  • Knee high boots
  • Halloween nail art
  • Claw hair clips
  • Pumpkin spice pedicure
  • Pumpkin spice dog treats
  • Fire & ice theme party decorations
  • Giant Halloween decorations

©2023 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. This Week’s Easy SEO Tip

This Week’s Brilliant Marketing Idea

When I was checking out a hotel online in Nashville recently, I typed in the date I was interested in going and this screen came up:

It was a graphic alerting me to events that would be going on in the city during those dates. I thought it was brilliant, because the hotel was providing me with extra information in helping me make a decision as to whether I should book a trip.

So it got me thinking….

What extra information are you giving potential customers to help them buy from you?

  • For example, if you’re a realtor and someone clicks on listing, maybe have a pop-up graphic that indicates how long the house has been on the market, how many offers it current has or how much the value of other houses in the neighborhood have increased over the past 5 years.
  • If you’re a travel agent, when someone clicks on a certain destination, maybe have a pop up graphic indicating the best time of year to go, or what location would be a better option for this particular time of year.
  • If you’re a hair stylist, when someone clicks to make a reservation, maybe have a pop up graphic showing photos of the three latest hair color trends.
  • If you’re an ecommerce store, when someone clicks on a Halloween product, maybe have a pop up graphic indicating the number of days left until i.e. Just 32 days until Halloween!

The key is to close the sale by either providing more incentives and/or removing any possible apprehensions to buying.

 

 

 

©2023 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.

Why You Need a Brand Story

Today’s small businesses really need that personalization factor in order to connect with potential customers and secure their business … and a brand story can do just that. I have to be honest, the About Me section is one of the first places I go to on a website before I even think about buying.

why you need a Brand Story

A brand story is a great way to make a connection by sharing information about you and your business story, and really help to humanize your brand to potential customers and create a sense of trust and comfort in buying from you. Don’t you want to know who you are buying from?

It can be a powerful marketing tool that makes your brand more memorable and differentiates you from your competition. But a lot of people do not write them correctly.

First Person Only!

The first big mistake business owners make when writing their  brand story is writing it in the third person. Big no-no! You don’t want to sound like some far away, shadowy figure who is above talking to their customers. How many times have you been to a restaurant and the owner comes around to the table? It makes a difference. So, write it in first person if you want to make that connection.

A Little Background Info

Then you need to give a little background on why you started the business, its mission, its values, and what qualifies you for this business. You want to show your accomplishments, so it looks like you know what you’re doing, but without seeming like you’re bragging.

Talk to Your Target Audience

But, most importantly, you want to show that you understand your target customer – their wants, their needs, what they value – because they want to buy from someone who gets them.

Call to Action

Finally, you want to end your brand story with a call to action. Nothing too gimmicky, just suggest they can reach out to you by email, phone, text or even just click over to your products/services page to learn more.

An engaging and effectively written brand story can turn potential customers into real customers. If you are in need one, be sure to see my Brand Story Writing Service or email me at attentiongetting@gmail.com to see samples I have written for others.

 

 

 

© 2023 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.

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