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My Best Tips for Finding Ideas for New Products

April 26, 2016 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

Today I thought I would give a couple of my best tips for finding ideas for new products.

If you find that you are running out of inspiration for new products, a good way is to always look at products that are currently popular, selling well and hot and trending.

But the goal is not to just jump on the bandwagon but instead turn it into a new opportunity.

So here are two examples where this can work for new product ideas.

Give a Current Trend a New Twist

For example, monogram jewelry has been a hot seller for the last few years.

Therefore, instead of doing the same round disc-style, hand stamped monogram necklaces that everyone is doing, retailer Anthropologie (who is always a trend setter) came out with an oversized initial letter necklace with the letter turned on its side (as you can see on the right).

It was a brilliant way to give this popular item a new look and feel.

Borrow a Trend That Has Been Popular with Another Product

Sometimes you will see a popular trend in a product category that is completely different from yours, but is it something that would work for what you sell?

I am sure you have seen quotes and cute sayings on everything from t-shirts to pillows to tote bags, so why not swimsuits, like this one from Bando.

Again, it is another way to capitalize on a hot Instagram-worthy trend just in time for summer.

Exploit the Flaws in Top Selling Products

I have mentioned before how valuable it is to read reviews on Amazon. Nothing beats customer feedback, even if it is not your own customers.

So go over to Amazon and check out their top-selling products in your product category. Then read the one and two-star reviews. Take note of what people said the product lacked and/or didn’t do or they just didn’t like. This opens up opportunities for you to add these elements into your own products.

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! B

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.

Avoid These Product Copy Mistakes

April 19, 2016 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

Avoid these product copy mistakes!

One product copy mistake that I see online shops making over and over again is really long, overly complicated descriptions. The standard format that most online shops adhere to (and that Google likes) is an opening paragraph that is descriptive, enticing and creates a need followed by bullet points highlighting the main features (the exception being Etsy, who doesn’t support bullet points).

You do not need 10 paragraphs to describe a $40 necklace. Now, I don’t mind a bit of a back story about the motivation behind the product, but don’t go on and on trying too hard to get the sale or use overly descriptive, flowery language that makes the reader roll their eyes.

Here is a good example of product copy that gets right to the point:

‘I Love Mom’ Pearl Pendant Necklace

An elegant freshwater pearl illuminates a delicate, handcrafted pendant necklace designed to celebrate the special bond between you and your mother. Surprise her with this meaningful, wear-with-everything style to make this Mother’s Day one to remember.

18″ length.
Lobster clasp closure.
Pearl size: 8 mm.
Sterling silver/freshwater pearl.
Handcrafted in the USA.
Item ships in a gift box.

This is a perfect description for a $40 necklace. I don’t need to know the history of the freshwater pearl or how the pearl was cultivated or how this necklace is going to make me feel when I give it to my mother. Sometimes it is better to K-I-S-S.

I also really detest how most shops write their listing titles on Etsy (Amazon is guilty of this as well) starting with these endless strings of keywords that don’t even make sense. It is a poor attempt to keyword stuff and it doesn’t work.

Simply state what the product is with a few descriptive keywords as in the example above, otherwise you are just confusing the customer. Remember, you are trying to establish a brand and you want to protect it with a professional, clear descriptive product title, not a mishmash of keywords.

By the way, I do offer a product description writing service.

About Me

My Marketing Tips for the Week of April 12th – Shop Sections Edition

April 12, 2016 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

by Gail Oliver, Online Marketing Consultant

My marketing tips for this week are focusing on the individual sections of your online shop as they are very important for SEO. However, sometimes it helps to experiment with one or two in terms of customer buying behaviors, to see if it can convert more traffic into sales. Here are some ideas.

Shop Sections That Create Interest

People like to buy items based on what they think other people are buying, so try this little trick. Add a shop category that is entitled, “Back by Demand” and see how it does for you. Put popular items in here that do sell well for you, but now the perception is that they were so popular they sold out. This alone might make people more inclined to buy and buy right away.

Shop Sections Based on Price

Instead of a “Sale” shop category, why not really pull customers in by clearly specifying what the low price is. Therefore, categories such as, “Jewelry Under $25“, “100 Under $20“, and so forth. Another option is to use the word “Outlet” instead of “Sale” as this really gives the perception of a deep discount.

Shop Sections That Sell More Products at Once

Bauble Bar has a shop category called “Build a Layered Necklace“. This is really quite ingenious as it helps to up-sell more of their products at one time. First, they have you choose from a short necklace, then you choose a medium necklace and finally a long necklace – creating a very easy way to ensure that you get this popular look without fail. Plus, they give you a discount for buying all three. You can do something similar by creating a shop category of items that all work together and offer a discount for buying two or more items from this category.

Shop Sections Based on Events

I have mentioned this many times in my Marketing Ideas E-books that you can take advantage of popular buying seasons with your shop categories. Create temporary categories such as, “The Mother’s Day Shop”, “Festival Bags“, “Spring Refresh”, “Derby Day Style”, “Summer Scents”, etc.

Trending This Week

April 12 – #NationalGrilledCheese Day
April 13 – #NationalScrabbleDay
April 14 – #ThursdayThoughts
April 15 – #Coachella, #WorldArtDay, #NationalTaxDay
April 16 – #satchat
April 17 – #SundayBrunch
April 18 – #MotivationMonday, #BostonMarathon

Big Events in May: Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Victoria Day (Canada), the Kentucky Derby, the French Open, Star Wars Day, college graduations and high school proms.

My Quick Fix is perfect for those of you on a tight budget. With my Quick Fix ($25), I will examine your online shop and identify 3 things you need to do/change/fix to drive more traffic and get more sales. If you would like a more extensive evaluation with detailed, step by step recommendations, then check out my Online Shop Critique ($129).

April 5, 2016 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

by Gail Oliver, Online Marketing Consultant

Happy National Deep Dish Pizza Day! There really is a national day for everything, isn’t there? Here are some other marketing tips you may find helpful for your online shop.

Product Photos

One tip I always give in my Marketing Ebooks is that when shooting your products be sure to show their purpose. In other words, don’t just show a bowl, show a bowl full of something so that potential customers immediately get a purpose for the bowl. Don’t just show a bracelet, show the bracelet on a model or with other bracelets of yours (to upsell more) or with outfit ideas, and so forth. Customers are more likely to look at photos than read the copy, so use your photos to put these “reasons to buy” in their head.

Drunk Online Shopping

Have you heard about “Sip and Click? A new report from Lyst (an e-commerce site) shows a huge spike in women’s online shopping habits late on Friday evenings resulting in 48 percent more orders Saturday at 2 a.m. when compared to Monday night sales. It seems that after 1 a.m., the dollar value of the order goes up 40 percent compared to that same time on a Monday night. The feeling is this spike is due to women going online after having a few drinks and, as such, have more “relaxed” shopping habits. Now, I am not saying to take advantage of these women, but it is good to know that late into Friday evenings a lot of women (not all drunk) are online shopping so you may want to tailor your social media postings for these times.

Social Media Demographics

Who are you trying to reach on social media? According to a new report from Social Media Today, if you want to reach the 18 to 24 age group, SnapChat should be your number one social site as it completely dominates this segment. 25 to 34-year olds rank Instagram as #1, ages 35 to 44 favor Pinterest, for 45 to 54 it is LinkedIN, and for 55+ it is Facebook.

Sales Conversion Rates

While time spent on mobile continues to exceed time spent on desktop (67% vs 21%) according to the Social Media Today report above, a new report from Monetate shows that sales conversion of people shopping online via desktop is 3 times what it is on mobile. In the last quarter of 2015, online shopping from a desktop had a conversion rate of 4.43% while online shopping from a mobile phone had a sales conversion rate of just 1.53%. So do not eliminate all of your desktop advertising just yet.

Trending This Week

April 5 – #NationalDeepDishPizzaDay, #TuesdayTreat
April 6 – #WednesdayWant
April 7 – #MastersWeek
April 8 – #NationalBeerDay
April 9 – #Caturday, #SaturdaySwag
April 10 – #NationalSiblingsDay
April 11 – #NationalPetDay

BONUS TIP: Be sure to update your email signature with any monthly promotions or Mother’s Day offers if you haven’t already.

New Service!

My Quick Fix is perfect for those of you on a tight budget. With my Quick Fix ($19), I will examine your online shop and identify 3 things you need to do/change/fix to drive more traffic and get more sales. If you would like a more extensive evaluation with detailed, step by step recommendations, then check out my Online Shop Critique ($129).

My Marketing Tips for Online Shops for the Week of January 26th – Pinterest Edition

January 26, 2016 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

by Gail Oliver, Online Marketing Consultant

Good Tuesday everyone (“Good Tuesday” is a phrase that trends big on Twitter on Tuesdays). Here is a quick run down of what you need to think about this week to market and promote your online shop.

Pinterest Trends

Did you know that Pinterest has a board that highlights the top trending searches so far for 2016? Follow it here at PinPicks: Ideas to Try in 2016. It is a great way to get inspiration for new products. Look for a surge in Pinterest searches over the next two weeks for Superbowl Food, Superbowl Snacks, Superbowl Party, Superbowl Desserts and Snack Stadium (look it up) so try and take advantage to draw interest to your shop.

Product Photography Made Easy

I mentioned Creative Market a while back on my blog and I can’t encourage you enough to check them out. One of their best deals has to be their photography layouts. For example, if you sell art or home décor and can’t afford to do a fancy vignette photo shoot, you can simply buy one of theirs and drop your products in. Check out this value pack from We Lived Happily Ever After on Creative Market with 12 stunning mockups for just $30.

Upcoming Opportunities

Historically, searches for graduation gifts gain momentum in March, increase further in April and then peak in May, which can be too late for some online shops. So start sending out emails for grad gifts to your customers starting in mid March (add a graduation cap emoji in the subject line to really get attention), and if you can prep a special product for this year’s graduates, even better.

Searches for everything prom-related (clothing, shoes, beauty, services, etc.) actually peak in February and March, so this is another category you can be promoting now.

Trending This Week

January 27 – National Chocolate Cake Day
January 28 – National Have Fun at Work Day
January 28 – #republicandebate
January 29 – National Puzzle Day
January 30 & 31 – NHL All-Star Game
January 31 – National Backward Day
January 31 – Grease: Live! on Fox
February 1 – National Freedom Day (from slavery)
February 1 – #TheBachelor
February 2 – Groundhog Day

Get My EXCLUSIVE Pinterest Tip!

I have discovered a secret about Pinterest that will get your pins seen by more Pinterest users, get more of your pins shared and drive more traffic to your shop. Simply follow me on Facebook and share this post with your followers, then email me at attentiongetting@gmail.com when you have and I will let you in on the secret!

My Marketing Tips for Your Online Shop for the Week of January 19th – Spring Publicity Edition

January 19, 2016 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

by Gail Oliver, Online Marketing Consultant

January is in full swing, so what opportunities are there for driving traffic to your online shop this week?

PR Opportunities

You need to always be pitching story ideas to the media, and since blogs work about one to two months in advance, some editorial topics they may be working on include:

Superbowl parties
Mardi Gras celebrations
Fashion Week trends
Valentine’s Day gift ideas
Spring break fashion
Spring vacation ideas

Magazines work on lead times of 4 to 5 months, so that means right now they are cultivating editorial for May issues, such as:

Mother’s Day gift ideas
Spring decorating
Spring fashion
Spring entertaining
Spring organization
Summer vacation ideas
Memorial Day entertaining
Gardening ideas
Outdoor living decor

Trending This Week

Try to post images, quotes or comments on social media for the following pop culture events this week:

January 19 – National Popcorn Day
January 19 to 31 – Australian Open Tennis
January 20 – National Cheese Lover’s Day
January 21 – National Hugging Day
January 21 – Get to Know Your Customers Day
January 22 – National Pie Day
January 23 – New zodiac sign starts for Aquarius
January 24 – NFL Playoffs
January 24 – National Peanut Butter Day
January 25 – National Opposite Day

Hot Hashtags

Every day new trending hashtags tend to pop up that people are searching on, so take advantage when posting on social media of these ones:

#FrantasticMonday
#MondayMotivation
#TuesdayTips
#ThursdayHumour
#SaturdayReads
#SundaySips

Advertising

Are you running Facebook ads? If so, schedule them only to run on the most popular times on Facebook, such as noon on weekends (EST), 3 to 4 pm on Wednesdays and 1 pm to 4 pm Thursdays and Fridays. It will save you some money and you might get better results. Remember to select desktop newsfeed, mobile newsfeed and Instagram ads if you have an Instagram account.

Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest for more tips and advice.

My Marketing Tips for Your Online Shop for the Week of December 21st – Christmas Edition

December 21, 2015 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

by Gail Oliver, Online Marketing Consultant

First of all I have to congratulate one of my clients, Nadine Savino, creator of The GCap, for appearing on Good Morning America this week and presenting her invention to Joy Mangano (the momtrepreneur whom the movie, Joy, is based on). Be sure to check out Nadine’s appearance here. The GCap is a reusable, stretchable bottle cap for kids drinks. Nadine also received a $10,000 check to help further her business. Congratulations, Nadine!

The week of Christmas can be one of the the slowest for an online shop so I don’t expect you to be doing too much this week, but here are some things you may want to do, if you have the time.

8 Ideas for Shop Promotion This Week

If you have a blog, come up with your own “Best of 2015” list and promote the post on all of your social media sites.
Add a section to your shop that is entitled “Up to 50% Off”.
Email a link to the shop section above to all customers (after Christmas), along with wishes for a Happy 2016!
Find a three-word keyword phrase that describes your most popular item and run a Google Adwords ad based on this phrase, just for a month.
Review your shop traffic statistics and invest more time and effort in the top three traffic sources.
Go through all of your social media followers lists and follow back anyone who is following you.
Post to social media an animated (gif) holiday greeting. There are some free ones here.
Hot trending topics on social media this week: First day of winter (Dec 22), start of Capricorn (Dec 23), Christmas (Dec 25), National Pumpkin Pie Day (Dec 25), National Candy Cane Day (Dec 26).

Have a wonderful holiday, and if you haven’t done it yet, be sure to check out my new site, OnlineShopLove.com and follow on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

4 Proven Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Online Store

December 14, 2015 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

proven ways to drive traffic to your online store The #1 problem my e-commerce clients have is driving traffic to their store, particular Shopify stores as there is no marketplace structure like Etsy.

So, this is why I came up with my 12-Month Marketing Strategy Plans. These printable downloads give you a one-page tactical marketing plan for every month of the year – all in all 300+ proven, actionable tactics that will drive more traffic to your Shopify, Amazon or Etsy store. PLUS, they are specific to what you sell.

Here are four ideas from the plans:

1. Free Local Publicity to Get Local Traffic

Everyone always wants a worldwide audience, but the truth is, your local market is a viable one and likely more inclined to buy from you. Buying local has been a hot selling point for awhile now, and will continue to be given the current situation.

So get to know your newspaper’s business reporters and take advantage of two big PR opportunities each year for local businesses:

National Small Business Week (the first week of May).
Small Business Saturday (the Saturday after the US Thanksgiving holiday).

Pitch the reporter a story idea about six weeks prior and they might go for it, bringing you some new local customers, plus publicity always give you instant credibility. Also, the reporter will likely come back to you again and again for a sound bite on other online business articles.

2. Get Traffic from Competitors’ Social Media

Have you ever gone over to your competitors’ social media accounts and looked at their followers list? Simply follow their followers as they are potential customers for you.

This holds the same for the big retailers who sell what you sell; simply follow their followers.

If your social media bio clearly states what you sell, with a link to your shop, it could help to drive more traffic as most people will look at their followers’ list, see your name, be curious and click over to your profile. Tedious, but it works.

3. Form Alliances To Get Their Traffic

We are not talking Survivor here, but one of those “if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours”. Simply find a few non-competitive businesses whose customers are also your customers and then discuss how you can help each other, including:

Can you run ads on their blog if they do the same for you?
Can you give them a shoutout on social media if they do the same for you?
Can you mention them in your customer newsletters if they do the same for you?
Can you put their flyers in your customer packages if they do the same for you?
Can you share a booth at a craft fair or farmer’s market?

(Note, these last two are better for businesses in your city).

For example, if you sell art or photography, form a marketing alliance with a framing company. If you sell jewelry, partner with someone who sells purses or other fashion accessories. One alliance could double your traffic.

4. Bring in Traffic from Blog Sharing Sites

The key here to driving traffic to your store is to use popular blog sharing sites.

Simply set up a simple blog using the free WordPress site. Do not make it part of your shop, but a standalone blog that links to your shop (like I do with this blog).

Then sign up with the free blog sharing sites such as BlogLovin‘ (10 million users), Blogarama, Feedspot, and you will quickly get followers, especially if you follow people who seem like your ideal customer (based on the blogs they follow).

Just write a simple blog post once a week on a topic related to what you sell, and always reference and link to your store at the end. It is an easy and free way to drive traffic.

Want 300+ More Ways to Drive Traffic?

My ready-to-download 12-Month Marketing Strategy Plans have 300+ of my proven, actionable tactics to drive more traffic to your Shopify or Etsy store, PLUS they are specific to what you sell:

My Marketing Tips for Your Online Shop Post Black Friday

November 30, 2015 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

If you are looking to drive traffic and sales to your online shop, here are a few things to try this week.

Marketing To Do List for December 1 to 7

Thank all customers who bought from you on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday by emailing them a coupon for use in January.
Pantone introduces their color of the year on Wednesday and it always trends big on social media. Be ready on social media with any products you offer that match the color they announce.
Send out pitches to print media now for Easter editorial (for fashion, decorating, entertaining, etc.)
Follow all new customers on their social media sites and add them to your email list.
Run a one-day $25 Facebook ad for gift ideas based on products in your shop.
Respond to any relevant Help a Reporter Out (HARO) media requests.
Submit an entry in Instagram’s Weekend HashTag Project and comment on all entries.
Kindly ask friends and family to post a favorite product from your shop to their social media pages.
Trending hash tags to capitalize on this week: #NationalPieDay (Dec 1), #GivingTuesday (Dec 1), #NationalCookieDay (Dec 4), #SantasListDay (Dec 4), #Hanukkah (Dec 6), #MondayMotivation, #ThursdayThoughts, #FridayFeeling, #gifts, #gift, #giftideas.

Also to Read:

©2015 Gail Oliver, Attention Getting Marketing. All rights reserved.

9 Publicity Ideas for Your Small Business

November 12, 2015 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

Right now is a good time to pitch a story to your local business reporter in hopes of getting some press for your company in December and January. Even if you sell online and internationally, never discount the power of your local market.

Here are some headlines you could pitch or maybe one of these will inspire one of your own:

December PR Ideas

How This Local Business is Pulling Out all the Stops for the Holiday Shopping Season
Local Company to Host Food and Toy Drive
Was Black Friday a Boom or Bust for These Small Businesses
Why You Should Shop These Local Businesses This Christmas Season

January PR Ideas

How a Bad Winter Could Impact These Local Businesses
Challenges and Wins in 2022 for Local Companies
Our Favorite Local Small Businesses of 2022
What These Local Companies Plan to Do Differently in 2023
Advice for Starting a Business in 2023, from 5 Local Small Business Owners

As I have always said, you have to give a reporter a compelling and timely story headline (and then show how your company would fit in the story) as this makes it easier for them to see the value in the pitch.

My Publicity Planner is part of my Marketing Planner Bundle, and it will help you create, plan, and organize your pitches.

Good luck and let me know if you have success!

Give a Current Trend a New Twist

Borrow a Trend That Has Been Popular with Another Product

Exploit the Flaws in Top Selling Products

More Articles

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About Me

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Shop Sections That Create Interest

Shop Sections Based on Price

Shop Sections That Sell More Products at Once

Shop Sections Based on Events

Trending This Week

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Like this:

Product Photos

Drunk Online Shopping

Social Media Demographics

Sales Conversion Rates

Trending This Week

New Service!

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Like this:

Pinterest Trends

Product Photography Made Easy

Upcoming Opportunities

Trending This Week

Get My EXCLUSIVE Pinterest Tip!

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© 2016 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.

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PR Opportunities

Trending This Week

Hot Hashtags

Advertising

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8 Ideas for Shop Promotion This Week

© 2015 Gail Oliver, Attention Getting Marketing. All rights reserved.

Please Share on Social Media:

Like this:

1. Free Local Publicity to Get Local Traffic

2. Get Traffic from Competitors’ Social Media

3. Form Alliances To Get Their Traffic

4. Bring in Traffic from Blog Sharing Sites

Want 300+ More Ways to Drive Traffic?

Please Share on Social Media:

Like this:

Marketing To Do List for December 1 to 7

Also to Read:

December PR Ideas

January PR Ideas

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