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Category: My Marketing Advice (Page 13 of 26)

What To Do When Your Products Aren’t Selling

August 24, 2016 /

by Gail Oliver, Online Marketing Consultant

I have advised thousands of online shops, and a common problem is not being able to recognize why your products are not selling and what to do. It is tough when it’s your own shop because you are too close to it to be objective.

what to do when products aren't selling

If the traffic to your shop is good, then you have to look at your prices, your shipping charges, your turnaround time, your reputation (negative reviews hurt sales), and most of all, your products.

So I am going to focus on your products and pretend that I sell wooden cutting boards so you can see what I mean.

Offer More of Your Best Sellers

What is your top seller(s)? This is the product you should look to for inspiration. Can you spin it off into more products, more colors, more shapes, more sizes, whatever the case may be. Why do you think there are so many coffee options at a Starbucks? So if my best seller is a wooden cutting board in the shape of Texas, then maybe I want to consider offering cutting boards that looks like the Texas state flag or a famous Texas landmark. Stick with what works.

Expand Your Target Market

I have always reminded my customers not to focus solely on the most obvious customer. Is your product suitable for businesses? In other words, have you thought about selling your wooden cutting boards to restaurants and cafes for serving the bread of other types of appetizers? Maybe you can customize the board with their logo (free advertising for them when people are taking a selfie of their food). Have you strictly been targeting women buyers? Maybe men would like a cutting board for their barbecue (they do, see next point).

Stay Innovative

Do your products have a lot of competition? In other words, are there other shops selling exactly what you sell? Then you need to delve back into product development and find out what customers are looking for. Therefore, if I sold cutting boards I would go over to Google autocomplete and type “cutting board that” “cutting board with” and “cutting board for” and see the searches that fill in. Some searches I found were:

  • Cutting board that catches juices
  • Cutting board that weighs what you cut
  • Cutting board with handle
  • Cutting board with recipe engraved
  • Cutting board for brisket
  • Cutting board for bread
  • Cutting board for sushi

I now have 7 new product ideas based on actual requests.

Gather Insight from Others’ Reviews

While you should definitely be reading your own reviews for insight into your products, you should also venture over to Amazon and read the reviews of your competitors’ products. Reading some reviews on wooden cutting boards, I found that people were unhappy when the board eventually split, the surface warped or it was too small. Things people raved about was when the board was easy to carry, didn’t take up much counter space and could be used for serving as well as chopping. Make sure your products have all the things customers want and none of the things they don’t.

Not sure why your products are not selling and need my advice? Try my Marketing Tune-Up. Are you an Etsy Shop? Check out my Etsy services. 

© 2016 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.

How to Get People to Promote Your Online Shop

August 18, 2016 /

by Gail Oliver, Online Marketing Consultant

If you want someone to do something for you, you have to do something for them. I can’t tell you how many people email me asking me to promote their app or article to my readers and offer me nothing in return. What incentive is there for me to do this? I don’t mean to sound cold, but this is business and the best way to make a business deal happen is to make it mutually beneficial.

how to get people to promote online shop

Getting Press

For example, with your online shop, don’t just ask a blogger to mention your products. Instead, tell them that you if you are fortunate enough to get a mention, that you will return the favor by mentioning their blog on your website (including a link), and you will promote the mention to all of your customers and social media followers. This works really well with upcoming and coming bloggers looking to increase their readers.

Getting In Store Sales

Don’t just ask a local shop if they will allow you to display your products one weekend in a pop-up type display, but instead tell them you will tell all of your customers, friends and family that you will be at their shop that day, and hence you will be bringing them new customers as well (plus you will give 10% of the profits). Who would say no to that ofer?

Getting Referrals

Don’t just ask customers to recommend you to their friends or on social media, offer them 15% off their next purchase or a free gift if they do so. I constantly reward people who recommend me to others with free advice, free leads or a free product. You will be amazed at how many referrals this brings in when you give an incentive.

Remember, nothing looks worse to a potential partner when you seem oblivious to the fact that their time is valuable too. Make it worth their while and you will get much better results!

a Recent Review

“Gail was amazing and very helpful! I am super happy, my store is attracting more customers. Also learned a lot from Gail and she replied to all my questions promptly. Thank you very much!” Renata at Reniego Jewels. Renata has a gorgeous jewelry shop, I encourage you to check it out!

© 2016 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.

How to Drive Traffic to Your Online Shop During August

July 28, 2016 /

by Gail Oliver, Online Marketing Consultant

My Tactical Marketing Planner for August is out now, and if you are having trouble getting traffic and sales at your online shop, and just don’t have a lot of time to spend on promotion, this downloadable, printable planner is for you (keep reading for BONUS offer)!

drive traffic online shop august

August is all about Back to School, Going off to College, End of Summer Clearance and early Fall shopping – all opportunities your online shop needs to take advantage of, and my tactical marketing planner will help you do just that.

I start off with my list of daily tasks that I want you to do this month, including unique opportunities only an insider knows about! These tasks include some of my proven secrets, as well as publicity, advertising and promotional opportunities. Doing these tactics just for 30 minutes a day will really help drive traffic to your online shop.

Then I give a daily social media “to do” including all of this month’s hot trending topics you can really take advantage of to be part of the conversation on social media and get your shop seen.

Finally, I include a variety of very useful worksheets because you need to measure your marketing efforts. These worksheets will keep your marketing organized and focused and allow you to measure the value of your efforts. Time is money so you don’t want to waste time on tactics that are not working. 10 pages in all.

As usual, I offer it at an amazing price of just $7!

I have two planners. One is for independent online shops and the other is for Etsy shops. If you have both an independent shop and an online shop, the Etsy one is best for you.

BONUS OFFER: If you pin the graphic above (and let me know you did) when you order the August planner, I will send you July’s planner for FREE that included 40 media contacts for print holiday gift guides.

Important! Holiday Gift Guides Submissions

Due to a number of requests, I’m offering a pitch writing service just until August 25th, as now is the time to be pitching your products to the PRINT media for their annual holiday gift guides. I’ll write a compelling pitch email for you to send along with your product submission. I will even advise you on the product I think has the best chance. I have written pitches for customers that got their products in the holiday gift guides for Real Simple, Vanity Fair, House Beautiful, LONNY, and more. Keep in mind, this NOT a guarantee of publicity, this is up to the magazine’s editorial team. You can purchase my Holiday Gift Guide pitching service ($39) here.

Start Doing This One Thing NOW for Your Best Holiday Sales Yet

July 21, 2016 /

by Gail Oliver, Online Marketing Consultant

Do you want to have your best holiday sales ever at your online shop? Then I have one HUGE tip that I want you to start doing right NOW that will greatly help your sales come the peak period of late October to mid December.

do this one thing now for best holiday sales

Too many times, sellers do not understand how important your current customer base is. Shops always seem to be looking for new customers as opposed to trying to get more business out of the people who have already bought from them, and this is a mistake.

SO HERE IS WHAT I WANT YOU TO DO. Starting today, every time you make a sale, include the message below in your outgoing email to the customer (as well as on a card in the package):

Thank you so much for your purchase! We hope you will return for your holiday shopping with this coupon code for 15% off every item in the store: HOLIDAY2016 (valid until December 22, 2016).

Now, you can make the offer whatever you wish, whether it is free shipping, buy one get one half off, or any other value deal that makes sense for your shop. If you offer free gift wrapping, include this as well. The key is you are putting the idea in their head now that they should think of your shop come holiday shopping time PLUS you are giving them an incentive to do so.

You can even get more specific, so if you sell women’s jewelry, for example, you can say:

Thank you so much for your purchase! We hope you will return for holiday gifts for your mother, sisters, children, best friends, colleagues – anyone who loves jewelry – with this coupon code for 15% off every item in the store: HOLIDAY2016 (valid until December 22, 2016).

Now, a few more tips. You may also want to finish with a line such as:

Thank you so much for supporting small businesses!

Again, this reminds people the importance of buying from smaller vendors and not always the big retailers, and it makes them feel better about their purchase and want to support you further.

If you personalize or customize items, then you may want to add:

We are offering FREE personalization for any holiday gift, just be sure to order before December 1st so that it arrives in time. 

We can create a gift specifically for someone special (or hard to buy for), just be sure to order before December 1st so that it arrives in time. 

This gets them to act faster. You want as many holiday sales as possible before the big hype of Black Friday, where it is going to be tough to compete with online retailers such as Amazon.

If you don’t sell items that typically constitute as gifts, the holiday shopping season is also big for purchases that have to do with decorating and entertaining as people are getting their homes in order for family visits, holiday parties, and so forth, so you could say something such as:

Thank you so much for your purchase! With the holidays just around the corner, we hope you will return for any of your holiday decorating or entertaining needs with this coupon code for 15% off every item in the store: HOLIDAY2016 (valid until December 22, 2016).

Etsy Shops!

Did you know that I offer a 30-Minute Phone Critique of your Etsy shop for just $59? I evaluate every aspect of your shop and advise you on the changes you need to make to get more traffic and sales. You can order it from my Etsy shop here. 

© 2016 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.

12 Unique Farmers Market Booth Display Ideas

July 14, 2016 /
farmers market marketing ideas

Farmers Market Marketing Ideas

Need some farmers market marketing ideas? If you have a booth at farmers’ and artisan markets, here are some of my unique farmers market booth display ideas to get potential customers to find your booth, stop at your booth and, hopefully, buy!

Now, not all of these ideas may be allowed at certain venues, so read their rules handbook first before you incorporate any of these ideas.

12 Unique Farmers Market Booth Display Ideas
  1. Signage – You need a banner for the top of the booth canopy, that is waterproof and durable and has your shop name, url and tagline. You also need  signage as a backdrop for the booth (with shop name at eye level). Also have smaller signs on the posts. Ask the venue if you are allowed to also have sidewalk sandwich boards positioned on the ground at each corner of the booth, so they can be seen by traffic coming from each direction, and put flyers on cars in the parking lot.
  2. Free Samples – Have free samples and/or product testers available (if relevant to what you are selling). Always give a free sample to someone who does buy a product in order to try and up-sell other products. At very least, give everyone a business card with a coupon code stamped on the back to use for future purchases at your online shop.
  3. Small Attraction – Consider a small attraction at the booth that will get people to stop, such as spinning a prize wheel to get a certain percentage off purchase, free gift, etc. Be sure to also read, 101 Promotional Ideas for Your Small Business.
  4. Photo Opportunity – Have a photo op at your booth like a creative photo cutout where people put their head through the hole and take a picture. Make sure it has your shop’s name on it and encourage them to share the photo on social media to get your shop name seen by their followers. You can get customized cutouts at Shindigz.com for less than $50 that are vertical and wouldn’t take up a lot of space.
  5. Business Cards – Swap business cards with at least 5 other non-competitors at the farmers market (but who target the same customer) and ask that they put your business card in the packages of their customers and you will do the same for them.farmers market booth marketing ideas
  6. Shopping Bags – Put customers’ purchases in large paper shopping bags with handles that clearly show your shop name, tagline (so they know what you sell) and booth number. Also consider a reusable farmers market bag that has your name on it, that customers will use every time they go to a farmer’s market with free advertising for you.
  7. Have a Traffic Generator – Have an employee walk around the farmers market handing out business cards, directing people to your booth. Stamp the booth number on the back of the card.
  8. Giveaway – Collect emails of customers and potential customers by hosting a product giveaway whereby people put a ballot with their name and email address into a box for a draw at the end of the day.
  9. Tiered Displays – Display your products in tiered levels, not all flat on the table, so that people can see your range of products as they walk by.
  10. Tablecloths – Invest in tablecloths that cover the entire table (height and width). This allows you to store more products under the table (you never want to run low on inventory and have an empty looking table) and it can act as additional signage if you print your shop name on the fabric.
  11. Social Media – Follow the farmers market on all social media sites and promote your presence there a few days prior, including tagging the market itself in hopes of a share. For example, this would be a good Tweet: “Visit us this weekend, booth #21, at the Marlboro Farmers Markets @marlborofarmersmarket”
  12. Vendor Opportunities – Explore all vendor opportunities each Farmers Market gives to its sellers (and even suggest some ideas to them), such as optimal booth positioning, free signage, free advertising, free mentions on social media and so fort
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©2022 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Farmers Market Marketing Ideas

13 Things to Post to Social Media This Weekend

June 30, 2016 /

by Gail Oliver, Online Marketing Consultant

13 things to post to social media this weekend

There is lots going on this holiday weekend, so if you wish to get your business seen on social media in the next few days, this is the type of content you need to post that will likely get share.:

What to Post to Social Media This July Holiday Weekendsocial media content calendar

  1. Red, White and Blue Recipes
  2. List of Best Summer Festivals in (pick a city, state or country)
  3. Favorite Steven Spielberg Movies (the BFG comes out tomorrow)
  4. Favorite Roald Dahl Books (the BFG is his book)
  5. Amazing Fourth of July Fireworks PhotosBest Online Sales this Weekend
  6. Best Beach Reads Summer 2016
  7. Cool Facts about Canada (July 1st is Canada Day)
  8. Hottest Soccer Players from UEFA Euro 2016
  9. Favorite Country Music Lyric (for #NationalCountryMusicDay July 4th)
  10. Stylish Wimbledon Fashion
  11. The Coolest Celebrity Fourth of July Style
  12. Best Moments from Game of Thrones Episode 11

© 2016 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.

Creative Ideas to Market and Promote Your Art

June 23, 2016 /

If you’re an artist, and you are looking for creative ideas to market and promote your art, here are just a few of my tactics from my 12-Month Marketing Plan for Online Art Stores.

  • In mid December, email a winter theme story pitch idea  such as “How to Brighten Up Your Walls This Winter” to at least five decor blogs that you find at BLOGLOVIN’.
  • Post a video / reel of your pieces of your art transitioning on and off a wall to introduce your new or seasonal collection. Here is an example. 
  • Change up your email opt-in incentive to include a free printable such as, “How to Create a Gallery Art Wall”. 
  • Enter one of Minted.com’s Design Challenges. 
  • Target commercial users as well as the consumer, such as selling your art to interior decorators, restaurants, bars, doctor’s offices, boutiques, small hotels, AirBnBs, show homes and home stagers. art marketing plan
  • Create a mystery art box as a promotional idea. It can be theme-based or it can features your prints that are discontinued, or wish to stop selling. 
  • Ask a local developer if you can display some of your art pieces in their show homes, with sales information below.

Find hundreds of more great marketing tactics in my 12-Month Marketing Plan for Online Art Stores.

 

 

 

© 2022 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Creative Ideas to Market and Promote Your Art

New Ideas for Product Photography

June 17, 2016 /

Need some new ideas for product photography!

As you know high quality product images are so important when you sell online. I always recommend to clients to have at least one product shot on a white background for editorial purposes. However, since most marketplaces and e-commerce templates let you display more than one image, you can make the other images something more creative and attention getting in order to stand out in image search results.

Obviously, if you look like everyone else, your business will not stand out.

 

The online store, Modcloth, has some interesting product shots that, to me, would definitely stand out in Google image search results, plus are more likely to get shared and circulated on social media.

new ideas product photographyAs you may know, the overhead flat lay style images are hot on Instagram, but almost too popular. So Modcloth took a different approach and used a monochrome color background and threw in some other objects just to make a more interesting photo in order to promote this dress. I even like that they added some text since quotes are so popular on social media.

Below are some other good product photography styles, still from Modcloth that might inspire you.

The photo on the left below is interesting because the model is posing in front of a really vibrant background (which could be something as simple as a graffiti wall in your city) that still matches the colors in the dress.

The next photo is similar to the one above, an overhead flat lay shot with a contrasting but coordinating background with pops of color.

The third and fourth photos are another emerging product photography trend where you shoot the product from slightly above, and then crop the image to really zero in it and intentionally making it off center. It makes it more interesting and allows you to really zoom in on the item.

new ideas product photography

Try some of these new product photography ideas with just a couple of your product shots to see if they make a difference in bringing you  more traffic.

Remember to always optimize the SEO of all of your images, tailoring both the file name and alt text to your main keywords.

Please visit my Shopify store to see the products and services that I offer.

More Articles on Product Photography:

© 2016 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. New ideas product photography. 

Why Patriotic Products Are The Current Hot Trend

June 7, 2016 /

by Gail Oliver, Online Marketing Consultant

At the beginning of the year I told you that because this is an Olympic year, patriotic products (for every country) will sell well and are ripe for tons of press opportunities. Well now that the summer Olympics are just two months away, and combine that with the fact that this is also a US election year with one of the most hotly contested presidential runs in recent history, American patriotism is also riding a huge wave that will likely carry into the new year.

why patriotic usa american products are a hot trend

The big US brands such as Coke, Budweiser, and Hershey’s have all released products with patriotic packaging or a red, white and blue twist to the product. Consider these products from major brands and retailers such as Ray-Ban®, TOMS®, Urban Outfitters, Modcloth, Skittles®, Nordstrom and Pottery Barn.

us patriotic products trend

 

The overall feeling is that these brands are trying to counteract the negativity that has been brought on by the political campaigning by reaffirming American pride and patriotism, and it seems to be catching on.

Amazon is currently showing searches for patriotic products, everything from “USA” bikinis and decorative pillows to car decals and onesies. Stars and stripes on iphone covers, neckties, scarves, underwear, leggings, pet clothing, beach towels, flasks, sheets and mugs are all making their way to the forefront of online and retail shops. Even on Etsy, there are searches for a wide range of red, white blue products from wreaths to dog collars to flip flops.

Therefore, if you haven’t added at least one patriotic product into your shop, you are missing out on a great opportunity.

MORE

© 2016 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.

Creative Ways to Expand Your Product Line to Increase Sales

May 28, 2016 /

by Gail Oliver, Online Marketing Consultant

Adding more products to your online shop is another obvious way to increase your sales. Now, it might not always increase your profits right away because costs could increase with the addition of the new products, but it is another obvious way to grow your business. So, what are some creative ways to expand your current product line?

 

creative ways to expand your product line to increase sales

Start by taking a look at your current product line and see if you can offer different:

  • Colors
  • Materials / Ingredients
  • Shapes
  • Sizes
  • Scents
  • Languages
  • Embellishments
  • Styles
  • Prices
  • Uses

For example, one of my customers, Bad Tags, sells cute dog tags in a variety of sayings, colors and shapes. They even have tags that indicate if a dog has special needs and add-on accessories such as rhinestone rings for the tags. Therefore, how do they expand their current product line even further to increase sales? Since their tags do have sayings, maybe they could offer them in different languages other than English to broaden the market; or they could do a higher priced line of dog tags with embedded birthstones or diamonds (trust me, there are customers for this); or they offer a dog tag that has an LED light in it so the dog is seen when walking it at night. They have customers buying tags for animal fundraisers, so they could offer a value bundle strictly for fundraising purposes.

I know a lot of art and photography shops have taken their art and put in on everything from t-shirts to mugs, which is great, but now everyone is doing it, which is not so great. However, these shops could take their work and sell it in a different form, such as an image spliced into three images. They could try putting the art or photograph onto a trendy new medium, such as glass, or onto supplies such as fabric and ribbon and now they can sell to other businesses instead of just to the end user.

Even repackaging items can help if you don’t wish to add new products. If you sell monogram necklaces, for example, sell a mother daughter monogram necklace set, which means you now get two sales but to the customer it looks like one. If you sell baby blankets, sell a set of three together that are embroidered with “crib”, “car”, and “stroller”. Simple ways to turn your current products into more listings.

Need ideas on how to expand your product line? I can take a look at your products and give you ideas on how to expand, just book my 30-Minute Phone Consultation.

Trending This Week

  • May 28 – #NationalHamburgerDay
  • May 29 – #SundayFleaMarket
  • May 30 – #MemorialDay, #TheBachelorette
  • May 31 – #NationalWearAFlowerDay
  • June 1 – #WednesdayFamily
  • June 2 –#ThursdayThoughts
  • June 3 – #NationalDonutDay

© 2016. Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.

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