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Small Business Marketing Strategist

Category: My Marketing Advice (Page 2 of 26)

New Business Idea: Sell An “Experience”

April 25, 2023 /

You’ve heard a lot about turning your knowledge into an online course, but that approach has become pretty exhausted.

A different approach, which I think is more effective, is what Uncommon Goods is doing. Capitalizing on the gift market, they are selling “experiences” as gifts.

In fact, a survey by SurveyMonkey found that 67% of respondents said they’d rather receive an experience than a physical gift.

I actually wrote about a similar idea about a year ago, where 1-800-Flowers teamed with Alice’s Table to offer a mother-daughter online flower arranging workshop as a gift for Mother’s Day.

Therefore, chefs/restaurant owners, florists, artists, psychics, crafters and more, can sell their “experiences” as a gift on Uncommon Goods. The gift approach means you can buy it for someone, or buy it for someone and yourself to do together (two sales instead of one). Think couples gifts, bridesmaid gifts, corporate gifts, Father’s day, Mother’s day, etc.

The Top-Selling Experiences:
  • Paint Your Pet
  • Romantic Mapmaking
  • Astrology Chart Class
  • Flower Arranging
  • Mixology Class
  • Scandinavian Baking

You can also use the “experience” to upsell your products. Be sure to also read: All New Small Business Ideas for 2023

Click to download the planner.

Thinking of Starting a New Business?

Download my best-selling How to Start a New Business Planner.

©2023 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. New Business Idea: Sell An “Experience”

A Brilliant Co-Marketing Idea

April 10, 2023 /

I was writing something for a restaurant in Texas called Doña Maria Dominican Cuisine and they told me something unusual. They said that people who came to their restaurant, and had never even eaten cuisine from the Dominican Republic before let alone even heard of the island, loved the food and vibe so much that they ended up booking a trip to go there.

So, I thought, if you’re a travel agent, or sell vacation real estate, maybe you should be forming a business relationship with some of your local ethnic restaurants. You recommend them, and they recommend you. It’s a win-win.

In other words, the travel agent tells their clients to visit XYZ restaurant so they can try the food before they go, and the restaurant tells customers, if they love the food, then go visit XYZ travel and book a trip to go there. Don’t you love marketing that costs you nothing!

More Inspring Ideas:

©2023 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. This week’s brilliant marketing idea. 

Online Products to Sell

April 3, 2023 /

Are you looking for some new and fresh ideas for online products to sell?

When I wrote my latest ebook, 187 All-New Product Ideas for 2024, I brainstormed how to take currently top selling products and make them even more desirable to customers, based on feedback from reviews.  This is always the key to business success – improve upon an already successful, proven product idea. I also came up with with some new product ideas based on current customer needs and demand.

Since then, I have seen three of the products I suggested in my ebook now being sold online, so I guess I was onto something!

For example, one of my product ideas was for a Camping Blanket Hoodie. This is because it was the perfect combination of blanket and hoodie for sitting around the campfire, and camping continues to be a top activity. online products to sell

Then there was my idea for a Cold and Flu Remedy Kit, because COVID made people want to nip every cough and sniffle in the bud, and everyone loves a compact, all-in-one remedy.

I also had the idea for holiday pillows that had a dual purpose – one occasion such as Halloween on one side, and then another, such as Christmas on the other, so you are not drowning in holiday pillows for every occasion, plus you can charge twice the price as they are really getting two products in one. I noticed sellers are doing this with door mats as well. The company, MudPie, took it further and created a Four Sided Holiday Pillow.

online products to sell

Download these product ideas

I bet you’ll discover your next great product idea in my ebook download, 187 All-New Product Ideas for 2024.

You might also want to read my blog post: How to Create Products Editors Love

© 2024 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Online Products to Sell

How A Thank You Card Can Be An Awesome Marketing Tool

March 17, 2023 /

thank you card marketing toolA thank you card can be a very versatile marketing tool. Two things it can do:

  1. Gives you an opportunity to get repeat business by offering a discount off their next purchase, or other type of offer.
  2. Gives you an opportunity to be remembered by your customers, for repeat or referral business, by putting something useful on the back so they will keep the card.

 

For example, take my editable Thank You Card template shown here. Let’s say that you sell gifts. Then the back of the card having a calendar highlighting the various holidays throughout the year makes sense. The customer is more likely to keep this card and post it to their fridge, desk wall, etc., and remember your business as a result.

For example, in my Etsy Holiday Sales Planner, I always recommend including a Christmas cookie recipe card in every gift package, because the customer will keep it, and then pull it out year after year and remember your business.

Other Ideas for the Back of a Thank You Card:
  • For a Hair Salon: “10 Classic Nail Colors”
  • For a Travel Agency: “Travel Packing List”
  • For a Plumber: “How to Turn Off Your Home’s Main Water Valve”

Be sure to also read: What to Post to Social Media in April.

©2023 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. How a Thank You Card Can Be a Marketing Tool

Using Your Business Forms to Get More Sales

March 8, 2023 /

You should always be trying to make a sale, even when you just made one.editable Canva invoice

For example, I created this new Editable Invoice Template and at the end I added:

WANT A FREE GIFT?

Refer us to get a $25 gift card for every new customer you send our way!

Why not use your invoices and other business and marketing collateral to their maximum sales potential?

This same offer could also go on your business cards, social media profiles, order forms, customer receipts, packaging – anywhere your customers will see it.

It doesn’t have to be a free gift. It could be a discount off a future purchase, a free service, anything to keep the sales funnel going, but the point is, this is free ad space for you!

Remember, always be selling!

Be sure to also see my Editable Thank You Card and Editable Order Form.

©2023 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Using Your Business Forms to Get More Sales

Email Customers This Spring Newsletter Idea

February 17, 2023 /

If you don’t have a blog, you can still take advantage of content marketing by sending your customers an informative spring newsletter based on top trending topics in March.

Write a short article for your newsletter based on one of these top searched topics below. The key is that within the article (or at the end) you can include links and references back to your business.

As a bonus for reading, offer a giveaway contest for customers to enter on your social media sites, and now you have a combined email marketing, content marketing and social media marketing strategy.

And don’t forget this awesome social media idea of mine for Daylight Savings (March 12th).

Email Newsletter Ideas for March:
International Women’s Day (March 8th)
  • Women Who Have Won the Nobel Prize
  • Women’s History Month Facts
  • Gender Pay Gap Facts
St. Patrick Day (March 17th)
  • Green Nail Designs
  • Great Irish Stew Recipes
  • How to Make Green Beer
  • Where to Get Corned Beef and Cabbage Near Me
  • Green Food Ideas
Spring (March 21st)
  • Favorite Spring Scented Candles
  • How to Organize Your Kitchen Cabinets
  • Spring Break Activities for Kids
  • Healthy Spring Dinner Recipes
Earth Hour (March 25th)
  • What to Turn off for Earth Hour
  • What is the Effect of Earth Hour
  • Thing to Do During Earth Hour

Get more timely ideas for email newsletters in my 365 Blog Post Ideas.

You might also like: What to Post to Social Media in March

 

 

 

©2023 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Email Customers Spring Newsletter Idea

A Fast Way to Discover Who Your Target Customer Is

December 16, 2022 /

a fast way to discover who your target customer isNeed a fast way to discover your target customer? Well all you have to do is simply read your top competitors’ reviews.

Here you will see a name and sometimes a photo, and this will help you determine age and gender.

Then they will also typically have their country and maybe even their city. Again, these are all key demographics.

If you actually read the reviews, you will learn more as well. Maybe who they were buying the item for, or what they planned to use it for.

Then you can determine things like, maybe they have a lot of men buying this as a gift for their wife, or a lot of professionals are using the product as opposed to the end user.

You may even learn where the customer discovered the brand in the first place i.e. I saw this on Instagram and had to buy. 

Visit my Etsy store.

Read more of my blog.

©2022 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. A Fast Way to Discover Who Your Target Customer Is

An Easy Way to Measure Online Ad Success

December 7, 2022 /

Need an easy way to measure online ad success?easy way to measure online ad success

When you run online ads – whether it is on Google, a blog or social media – here is a quick way to see if your ads are working.

One key metric you will get is AD IMPRESSIONS / REACH. This is the number of times your ad appeared to potential customers. If your ad impressions (or reach) for your ad campaign is not at least 10,000, I’m not sure you are going to make any sales. Here is why:

If we take the benchmark 1% rule, this means that 1% of ad impressions should turn into clicks, and 1% of clicks should turn into sales.

Therefore, 1% of 10,000 ad impressions means you should get at very least 100 clicks. Of those 100 clicks, again, at very least 1% should turn into orders. 1% of 100 clicks is 1 order.

Therefore, at a bare minimum, 10,000 ad impressions will lead to 1 order. But this is just a benchmark and obviously will vary depending on the product, ad creative, etc.

If your ad creative is very effective, causing your click through rate to be more like 5% of ad impressions, then this means those 10,000 ad impressions will turn into 500 clicks. Then, maybe if your sales conversion rate is also very good at 5%, then this means those 500 clicks will turn into 25 orders.

So, if you only got the basic 1% conversion, and let’s say you were paying .20 cents a click, this means you spent $20 to get 1 order. If the order is for $200, that’s great, but not so great if it is only for $25.

However, if you had the 5% conversion rate, and paying .20 cents a click, this means you spent $100 to get 25 orders. Even if each order is only $15 ($375 total order), this is a fairly good return.

FINAL THOUGHT: If you are not getting at least 10,000 ad impressions, you either need to increase your ad budget and/or change your keywords. If your clickthrough rate on ad impressions is 1% or less, you have to change the ad creative and/or the demographics of who is seeing it.

Be sure to also read: My Simple Tip for More Cost-Effective Ads. If you need to understand and improve your ad strategy, be sure to set up a 1:1 Phone Consultation with me.

By the way, I was quoted in an article in US News & World Report last week, called Low Cost Home Based Business Ideas, if you wish to check it out.

 

 

 

©2022 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. An Easy Way to Measure Online Ad Success

Why Your Business Should Set Up Google Alerts

September 20, 2022 /

In my 12-Month Marketing Plans, one thing I always recommend is that you set up free Google Alerts.

What this means is you give Google certain keywords that you wish to be alerted for, so when a blog post, magazine article or news report shows up with those keywords in it, they send you an email letting you know.

For example, let’s say you are a Boston seafood restaurant. You can set up Google alerts for: Boston, Boston restaurants, Boston seafood restaurants and your restaurant name.

If you sell fashion jewelry on Amazon, maybe you want to set up alerts for: fashion, jewelry, jewelry trends, fall jewelry, Amazon, ecommence, gifts and even a competitor’s name.

How Google Alerts Can Help
  1. It’s a great way to create a media contact list by noting writer’s names and publications that write about your line of business.
  2. You can comment on these articles, which means your business name will now be seen by their readers. Most comment sections also allow you to add your business url, so it counts as a backlink, which helps your SEO.
  3. You can see the types of articles writers like to write about in your field, and this helps when pitching a story about your business.
  4. You can stay on top of key trends in your market and industry.
  5. You get ideas of what to write for your own business blog.

So set them up today using the link I gave above. Again, they are free.

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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! Be sure to read an article on Yahoo I was recently quoted in: “4 Businesses to Start in the Fall 🍂”.

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.

 

 

 

©2022 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Google Alerts Set Up. 

Why You Need to Do a Customer Audit

September 13, 2022 /

Why do you need to do a customer audit?customer service audit

I recently decided to break up my Strategic Business Planner into smaller modules, because it could be a little overwhelming to do an audit of every aspect of your business at one time.

The truth is, you do need to do an audit of all aspects of your business from time to time, in order to rethink your overall strategy, but you can focus just on the most urgent issues you have.

My Own Findings About My Customers

One of the first components I broke out is my Customer Audit. Now, I took the audit myself, and discovered some interesting things that I hadn’t realized because I hadn’t been taking the time to look at my business.

One thing I realized was that my male customers seemed to be lower than previous years. Also, I have less UK customers than prior years. I also seemed to be getting more customers in their early 20s. All of this is valuable information in terms of my marketing strategy.

It made be realize that I hadn’t updated my email opt-in incentive for a while, and that there was more I could be doing in terms of my pre-sales and post-sales customer experience, among many other things.

My Customer Audit consists of 8 very easy-to-follow worksheets that will help you ensure that you are targeting the right customer (in terms of age, income, gender, etc.) as well as identify new customer segments, and evaluate your customer service strategy as well. It also prompts you to examine what is your customer experience, both pre-sales and post-sales, what are you doing to retain customers, what are you doing to get referrals and more pressing customer questions.

So many times businesses come to me wanting to find new customers, but are you getting the most out of the customers you already have?

customer service audit

Click to download

If you are interested in analyzing your current customer base and improving your overall customer experience, download my Customer Audit.

More Customer Articles
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! Be sure to read an article on Yahoo I was recently quoted in: “4 Businesses to Start in the Fall 🍂”.

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.

 

 

 

©2022 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Customer Service Audit.

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