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Small Business Marketing Strategist

Category: My Marketing Advice (Page 22 of 26)

8 Creative Holiday Promotional Ideas for Your Online Shop

November 13, 2013 /

If you sell online and are looking for some creative marketing ideas to help increase holiday sales at your online shop, try some of these:

Don’t Just Promote Gift Ideas

Position your products not just as potential gifts, but also sell as part of the holiday experience. For example, include a fly-out on the product photo that says, “Ideal Christmas Party Outfit” or “For the Holiday Table” or “Perfect for Santa Photo”.

Offer a Flat Shipping Rate 

High shipping costs do turn customers away. However, if you can’t offer free shipping, then offer a “Holiday Flat Shipping Rate” such as $8 or $9.95. This way there are no surprises at checkout and no abandoned carts.

Screen shot 2013-12-08 at 7.31.57 PM

Add a Little Holiday Décor 

I love these animated “snowing” photos on West Elm’s site and the holly decorations at Ones Kings Lane.

Allow for the Creation of a Wish List 

Give customers the ability to make a wish list and email it to themselves or the potential gift giver. If you can’t do that, then encourage them to pin your products to their Christmas Gift Wish Board (if they don’t have one, you just gave them the idea).

Promote Gift Cards 

You should have a separate listing for a gift card and at the end of each product listing remind buyers again with either a link or icon that tells the buyer, “Can’t Decide? Go for our Gift Card, available here…”.

Holiday Promotional Ideas for Your Online Shop

Create Gift Inspiration Boards 

Get together with some other complimentary online stores (not competitive) and create a Gift Inspiration Board. Then all of you circulate it on your social media sites extending the reach of it even further.

Holiday Promotional Ideas for Your Online Shop

Gift Inspiration Board at Eat.Drink.Shop.Love

 Get Found on Social Media 

Use your hash tags when promoting your products on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and Pinterest such as #gift, #Christmas, #GiftForHer, etc.

Holiday Promotional Ideas for Your Online Shop

Remind Buyers of Less Obvious Recipients

Not all gifts are for him or her. There are a lot of searches such as, “gifts for boyfriend’s parents”, “gifts for Dad who has everything”, “gift for employees” (get those volume sales!), and “ideas for stocking stuffers”.

Holiday Promotional Ideas for Your Online Shop

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.

More SEO Articles

 

 

 

© 2013 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Holiday Promotional Ideas for Your Online Shop

4 Small Business Subscription Boxes

November 4, 2013 /

small business subscription boxesLooking for some Small Business Subscription Boxes ?

The monthly subscription box service is fast becoming a hot business model. Every month, these companies send a sampling of products to their subscribers, but typically they are brand name products.

Well, there are a handful of companies specializing in artisan, indie and smaller brands. It’s a great opportunity for independent sellers to get their products out to a wider audience, and create future customer demand.

4 Small Business Subscription Boxes
Dottie Box

This monthly box features  high quality handmade items, small business, and indie brands for women. A lot of Etsy sellers are among the brands being offered. This subscription box service does ask for below wholesale prices, but it does not sell your products on its site. You will still get future, direct sales.Small Business Subscription Boxes

Box of Happies

This is also a monthly box of  three to five handmade items. Like Dottie Box, having your products included is more of a promotional effort, as they will still direct customers back to your online shop to order.

Fair Ivy

Fair Ivy has been around since 2008, and is seen as more of a monthly gifting service for women, where a handmade surprise is sent directly to the recipient. Again, there are a lot of Etsy sellers being featured, and future direct sales are sent back to your online shop.

Hope Box

The Hope Box offers seasonal encouragement with a curated selection of high quality artisan finds, such as aromatherapy, jewelry, candles, organic soaks, scrubs, masks, and more.

FINAL WORD: Subscription gift box companies are a great way to reach your target market and develop a regular customer base. If you can handle the demand and the wholesale pricing, it is definitely worth approaching these companies.

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.Small Business Subscription Boxes

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.

More Articles

© 2013 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Small Business Subscription Boxes 

Get Your Products Into These Top Holiday Gift Guides

October 23, 2013 /

top holiday gift guidesRemember back in July when I told you, Why You Should Start Pitching to Holiday Gift Guides Now? Well, the holiday buying season is upon us and pretty much every online newspaper, magazine and blog will have a gift guide. These are great opportunities for free publicity, so here are 5 holiday gift guides you should be approaching NOW.

Today Show– This is the top holiday gift guide that appears on page one of Google search, with 24 million visits a month.

InStyle – This site comes in second, and covers all kinds of gifts from tech to beauty, with over 6 million visits a month.

Goop – Goop is from the high end lifestyle blog, but it tends to favor very expensive products for its gift guides and typically top brands.

Good Housekeeping – Good Housekeeping is a women’s magazine has been around for decades, but its online gift guides always rank high in search. They like gift ideas for all members of the family and typically under $100.

Your Local Newspaper – Don’t forget your local newspaper. Local media loves local business, so pitch the gift guide idea to the Lifestyle editor today!

How to Pitch to Get Included in a Holiday Gift Guide

You will see the name of the writer or editor on last year’s gift guide. Provided they haven’t moved on from the publication, that is who you should pitch to. Send them an email with “Product Submission for your Holiday Gift Guide” in the email subject line.

A small tip, do not attach anything to the email as this is the quickest way for your email to end up in their spam folder. Instead, include a link to the product, pricing and contact information. Keep it short and sweet, they don’t have time to read a long-winded pitch.

Good luck and let me know your success at getting your products into the holiday gift guides!

Need Help Marketing Your Online Business?

With 20+ years experience in all aspects of marketing (I know, I look young), I currently specialize in helping small businesses selling online, and I make it very affordable! Just see my Shopify store above, or email me at attentiongetting@gmail.com.

© 2013 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.

New Target Market Strategy for Your Small Business

October 7, 2013 /

target market strategyNeed a new target market strategy for your small business?

I have helped a lot of small businesses and one thing I always encourage, is to think of all the potential markets for your products.

So, if you have been predominately selling your products and services to the consumer or end user, why not expand into the business market as well (and I don’t mean wholesale).

For example, let’s say you sell artwork. Are you strictly focused on selling to people who want art in their homes? What about businesses that want art? Do you know how often the phrase, “Dental Office Art” is Googled?

New Target Markets for Home Goods
  • Small, boutique hotels/motels
  • Spas, hairstylists, health clubs, yoga studios
  • Retail shops
  • Restaurants
  • Professionals – doctors office, dental offices, real estate agents, attorneys, banks, etc.
  • Daycares, private schools
  • Interior decorators/designers
New Target Markets for Jewelry and Fashion
  • Stylists
  • Costume designers
  • Photographers (need props)
New Target Markets for Pet Products
  • Groomers
  • Trainers
  • Dog Walkers
  • Pet Sitters/Hotels
  • Veterinarians
New Target Markets for Wedding Products
  • Wedding planners
  • Wedding venues
  • Hotels and inns
  • Caterers
  • Hairstylists
New Target Markets for Vintage Goods
  • Costume designers
  • Set designers
  • Museums
  • Historical attractions
New Target Markets for Kids Products
  • Teachers
  • Daycares & private schools
  • Party venues
  • Baby and kids photographers
  • Mommy classes
Ways To Make Your Products More Enticing to Businesses
  • Offer discounts for certain professionals
  • Offer volume discounts, encouraging them to buy more
  • Offer free customization
  • Offer superior customer service and many ways to contact you
  • Offer free publicity for their business (with a mention on your website, blog)

The benefits of targeting the business market is that you will likely get more volume orders, get repeat business, not to mention great exposure to end users (if your products are labelled correctly).

FINAL WORD: Don’t get hung up on selling to just the end user. The business market is still a huge opportunity, especially your local business market.

Also Read
Be Sure to Check Out

© 2013 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.Target Market Strategy Small Business

Other Free Keyword Tools

September 23, 2013 /

other free keyword toolsWant some other free keyword tools to use for your SEO?

As you may have noticed, the Google Keywords Tool is no longer available for any business to research popular Google search words for their SEO efforts. You can only access the Google Keyword Planner if you have a Google Adwords account, however there are some other alternatives that I personally use for SEO.

Google Trends

In Google Trends, select the “Explore” option from the column on the left. You will then be taken to a page that says, “Explore Trends” and above it you will see a white box called, “Add Term”. Type in your search word, and you’ll get a list of the top seven search terms, related to your keyword, and the top rising searches, plus the most popular places in the world these keywords are being searched. You are best to go over and change the time and location options, so you can really narrow in on when and where your keywords are being searched.

Google Autocomplete

In the Google search box, you can always start a phrase and the most popular endings will show up in a drop down menu. For example, type in “How to” and the most popular searches come up in order such as “How to Tie a Tie”, “How to Cook Quinoa”, “How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies”, “How to Twerk” (so you can see they are timely). The problem is you do not get the words that come before the keyword, only the ones that come after.

Google Related Searches

If you want to get the most popular keywords/adjectives that come before your keyword, you can simply type your keyword in Google and then scroll to the bottom and see the Top 8 Related Searches. So if you type in “necklace” in the Google search box and then scroll to the bottom of the page you will see “Teething Necklace”, “Pandora Necklace”, “Necklace for Men”, etc.

Google Shopping

Want to know what people are looking to buy? Go over to Google Shopping, and using the Google Shopping search box, try their autocomplete to see what comes up. For example, I typed in “d” and I got “dress” “Disney Infinity” “digital camera” “dehumidifier”. You can be more specific and type “backpack” for example, and you will get “backpack diaper bag”, “backpack purse”, “backpack with wheels”, and “backpack cooler”. Great insight into the product features that buyers are looking for.

Other Free Keyword Tools

Google Trends Helps You See Popular Keywords and Which Ones are Rising in Popularity

FINAL WORD: So you see, Google does still offer you some other ways to find out what its users are looking for. You won’t get the actual statistics of how many searches, as with the Keyword Tool, but you may get new information about your market, such as features customers are looking for, or what new trends are coming, and that is important data as well.

If you need more easy and affordable ways to market (and grow) your small business, be sure to download one of my 12-Month Marketing Plans that’s right for your small biz.

© 2013 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Other Free Keyword Tools

Creative Ways to Use Video to Market Your Small Business

September 19, 2013 /

creative ways to use video to market your small businessNeed Creative Ways to Use Video to Market Your Small Business?

Between YouTube and Tiktok, video is a great way to sell your products. Here are some quick ideas for videos that might inspire you.

Video Marketing Ideas
  • If you are selling beauty or skin care products, like an anti-aging product, you could do a time lapsed video that shows the effect of the product, on the same woman, over a 6 week period (she doesn’t have to sit in front of your phone for six weeks, just film her for a few seconds, each week, in the same position). That would be interesting if the change was quite dramatic.
  • If you sell art, again, a time lapsed video showing you painting it, from a blank canvas to a finished picture hanging on a wall.
  • If you sell toys, set up one of those complicated falling dominos tricks and at the end is the logo for your shop; or have the stuffed animals you sell come alive with a stop animation film.
  • I have a customer who sells dog grooming products. She could do a video showing a scruffy, completely filthy dog, give him a time elapsed, two-second bath, and then show the end result of a beautifully groomed dog.
  • Consider a “How To” video, as these are typically top searches. For example, Nordstrom has a video in its Men’s Ties section that shows you how to tie a tie.
Give the Video a Catchy Headline, Then Promote
  • Post it on Instagram, YouTube and Tiktok using the hash tags: #reel #reels #howto
  • Include the video as part of your product photos.
  • Send the video out to your customers by email, or put in your email signature.
  • Add to the About section of your blog.

FINAL WORD: Remember, your company name is attached to the video, so you don’t always have to include product promotion in the clip itself.

Get more easy marketing ideas like this in my My 12-Month Marketing Plans.

I’m Gail Oliver and since 2012 I have advised thousands of small businesses and I can help yours too! Be sure to see my services and products below:

© 2013 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Creative Ways to Use Video to Market Your Small Business

How to Price a Product

September 12, 2013 /

how to price a productDo you know how to price a product? I see so many people who under price because they think a low price sells a product. But that is the wrong strategy and you will find yourself in a business that makes no money.

This Pricing Strategy is All Wrong

The other day I saw someone who was selling a handmade necklace for $10, and it was quite a detailed design. Obviously, she is trying to compete with big retailers like Forever 21 and H&M who charge the same low price for necklaces such as these.

However, Forever 21 and H&M buy from wholesalers whose jewelry is made in factories with low wage workers, and due to the volume they create, these wholesalers can also get materials at ridiculously low prices.

Therefore, an indie designer will always have trouble competing in the low-priced market, if a lengthy amount of labor is involved in creating the product.

How to Price So You Make Money

If this is a handmade item, you have to take into account the labor involved when determining the price.

For example, if this necklace takes her one hour to make (and I am sure it does), then this means that she is essentially paying herself $10 an hour, less materials, less marketplace fees, less PayPal fees, less other business expenses, less shipping, less packaging and less other business tasks that take up her time (i.e. going to the post office to ship product, marketing her shop).

Therefore, if she ends up profiting $4 per hour and works an 8 hour day and a 5 day work week and a 50 week work year, then she is making approximately $8,000 a year, and this is the maximum annual income she will make.

Why is this the maximum? Because if it takes her an hour to make one necklace, then she cannot physically make more than 8 necklaces a day, so she cannot sell more than 8 necklaces a day, as you cannot sell more than you can make.

If she want to make more than $8,000 a year, she must do one or all of the following:

  • Raise her price.
  • Reduce the amount of time it takes to make a necklace.
  • Source less expensive materials.
  • Reduce other business expenditures.

Now I ask you – what is the maximum annual income you will earn from your business, based on this formula? If it is not what you want to make, you have to rethink your business model.

Same Pricing Model, If You Sell Services

It is the same thing if you offer services. If you want to make $500 a day offering graphic design services, for example, then you have to charge an hourly rate based on $500/8 hours = $62.50 an hour.

So if a graphic design will take you 2 hours to make, you will charge at least $125 for the job (because we are not including other expenses at this point) in order to make your goal of $500 a day. And that is not including communication with the customer and the time that takes up, as well as other non-revenue generating business tasks.

Plus, you also have to try and get enough jobs for one day to make up all 8 hours. There will be days when you don’t fill up all 8 hours with design requests, so you may want to factor that into your price as well.

You have to make money! That is the whole point of being in business. You don’t want to find out at the end of the year, when you are doing your taxes, that your annual income did not justify the amount of time and effort you put into your business. Make sure your business model works!

Also Read
Be Sure to Check Out

© 2013 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. How to price a product. 

When Pricing Products Too Low Can Actually Prevent the Sale

September 9, 2013 /

Pricing Products Too LowDid you realize that pricing products too low can actually prevent the sale?

Over and over again, the most common question I get asked is how to price a product, or should be lower their prices because no one is buying. But it is not that simple.

Pricing Mistake Made By This Small Business Owner

The other day I was reading how a small business owner was wondering if the price of her handmade dog leashes seemed reasonable. She was selling them for $7 and said that it takes  her one hour to make one leash. Right there, that sentence should have been enough to tell her “NO!”.  As I have stated many times on my blog, you have to factor in your hourly wage if you are producing your products, otherwise you are making no money.

If the dog leash takes her 1 hour to make, then she is essentially paying herself $7 an hour less material costs, less PayPal fees, less the fees of her online marketplace, less other business expenses. I’m guessing, but I would think that leaves her making around $4.50 an hour. This is not even minimum wage. So, in other words, her pricing is way off the mark.

She is under the assumption that her product has to be cheap in order to sell, but that is not why people buy.

If you ask someone why they bought a dog leash, they will typically answer:

  • It was durable
  • It was long lasting
  • It was the right length
  • It could be easily retracted

In fact, Google search shows people are looking for a “dog leash  that”:

  • Stops pulling
  • Doesn’t tangle
  • Floats
  • Won’t break
  • Can’t be chewed through

By pricing the leash so cheaply, she is actually hurting the prospect of sales because potential customers probably looked at the price and thought a $7 leash would not last long. If she simply changed the price to $20, which is in line with most competitive products anyway, and instead touted the problem solving benefits of the leash, she would not only sell more, but she would actually make money. What a concept!

FINAL WORD: People don’t buy things because they are cheap, they buy things because they solve a problem. You have to price your products to make a profit, otherwise why be in 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.small business seo

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.

More Pricing Articles

 

 

 

© 2013 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Pricing Products Too Low

When Too Many Sales Hurt Your Small Business (It Happened To This Seller)

September 4, 2013 /

too many salesThe dream of a lot of entrepreneurs is to set up an online shop and then hope for thousands of orders to come their way. But is that really want you want and what you can handle? Sometimes a surge in sales can actually kill your business.HH

This is a good reminder, that if you are a one or two person shop making your own products or providing your own services, obviously there is only so much demand you can handle.

How Too Many Sales Hurt This Business

You don’t want what happened to a young, inexperienced seller who started  selling her hand painted sneakers on one of the online marketplaces. Her sneakers got mentioned on a popular blog, and she quickly got more business than she could handle. At first it was wonderful having all that money coming in. But she couldn’t fill the orders quickly enough and they started piling up. She didn’t even have time to correspond with customers who were asking where their order was.

The result – extremely unhappy customers that killed her credibility with negative public feedback, plus she had to refund customers money she had already spent. She was not prepared for quick success and did not have a plan in place to manage it.

What To Do in This Situation?

If I had been her, as soon as I couldn’t make one day’s orders, I would have put the shop on vacation mode or I would have indicated very clearly, “Due to popular demand, orders will now take 6 weeks instead of the regular 2 weeks. Thank you for your understanding”.

I would have enlisted a trusted friend or family member to answer customer emails and inquiries while I focused on making the shoes.

I also would have hired a student just to take care of the packaging and shipping. It may cut into your profits but you have to fill orders in the time you said you would, especially if you have already been paid.

I would also scale back any marketing that was bringing in the surge of sales.

So What Is Your Success Plan?

What if more orders come in than you can handle, do you have a contingency plan in place?

  • Have you figured out how many sales a day you can realistically fill?
  • Have you allotted time for other business practices besides producing the products, such as accounting, marketing, customer service, etc.?
  • Can you afford to hire and train someone to produce products or is it only a skill that you have?
  • Do you have someone you trust who can handle the simple business tasks, such as dealing with customers, while you focus on filling orders?
  • At what point would you have to stop taking orders?

These are all important questions you have to be able to answer before you achieve the success you desire.

Always have a plan in place for success, just in case. The goal is to grow your business at a pace you can handle. So while you may desire more sales,  it is better that they come gradually instead of all at once.

More Sales Articles

Discover my marketing products and services in my Shopify store.

too many sales

© 2013 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Too many sales. 

Expensive Packaging Costs Can Kill Your Profit Margins

August 20, 2013 /

 

expensive packaging costsI was doing a consultation on a very nice online jewelry shop, and the seller was making the same mistake a lot of other small online sellers seem to do. Every item is sent to the customer in a beautiful gift box. And for free. So I have to ask – why?

Why You Don’t Want to Do This
  • First of all, what if it is not a gift? The box is then a wasted cost and definitely not an incentive to buy.
  • What if it is a gift and the buyer doesn’t like the gift box you’re offering? They are just going to toss it anyway, so again, a wasted cost.
  • How much is it costing you to offer these gift boxes that the majority of its buyers don’t care about, eating into probably already slim profits?
  • How is this gift box affecting shipping charges, which without it could then be lowered, and low shipping charges are more of an incentive to buy.
  • What if the buyer orders 5 items? Are you going to send 5 gift boxes? That becomes a pretty large shipment.

In the last year I have ordered clothing and jewelry from many mid to high-end online stores, and guess what? Each time my items came individually packaged in plastic bags. It didn’t bother me. If it means my shipping charges are lower due to less weight and bulk, so be it. I don’t need any more boxes.

When Clever Packaging Can Work

The other day I bought a pair of earrings at a popular retail fashion chain. The salesperson handed me the earrings, small as they were, in a mid-sized reusable cushioned bag with fabric handles that could be used for a lunch bag or small tote.  It seemed excessive considering how small the earrings were, but it was neon green with their logo taking up both sides, so it would basically act as free advertising for them anywhere I took it. Now, this is smart packaging. And the cost of the bag is essentially an advertising cost, not a packaging cost.

Gift Wrapping

Now, by all means, offer gift wrapping or gift boxes as a value added service that you charge for, $2 or $3 to recoup your costs, or just offer it for free during the holiday season.  Plus, it is dependent on price. If you are selling a $600 necklace, then yes you should probably put it in a box. But for low to moderate priced jewelry, it’s not an issue.

Look Environmentally Concerned

And let your customers know that you don’t use fancy packaging (just protective packaging to avoid damage) because you want to save them these unnecessary costs and it’s better for the environment (well, not plastic). This way there are no surprises, they know how it will be arriving, and they will appreciate what you are trying to do as a small business person.

FINAL WORD: Small businesses need to maximize profit margins in order to offer competitive prices and still make money. Therefore, do away with any unnecessary costs that are not going to impact the buying decision.

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.expensive packaging costs

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.

More Articles

 

 

 

© 2013 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Expensive Packaging Costs

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