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April 10, 2012
“If you don’t understand why this is awesome, then get out of my office!” – overheard from a customer who bought a diver riding shark messenger bag
My partner and I recently decided to stop applying to craft shows. The reasons are many-fold, but we’re not giving up on doing pop up events. We actually make a ton of money at them, it’s just a matter of picking the right events for our business. Lately, we’ve focused on doing comic cons, with a few other niche festivals here and there. Here’s why we’ve fallen in love with comic cons.
1. No Juries
Comic cons aren’t juried, so there’s no hipster police to appease. My partner and I have no real desire to put a bird on it, we like our space cats and pterodactyls and we’re not going to change that. When our monthly sales goals are at stake, we can’t leave that kind of thing to the whims of craft show organizers.
2. Bad Weather? No Problem!
Since comic cons are indoors we never have to worry that it’s going to be too hot, too cold, too rainy, etc. If anything bad weather works in our favor since it’s all the more reason to come indoors.
3. Gigantic Targeted Audience
Comic cons draw a big crowd that appreciates our absurd and nerdy style. Cons we attend draw anywhere from 30,000 to over 100,000 people. The best part is it’s pretty much all our kind of people. Comic con attendees aren’t looking for feather silhouettes and nautical stars, they want our space cats. We love spending the day with hordes people who get our sense of humor and are as excited about our designs as we are.
4. Surrounded by Pros
While craft shows tend to attract mostly hobbyists, exhibitors at comic cons are usually pros. When we’re working on set up or break down before and after the show we can trade stories with the other exhibitors and swap useful information about other events, suppliers, etc. It’s nice to be able to talk to other business owners who make their living doing the kind of thing we do.
Takeaways for you: I’m not suggesting all my readers start exhibiting at comic cons. If your products aren’t on the nerdy side, they’re probably not your kind of event. What I am suggesting is looking beyond just craft shows to see what other events attract your target audience. Consider other types of cons, festivals and events that draw a large crowd. Make a list of the types of people who buy your products and then look for pop up events that draw that audience.
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March 30, 2012
Happy Friday! Here are my favorite marketing and small biz reads from the web this week:
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March 22, 2012
A common question I see on forums, in coaching sessions, etc is “Why am I not getting more online sales?” I don’t have a magic bullet solution for this problem, but the cause is almost always one of the following issues:
1. Mediocre Products
Sometimes the product itself just isn’t that great. Maybe it’s ugly, maybe it’s unremarkable. We all like to believe our creations are great, but if there’s no market for what you’re selling it doesn’t matter what the creator thinks.
The Fix: It’s hard see our own creations objectively, but if you suspect your products are the problem, test them out at a live event like a trunk show or craft show or festival. Notice how people respond to your products in person. Are they buying? Are they checking the items out? Do people seem enthusiastic about the product line?
If people seem to keep passing your display by or no one is buying then it’s probably time to rethink the product line.
2. Mediocre Website/Online Store
A bad online store is going to make it hard to sell even the coolest products on the web. I feel like I beat this horse to death, but I still see websites every day that just aren’t optimized to convert. I see bad product photos, confusing navigation, poor site copy — the works! Contrary to popular belief, products won’t just sell themselves. If your online store isn’t up to par you’re guaranteed to be losing business as a result.
The Fix: If you know your products are proven sellers (i.e. they do well with wholesale and at live events), it may be time to give your web shop more polish so your items can shine online too. Consider working with a professional designer to make your site look its best. Use a professional photographer for product photos or educate yourself on how to shoot better photos and retouch them in a program like Photoshop. Study up on conversion rate optimization, a topic I frequently obsess about here on Smaller Box. Making sure your site is easy to use and looks professional will turn those site visitors into buyers.
3. Lack of Effective Marketing
If your products are great and your site is top notch but you’re still not seeing sales then the problem is probably marketing. People can’t buy from you if they haven’t heard of you, so it’s important to have a plan to promote your products to your target customers.
The Fix: Create a marketing plan so you know how you’ll get your products in front of customers. Consider incorporating SEO, advertising, publicity, viral marketing, live events such as festivals or craft shows, social media, etc. As you build your marketing plan make sure you’ve thought about how you’ll select and prioritize marketing initiatives and how you’ll measure the results.
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March 20, 2012
Spring is in the air, and with the spring season comes several shopping occasions including:
- Mother’s Day
- Father’s Day
- Graduations
- Weddings
How are you going to get your products in front of more customers shopping for gifts for loved ones or a little something for themselves? How about a placement on I Shop Indie? I Shop Indie allows you to join forces with other indie designers to buy advertising and get your products seen on a bigger budget for a fraction of the cost. Here are the details on our upcoming spring membership:
How it works:
1. Designers wishing to participate pay a membership fee to belong to the co-op
2. The co-op dues are used to buy ad space that directs traffic to Ishopindie.com’s
3. That ads bring the customers, who see your lovely products featured on I Shop Indie
4. The customers find what they want, click and are sent to your online shop to make a purchase
What you get with membership:
1. 10 products on any category page of ishopindie.com.
2. One product featured right on the home page, which is the first page our visitors will see when they click on our ads.
3. 2 bonus items can be listed on the “sale” page.
4. Your products will appear on our I Shop Indie until June 30th
5. Your promotions, sales, coupon codes, etc. promoted to our monthly mailing lists, we have over 3,500 opt-in subscribers! You will be able to promote on our lists for our April, May and June issues!
6. Your news, promotions, sales, etc. promoted on I Shop Indie’s Twitter and Facebook accounts until June 30, 2011!
When/Where will I Shop Indie Advertise?
From April 15 though mid-June you’ll see ads for I Shop Indie’s spring season website on several high-traffic sites including Design Sponge, Design is Mine and A Softer World.
What Our Members Have to Say About I Shop Indie:
“I’ve had a lot of traffic, new people signing up for my email list and quite a few sales from the holiday promo, so thanks! Co-op advertising has been successful for me.”
Amber Coppings, Xmittens
“I’ve been very pleased with my participation in the I Shop Indie program so far. It’s been one of the biggest sources of traffic for my shop since I started and it’s led to some definite sales. ”
Mallory Whitfield, Miss Malaprop
“Thank you so much as I Shop Indie has gotten me press coverage with this journalist. Thank you so much. Much appreciated for everything!”
Charmaine Leung, Go Jewelry
How much does membership cost?
Membership will be $99. This includes a full year of appearing on the co-op site, 3 months of marketing on our newsletters and social media pages and all the traffic from our ads that will be running April through June!
Are there any discounts available?
Yes! Pro-rated pricing is now available. Contact me for details.
Space is going to be limited, so reserve early to secure your spot. You can sign up below and I’ll send you an invoice via Paypal.
Sign Me Up!
Sign up right here, and I’ll send you a Paypal invoice so you can secure your spot!
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March 16, 2012
Before I get into today’s links, I wanted to let everyone know my apparel & accessories company, Ex-Boyfriend, is doing a charitable fundraiser for homeless animals. As an animal lover, this is a cause that’s near and dear to me. Anything my readers can do to help would be greatly appreciated! Check out the details on how to help.
Now on to the links…
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March 15, 2012
When we started our business, we were hobbyists. We didn’t make much money and our expenses were minimal. We collected piles of receipts and stuck them in folders for doing our taxes at the end of the year. Fast-forward a few years later and we’ve had to become a lot more meticulous with our accounting and bookkeeping. Here’s how we do it:
1. Update Books Monthly
With a growing business and six figure operating budget, we’ve got to stay on top of what we’re doing with our money. Both for our own information and for tax purposes. As much as we hate doing books (yep, it’s boring and tedious), we make sure to update our books at least once per month. To ensure that we remember to do it, we set a recurring reminder on our calendars so we’re prompted to do it at the beginning of every month.
2. Use Accounting Software
We use Quickbooks online to keep our books in order. We like it because our accountant can easily be granted access at tax time and all our information is stored securely off-site. There’s no danger of losing our records if something happens to a computer in our own office. The cost is minimal and the user interface is intuitive.
3. Banish the Paper
The best thing we’ve done with taming our books is going paperless. Receipts can fade over time, and if you get audited it can go as far back as 7 years. That’s a whole lot of paper! Going digital with our expenses saves us space in our office and filing headaches. Every time a receipt goes into our hands we scan it with an iPhone using ScannerPro. This handy app scans our receipts and stores them in our Dropbox. This means every receipt we need is in one easy-to-access place and can’t be lost or damaged since it’s all stored securely off-site.
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March 14, 2012
I just finished updating Ex-Boyfriend’s Facebook page for the new “timelines” Facebook page format. If you haven’t updated your brand’s Facebook page for the new layout, don’t delay. Facebook will automatically change your Facebook page to a “timeline” style page March 30th. This layout change is a great opportunity to infuse your Facebook page with a new look that reflects your brand. To get your page ready for the switch, here’s what you’ll want to do:
1. Create/Apply Cover Image
The cover image appears at the top of a timelines style Facebook page. You’ll need to create an image that is 850 x 315 pixels. This image can be used to show off your products or the brand’s sense of style. Once you’ve created the image click the “change cover” link to add your new image. (We put a giant T-Rex on our cover image.)
2. Create/Apply Profile Image
The profile image is a slot that already existed on your Facebook page. Just be sure you have a 180 x 180 pixel image in that space. If you want to replace your profile image, click “edit profile picture” to get to the screen to upload a new image.
3. Create/Apply Application Icons
Application icons are the buttons visitors will use to visit the tabs on your Facebook page. Your application icons should be 111 x 74 pixels. To add icons click “edit page” and then click “apps” on the left menu. Click the “edit settings” link under the tab you wish to edit. Next to custom tab image click “change”. You’ll be taken to a screen where you can upload a custom image. Click “change” again and upload your 111 x 74 pixel icon.
Not sure how to make your new Facebook timelines style profile awesome? Here are some really cool ways people have tricked out their new Facebook timeline style pages.
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March 13, 2012
As the weather warms up craft show season begins. Whether you’re doing outdoor markets, comic cons, trunk shows or other live events a mailing list sign up is a valuable tool for your exhibit space. Here’s how we make the most of email gathering when we do live events for Ex-Boyfriend:
At the show:
1. Have an attention grabbing sign up
Not everyone will buy at a live event, but if you capture their email address they might buy online in the future. To make sure you get email addresses from people who like your products, be sure your email sign up is hard to miss. You can decorate it with cute doodles, print it out on hot pink paper, display the sign up on a decorative stand. Be creative, but make sure the sign up sheet is visible to everyone who stops by your booth and checks out your products.
2. Offer an incentive to sign up
You can give people a nudge to join your list by offering an incentive. You can try something like giving out a free 1″ button or vinyl sticker in exchange for their email address. You can entice visitors with the promise of an exclusive coupon code or entry to win a prize. Pick an incentive that makes sense for your fans and make sure visitors see the offer when they see your sign up sheet.
3. Set expectations
A lot of people are wary of giving out their email address and for good reason. No one wants to be spammed or emailed constantly with useless ads. You can address these concerns by setting expectations about your newsletter. Be sure to let visitors know how often you email (weekly, monthly, etc.) and what they can expect in these emails (new product news, coupons, etc.).
After the show:
1. Keep them on a regional or interest-based list
When we get sign ups at live events, we always keep those customers on a mailing list for their event type or region. For example, if we do a craft show in Chicago, we keep those subscribers on a Chicago craft show list. If we do a comic con in New York, we keep those subscribers on a comic con list.
We do this so that we can send those customers alerts about other events where they can find us. We can tell Chicago customers next time we’ll be in their city. We can tell comic con goers about which comic con we’ll be attending next.
2. Send a welcome email
After we do a live event, we always send a welcome email to our new subscribers. This does a few things:
- Gives them a chance to opt out if they decide they do not want our newsletter
- Reminds them that they met us and signed up for our list
- Suggests other ways for new fans to follow us (we include links to our social media accounts and invite our new subscribers to follow us on sites like Twitter, Facebook, etc.)
- Gives the customer a push to buy something if they didn’t purchase at the event. We usually include a coupon in the welcome emails, offering something like free shipping or a discount. That way a customer who didn’t buy at the show or found something they like online that we ran out of at the show has an incentive to buy that item from our website.
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March 12, 2012
Whether you want to check up on the health of your own site, spy on competitors or evaluate a blog to see if it’s worth sending them a sample to review, StatMyWeb is a handy too. Here’s the type of info you can gather about any website:
1. Estimated website traffic
Why this is useful: If it’s a competitor’s site you can get an idea of how their traffic compares to your own. If it’s a site soliciting a product sample for review, you can see if they have enough traffic to make a review on their site worthwhile. If it’s a site you’re considering adding to your press list, you can see if they get enough traffic to make it worth the time it will take to pitch them.
2. What pages are most visited on a site
Why this is useful: If you’re analyzing a competitor site, this might give you an idea of which of their products are most popular. You can use this kind of information to make decisions about your own product development.
3. Keywords a site ranks well for
Why this is useful: If you’re analyzing your own site, it’s important to know what search phrases you rank well for. You want to be sure that those phrases are relevant for what you sell. If you’re looking at a competitor’s site you might be able to get ideas for new key phrases you want to optimize for. You can use information about your own rankings and competitors’ rankings to make tweaks to your site’s search optimization. (Need more SEO help? Check out my free SEO download.)
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March 2, 2012
Below are my favorite reads from around the web this week:
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