Archive for August, 2009
Marketing Monday - Brilliant ideas from others
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I thought I’d do something a bit different this week, as it’s the last Monday of the month. This week, I’d like to share with you some of the brilliant things some of the members of Business Mums Network have done to promote their businesses, and why I think they’re brilliant.
Norlin from Baubles, Bubbles and Bags
For our 7th birthday celebrations, we put together party bags to give out. Norlin prepared 20 gifts of jewellery, all wrapped up in tissue paper and inserted in a gold bag. Each participant excitedly opened their gift from Norlin to find a necklace or other piece of jewellery.
Norlin had also donated a prize for the evening - a stunning necklace.
Why this is a brilliant idea - I love this idea because now everyone who attended the dinner are talking about Norlin and Baubles, Bubbles and Bags while showing off their jewellery. They can now see the quality of the jewellery she sells and when looking for gifts, they know Norlin sells beautiful and quality jewellery.
Bernice from Cool Wrappings
Bernice has booked into a lunch we are having on Wednesday. She offered to make up some ribbon to use on the speakers gift. The ribbon arrived last week and is now waiting to be added to the gift. The quality is stunning, and I will take a photo after lunch to show you what it looks like.
Why this is brilliant - As well as posting this on my blog twice, I will also be talking about it at the event, and have already recommended someone talk to her at the lunch about ribbon. Bernice spotted an opportunity and ran with it, and, as a result, is getting word of mouth promotion.
Phil from Station Street Cafe and Wine Bar
When Phil first opened his cafe back in February, the busy station across the road was used as a marketing exercise. He sent out his staff with plates of raisin toast to give the commuters, along with loyalty cards with all but 3 squares punched, so instead of 10 coffee’s, they only had to buy 3 before getting a free one. This worked really well, with many of those commuters regulars for their morning coffee on their way to work.
Why this is a brilliant idea - The existing cafe wasn’t doing too well, so by giving away samples and loyalty cards, Phil was able to introduce the new management as well as start getting their loyalty with the loyalty cards. Once they entered the cafe for their coffee, they were able to see what other food was available.
There are 3 great ideas. If you like these, I will dig out more and share them with you in future weeks.
Hobby to Business - Packaging for sending
Posted by: | CommentsWhen you first started selling online through ebay or your online shop, you probably didn’t think too much about your packaging, and just wrapped things in bubble wrap and put them in an envelope.
Now that you’re turning your hobby into a business, the way you present your products becomes important. What sort of impression do you want people to have of your business when a parcel arrives at your doorstep?
Some suggestions that are easy to implement include:
- Wrap your products in tissue paper that matches your business colours
- Print address lables on stickers with your logo or a custom border to match your business
- Purchase envelopes in your business colours
Turn receiving your items into an experience. Instead of wrapping items in bubble wrap, pack them in a box in your business colours and get some filling to match. Have the item wrapped in tissue paper and done up with some branded ribbon.
If you can, stimulate as many senses as possible. Is there a scent you want associated with your business? You could even include a small chocolate with the package so your customers can taste.
I received an offer today of a sample of branded ribbon from Cool Wrappings for an event we are having next week. Personalised ribbon is a great way to brand your packages as well as a lasting reminder of your business.
Think about your packages and how you send them out. If budget is an issue, start small, maybe by purchasing coloured tissue paper, or printing name lables instead of writing addresses on the envelope. Create a plan for the changes you want and as business picks up, implment your ideas.
On another note, when I get the ribbon for next week, I’ll take a photo so you can see how amazing it looks.
Marketing Monday - Strategic Alliances
Posted by: | CommentsFor many business mums, strategic alliances or joint ventures are a fantastic way to promote your business to a new audience without spending a ton of money.
Recently, I was wasked by Brenda Thomson of Networking World to list some of the strategic alliances I have done since starting in business.
One of the first I did was with Lucie of Kids n More. Kids n More was a parenting site, and Business Mums Network also targetted parents. We joined forces on an expo stand at the Pregnancy, Babies and Children expo when I was pregnant with Zac - around 6 years ago now.
Since then, I have done many other things, including competitions, shared advertisements, expo stands, even the Business Mums Magazine is a strategic alliance!
A successful strategic alliance doesn’t have to cost a lot of money, it can also be creative. The key is finding a Win Win Win situation - for you, your strategic alliance partner, and your customers.
To learn more about strategic alliances, I reccomend joining the Networking World Strategic Alliance Success program. I’m part of this program and it’s wonderful getting tips on how to make alliances really work to grow my business.
I Won! Home Based Business Awards
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I’m still really excited - on Friday night, I won the Business Services Category of the Australian Home Based Business Awards! I honestly didn’t think I would win, but entered anyway.
This is a huge achievement for me, and comes just after celebrating 7 years in business. It is also a much needed confidence boost.
A friend took some photos of the awards presentation, and I’ll share them when they arrive in my inbox. Unfortunately, my trophy broke, so I can’t take a pic of that - but will as soon as the new one arrives.
I’m still really excited, and am now working on a plan to use this win to grow my business.
Hobby to Business - Website
Posted by: | CommentsOne of the first things you need to do is get a professional looking website. Perception is everything, especially if you are in a saturated market and want to stand out from the crowd. A good web developer will be able to create a professional website without losing what it is that makes your business special. They will talk with you about what you want to achieve and what you want your site to look like.
If you are selling on ebay, you may want to open an online shop. If this is not in your budget, then create a professional looking web page that links through to your ebay shop. Even if you open an online shop, you may want to continue selling on ebay.
Think about what you want on your site and how you want it to look. What is it about your business that sets you apart from your competition, and communicate that to your web developer so they can incorporate that into your design.
To help you with your website, here are some business mums who design and develop websites who may be able to help you:
These are all Gold members of the Business Mums Network and will be able to help you with a fantastic website.
Marketing Monday - Your own review ratings
Posted by: | CommentsThis may seem like an odd way to promote your business, but read on…
Over at Cherry Magazine, Anne regularly reviews products and services in the Product Review section. In keeping with the theme of the site, each review is given a Cherry Rating, out of 5 cherries.
I assume Anne sends the cherry rating image to the people she has reviewed for them to add to their site along with a link back to her site - and there lies the value in this marketing.
If you have a blog and are struggling to get content, or you run an information site, this is a good way to promote yourself. If you plan to do reviews, have strict guidelines in place. This could include the types of products, how people send them to you for review and whether or not you will return the products. Make sure you put something in there about there being no guarantee of a review, and let them know about sending them a button with the rating for them to include on their website.
As you publish more reviews, people will start following them and taking up your recommendations, resulting in more people wanting you to review their products and services, and being a trusted entity in your industry. Those little rating buttons will start to become quite valuable!
Hobby to Business - start paying for things
Posted by: | CommentsWhen you are just getting started and are testing the water, operating with all free things is fine. When you want to move your hobby to a business, one of the things you need to do is start paying for things!
Some of the things I suggest you pay for are:
- Mailing list software - there are a lot of cheap options on the market. Sending your newsletter with ads from other people that you have no control over is not a good look. I went into this in my post a few weeks ago, you can read it here.
- Domain name & hosting - move away from the free hosting services and get your own domain and hosting. Again, there are many cheap options on the market. Having your own domain will help people see you as a serious business.
- Packaging - use great packaging for your products, rather than nothing or whatever you can find around the place. You may want to get bags printed with your logo or simply invest in coloured tissue paper to wrap your products in when you send them out.
- Business Cards & other promotional materials - invest in your business and get your promotional material professionally designed and printed. Again, the impact on your image will be huge.
These are just a few things to start paying for. There are others, but I won’t go into them all here - they will be in future posts. These things are an investment in your business and will help show your business in a great light.
What things have you paid for to help your business grow?
What to do with less than perfect products
Posted by: | CommentsIf you create your own products, you may end up with some less than perfect products. They may have a mark on them or some other minor fault that means you’re not 100% happy with them and don’t want to sell them through your business. So, what do you do with them?
I read an excellent suggestion on the Your Cheeky Monkey blog. Monique created a crochet blanket and noticed a mark on one of them while taking a photograph. Instead of throwing it out, she’s putting it to work for her by offering it to a lucky blog reader free, in exchange for a photo of it in use and a review! You can read all about it here.
This is a brilliant idea. Monique is using the second to work for her, instead of just throwing it out or selling an inferior product.
Have you had any other brilliant flashes of inspiration in your business for less than perfect products? Add a comment and share your experiences.
Kids & Business blog carnival
Posted by: | CommentsWelcome to the August 8, 2009 edition of kids and business. This is our first carnival and we only got a couple of submissions. Make sure you get your posts in for next month.
Melissa Khalinsky presents It?s boring! posted at melissakhalinsky.com, saying, “My kids regularly help me with my business. This is them giving me feedback on my website!”
Imogen presents My 200th Post! posted at Inside Out Style Blog, saying, “4 year old Niamh was a guest blogger, demonstrating how to tie a scarf!”
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of kids and business using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Technorati tags: kids and business, blog carnival.
Friday Five - Job Lists for Kids
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If your kids are anything like mine, they love to help with what ever I’m doing. They also often complain about being bored - especially during school holidays.
I’ve come up with a way to keep them busy as well as help me in my business by creating job lists for them and paying them for their work.
This weeks Friday Five report goes into this in more detail, including the sorts of jobs they do and how I reward them for a job well done.
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You can find past Friday Five reports here.
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