Archive for June, 2010
Decorate Your Envelopes
Posted by: | Comments
Make your envelopes stand out
I love seeing fun ideas that people use to make their business stand out from everyone else.
I am a “liker” of Fairy Me by Tarja on Facebook. She shares photos of her amazing creations as well as an announcement and photo of fairies that are heading to a new home. One of the thing I love about these is the envelope she uses.
Each envelope is decorated with shiny stickers of fairies and butterflies. They are normal envelopes from Australia Post, however she adds her own touch to them. If you want to see the photos, go to her fan page and visit the “Fairy Fan Photos” album to see these pictures.
There are many ways you can make your envelopes stand out for delivery. Tania Wright over at Green Room Interiors uses green envelopes to send out her newsletter.
A different coloured envelope can often do the trick, however I love the idea of decorating them too. This is something children can help with - most children love sticking stickers on things.
For Christmas cards, I put Christmas stickers on the envelopes. If you send birthday cards you could do the same thing.
The sort of decoration you use will depend on your business. If you are sending computer equipment, for example, then stickers of fairies and butterflies may not work so well, however they will work if you are sending items to little girls.
Have you decorated your envelopes in a special way to help them stand out? Please share your ideas by adding a comment to this post.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- For your daily dose of business mums websites and blogs, check out Business Mums DailyTake the weekend off
Posted by: | Comments
Enjoy your weekends
I know I normally have a Marketing Monday tip on a Monday, however today is a public holiday - the Queen’s birthday. I wasn’t going to post, however I spotted something on the weekend that had me shaking my head.
On Facebook, I saw a number of business pages posting apologies that they wouldn’t be around as they were spending time with their families!
I have noticed this a lot - many business mums don’t take the weekends off, instead continue to work frantically in their businesses.
Think about it - if you were working for someone else, you wouldn’t be working on the weekend, instead you’d be spending time with the family, doing housework, or whatever else you do on the weekends.
I know of many husbands complaining about Mums spending the whole weekend working, not to mention kids complaining.
So, the point of this post is to remind all the business mums out there to remember to take time out. Take a weekend and enjoy some quality time with your family.
Oh, and a weekend doesn’t have to be Saturday/Sunday. I know of some business mums who have husbands who do shift work and have Sunday/Monday as their weekend.
Depending on your business, you may need to be at a market or do a party plan presentation on weekends, just don’t let these take up all weekend every weekend. Take some weekends off and enjoy them!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- For your daily dose of business mums websites and blogs, check out Business Mums DailyFriday Five - Craft & Hobbies
Posted by: | Comments
It’s been a while since I’ve done a Friday Five promoting some business mums, so I thought I’d do that today. All these businesses are listed in the Business Mums Directory.
As business mums, it is important that we take time out for ourselves. Having a hobby is a great way to relax and unwind, and take time out. Whatever your hobby is, it must be something you enjoy or are interested in.
Here are 5 businesses that sell craft and hobby items.
- Crafty Mamas - not only do they have an online shop that sells a range of patterns and craft supplies, they also have an active community where you can connect with other Mums who love love all things craft.
- Craft Candy - if you love scrapbooking, this is a great site to visit. This is another site that has a message board where you can connect with others who love scrapbooking, as well as having a range of scrapbooking supplies.
- Dreamit-Createit - this is another paper craft site that has an online shop with supplies. They also have some fantastic project ideas for card making, scrapbooking, and other projects. These are available free, so if you are looking for a project, check them out.
- Scrapbook Supplies Online - another scrapbook supplies provider. This site has a wide range of products and you can shop either by type or by brand. They also pride themselves on low prices and fast delivery.
- The Needlework Boutique - for a change in theme, if you are in to needlework then this is the site to visit. They have a wide range of charts and threads as well as an annual stitching retreat.
I hope you find these suppliers useful and can take some time out to look after yourself and do a hobby you enjoy.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- For your daily dose of business mums websites and blogs, check out Business Mums DailyGreat tips for business mums
Posted by: | Comments
I love it when others have written some great tips that I can share with you. I’m a big believer in not re-inventing the wheel, so when someone else has written a great article, I want to share it with you.
Over the last couple of days, I’ve had 2 articles sent to me that I thought would be good for you to read too.
The first is 10 Tips for Moms Who Run Businesses. Yes, this is an article from the US. There are 10 great tips here, including making sure you look after yourself, something many of us forget to do.
The second is Avoiding the mumpreneur pitfalls, an article from Flying Solo. There are 5 great tips here, including a warning about putting unrealistic expectations on yourself and what to do with things go wrong.
Both these articles are worth reading and applying the tips that are relevant to you. I found them useful and I’m sure you will too.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- For your daily dose of business mums websites and blogs, check out Business Mums DailyAdding an Invite Tab to your Facebook Page
Posted by: | Comments
Inviting your friends is easy
Are you all for making it easier for people to follow you on Facebook and invite their friends? Tina Gray over at Tina Gray {dot} Me is. She has set herself a challenge to learn 101 things in 1001 days, and one of those things was to learn how to add an “invite friends” tab on her facebook page. You can read her post here.
She has generously posted the instruction on how to do this on her blog and you can follow these instructions here.
I’m not one for re-inventing the wheel, so I’ll leave this at that. Adding an invite friends tab is easy, especially if you follow Tina’s fabulous instructions. One of the things I like about the tab is the friends box is much bigger than if you use the “Suggest to Friends” link, and the tab also stands out much more than the link, encouraging your “likers” to invite their friends to join your page.
Thank you Tina for sharing the instructions 
Edited to add: it looks like Tina has removed that post from her blog.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- For your daily dose of business mums websites and blogs, check out Business Mums DailyMarketing Monday - Directories with a niche
Posted by: | Comments
I have talked about listing your business in online directories a lot - they can increase your search engine rankings as well as get your business in front of your target market, if it is a directory where your target market hangs out.
Creating a directory on your website or blog is also a great marketing tool for you as businesses who want to list there will find you in searches. It can also be an additional income source for you.
In my travels, I came across this directory for Cupcake Bakeries. This directory came about because the owners of the site love cupcakes. Along with some of the listings, the site owners have written reviews of some of the bakeries.
In this instance, instead of creating a general directory, this one has a specific niche. People who are looking for cupcakes will find this directory, and those who sell cupcakes will also find it and want to list in it.
If you are looking for something else to add to your site or blog, and/or are looking for another income stream for your business, adding a directory could be a good way to do it.
Is there something you are passionate about or your customers are passionate about, like cupcakes? Whatever you choose, have it broad enough to get listings, but narrow enough to be different from other directories out there.
Do you have a niche directory on your site?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- For your daily dose of business mums websites and blogs, check out Business Mums DailyFriday Five - Cool blog add ons
Posted by: | CommentsI have been looking around at some cool blog add ons that I’ve seen around the place. These can enhance your blog to help you promote your business and your blog. These are five I’ve been playing with recently.
- LinkWithin - This is one add on I’ve seen on a lot of blogs and have only just added. This goes through and finds related stories to recommend to your readers. It is very easy to add and activate and the plugin will do the rest. It will look at past posts and recommend them to your readers. All you need to do is make sure that any products you recommend or reports you have for sale are still current.
- Signature - A while ago I discovered a signature plug in. This works the same way as a signature in your emails or on a forum by adding a block of text to each post. I use this to promote my other sites & blogs, driving traffic from here to there. It is also useful if you are having a sale or promotion for your business. The one I am using is called FT Signature Manager.
- Akismet - this is a plugin that comes standard with WordPress and is a great one to stop spam comments. If you are using Wordpress and don’t have this activated, then activate it. It saves so many spam comments.
- Biz Directory - I added a directory to my blog following last years Blog Awards. It is a great way for me to promote some of my favourite blogs as well as a place where other blog owners can promote their blogs. I’ve got it set up so that I approve any links before they are live, meaning I can make sure they are all blogs by business mums.
- InLinkz - If you want to do link ups or create your own blog carnival, then this is a useful site. I found it through the Childhood 101 link up. It’s free to use and you simply add in a bit of code to the end of your post so your visitors can add in their links in response to your question or challenge.
I hope you enjoy these cool add ons and find that one or more of them will enhance your blog. Most of these are for Wordpress as that is the platform I use and know.
What are some of your favourite add ons for your blog? Please tell us about them, and when you add your comment, let us know whether they are for Wordpress, Blogger or another blogging platform.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- For your daily dose of business mums websites and blogs, check out Business Mums DailyProduct information - blog about it
Posted by: | Comments
Blog about your products & give readers more information
Time for another blog topic idea. I have been thinking about blog topics quite a bit lately as I’ve been putting together some new reports for my site.
One thing to use your blog for is to give customers more information on your products. In most online shops, the product description box has a limited size and you may not be able to include as much information as you would like. This is a a great way you can use your blog.
Create a blog post or four about your products. Some of the information to include could be:
- Why you chose that product to stock
- Reviews and testimonials from customers
- Ways customers can use that product
- Video instructions
I’m sure you can think of your own ideas too. Make sure you include a link from the product description to any blog posts you have so shoppers can read more if they are interested. Also include a link from your blog posts to the item in your shop so your readers can buy it.
If you are stocking someone else’s products, you may find that people are searching for more information on that product and landing on your blog.
One blogger that has done this really well is Monique over at Your Cheeky Monkey. Her recent post about Cuski Comforters is a perfect example of a product information blog post.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- For your daily dose of business mums websites and blogs, check out Business Mums DailySales club
Posted by: | Comments
Boost sales with a Sales Club
Do you sell something that is consumable and people will need/want regularly? You may want to consider adding a “Sales Club” to your list of products.
Generally a sales club works by customers subscribing to the club an paying monthly, and each month you send them a package of whatever the products are.
One example I have seen recently is the Oz Material Girls website with their Bag Club. Every month, members receive a pattern and fabric to make up a bag.
A Sales Club can help you with cash flow as you will know how many members there are in the club and how much they are paying. It can also help when ordering in stock, and you may be able to get a better price from your suppliers as you will have a guaranteed minimum to order each month.
When setting your price, make sure you take the postage of the items into account so you aren’t out of pocket. You may also want to plan out the items you are including over a 12 month period and have an average price each month, especially if the products you are sending vary in price.
Some ideas for sales club could include:
- Earrings
- Thread for cross stitch or embroidery
- Fabric for quilting
- Hair clips/accessories
- Beads
- Ribbon
- Recipe
- Book
Essentially pick something that your customers like and buy regularly anyway. Having a sales club can help them buy from you regularly without having to think about it.
Give your customers an idea of when you will be sending the items so they can expect their parcel. For example, it may be the second week of the month. This way, you can check to ensure the monthly payments have arrived before you post out the parcels.
Depending on what you are sending, if you have a lot of parcels, you may be able to get a discount on your postage and packaging. It is worth talking with Australia Post about this.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- For your daily dose of business mums websites and blogs, check out Business Mums Daily