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Gift is Unwrapped. Episode 417,

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what would you say is the job of your website?

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If you automatically answer that, it's so you can capture online sales.

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Of course, you're right, but its role can and should be so much more Attention.

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Gifters, bakers, crafters and makers pursuing your dream can be fun.

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Whether you have an established business or looking to start one

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now you are in the right place.

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This is Gift Biz Unwrapped,

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helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.

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Join us for an episode packed full of invaluable guidance,

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resources and the support you need to grow your gift biz.

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Here is your host Gift Biz gal Sue Moon Height.

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Hi there. It's Sue and as always,

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thank you for joining me here today. This episode is gonna be a little bit different than what

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I normally do in my guest spots because I'm gonna share

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with you a presentation that I've taken on the road and

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am often asked to present when I'm out at trade shows.

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I thought it would be valuable to you and answer a

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question that a lot of people struggle with.

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We'll get into that in a minute, but first,

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we've covered so many facets of a handmade product business over

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the course of the years and today is no exception.

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We've talked about how to start and grow your business stories

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from many of you who have done just that.

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How to choose and use social media sites,

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build your website. Oh my gosh,

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there is just so much information here for you,

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but not necessarily at your fingertips.

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So I've made a tool for you that categorizes by topic

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the episodes of this podcast, but only the ones that stay relevant over time because yes,

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let's face it, there are past shows that just don't work anymore for us

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today. The world is changing so fast,

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right? You can use this tool to zero in on whatever

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topic you need at the moment. Do you wanna hear from others in your specific industry?

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How about details on Pinterest or setting up an email strategy?

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You can now easily find the right episodes and create your

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priority listening roster. Consider this your Gift Biz resource center at a glance.

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It's a Google Sheet best viewable on your computer versus your

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phone. Make sure to look on the bottom where there are

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five separate sections for easy topic reference,

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kind of like chapters of a book. It makes finding the shows to help you with what you're

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working on right now. So much easier to access this free resource,

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go to gift biz unwrap.com/topics.

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The biggest misconception of e-commerce,

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it's the idea that putting up a website is the do

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all end all to getting sales online.

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It's really just the beginning, but if you follow this line of thinking,

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don't worry, you're not alone. Many people are shocked when they put so much time into

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getting their website up, designing the perfect layout,

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finally pushing that live button and no sales come in.

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This situation is one I'm often asked to talk about at

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trade shows, given that I decided to record an audio version of my

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presentation on the purpose of your website so that you can

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take advantage of this information too.

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My goal is to get you thinking about your website,

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an overall online presence in a whole new way.

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First, we're going to cover your overall approach to online marketing

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and then talk about the true role of your website and

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what it can and can't do for you.

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Then we'll dive into two strategies for finding and attracting people

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to your site because people first need to know you're there

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before you even have a chance to get sales.

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With regard to your overall approach to online marketing,

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there are two directions people take knowingly or unknowingly.

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The first and most common is multi-channel marketing.

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I'm sure you've heard before the importance of having multiple sales

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channels by example.

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This happens when you sell face-to-face at craft shows and then

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also have a shop online. These would be two different sources from which sales can come

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in. You can have multiple website channels too.

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You may sell direct to consumer on Etsy and also through

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fair for wholesale. Lots of different combinations exist online,

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of course, with multi-channel marketing.

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Each of these is treated as a single entity and works

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independently of the others. Another approach is called omnichannel marketing.

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With this strategy, all channels work together and support each other in unison.

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I'd like to give a visual about the difference between these

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two channels using fruit.

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Multichannel marketing is represented with a number of bowls each containing

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a single different fruit. Strawberries, bananas,

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blueberries, blackberries, pineapple, all in their own bowls With omnichannel marketing,

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your fruit is all mixed together in one big bowl of

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healthy freshness, bright and bold in presentation and flavor.

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Omnichannel marketing is an important concept to understand because when you

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employ this strategy, it results in shoppers spending 15% more per purchase.

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Lifetime value of customers is 30% higher too,

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and brands who sell through multiple channels generate 190% more revenue

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than single channel merchants. That's almost double when you add synergy.

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By having one channel play off another,

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it can be even greater. So there's your definition of multichannel marketing and omnichannel marketing as

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it relates to your overall sales strategy.

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We'll come back to this later. Now let's move on to the role of your website and

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a side note here. When I say your website,

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I'm talking about one that you own, like a shop you would create on Shopify,

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not one controlled through a third party.

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It's under your own company domain and you have full control

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over all facets of its appearance and functionality.

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This is your ultimate goal. Now, it's okay to start with only a single online presence

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through a third party site. I know many of you do,

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but eventually you wanna add your own for the most foundational

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stability for your business. This type of website is what we'll be talking about from

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here on out your own website and how to get the

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most impact and power out of it.

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So in thinking of that, what would you say is the job of your website?

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If you automatically answer that, it's so you can capture online sales.

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Of course you're right, but its role can and should be so much more.

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I want you to think of your website in an entirely

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different way. Think of it as the online headquarters of your company.

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Just as with a physical corporate headquarter building,

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your website can hold all departments just like that.

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Large enterprise. Here are the departments of such a building and how they

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correlate to what you can do online.

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Your reception area is an introduction banner and your about page,

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your public relations department is your schedule for craft shows,

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live, social media links, a culmination of all the articles you've been in,

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so an in the media section and blog articles.

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Customer service is your navigation bars,

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contact us section and q and a page.

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Sales department is products descriptions and your checkout process.

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Your legal department online is your privacy policy and terms of

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use and of course your production department,

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which is product customization,

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order fulfillment and shipping and handling processes.

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Use this as a model for what to include as you

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create or enhance your website. This online headquarters of yours should be the destination to which

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all communication flows.

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Social posts should link to your website where they'd find blog

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articles, product highlights, or other relevant content related to that post sweepstakes or challenges

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that you do should have a pop-up or entry form right

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on your site that you direct people to,

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to sign up, send people to your website for upcoming shows where they can

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meet you in person. And of course the most up-to-date information with lists,

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dates, and locations is on your website and email links too

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should all point there. This means you have to have everything set up there of

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course, but once you do, you can direct people to your site along with reasons why

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it's beneficial for them to go there.

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See and byproducts, get a freebie,

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enter a contest, read an article.

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Remember, you have to invite people to go over to your

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website and the best way to do this is give them

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a reason along with directions to get there,

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which is your url. Of course. Hopefully you have a URL that's simple and easy to remember

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as close to your company name as possible.

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Best is a perfect match and with the.com

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extension, because we all still default to that now,

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how do you find people to direct over to your website?

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We'll talk about two ways to accomplish this.

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The first being building your audience directly and the second tapping

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into others' audiences. I want you to reflect on some of your past purchases.

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How and where did you learn about the product initially?

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Did you see it multiple times before you wanted to know

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more? Was your decision to purchase one product different from the

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way you decided to purchase another? You'll recognize in your own behavior that you follow multiple checkpoints

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and different paths to every order that you place.

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You may be introduced to a bakery shop owner at a

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networking meeting. Then you see a Facebook post from that same business.

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You're curious, so you visit the website,

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then decide to gather there for your next coffee meetup where

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you of course buy your coffee in scone or you find

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a website through Google search, look around a bit and pop off.

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Then an Instagram ad comes up and you decide to purchase

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those earrings you were attracted to initially,

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or you're talking with a friend about getting new shoes for

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an upcoming trip. They recommend a brand that provides exactly what you want and

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they tell you how much they love their shoes done.

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No more looking. You are ready to buy.

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All these examples. Use a different number and type of touchpoint that walk a

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customer to an order. It's kind of like direction signs along a hiking trail.

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If they don't show up as you're walking along at different

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points, you might get lost. Likewise, if you don't use these stepping stones in all sorts

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of places along your sales process, you may at first capture a customer's attention,

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but then they disappear. That's the value of using all sorts of channels in combination

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with each other, and that's why this type of marketing brings the higher results.

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I stated earlier, omnichannel marketing at its best.

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I wanted to pause this discussion for a second to let

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you know that I recognize you may be feeling overwhelmed right

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now. I mean, I bring on great guests who are specialists in their fields

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and we get into fabulous conversations that you know can help

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grow your business. So after the show,

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you have the full intention of grabbing a download,

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making an adjustment on your website or any number of other

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ideas that arise as a result of this podcast,

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but what happens? You get back to your other activities and the momentum you

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once had gets lost. What you've planned to do is forgotten.

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Then you feel bad because your business is going on as

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usual without implementing anything that you know would help grow your

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business. We're just too busy doing all the things like a

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robot moving from one thing to another without thinking because we

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have to. I get it,

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I've been there, but guess what?

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There is another way. Since I recognized this exact behavior in my own business,

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I set out to do something about it and now what

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works for me. I'm sharing with you.

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I formalized the process and it's called the inspired daily planner,

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made specifically for gifters,

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bakers, crafters and makers, but it's not your ordinary planner.

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First off, it comes with a video explaining my productivity strategy.

13:49

Plus it's not dated so you can start using your planner

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the second it arrives at your doorstep and that's not all

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included for each day is a motivational message or business building

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tip and plenty of space to capture and book in time

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for to-dos, schedule appointments and all those other ideas that are now getting

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lost. Think of it as a book and a planner all

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in one, yet compact enough to carry with you and resource as necessary.

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It's the perfect solution to truly act and move your business

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forward. Go to gift biz unwrap.com/inspired

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to get your hard copy planner along with my power of

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purpose video that will set you on the path for true

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business growth. This makes a great gift too,

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so if you have a biz bestie, pick up a planner for them too.

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That link again is gift biz unwrapped.com/inspired.

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Okay, let's get back to the show.

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Let's review six different channels and ideas of what you can

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do with them so you can further understand how they can

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work together for you. These channels are in-person shows,

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social media, networking events,

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email, text messaging and personal connections.

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The saying that the hole is greater than the individual sum

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of its parts comes into play. Here's how to make that happen with these six channels in-person

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events for in-person events,

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direct purchasers to go to your website for subsequent orders.

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Tell them additional sizes and flavors are available online.

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Suggest they follow you on social for seasonal updates and join

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your email list for a first look at limited runs and

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promotions, social media.

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In social media. Add a link in posts to products on your website or

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tag posts, reference back to a blog article or promote a show where

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you'll be displaying and selling product. Better yet,

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post from the show or do a live video to give

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people a true sense of your personality and show them your

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booth. Maybe you'll even get more visitors to that specific show.

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Another great idea, particularly at in-person shows,

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but elsewhere too is to promote another business,

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a fellow chamber member, a craft show booth neighbor or industry partner would be great

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options here. Networking events.

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If you're out at a networking event, invite people to come visit you in your store or go

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to the website for a first time customer discount code or

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suggest they follow you on social media for a peak behind

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the scenes or to see the newest designs email.

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With regard to email, it's very common to incentivize a sale with some type of

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offer and set up an automated abandoned cart message to recapture

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interrupted orders. You can also send post sale thank you notes that include

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bounce back offers also through email.

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Deepen the relationship with your customers through welcome and get acquainted

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campaigns and regular weekly communication works wonders to prompt repeat sales,

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check out recent episodes four 13 and four 15 for a

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wealth of information on this text messages,

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SMS or text messaging adds further customer service enhancements to your

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workflow by answering questions, keeping a customer updated and delivery progress,

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allowing for follow-up feedback or sending promotion notifications,

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personal connections. Finally, don't forget your personal connections,

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people who already know you on a friend level through organization

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affiliations, make great customers.

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Talk about your business in social media, sometimes even in your personal accounts.

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I mean it's a big part of your life, right? Create a refer a friend campaign.

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Tap into or present a fundraiser program for your children's school

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or another club that you belong to,

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and of course remember to talk about lifestyle gifting solutions where

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your products are a match. Birthdays, new baby celebrations,

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graduations, weddings, and the list goes on and on.

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I'm not suggesting that you sell all the time with your

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friends, but when the opportunity arises and you have a gift

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solution, make that known. These are all ways to get more people over to your

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website By activity that you initiate through people you encounter directly

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or already know, they all use the same foundational elements but through different pathways

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depending on where they intersect with you for the first time.

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There's another way to get people's eyeballs over to your website

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too. You won't be able to encounter these potential customers any

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other way, and that's by getting in front of others audiences or communities.

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We'll review three ways to achieve this social media,

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retail placement and online selling platforms.

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What you're doing here is making your presence known to groups

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of people who are brought together by someone else.

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Facebook groups are an excellent place to find these people where

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you see a pool of people who could align with your

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product. Join these groups and become an active member by learning

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the communication style of the group, adding input with questions or suggestions that are helpful and authentic

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and basically getting people to recognize and know who you are.

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Notice I didn't say sell only after you've provided value and

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created connections, should you bring your product into the mix unless someone specifically

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asks about it. That is each Facebook group has different rules of engagement.

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Some are completely selling groups and others aren't,

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so make sure you follow whatever rules exist.

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It will take some trial and error to find the best

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groups, but once you found them,

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it only takes involvement in a few To start seeing sales

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come in. You can do this on Instagram too.

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Tag others in posts or reels with a message that puts

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them in a good light with luck,

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they'll share it to their community to get you in front

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of people you don't know who followed them.

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Collaboration on social is another opportunity.

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Do a live selling show to both of your audiences or

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use the new collab feature on Instagram to provide products and

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services that benefit both audiences.

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If you work out of your house, you may have found it difficult to attract your local community

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even though they're right outside your door. Consider a retail approach approach here.

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I'm not suggesting you open a retail shop,

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but you can partner with someone who does have a storefront.

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Consider wholesale consignment or even artisan co-ops if one is available

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in your area or start one yourself.

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Retail placement gives you the advantage of local visibility with foot

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traffic, but not the costs of all out retail.

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Yes, you pay in margin for wholesale pricing or take the

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chance on consignment, but the cost of promotion and ensuring store traffic is on

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someone else, so it's a trade-off,

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but gets you seen by new people.

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Finally, let's talk about using other's online platforms to increase traffic

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to your own website. This is where other third party storefronts come into play.

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The thing to remember about these various platforms is that each

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one is different. They each come with their own set of costs and rules.

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You don't own your shop there like you do with your

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own website, rather you rent space from them and are subject to any

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global changes they impose, but they aren't bad at all,

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especially when they work in conjunction with having your own site.

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Remember the headquarters of your company each conserve different purposes.

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Take Etsy for example. Currently they have over 96 million active customers all looking specifically

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for handmade products. There are also up and coming handmade platforms like Go Imagine.

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We just did a deep dive into this platform in episode

22:25

412 and other online direct to consumer sites like Amazon and

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eBay. All options for your product placements,

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but again, all work and attract different customer sets.

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On the wholesale side. There's fair with over 600,000

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retailers there looking for new products to stock their shelves.

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It's worth considering if wholesale is in your game plan and

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it gives you the ability to be placed in stores outside

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your immediate area. If you're brand new to wholesale,

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stackable could be your best option. A site specifically for handmade product sellers.

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More on that in episode 387.

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There are pros and cons to others online platforms.

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On one side, there are brand new audiences you have the ability to reach.

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You don't need to include your entire product line,

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but pick and choose which products will be most attractive to

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the various audiences. Well-known sites have built in credibility and functionality and also include

23:27

training and support centers. Balancing the pros are that it will take time to set

23:33

up, become familiar with each of the different programs,

23:36

and learn how best to work each platform based on its

23:39

intricacies. These sites need regular monitoring and adjusting to ensure they

23:44

perform for you too, so it's not like you just set it up and walk

23:47

away. In most cases,

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you don't have access to customer data,

23:52

so it's harder to add them to your own customer list

23:55

to build on those first time purchases,

23:57

and as I mentioned before, you have no control over any changes,

24:02

but that's why you always have your own site too.

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Wow, we've covered a lot here and your head is probably

24:10

spinning. Let me give you an action plan so you can

24:13

take all that you've heard here to upgrade and get more

24:16

people over to your website so it truly works for you.

24:20

You'll probably wanna take this podcast from the top with pen

24:23

and paper in hand. Here's your five step action plan.

24:28

One, think of your website as your online business headquarters and

24:32

add in the departments you feel the most important to your

24:36

online visitors. Two, review the concept of multi and omnichannels so you understand

24:42

the true value with omnichannel marketing.

24:46

Three list on paper, all your own channels as they exist today so you have

24:51

them in front of you. It's time to make some adjustments.

24:56

Four, adjustment number one, strategically connect your existing channels so they don't work independently from

25:02

one another but are co-mingled to give them all more power.

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We just covered a number of ways to do this.

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N five adjustment. Number two,

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add one new sales channel to the mix that will introduce

25:18

your products to a brand new audience.

25:20

Lots of options have been presented here for your picking your

25:25

website. The headquarters of your business should be one you're proud

25:29

of and actively invite people into.

25:32

Your confidence grows when you see increased sales in your stats

25:36

and orders coming in. As a result, your online headquarters works for you 24 7.

25:42

You couldn't have a better employee If you're enjoying the podcast

25:49

and would like to show support. A rating and review is always fabulous because it helps get

25:54

the show seen by more makers. It's a great way to pay it forward and there's another

26:00

way where you can get something tangible in return for your

26:03

support too. Visit my merch shop for a wide variety of inspirational items

26:09

like mugs, journals, water bottles,

26:12

and more featuring logos, images, and quotes to inspire you throughout your day.

26:18

Makes a great gift too, and we've just added some new products for the season to

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the shop. Turnaround is quick and the quality is notch.

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Nothing but the best for you. Take a look at all the [email protected]

26:36

slash shop. All proceeds from these purchases helps go to offset the cost

26:41

of producing the show and now be safe and well and

26:45

I'll see you again next time on the Gift Biz Unwrapped