CASH.....if you take cash dont put it in the drawer until you have given them their change...... if someone gives me a 20$ i touch it and pull it back towards me...but leave it insight....on the counter...and then get their change....and saying thats 15 out of 20....
DONT PROMISE ANYTHING...keep your promises as low as possible.... dont say i will call if we ever get that...unless you really have a system to make you call in the future...maybe the far future....THEY REMEMBER EVERYTHING...
THEY HEAR EVERYTHING....so watch your talk
SPEAK AND MAKE EYE CONTACT......besides all the other good reasons its supposed to cut down on theft...
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
sale theory
this whole week has been extra slow....my theory is that they got their postcard monday about our february sale so they are waiting for the weekend!!!
that seems to be right and thats why i try and get the announcement out as late as possible....the sale is annual...but the dates change a little...
mainly we have spent the week flluffing the store, putting tags on every piece of furniture, getting the half price areas right, etc etc.... the better we prepare the better we do.....
for half price i look at
old merchandise for sure,
also things i wont be reordering,
things that i wouldnt have ordered if i saw them in person,
tail ends...
then in general its a storewide sale...
its a real sale....and they know it... most of my customers have to make a fairly big effort, in miles and time , to come, so we try to make it worth it...
the cost of this sale is about 1000$ in stamps, and ads and food on the days and a little extra help....so about 2000$
this one is easy compared to the other 3..
.garden party,
yardsale,
and holiday openhouse....
that seems to be right and thats why i try and get the announcement out as late as possible....the sale is annual...but the dates change a little...
mainly we have spent the week flluffing the store, putting tags on every piece of furniture, getting the half price areas right, etc etc.... the better we prepare the better we do.....
for half price i look at
old merchandise for sure,
also things i wont be reordering,
things that i wouldnt have ordered if i saw them in person,
tail ends...
then in general its a storewide sale...
its a real sale....and they know it... most of my customers have to make a fairly big effort, in miles and time , to come, so we try to make it worth it...
the cost of this sale is about 1000$ in stamps, and ads and food on the days and a little extra help....so about 2000$
this one is easy compared to the other 3..
.garden party,
yardsale,
and holiday openhouse....
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
reps
this is a post from www.giftshopforum.com by www.moodswingsonthenet.com
i thought she made some great points..
Reps should be helpful, curteous, take notes, know where the product is being sold into close to your store and know the top ten selling items in each of their lines and be willing to go the extra mile. These are some of the qualities I find in a rep that is working hard to sell lines in AND keep the line successful. It is one thing for a rep to push a line and then you can't retail it and they say, "oh well, buy more and that will get it moving." There is also nothing worse than a rep who says, "such-and-such down the road re-orders this line daily..." when you are struggling to keep it moving. However, I have had the experience that indeed buying more does work sometimes, when you have a plan. Reps are the sounding boards of the market. They shop your competition daily and typically have ideas about display work. This is what I ask of my reps...1) Please put any catalogs from newly acquired lines in the mail to me within a week. 2)Show me all your lines and don't assume what I will or won't buy. 3)Work quickly, both of our time is money. 4) Email me specials at any time they occur. 5) When I place an order with a company that is new to me and has a very long wait time tell me. (we pre-pay everything, but the money is still ear marked for that vendor) 6) Take care of me and I will take care of you, ensuring that all orders I place are sent to you. In exchange my order will be processed within 24 hours and you will let me know which items are out of stock so I know what to expect for displays. I feel it really helps to establish expectations in advance. If a rep doesn't follow through with my expectations or let me know why they can't, I place orders direct. Placing orders direct doesn't sit well with sales managers and principals of rep groups. Why? Some vendors don't pay a full commission if the order is direct, also the sales managers and principals want to know why that rep isn't meeting the needs of their customers. Working as a sales rep is hard work, and only the best make money and survive, no...thrive. Most reps do not get paid for gas/mileage, and almost all work on 100% commission, which by the way is about 7.50%. The principal of the rep group gets about 7.5% and the rep gets the other 7.5%. So if a rep makes $7.50 for every $100.00 order or $75.00 for every $1,000.00 on average. In order to make a $1,050.00 paycheck gross, they have to sell $14,000.00. (I am speaking in general using general industry percentages) They often pay for hotel expenses out of pocket and meals for sure. Don't expect them to buy your coffee, they have to pay for it. If you are having trouble, "connecting" with your rep and it is a line that you want/need, ask to speak to the principal of the group. (There are several types of reps and the group I am using as an example, rep many independent gift lines)Another note; you should repsect their time when you have an appointment with them. Provide a spot to work where they can show samples and the two of you have room to flip through catalogs. Consider it a business meeting because it is. Value their time and they will value yours. Take notes, be ready to make buys by knowing what your open-to-buy is, and or what type of lines or products you are seeking. Don't answer your phone if possible. I have found early morning appointments before the store opens work well and provides for uninterrupted conversation. Kind of a scattered post but my biggest kudo is to the reps that lead me to lines that sell well and we have both made money from selling. Peace,
i thought she made some great points..
Reps should be helpful, curteous, take notes, know where the product is being sold into close to your store and know the top ten selling items in each of their lines and be willing to go the extra mile. These are some of the qualities I find in a rep that is working hard to sell lines in AND keep the line successful. It is one thing for a rep to push a line and then you can't retail it and they say, "oh well, buy more and that will get it moving." There is also nothing worse than a rep who says, "such-and-such down the road re-orders this line daily..." when you are struggling to keep it moving. However, I have had the experience that indeed buying more does work sometimes, when you have a plan. Reps are the sounding boards of the market. They shop your competition daily and typically have ideas about display work. This is what I ask of my reps...1) Please put any catalogs from newly acquired lines in the mail to me within a week. 2)Show me all your lines and don't assume what I will or won't buy. 3)Work quickly, both of our time is money. 4) Email me specials at any time they occur. 5) When I place an order with a company that is new to me and has a very long wait time tell me. (we pre-pay everything, but the money is still ear marked for that vendor) 6) Take care of me and I will take care of you, ensuring that all orders I place are sent to you. In exchange my order will be processed within 24 hours and you will let me know which items are out of stock so I know what to expect for displays. I feel it really helps to establish expectations in advance. If a rep doesn't follow through with my expectations or let me know why they can't, I place orders direct. Placing orders direct doesn't sit well with sales managers and principals of rep groups. Why? Some vendors don't pay a full commission if the order is direct, also the sales managers and principals want to know why that rep isn't meeting the needs of their customers. Working as a sales rep is hard work, and only the best make money and survive, no...thrive. Most reps do not get paid for gas/mileage, and almost all work on 100% commission, which by the way is about 7.50%. The principal of the rep group gets about 7.5% and the rep gets the other 7.5%. So if a rep makes $7.50 for every $100.00 order or $75.00 for every $1,000.00 on average. In order to make a $1,050.00 paycheck gross, they have to sell $14,000.00. (I am speaking in general using general industry percentages) They often pay for hotel expenses out of pocket and meals for sure. Don't expect them to buy your coffee, they have to pay for it. If you are having trouble, "connecting" with your rep and it is a line that you want/need, ask to speak to the principal of the group. (There are several types of reps and the group I am using as an example, rep many independent gift lines)Another note; you should repsect their time when you have an appointment with them. Provide a spot to work where they can show samples and the two of you have room to flip through catalogs. Consider it a business meeting because it is. Value their time and they will value yours. Take notes, be ready to make buys by knowing what your open-to-buy is, and or what type of lines or products you are seeking. Don't answer your phone if possible. I have found early morning appointments before the store opens work well and provides for uninterrupted conversation. Kind of a scattered post but my biggest kudo is to the reps that lead me to lines that sell well and we have both made money from selling. Peace,
store display ..
this is what we calla great display piece.... its about 7 ft tall and 4 ft wide.
..big and dramatic enough
to be a good focal point ..
we made it out of 2 big old doors,
with iron brackets holding up the shelves.
.and nice 100 yr old legs holding up the base...
you can see things from all angles.... its strong enugh to nail into or even add brackets on the sides....
this one sold the second day out.....
they run from 200 to 400$ ...
at knee level it sticks out an extra foot..
..so something tall can sit there...
we use these all over the store..
.this one was grungy white with robin egg blue over it.... we had it filled with birds and brown nests and candleholders etc...
these have sold to all kinds of stores, from spas to florists to lots of very nice gift stores...
it works great...
it joins old and new in a modern way...
Saturday, February 16, 2008
ikky situation and tolerance
today a nice young boy was playing with a 45$ b b gun and i took it away from him and kind of explained to the dad i didnt want him playing with it....i hate kids handeling my stuff...its expensive and not for kids....
the nice boy was with 2 families who came with a trailer, had driven about 3 hrs to come to our store, stayed about 4 hours and spent about 2000$...i didnt know this at the time!!!......the little crisis passed and it became obvious that these people loved our stuff and were here to buy....
. i felt kind of pathetic...and real thankful that the parents didnt get huffy about the gun...usually when i step in like that the parents get mad.... thankfully these didnt...the moms were great and loved what they got...
the last time this happened was witha 100$ fragile charlie mc carthy puppet..nice and big and really fragile,,,..the little girl was playing with it and had handled things all over the store.... i took it away..and the mom just had a fit....
thankfully this doesnt happen very often...
the nice boy was with 2 families who came with a trailer, had driven about 3 hrs to come to our store, stayed about 4 hours and spent about 2000$...i didnt know this at the time!!!......the little crisis passed and it became obvious that these people loved our stuff and were here to buy....
. i felt kind of pathetic...and real thankful that the parents didnt get huffy about the gun...usually when i step in like that the parents get mad.... thankfully these didnt...the moms were great and loved what they got...
the last time this happened was witha 100$ fragile charlie mc carthy puppet..nice and big and really fragile,,,..the little girl was playing with it and had handled things all over the store.... i took it away..and the mom just had a fit....
thankfully this doesnt happen very often...
good info for online
just found this site.. http://www.junctionjournal.com/ kind of good info for any business but aimed at on line....
real down to earth and you can tell she has had a lot of experience....
real down to earth and you can tell she has had a lot of experience....
Friday, February 15, 2008
mindmapping
ive gotten some good insights from it....very relaxing and deep...
other times it just seems silly and pointless....
.but you might give it a try....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map
other times it just seems silly and pointless....
.but you might give it a try....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map
Thursday, February 14, 2008
january and february
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january and february are so great.....
..starting with making resolutions for the coming year..
.a good time to look back on the past year and take lots of notes, about all the good thngs and also what went wrong , what we could change..
..i try for lots of talk about the year and what to do different.....dh gets all our numbers out...with charts!!! so nice...and lots of good discussions with him...
..
i try to get everybodies input, from my favorite discussion place, country busines, to dh and jon and whoever will talk about business with me.
...my feeling for the year is ...its going to be tough so i want to be real careful and get some good things going..
and keep our prices as low as posssible......
..
..this year we .......
.. actually reset lots of areas of the store...i so believe in this...but its a lot of work...and often it doesnt get done....but this year we did better than usual...fluffed the foo foo...went deep into key west, complertelly changed the antique dishes, have great plans for the garden gazing balls and fountains...
..... did the 80/20 thing, to help figure out what to carry.. and then studied the chicago gift show website and then went to chicago and bought like crazy....hopefully lots of things the buyers will like..
..
......finally got the blog thing going... in january i really had the time to go thru the horrible learning parts...im still at a loss on lots of parts of this...but its kind of perfect for me...lots of little parts that i can do in snippets of time....my dil...terri...set the 2 blogs up in just a few minutes... amazing!!! now im kind of hooked...and hoping to get some good content on them....the other one is http://www.magpiecottage.blogspot.com
..
.....also have worked on the wholesale part of our business...mainly making flyers and direct mail..... we have the right stuff, imho, but we are in the economically depressed cornbelt...and dont plan on moving....we live in a woods and have the grandkids across the street..and an established 28 yr store still going strong, .so somehow we have to keep getting buyers to come to us....
..
also found some new places on the internet.
.new chat, new forums, new ideas,
..
business and weather has been horrible for most of january..
..
.. but im happy with all the stuff ive gotten done..
.and im definitely trying to stay hopeful for the spring and the new year....
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
sale problems
this is always a little delimma....our big feb sale is about a week away...... we want to talk it up in the store...on the other hand we could be talking someone out of buying right now...the customer easily thinks well i wil just wait....
so this years solution is ...we arent mentioning it much but this weekend we will have flyers about the sale in every bag....
and they should get their postcard in the mail about the sale next monday...and an email announcement if they are on the email list....
so this years solution is ...we arent mentioning it much but this weekend we will have flyers about the sale in every bag....
and they should get their postcard in the mail about the sale next monday...and an email announcement if they are on the email list....
Thursday, February 7, 2008
display
we divide our store up into different categories..
the foo foo
the prim
the good oak
the white shabby/cottage elegant
the rough room
etc etc....
each section has a chance to shine...you just couldnt put a group of old crocks and a copper boiler and a crazy quilt next to all this pretty white.........
if someone loves prim they dont even venture into the foo foo room... if they love antiques they know where to go when they come to the store....
this picture shows an old buffet rehabbed and painted with our white combination......usually about 220$ for a small one like that..
..the mirror is from a fabulous victorian dresser...long separated....also painted white... about 200$
this separation of categories makes every section more dramatic imho...and shows its parts in its natural habitat.....
what were they thinking?
a friend of mine had a husband with an antique store...she put in a darling little boutique within his store....special things she had made ...BUT when i came to see, there was hardly anything there.....she had almost all put on layaway....leaving her with no inventory and no money......and her dh was tripping over it in the back room.... and the paper work....
in the auction world, where we started our business, there is no credit and little whining...its all , as is ,where is and pay immediately...and if its broke, tough luck..,
..so we always needed ready money.... . and learned to eat our mistakes...
all this helped make good strong policies for our store...
if we cant do something right and mostly hassle free we dont even go there....
our mark up is average or low...so tons of service just cant be in the price...we dont want to be a service business.... we want to be a cash and carry business..
..we have always had no credit, no layaways, no special orders, almost no deliveries and it works great!!!
no one owes us money, no one is avoiding us out of embarrassment, we arent storing unpaid for merchandise... we arent sending out dreary notices of failure to pay....we arent turning down a sale because someone put 5$ down on something.... these policies have saved us all kinds of troubles...
just a simple delivery can take hours..been there with jon and the innocent little old ladies!!! ..
you get a nice young guy big and strong, in a house with a little old lady with no family and he can end up moving huge stuff for her....could you just take this upstairs for me...etc etc.......its hard to refuse....... the one im thinking of actually called jon a few weeks later because there was an opposum hiding in her basement...he went..... she gave him cookies...
all our inventory is either sold and paid for or for sale.
and the customers accept it easily.....even if its a little unusual...
we get tricked into teeny lay aways once in a while...like if they call at night and say they want something and will we hold a day or 2...we do that...but even those can go wrong....
all our inventory is either sold and paid for or for sale.
and the customers accept it easily.....even if its a little unusual...
we get tricked into teeny lay aways once in a while...like if they call at night and say they want something and will we hold a day or 2...we do that...but even those can go wrong....
im on country business retailer forum....and whenever the lay away subject comes up there are horror stories ....
Monday, February 4, 2008
cold here
its a beautiful snowy day here....these are our winter girls...an old photo i got for dh....we use them for a fun handout , or to announce something....its a nice instore ad....like announcing our openhouse...or just happy holidays...they are probably from the 1920s
.the old guys like it...and we hear a lot of which one is you ..etc etc....
lots of smiles...
working on a niche
heres my summer plot..
we have a pretty good niche going.... porches, patios and gardens....
this year im hoping to expand it quite a bit.....so far i have got fountains, gazing balls, outdoor clocks, added......its a good niche for us and we have the customers already for all things garden and outside......... you just never know when you order what walmart or lowes will have in the same line, for a different price...
but hey, we are a lot more fun than walmart.... i just dont want 38$ gazing balls if the same quality is all over the place for 20$...
in this economy going for a stronger niche seems better than spreading out into new territory.. my customers love garden and outside things....just wish i could get a plant person in...who would do all the work!!!
we had plants for 2 weeks last year at our garden party, they are waaaay too much work....
in my head , im hearing a fountain inside...i think that would be a great display...
we have a pretty good niche going.... porches, patios and gardens....
this year im hoping to expand it quite a bit.....so far i have got fountains, gazing balls, outdoor clocks, added......its a good niche for us and we have the customers already for all things garden and outside......... you just never know when you order what walmart or lowes will have in the same line, for a different price...
but hey, we are a lot more fun than walmart.... i just dont want 38$ gazing balls if the same quality is all over the place for 20$...
in this economy going for a stronger niche seems better than spreading out into new territory.. my customers love garden and outside things....just wish i could get a plant person in...who would do all the work!!!
we had plants for 2 weeks last year at our garden party, they are waaaay too much work....
in my head , im hearing a fountain inside...i think that would be a great display...
good info
some good info on here . http://www.startupnation.com/index.asp ....lots of good insight on growing your business.... its mostly for start ups...but some good for established stores too...
i found this place thru a post on the country business retailer forum... http://www.sampler.com/ME2/Apps/DiscussionBoard/default.asp
you have to register to get on the retailer part...you cant see the good parts unless you register..
i found this place thru a post on the country business retailer forum... http://www.sampler.com/ME2/Apps/DiscussionBoard/default.asp
you have to register to get on the retailer part...you cant see the good parts unless you register..
Saturday, February 2, 2008
showcases cottage style
these showcases
we made
from old
windows
and
other old parts
....
prices run
$170 to$250 .
.each one
is different.
they have a door
on the back...
they could be lit...
glass shelves
on some...
we made
from old
windows
and
other old parts
....
prices run
$170 to$250 .
.each one
is different.
they have a door
on the back...
they could be lit...
glass shelves
on some...
Friday, February 1, 2008
chicago gift show.....
as you can see we need nice dark country and nice pale foo foo for our store
......
so we love going to
the chicago gift show at the merchandise mart in january.... where we bought a big part of our spring merchandise.......we stayed 2 days......and still didnt see the whole show... ....i know lots prefer atlanta...but its too far for us ...and we found plenty at chicago...
the website for the show lets you really explore it before going....and belonging to someplace like the country sampler retailer forum gives you a lot of background on a lot of different companies which helps you sift thru everything at the show........
i like the show a lot...
. reps cause a lot of problems....for me , if they come to me they will go into town and try to sell there too , and then the chances of a certain other shop and me having the same thing is increased...i like the other shop a lot....but we dont really want to have the same things...and we dont check in with each other on every order... ....waaaay too much trouble.
..i have a couple of reps that i depend on a lot and who are great to work with....but overall i prefer the shows... and catalogs...
if you have a girly modern shop.....chicago had a whole floor of urban, jewelry , and foo foo stuff for you to pick from...im glad i didnt have to choose jewelry or bags...there was so much....
i needed lots of garden and didnt find enough......we stayed at the holiday inn , hooked onto the mart and that was nice and easy..... we stayed 2 days...
the next show is in the summer.....
my orders will start coming in any day now...
so we love going to
the chicago gift show at the merchandise mart in january.... where we bought a big part of our spring merchandise.......we stayed 2 days......and still didnt see the whole show... ....i know lots prefer atlanta...but its too far for us ...and we found plenty at chicago...
the website for the show lets you really explore it before going....and belonging to someplace like the country sampler retailer forum gives you a lot of background on a lot of different companies which helps you sift thru everything at the show........
i like the show a lot...
. reps cause a lot of problems....for me , if they come to me they will go into town and try to sell there too , and then the chances of a certain other shop and me having the same thing is increased...i like the other shop a lot....but we dont really want to have the same things...and we dont check in with each other on every order... ....waaaay too much trouble.
..i have a couple of reps that i depend on a lot and who are great to work with....but overall i prefer the shows... and catalogs...
if you have a girly modern shop.....chicago had a whole floor of urban, jewelry , and foo foo stuff for you to pick from...im glad i didnt have to choose jewelry or bags...there was so much....
i needed lots of garden and didnt find enough......we stayed at the holiday inn , hooked onto the mart and that was nice and easy..... we stayed 2 days...
the next show is in the summer.....
my orders will start coming in any day now...
what are they thinking?
heres a story from one of my wholesale customers.... that has her very irritated...
.she rents about 4 booths in a big mall....they have upped the rates this year, even tho sales are slow..... the work crew isnt friendly at all and mostly huddles at the counter....her theft last year was about 3000$...she sells some cloth tablecloths and quilts....which the customers mess up.... the mall never helps out there...but they have a wattage allowance and go in and turn off her bulbs.....she was told that she was the highest seller in the mall....thus a good draw for the mall i would think..shes dropping booths and maybe even leaving.....
..so in these tough times the mall raised the rates...and tons of their renters are leaving....
im thinking the opposite...its tough times and i better keep my prices as reasonable as possible....
.she rents about 4 booths in a big mall....they have upped the rates this year, even tho sales are slow..... the work crew isnt friendly at all and mostly huddles at the counter....her theft last year was about 3000$...she sells some cloth tablecloths and quilts....which the customers mess up.... the mall never helps out there...but they have a wattage allowance and go in and turn off her bulbs.....she was told that she was the highest seller in the mall....thus a good draw for the mall i would think..shes dropping booths and maybe even leaving.....
..so in these tough times the mall raised the rates...and tons of their renters are leaving....
im thinking the opposite...its tough times and i better keep my prices as reasonable as possible....
our website.....
we have a brick and mortar store and really dont have the time or interest in selling on the web...... but the website still helps us a lot.. http://www.greenoakantiques.com/ .its mainly just a big picture display.... my dh and daughter in law, terri, did it....my part was standing over their shoulder till it looked ok....
. just having all the pictures on it gives a person contemplating a trip to see us a good idea of what we have......
also it makes us seem more in the modern world...
i like the pictures most of all....and also the idea of content....we have our paint recipe on the site and i get thanked for it all the time.... im always looking for more good content ideas....like maybe the patent numbers and what date they mean..
.im looking for more ideas along this line...just useful things that would make the site a good place to go....
another part i think gets a lot of attention is the now in page...we try to update it about every month...... and also we put our calendar on the site...so they know when the events are...
it is easy for our site to get big and messy and kindof out of control...kind of like the rough room and the back porch right now ....
. just having all the pictures on it gives a person contemplating a trip to see us a good idea of what we have......
also it makes us seem more in the modern world...
i like the pictures most of all....and also the idea of content....we have our paint recipe on the site and i get thanked for it all the time.... im always looking for more good content ideas....like maybe the patent numbers and what date they mean..
.im looking for more ideas along this line...just useful things that would make the site a good place to go....
another part i think gets a lot of attention is the now in page...we try to update it about every month...... and also we put our calendar on the site...so they know when the events are...
it is easy for our site to get big and messy and kindof out of control...kind of like the rough room and the back porch right now ....
for you web workers...
i found this somewhere..the small business forum i think......and thought it had really good ideas for anyone working on marketing their website.......
I have a website http://helpwithyouressay.com/ ; well actually my two partners and I have a website. We have been working on this for about four months. It’s a free information educational website. We finally launched it a few weeks ago.In my real job I work in the afternoon, so this gives me time in the morning to work on my own site. After I take the kid to his little nursery, I come home, make coffee and sit in front of the computer till its time to pick him up.Oh boy it can be frustrating! I want massive traffic to my site but dear lord HOW? Every day I find another article that will tell me “how to…” Everyday I will discover a new website…. then I find myself just sitting in from of the computer flipping through sites, watching some videos on You Tube , checking my email, checking the news…..Until I decided enough is enough! It hit me…I want to share with you the knowledge I have gathered about marketing from this stuff. Not that I’m a pro, but I have some experience you might learn from.I found that a web marketer should focus on creating two kinds of traffic: short term and long term.Short Term TrafficWhat is short term traffic? This is building up visitors, sending someone and email, posting on a yahoo group, craigslist – I do this to continue the steady flow of traffic to my site. When I send someone an email [from my own personal email contacts – over 300 people] they will usually click on the link, visit the site a page or two and then move one. In some cases they will bookmark the site if they like it. However, usually the email gets lost in their account. Same thing with posting on a related yahoo group – it gets lost after a few days with all the messages being posted on that group. The pluses, though, of short term traffic are that the site gets exposed to lots of people, some of whom might become regular visitors. And all visitors might click on an ad.Long Term TrafficWhat is long term traffic? This is building up an audience around your website. This means that you need to invest a little more time in some areas – and yes its hard but its worth it in the long run. Get involved in a social network like myspace or facebook. It means making friends on the web via internet forums and when I talk about internet forums I am saying is that you shouldn’t just post things like “I have a new site! Visit my site today! here is the link!” - You know what that is? That’s called being an internet jerk. The whole idea of a forum is where people can share information with one another , information that is helpful. Get involved in some forums and share your knowledge with the world. Most forums allow you to put your URL as your signature. If you share your valuable information – people will trust you, they will become your followers. I have some “gurus” on the internet. I have never met them. They share such wonderful information that I almost every time visit their websites [and click on one of their google ads!] and maybe even buy something. Why? Because I trust them, I admire them. Remember this rule: People like nice, honest people.Something else I learned that I’d like to share is about work ethic. I decided that I need to create an action plan for myself or I would never get things done!Here’s the schedule I created for myself. I’ve been getting stuff done…Sunday morning [my wife is watching the baby] I usually do a round of yahoo group postings. Before launching our site, I joined a bunch of yahoo groups that are related to my website. Since then, I’ve been writing something up every week about my website and just copying and pasting it on every group that I am member of. Some yahoo groups won’t allow you to just promote your site – so I get involved in the discussion and I add my link at the end.By doing this I am working on the short term traffic.Then I will go to facebook. I have created a profile and a group for my website on facebook. I make friends over facebook and invite them to join my website group. I am very careful not to spam other people. So what I do is I search for people I know and then I approach their networks by offering to them “hey I am a friend of Joe, I am looking to build my network …” So they know right away that I am not some random unknown guy who is trying to spam them. In 99% of the cases people have agreed since they know Joe and trust him. On my facebook group I try to make it interesting. I post music videos, updates about my site, interesting articles…. This is building my long term traffic. I am building a community of people around my site. I try to focus on one social network at a time. If you try more than that – you can go crazy! Focus your energy on one spot and own it!Comes Monday I focus on Forums. I try to write up an interesting article and then I post it in different forums, I try to create something that has valuable information and that it could start a discussion. Then I will go back and get involved in some discussion groups. Remember: The link to my site is my forum signature. So this really takes up Monday morning.Tuesday! Social book marketing day! This day always brings us good traffic. We get involved in our social book marketing sites – Stumbleupon.com, Digg.com, Del,icio.usWe stumble, make friends and get involved. This is great for short and long term traffic.Wednesday is Link exchange day. I have decided that link exchanging really needs a separate day. This is can really drive in long term traffic. When your link is sitting on another popular website – this can really drive in traffic. The beauty of this is – you don’t have to do anything! I also try to post comments on blogs related to my site.Thursday is the day where I let myself to go wild! No, not partying, but crazy posting! Anywhere and everywhere I can. Its kind of like having a brick and mortar store in the center of the city- I have fliers and I am going to hang them up on every bulletin board I find in the city. Again you have to be careful about spamming. Sometimes I will send emails to my friends asking them to forward the site to others, right now! Every other Thursday I do article marketing and submit them to relevant sites like squidoo.com, or ezinearticles.com or even forums [great place for articles!].Friday is when my partners and I review the week – what marketing methods worked; we discuss the content of the site and what needs to be added. We discuss ideas for the coming week and ideas for the future, we discuss the Google ads, and affiliate marketing programs… we try to cover everything. Remember: if you want to make money then you have to treat it like a business!Saturday….. I rest!In the evening after the baby goes to sleep – I spend time reading articles, exploring new websites – I try to understand in depth the websites that I am already using and how I can make them “work for me” – I basically spend this time for my own education and to catch up with what’s new in the internet world.Is it hard? Yes it’s hard, but one thing that I do know and that is:“A Quitter Never Wins And a Winner Never Quits!”Be a winner. Don’t quit your effort. It just might pay off bigtime.
__________________http://helpwithyouressay.com/
I have a website http://helpwithyouressay.com/ ; well actually my two partners and I have a website. We have been working on this for about four months. It’s a free information educational website. We finally launched it a few weeks ago.In my real job I work in the afternoon, so this gives me time in the morning to work on my own site. After I take the kid to his little nursery, I come home, make coffee and sit in front of the computer till its time to pick him up.Oh boy it can be frustrating! I want massive traffic to my site but dear lord HOW? Every day I find another article that will tell me “how to…” Everyday I will discover a new website…. then I find myself just sitting in from of the computer flipping through sites, watching some videos on You Tube , checking my email, checking the news…..Until I decided enough is enough! It hit me…I want to share with you the knowledge I have gathered about marketing from this stuff. Not that I’m a pro, but I have some experience you might learn from.I found that a web marketer should focus on creating two kinds of traffic: short term and long term.Short Term TrafficWhat is short term traffic? This is building up visitors, sending someone and email, posting on a yahoo group, craigslist – I do this to continue the steady flow of traffic to my site. When I send someone an email [from my own personal email contacts – over 300 people] they will usually click on the link, visit the site a page or two and then move one. In some cases they will bookmark the site if they like it. However, usually the email gets lost in their account. Same thing with posting on a related yahoo group – it gets lost after a few days with all the messages being posted on that group. The pluses, though, of short term traffic are that the site gets exposed to lots of people, some of whom might become regular visitors. And all visitors might click on an ad.Long Term TrafficWhat is long term traffic? This is building up an audience around your website. This means that you need to invest a little more time in some areas – and yes its hard but its worth it in the long run. Get involved in a social network like myspace or facebook. It means making friends on the web via internet forums and when I talk about internet forums I am saying is that you shouldn’t just post things like “I have a new site! Visit my site today! here is the link!” - You know what that is? That’s called being an internet jerk. The whole idea of a forum is where people can share information with one another , information that is helpful. Get involved in some forums and share your knowledge with the world. Most forums allow you to put your URL as your signature. If you share your valuable information – people will trust you, they will become your followers. I have some “gurus” on the internet. I have never met them. They share such wonderful information that I almost every time visit their websites [and click on one of their google ads!] and maybe even buy something. Why? Because I trust them, I admire them. Remember this rule: People like nice, honest people.Something else I learned that I’d like to share is about work ethic. I decided that I need to create an action plan for myself or I would never get things done!Here’s the schedule I created for myself. I’ve been getting stuff done…Sunday morning [my wife is watching the baby] I usually do a round of yahoo group postings. Before launching our site, I joined a bunch of yahoo groups that are related to my website. Since then, I’ve been writing something up every week about my website and just copying and pasting it on every group that I am member of. Some yahoo groups won’t allow you to just promote your site – so I get involved in the discussion and I add my link at the end.By doing this I am working on the short term traffic.Then I will go to facebook. I have created a profile and a group for my website on facebook. I make friends over facebook and invite them to join my website group. I am very careful not to spam other people. So what I do is I search for people I know and then I approach their networks by offering to them “hey I am a friend of Joe, I am looking to build my network …” So they know right away that I am not some random unknown guy who is trying to spam them. In 99% of the cases people have agreed since they know Joe and trust him. On my facebook group I try to make it interesting. I post music videos, updates about my site, interesting articles…. This is building my long term traffic. I am building a community of people around my site. I try to focus on one social network at a time. If you try more than that – you can go crazy! Focus your energy on one spot and own it!Comes Monday I focus on Forums. I try to write up an interesting article and then I post it in different forums, I try to create something that has valuable information and that it could start a discussion. Then I will go back and get involved in some discussion groups. Remember: The link to my site is my forum signature. So this really takes up Monday morning.Tuesday! Social book marketing day! This day always brings us good traffic. We get involved in our social book marketing sites – Stumbleupon.com, Digg.com, Del,icio.usWe stumble, make friends and get involved. This is great for short and long term traffic.Wednesday is Link exchange day. I have decided that link exchanging really needs a separate day. This is can really drive in long term traffic. When your link is sitting on another popular website – this can really drive in traffic. The beauty of this is – you don’t have to do anything! I also try to post comments on blogs related to my site.Thursday is the day where I let myself to go wild! No, not partying, but crazy posting! Anywhere and everywhere I can. Its kind of like having a brick and mortar store in the center of the city- I have fliers and I am going to hang them up on every bulletin board I find in the city. Again you have to be careful about spamming. Sometimes I will send emails to my friends asking them to forward the site to others, right now! Every other Thursday I do article marketing and submit them to relevant sites like squidoo.com, or ezinearticles.com or even forums [great place for articles!].Friday is when my partners and I review the week – what marketing methods worked; we discuss the content of the site and what needs to be added. We discuss ideas for the coming week and ideas for the future, we discuss the Google ads, and affiliate marketing programs… we try to cover everything. Remember: if you want to make money then you have to treat it like a business!Saturday….. I rest!In the evening after the baby goes to sleep – I spend time reading articles, exploring new websites – I try to understand in depth the websites that I am already using and how I can make them “work for me” – I basically spend this time for my own education and to catch up with what’s new in the internet world.Is it hard? Yes it’s hard, but one thing that I do know and that is:“A Quitter Never Wins And a Winner Never Quits!”Be a winner. Don’t quit your effort. It just might pay off bigtime.
__________________http://helpwithyouressay.com/
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