I'm not against sales. I LOVE a good sale. I'm out on Black Friday every year whether I need/want anything or not just to enjoy looking at all the madness that is available. Well, that and Joanne Fabrics. I haven't hoarded nearly enough flannel over the years.
However, for Bubbly Creations, I choose not to have a yearly sale to try and drive up my figures during the holiday season. Here is why:
It's not because I don't want to give my customers good deals during the spendy season. I am thrilled when people use my soap as gifts and stocking stuffers.
It's because I want to give my customers good deals all year.
I have priced my soap at "very reasonable" for handmade soap. If you shop around, ounce for ounce, Bubbly Creations Soap is a very good deal at approximately $1 per ounce, especially when you consider that each bar is over 5 ounces. Technically, it's less than $1 per ounce, but I'm too lazy to calculate the actual cost and there can be variables. It's always at least 5 oz. VERY likely more. Good deal, right? I think so. I've seen 3 and 4 oz bars sell for $8 to $11.
I don't think I would buy soap for $11 per bar unless it also folded laundry. Actually, lets make the fantasy soap put the laundry away. I fail at that. In reality, that same bar would likely look very attractive at 50% off on Cyber Monday.
In other words, I don't want to mark up my soap just to mark it down later. Handmade soap is a wonderful thing. Like all wonderful things, I want people to be able to afford it. While I still need to cover my expenses, I also want you to feel like Bubbly Creations Soap is a good deal all year round. Not just for gift giving occasions.
So I'm sure you understand that if I were to lower my already low prices to get your holiday dollar, I'd put myself out of business. That won't work for anyone!
Showing posts with label sales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sales. Show all posts
Monday, December 2, 2013
Monday, August 5, 2013
Horrifying. Just, Horrifying
My Coworker has a sister who tried and liked my soap. Hooray!
She ordered more in June.
I got the order today. Since she had planned to pay by check, I didn't get the notification from PayPal, and for some reason, I didn't get the usual "you have an order" email that I usually get from my webhost.
One of the two bars was supposed to be a gift.
I feel like a total jerk.
I'll be sending the bars to her house complimentary today. I sent her an email apologizing for the mix up. I would LIKE to talk to her sister about it, but really? It's not her business to tell me everything will be okay because this is a business transaction that has nothing to do with her.
So off the soap goes today, and hopefully I will save the customer. I think, since she likes the Summer Sun that I will send a bar of Lemongrass too for her to try.
It's serious butt kissing time.
And I learned, that I need to check my "recent orders" section daily. Just in case I miss one. I CAN blame my host for that, but honestly? It's my responsibility!
I hope this one has a good end. If not, it's still a good lesson.
She ordered more in June.
I got the order today. Since she had planned to pay by check, I didn't get the notification from PayPal, and for some reason, I didn't get the usual "you have an order" email that I usually get from my webhost.
One of the two bars was supposed to be a gift.
I feel like a total jerk.
I'll be sending the bars to her house complimentary today. I sent her an email apologizing for the mix up. I would LIKE to talk to her sister about it, but really? It's not her business to tell me everything will be okay because this is a business transaction that has nothing to do with her.
So off the soap goes today, and hopefully I will save the customer. I think, since she likes the Summer Sun that I will send a bar of Lemongrass too for her to try.
It's serious butt kissing time.
And I learned, that I need to check my "recent orders" section daily. Just in case I miss one. I CAN blame my host for that, but honestly? It's my responsibility!
I hope this one has a good end. If not, it's still a good lesson.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Social Media and the business world
I know that I talk more about what it is like to be in business and less about how I make soap. Perhaps one day, I will start talking about making soap, but honestly, during the times when I am on the computer, it's the business end of things that I am focusing on. I can hardly stop stirring to go update my blog! (oh what a soapy mess that would make!)
Because my website is hosted though Artfire, I have a unique opportunity to work with other small, handmade businesses.We share stories and suggestions. We ask questions and get professional opinions. We see, share, and buy each others products. Most of us have never met face to face, but we meet in website forums and get to know each other.
Social media. It is an industry that is growing by leaps and bounds.
When I was a young lass, I had a boyfriend who was a stand up comic. He still is. It used to drive me NUTS how he would make sure that comedy would come up in every conversation. He would trade passes for dinners, movie tickets, anything he could. In hindsight, this was awesome because we got to go out a lot more than we would have if he hadn't because we were young and our income was low. He became a master at promoting himself. There was no Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Wanelo, or any of the other multitudes of social media that there are today. This was more than 10 years ago. Not everyone had email, and very few people had a website. (I think I had one before he did!). Younger me hated all that networking even though I understood why he did it.
That man is a professional comic now. I follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. I used to help moderate the forums on his website. I see him promoting himself still, using these wonderful tools to maintain his fan base and to keep himself and his wonderful girlfriend traveling around doing what they love.
And I do the same. But differently. Because I get to sit in my little cottage and snuggle my dog in between posts.
I'm not as focused on Social Media as my friend, but I still use it. I cross promote with the other Artfire Artisans and they are likely to return the favor. I'm lucky. I don't have to talk up my soap to every Tom, Dick, and Harry that I meet (although I will mention it casually if the opportunity arises) because I can talk about myself on my blogs, Twitter, and Facebook. I can take pictures of what I am up to and post them to Instagram, using hash tags to attract new followers. I can choose where I will share them on Facebook, to keep my family from getting tired of looking at bars of soap that are welcomed by my Facebook followers. I can post my products on Wanelo and reach a worldwide audience. I can get to know what is trending on Pinterest (and keep track of all the awesome I find on the internet!) I use these tools (as well as the interactions I have with other Artisans both on Artfire and the other sites where I have become a community member) to allow the public to get to know me. They see my website and if they like me, want to go see what is going on. They follow me on Facebook and Twitter. They read my blog (HELLO!!) to see what I have to say.
Social media, I think, is stronger than the TV, and it's generally free. It allows the public to get to know business owners on a personal level. I'm talking to you, not some corporate spokesperson who is out of reach. In a way, it allows me to reach out and touch customers and potential customers in a way that I couldn't before. Not with the frequency with which I can do it now. My catalog came out once a year. It was fun mailing it off, but I reach far more people on Facebook than I ever did slowly trying to gather addresses to send to. And oh my goodness, I can do it from my phone.
If you are unfamiliar with any of the social media outlest I listed above, Please check them out. I have linked my accounts below and given a couple of examples on how I use the service. Follow me if you'd like.
Facebook (I update here most frequently because it's easy. Here is where I post successes and current projects.)
Twitter (Facebook updates directly to twitter so I don't use it directly as often)
Wanelo (Wanelo {WAnt NEed LOve} is a social media shopping place. You can go there and find things that people are buying or want to buy. I post my products there directly and other products that I love. Especially the handmade ones. It's hard for the little guys to get the attention that big guys get. Because we're little. and on tight budgets)
Pinterest (This one is a bit more of a personal filing system for me. I pin pretty soap, yarn, recipes, outfits, anything that catches my fancy on the web. I love Pinterest because I am constantly inspired by other people here and can get ideas that sprout new ones for me)
Instagram. This is a phone app. Now that I have a smart(er) phone, I can take pictures and upload them to various places. I love it. This allows me to capture pictures of my products, events, and other random things I find along the way. search for gracenmotion, which is my derby name. all my other monikers were taken. :(
I still use snail mail! If you would like to receive things in the mail from me, please email me your address at gina.bubblycreations@gmail.com I promise that I will not sell your information and that I am far more likely to send cookies than to fill your mailbox with junk. My mailing list is a fun place to be for those who like to get mail.
Because my website is hosted though Artfire, I have a unique opportunity to work with other small, handmade businesses.We share stories and suggestions. We ask questions and get professional opinions. We see, share, and buy each others products. Most of us have never met face to face, but we meet in website forums and get to know each other.
Social media. It is an industry that is growing by leaps and bounds.
When I was a young lass, I had a boyfriend who was a stand up comic. He still is. It used to drive me NUTS how he would make sure that comedy would come up in every conversation. He would trade passes for dinners, movie tickets, anything he could. In hindsight, this was awesome because we got to go out a lot more than we would have if he hadn't because we were young and our income was low. He became a master at promoting himself. There was no Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Wanelo, or any of the other multitudes of social media that there are today. This was more than 10 years ago. Not everyone had email, and very few people had a website. (I think I had one before he did!). Younger me hated all that networking even though I understood why he did it.
That man is a professional comic now. I follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. I used to help moderate the forums on his website. I see him promoting himself still, using these wonderful tools to maintain his fan base and to keep himself and his wonderful girlfriend traveling around doing what they love.
And I do the same. But differently. Because I get to sit in my little cottage and snuggle my dog in between posts.
I'm not as focused on Social Media as my friend, but I still use it. I cross promote with the other Artfire Artisans and they are likely to return the favor. I'm lucky. I don't have to talk up my soap to every Tom, Dick, and Harry that I meet (although I will mention it casually if the opportunity arises) because I can talk about myself on my blogs, Twitter, and Facebook. I can take pictures of what I am up to and post them to Instagram, using hash tags to attract new followers. I can choose where I will share them on Facebook, to keep my family from getting tired of looking at bars of soap that are welcomed by my Facebook followers. I can post my products on Wanelo and reach a worldwide audience. I can get to know what is trending on Pinterest (and keep track of all the awesome I find on the internet!) I use these tools (as well as the interactions I have with other Artisans both on Artfire and the other sites where I have become a community member) to allow the public to get to know me. They see my website and if they like me, want to go see what is going on. They follow me on Facebook and Twitter. They read my blog (HELLO!!) to see what I have to say.
Social media, I think, is stronger than the TV, and it's generally free. It allows the public to get to know business owners on a personal level. I'm talking to you, not some corporate spokesperson who is out of reach. In a way, it allows me to reach out and touch customers and potential customers in a way that I couldn't before. Not with the frequency with which I can do it now. My catalog came out once a year. It was fun mailing it off, but I reach far more people on Facebook than I ever did slowly trying to gather addresses to send to. And oh my goodness, I can do it from my phone.
If you are unfamiliar with any of the social media outlest I listed above, Please check them out. I have linked my accounts below and given a couple of examples on how I use the service. Follow me if you'd like.
Facebook (I update here most frequently because it's easy. Here is where I post successes and current projects.)
Twitter (Facebook updates directly to twitter so I don't use it directly as often)
Wanelo (Wanelo {WAnt NEed LOve} is a social media shopping place. You can go there and find things that people are buying or want to buy. I post my products there directly and other products that I love. Especially the handmade ones. It's hard for the little guys to get the attention that big guys get. Because we're little. and on tight budgets)
Pinterest (This one is a bit more of a personal filing system for me. I pin pretty soap, yarn, recipes, outfits, anything that catches my fancy on the web. I love Pinterest because I am constantly inspired by other people here and can get ideas that sprout new ones for me)
Instagram. This is a phone app. Now that I have a smart(er) phone, I can take pictures and upload them to various places. I love it. This allows me to capture pictures of my products, events, and other random things I find along the way. search for gracenmotion, which is my derby name. all my other monikers were taken. :(
I still use snail mail! If you would like to receive things in the mail from me, please email me your address at gina.bubblycreations@gmail.com I promise that I will not sell your information and that I am far more likely to send cookies than to fill your mailbox with junk. My mailing list is a fun place to be for those who like to get mail.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Forehead Slap
I think, probably, my best soap conversation starter has got to be my license plate. I'm proud of myself for snagging "SoapGrl" when I had the chance, because, well, people ask about it. A lot. I have made a few sales from explaining that it means that I make and sell soap. (not that I like soap operas as is also occasionally assumed)
Yesterday, I was at the gas station when the fellow in the car in front of me asked, "So, do you make soap?"
To which I explained that I did and that I own a small business. He seemed interested in it, although he did follow up with the second most frequently asked question I get which was, "Like in Fight Club?"
No. Eew. Why in the world would I make soap out of human fat? I'd have to render that stuff. And pull out all the capillaries and other such detritus that feeds the fat in our bodies. (seriously. look it up.)
Nope. Vegetarian soap for me. Then all I have to deal with is a greasy ice cream scoop.
So, gas station dude. Interested in my soap. A lightbulb went off. I SHOULD GIVE HIM A BUSINESS CARD!!!!
I didn't have any. None. Not one. Not even a Reno Roller Girls one that he could use to find me somehow.
Fudge.
You know I mean a different 4 letter word that starts with "F", but this is a "G" rated blog and I try to keep it clean for business.
I know better. I know WAY WAY better.
another lost sale. I have GOT to get better at this...
Yesterday, I was at the gas station when the fellow in the car in front of me asked, "So, do you make soap?"
To which I explained that I did and that I own a small business. He seemed interested in it, although he did follow up with the second most frequently asked question I get which was, "Like in Fight Club?"
No. Eew. Why in the world would I make soap out of human fat? I'd have to render that stuff. And pull out all the capillaries and other such detritus that feeds the fat in our bodies. (seriously. look it up.)
Nope. Vegetarian soap for me. Then all I have to deal with is a greasy ice cream scoop.
So, gas station dude. Interested in my soap. A lightbulb went off. I SHOULD GIVE HIM A BUSINESS CARD!!!!
I didn't have any. None. Not one. Not even a Reno Roller Girls one that he could use to find me somehow.
Fudge.
You know I mean a different 4 letter word that starts with "F", but this is a "G" rated blog and I try to keep it clean for business.
I know better. I know WAY WAY better.
another lost sale. I have GOT to get better at this...
Monday, March 28, 2011
Technological Madness - Gremlin Edition
I think that it has been more than proven over the last several years that I have a bad case of the Gremlins.
Tech Gremlins.
They started by crashing the server where my website was originally hosted, causing mine, and Randy's various sites to go down. So Randy got himself his own server. Sadly, my site was never the same as I lack the know how to make it look like what was in my head and the money to buy a template. BUT, at least I had an @bubblycreations email address. Then this blog, then twitter. Then facebook. And now, a website that I can update easily which is hosted on Artfire. Phew!
But no sooner did I have that website up and running but my email went down. And I lost all the awesomeness that I had stored in there. Again. Right in the middle of negotioations with a potential custom paper company who porbably thinks I have flaked out compeltely. Not so. I just lost his number. After waiting awhile for the envyds site to start working again, I decided to go the ghetto route and use gmail. I can now be found at gina.bubblycreations@gmail.com.
The Gremlins have struck again. They went mobile and the sim card on the bubble phone went bad. It doesn't ring often but maybe it would if it worked. Sigh. That phone number is everywhere. I'm going to see if the AT&T store can fix it, and if not, I'm going to research pay as you go options so that I'm only paying for actual use of the phone, and so that I can have a text plan (I love to twitter by text!!). I'm already going to buy Captain Caveman out of the contract so he doesn't have to deal with it anymore.
I suppose I could have more complicated problems, so I am thankful that they are fairly minor. It's just difficult, in this tech savy mobile, internet driven society to maintain an active presence when the gremlins keep sneaking in.
Tech Gremlins.
They started by crashing the server where my website was originally hosted, causing mine, and Randy's various sites to go down. So Randy got himself his own server. Sadly, my site was never the same as I lack the know how to make it look like what was in my head and the money to buy a template. BUT, at least I had an @bubblycreations email address. Then this blog, then twitter. Then facebook. And now, a website that I can update easily which is hosted on Artfire. Phew!
But no sooner did I have that website up and running but my email went down. And I lost all the awesomeness that I had stored in there. Again. Right in the middle of negotioations with a potential custom paper company who porbably thinks I have flaked out compeltely. Not so. I just lost his number. After waiting awhile for the envyds site to start working again, I decided to go the ghetto route and use gmail. I can now be found at gina.bubblycreations@gmail.com.
The Gremlins have struck again. They went mobile and the sim card on the bubble phone went bad. It doesn't ring often but maybe it would if it worked. Sigh. That phone number is everywhere. I'm going to see if the AT&T store can fix it, and if not, I'm going to research pay as you go options so that I'm only paying for actual use of the phone, and so that I can have a text plan (I love to twitter by text!!). I'm already going to buy Captain Caveman out of the contract so he doesn't have to deal with it anymore.
I suppose I could have more complicated problems, so I am thankful that they are fairly minor. It's just difficult, in this tech savy mobile, internet driven society to maintain an active presence when the gremlins keep sneaking in.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Research into online soap sales
Whew!
I have been busy. Not just life busy, but when I am able, soap busy.
Sadly, this time I'm not busy creating, I am busy researching!
So much to learn, so little time. I thought that if I finally had a website I wasn't afraid to hand over to people (which I did once, but it died) then I would sell, sell, sell! No so. It turns out that I need to wiggle my butt into the online world of soaping as well as just have a site available.
And, I need to find my nitch. I know that I have a wonderful product. There are a few things holding me back and I know that only I have the key to changing them.
I have been busy. Not just life busy, but when I am able, soap busy.
Sadly, this time I'm not busy creating, I am busy researching!
So much to learn, so little time. I thought that if I finally had a website I wasn't afraid to hand over to people (which I did once, but it died) then I would sell, sell, sell! No so. It turns out that I need to wiggle my butt into the online world of soaping as well as just have a site available.
And, I need to find my nitch. I know that I have a wonderful product. There are a few things holding me back and I know that only I have the key to changing them.
- I don't like to give out my business cards. I know, it's silly. and really dumb.
- I still haven't put my stickers on my car. WTF? That, right there, is a 10 to 50 mile per day advertising opportunity and I don't even have to pay for it!
- I have samples promised, and never sent. Once again, a, I trying to undermine myself?
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