Wow what a response.
I've quickly skimmed through the messages and will read again after but for now will respond briefly to some of the comments.
By the way can everybody please put your storename under your name when sending emails so we know who wrote in our emails.
Firstly the whole point of a bootcamp is to learn discipline in our day to PROMOTE OUR PRODUCT and PRODUCE OUR PRODUCT in BALANCE. 80% of SUCCESS is about SHOWING UP. Which means that almost any dummy can make a sale if they show up in front of the customer at the right time and the right place.... and it almost always means showing up more than once. And that's of course where most sales/salespeople fail as they try only once. There's only two basic reasons why something doesn't sell... 1) it isn't priced right or 2) something is the matter with marketing (little or none or just bad).
I laugh as I write this because I have been the worst offender of all since starting my online business. I have elevated "fiddling around" to a whole new level. I've recently retired from another career that was go go go 24/7. Lately I have been eating super in my PJ's in between playing with fabric and researching (snooping) on the net.
I want my business to be a success which does not mean I have to make gobs of money. It means that I want to have fun and do what I have always wanted to do (play pillows). I want it to be a respectable business person running a respectable business and one day be on either Opra or Martha's show. LOL I haven't had time to watch tv in about 26 years.
So what are we going to do? For 28 days (with weekends off) we will set a regular pattern for our business marketing. Every day we will set aside at least 30 minutes (when it works best for you) to complete at least one NEW assignment that involves getting the word out about ourselves, our product, our site. Some of these assignments will be cumulative... example we will build a list of free ads that we post our products on ... starting small and adding week by week.... especially in our local markets.
Other activities that I am still thinking on
1) Signing up on other sites is good... like ARTFIRE but not spreading ourselves too thin. Loading listings takes sooooo much time. icraft has the best system I've seen so far.
2) posting free ads... example Craigslist, kijji, etc (I had 3 inquiries from Craigslist in one week)
3) Making contact with other sellers commenting, complimenting and encouraging. ...What goes around comes around.
4) Handing out an assigned number of business cards to places you haven't done yet.
5) Set a goal to produce and list daily or whatever a reasonable interval is for you. Mine is to list daily.
6) We will help each other critique our photos, our product copy, our policies, our bios.
7) We will Kaboodle ( I'm still not sure what that is about)
We will learn and do treasuries (Linda can take the lead and teach us more about ARTFIRE treasuries)
9) We will learn more about blogging and aim to set one up if you haven't already
10) Twitter... i think I am too old to discuss what I eat, where I shop and what colour my hair is today.. I would rather get serious about a Facebook but maybe I need to be straightened out on this one.
11) We will brainstorm for LISTS. We will brainstorm new marketing methods... how about a VIRTUAL PARTY PLAN... I hate calling it party plan but at least you get what I mean.
12) We will evaluate each of our own products and try and formulate a plan whereby we can offer some or all of our product line at wholesale and then search out retailers.
13) We will discipline ourselves to check our emails and our views no more than THREE TIMES A DAY.... I am laughing hysterically... for me giving up chocolate would be easier.
14) We will sign in on the forum once in the morning and once in the evening... the synergy of "forum buzz" is incredible... cheap fix of adrenalin.
Incentives and rewards
1) Growth for our business which we may or may not immediately earn gobs of money.... but it will come and in the meantime we will feel better about ourselves / business .
2) Fun and friends... and /or at least more time with our family because we have learned to not procrastinate.
A prize or money or something for showing up and participating on the forum "check in"... I haven't talked to icraft admin yet but I will see if there is something that they would like to help out with.
AND.....................DRUM ROLL............. For everyone that does their check-in and their homework (or at least demonstrates effort) we can draw for a ......... fantabulous Pillow and Throw Set of their choice or available fabrics that I have. Value $150 to 400$ Honour system. of course.
In summary... Just joining the BOOTCAMP crowd will get you going. And, even if you don't think any of these ideas are any good, just doing SOMETHING... ANYTHING... IS BETTER THAN DOING NOTHING.............
BECAUSE LIKE i SAID BEFORE.............
80% of SUCCESS IS ABOUT SHOWING UP!!!
.... start getting ready... we're gonna rock and roll next week!
More later
Christine
PillowThrowDecor
PS I would love some help sending personal emails inviting some others to join in on this.
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