Planning For The Silly Season (Christmas)
Now is a great time to start thinking about plans (if you haven't done so already)
in time for the busiest time (the festive season) for jewellery designers everywhere !
This is not as difficult as it sounds and with some good preperation, is a great time to boost your sales, as people look for unique gifts to buy for their loved ones.
Get yourselves lots of stock, in order to give your potential customers lots of choice about the types of products you are offering, as well as a selection of colours to offer them.
Display your items neatly on tables via display boards ... This could be as simple as cork board with pins, to hang your necklaces / bracelets on, or take a look at the display units we have for sale in our store.
Price all your items accordingly using computer printed 'A' cards or 'tie-on' price tags.
Make sure there is at least one mirror, so they can view the pieces on themselves
(except earrings) and also make sure there is plenty on good lighting to show off your pieces in the best possible light.
Taking your show on the road ...
On the run up to christmas, there should be an endless supply of sources to sell your goods, here are a few ideas to try and remember to also offer incentives to people, to book a jewellery party with you, such as a 20% commision of sales produced, paid in goods is usually a good idea !
School Fairs - Contact local schools to see when they will be holding their christmas fete and offer to provide a prize, for attending their fete.
Christmas Fairs - Look online and in local papers to see which fairs are coming up, then contact the organisers to see if there is a stall fee involved, then work out which ones you would like to attend and book them NOW, as they do go fast !!!
Networking - Contact your network of family, friends, work colleagues and tell themyou are starting to book your 'Christmas Jewellery Parties', hold one at your home (or rent a local village hall, if you prefer) and invite your network to join you at the event. Again offer incentives, or have cards printed up with your offer to hold a jewellery party at their home/work place, to their network !
Party Plan - If you already run a party plan business, (Avon, Ann Summers,
Betterware etc) bolting on your own custom-made jewellery should be a quite easy to pick up some extra sales plus the money you make on those items, is yours to keep !
Pubs & clubs - Contact local pubs, again offering them an incentive to book a jewellery party with you, which will cost them nothing, other than the use of their space to run the event. Make up lots of posters to promote the event, clearly indicating the date and the times you will be there plus payment methods accepted (If cash only, say so !). More often than not, you will only need to be there for a couple of hours, say 7.30pm-9.30pm for example but also make sure in advance where you will be placed, as you don't want to be stuck in a corner somewhere, where no-one is going to see you. These have always worked quite well for us in the past, but it's all about promotion of the event !
Local Shops - Contact local shops, such as hairdressers, salons, gift stores,
garden centres (anyone who you think could sell your products) and ask if they
would be interested in stocking your items on a sale-or-return basis. That way
you can keep track of items that aren't selling and also replenish stock that is selling. You will need to offer a good percentage of the sale to the store-owner for stocking your goods, but it is important for both of you to sign a copy of your stock sheet, as well as confirming all pricing in advance and also who is responsible for 'stolen' goods (which is usually the store owner). Don't forget you are asking to take up space in their store, so offer a commision rate which reflects this.
Your Own Website - If you don't have a website yet, get one - it's the best marketing tools you can have to promote your wares and keep your existing customers coming back for more. There are lots of free directories to get your website listed in, as well as using Google adwords, paid advertising to get your site in front of potential customers. The company we use is 'Do Your Own Site' or if you want to build an even more impressive site, you could try 'Sitesell'
Self Promotion
Great looking promotional material - This does not have to be expensive, in fact the company we use, is FairPrint, based in Scotland, who offer amazing prices and even better service. You can either email your design to them or ask them to design something for you - either way, you will get a proof of your promotional items before going to print, so you can check everything is just the way you want it. We have had them print double sided A5 flyers and business cards in the past and can highly recommend them.
Your email list - You have got one haven't you ? If you are not building an email
list, you are losing out on lots of potential sales ... Building a list of customers
and potential customers is one of the most powerful things you can do to increase your online sales ... The company we use to send our emails is Aweber, who offer an excellent package and easy to use software, which collects email addresses via your website / blog and who you can send professional looking emails to, to update them of your latest designs, events etc.
Good luck with your business !
This report was brought to you by http://www.bedazzlebeads.co.uk
The UK’s number one supplier of great value jewellery making components
Now is a great time to start thinking about plans (if you haven't done so already)
in time for the busiest time (the festive season) for jewellery designers everywhere !
This is not as difficult as it sounds and with some good preperation, is a great time to boost your sales, as people look for unique gifts to buy for their loved ones.
Get yourselves lots of stock, in order to give your potential customers lots of choice about the types of products you are offering, as well as a selection of colours to offer them.
Display your items neatly on tables via display boards ... This could be as simple as cork board with pins, to hang your necklaces / bracelets on, or take a look at the display units we have for sale in our store.
Price all your items accordingly using computer printed 'A' cards or 'tie-on' price tags.
Make sure there is at least one mirror, so they can view the pieces on themselves
(except earrings) and also make sure there is plenty on good lighting to show off your pieces in the best possible light.
Taking your show on the road ...
On the run up to christmas, there should be an endless supply of sources to sell your goods, here are a few ideas to try and remember to also offer incentives to people, to book a jewellery party with you, such as a 20% commision of sales produced, paid in goods is usually a good idea !
School Fairs - Contact local schools to see when they will be holding their christmas fete and offer to provide a prize, for attending their fete.
Christmas Fairs - Look online and in local papers to see which fairs are coming up, then contact the organisers to see if there is a stall fee involved, then work out which ones you would like to attend and book them NOW, as they do go fast !!!
Networking - Contact your network of family, friends, work colleagues and tell themyou are starting to book your 'Christmas Jewellery Parties', hold one at your home (or rent a local village hall, if you prefer) and invite your network to join you at the event. Again offer incentives, or have cards printed up with your offer to hold a jewellery party at their home/work place, to their network !
Party Plan - If you already run a party plan business, (Avon, Ann Summers,
Betterware etc) bolting on your own custom-made jewellery should be a quite easy to pick up some extra sales plus the money you make on those items, is yours to keep !
Pubs & clubs - Contact local pubs, again offering them an incentive to book a jewellery party with you, which will cost them nothing, other than the use of their space to run the event. Make up lots of posters to promote the event, clearly indicating the date and the times you will be there plus payment methods accepted (If cash only, say so !). More often than not, you will only need to be there for a couple of hours, say 7.30pm-9.30pm for example but also make sure in advance where you will be placed, as you don't want to be stuck in a corner somewhere, where no-one is going to see you. These have always worked quite well for us in the past, but it's all about promotion of the event !
Local Shops - Contact local shops, such as hairdressers, salons, gift stores,
garden centres (anyone who you think could sell your products) and ask if they
would be interested in stocking your items on a sale-or-return basis. That way
you can keep track of items that aren't selling and also replenish stock that is selling. You will need to offer a good percentage of the sale to the store-owner for stocking your goods, but it is important for both of you to sign a copy of your stock sheet, as well as confirming all pricing in advance and also who is responsible for 'stolen' goods (which is usually the store owner). Don't forget you are asking to take up space in their store, so offer a commision rate which reflects this.
Your Own Website - If you don't have a website yet, get one - it's the best marketing tools you can have to promote your wares and keep your existing customers coming back for more. There are lots of free directories to get your website listed in, as well as using Google adwords, paid advertising to get your site in front of potential customers. The company we use is 'Do Your Own Site' or if you want to build an even more impressive site, you could try 'Sitesell'
Self Promotion
Great looking promotional material - This does not have to be expensive, in fact the company we use, is FairPrint, based in Scotland, who offer amazing prices and even better service. You can either email your design to them or ask them to design something for you - either way, you will get a proof of your promotional items before going to print, so you can check everything is just the way you want it. We have had them print double sided A5 flyers and business cards in the past and can highly recommend them.
Your email list - You have got one haven't you ? If you are not building an email
list, you are losing out on lots of potential sales ... Building a list of customers
and potential customers is one of the most powerful things you can do to increase your online sales ... The company we use to send our emails is Aweber, who offer an excellent package and easy to use software, which collects email addresses via your website / blog and who you can send professional looking emails to, to update them of your latest designs, events etc.
Good luck with your business !
This report was brought to you by http://www.bedazzlebeads.co.uk
The UK’s number one supplier of great value jewellery making components
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