Advertise your blog

If you have a blog for your business, how do you advertise it?

A couple of ideas I've used . . .

1. Post a vague comment on your facebook or twitter account & then include your blog link for more information. Example: I might post something like, "Don't just throw your empty candle jars away; re-use them http://gottahavecandles.blogspot.com/2009/03/re-use-your-empty-candle-jars.html". Rather than doing a blatant advertisement, you're creating curiosity so they'll want to look at the link & not feel like you're trying to sell them something.

2. Order postcards from www.vistaprint.com to advertise your blog; send them out to your customer contacts. I send out 100 postcards each month to advertise my blog -- that way its not too overwhelming for me and everyone on my list receives a postcard a couple of times a year. The first ones I sent out just introduced my blog. When those had been sent out to everyone on my list, I did a new postcard, this time including a recipe for Sugar Cookies, telling them they could find more great recipes & candle tips on my blog, since I post a few recipes every month.

3. On all customer correspondence that goes out in the mail, I add a label to the back of the envelope that has my blog address and a little blurb about why they should check it out.

4. My blog address is listed on all of my marketing materials, including business card magnets, catalogs, business cards, and any other promotional materials.

5. Include it as part of your e-mail signature.

Reach out to customers with a blog

I have a new favorite way of reaching out to customers & its called "blogging". If you're reading this right now, you're probably familiar with the concept!

The idea of using a blog for my home party business is that there is so much information that I want to share with my customers about our products . . . directions & instructions as well as special deals and extra ways that the products can enhance their lives that they might not have thought about. If I sent out an e-mail every time I wanted to share some of this with my customers, I would likely have some customers who felt I was spamming them and even more customers that would look at me as an annoyance for constantly filling up their e-mail box.

So, I use a blog to spread that information to my customers. Those that really want it, know where to look for it and those that don't want it, don't have to be bothered with it. And I get a creative outlet and a way to share everything I want to share. On top of all those benefits, it is an additional way to advertise my business because there will be people who stumble across my blog posts while doing an internet search & those who follow my blog may pass on the site to someone they know would enjoy the content.

So, try your hand at a blog today. While I don't even begin to consider myself an expert in marketing with blogs, you are welcome to take a look at my site for some ideas: http://gottahavecandles.blogspot.com

Candy Bar Booking Package

Just a fun idea I came up with to get in touch with some past hosts that I've had a good relationship with but haven't been in touch with in a while or those who had expressed interest in hosting, but then nothing ever came of it. I took out 5 packets, booked 1 party and another one called with a party-size order from herself and a few friends.

What I did was wrap up our current catalog in wrapping paper. I then wrapped up a giant sized candy bar in wrapping paper as well. I attached the 2 together with a bow on top, like a present, and added a card that told them that I wanted to share the new catalog with them & that I would love to do a party for them. I told them that if they called to book a party with me within 24 hours that I had a very special bonus gift for them.

Its important to note that I didn't spend a whole lot of money here since I got those giant candy bars on sale for about $1 each. Both people that I heard back from talked about the candy bars so obviously that was what got their attention, even though their children were the ones to eat them.

Anyway, if you're looking for a fun new idea & want to try this out, I'd love to hear how it works for you. To get even better results, you could follow up with each of the people you drop off to to make sure they got the package, but never make anyone feel guilty for not booking a party after you've given them the gift package.

I'm planning to do this for a handful of customers with each catalog release. In addition to getting me some bookings, my hope is that it will bring a smile to their day!

$100,000 Pyramid-Style Sponsoring Game

I wanted to share with you the new Sponsoring Game that I put together & have started using at my parties. Its been a big hit at the parties & has been a lot of fun & an easy way for me to make sure I talk about sponsoring.


On 10 3x5 cards, write words that refer to benefits of your business. (things like: travel, mom, flexible, candles, $100, jewelry, fun, boss, friends)

Get 2 volunteers (offer small prizes to both of them just for participating). The two volunteers should stand facing each other. One holds up the cards in front of her so that she can't see what the words on the cards are while the other one can see the words & gives clues to try to get her to guess what the words are. Once she guesses what one word is, she throws that card aside and goes to the next one. I give them 60 to 90 seconds to do the guessing because I want them to get through as many as possible of the cards.

After they've played the game, I thank them, give them their prize & then ask the whole group if they know what those words were referring to. Everyone guesses that its about my job. I then say something like this . . .

"Now, this business isn't right for everyone, but it might be just what you or someone you know are looking for. So, I want to tell you a little bit about what each of these words represents to me. That way, you'll get to know just a little bit about the business & we can talk later about any specific questions you may have."

"Travel is because every year I get to go to Arizona on a business trip for our national convention which is so much fun & also because one year I earned a trip to Cancun that was the best vacation my husband & I have ever been on."

"Mom is because I started my business to be a stay at home mom. And the great thing is that now that I have a son & can stay at home with him during the day, I can also get some time away by going & doing parties."

"Flexible is because I can work my business on the schedule that fits into my busy life."

"Candles is because I get to sell a great product that I love having in my home; and I get first view of all the new stuff when it comes out."

"$100 is the average amount of money I make from doing a party."

"Jewelry is because we have some great incentives to earn jewelry . . . I'm going to pass around a ring that I won . . . its monetary value is higher than what my wedding ring cost!"

"Fun is because almost everything about my job is fun, like doing these parties!"

"Boss is because I get to be my own boss! I would have such a hard time working for anyone else after being my own boss for so long!"

"Friends is because my circle of friends has grown so much through my business. When I moved to Maryland I didn't know anyone & now I have so many friends not only here, but all over the country as well."