Well, if you want the world to be able to track your every move without the hassle of having to check into each location, then a Nashville company may have solved that problem for you.  Facedeals wants to place cameras in retail locations that scan your face as you enter the location and then automatically checks you into that location on Facebook and offers you deals that the retailer has authorized.

You can see how someone thought this was a good idea during a brainstorming session possibly.

“What pain are we solving?”

“Well, we can let people passively be tracked and receive offers as they move from location to location.”

“Brilliant! Let’s build it”

It is, in my opinion, unfortunate for these folks that have invested time and money in this idea that cooler heads did not prevail.  I think that the likelihood that consumers will opt in to a service that scans their face and theoretically logs them into every location that they enter is like asking people to voluntarily have tracking chips embedded in their skin.  While that might be acceptable for my dog, I don’t want anyone keeping tabs on my every move.

I’m sure that the creators of the technology will argue that it is a convenience, and that we are already being tracked on our cell phones and through our web browsers.  While that may be the case, I don’t feel that one invasion of privacy justifies another.  Perhaps my reaction to this is based on a minority opinion that values privacy over $0.99 fries.  I would be very interested to hear what our readers think of this use of technology!

Etsy has issued it marketing and trend report for June 2012.  This list, compiled monthly, shows the items, genres, and trends they expect to be at the top searched keywords for the upcoming month.  Even if you’re not an etsy seller, this list is always useful for insights into trends that could affect your .com or blog.  We recommend incorporating some of their keywords into your tags – it increases your chances of being included in high quality treasuries.

So what are Etsy’s expected trends for June 2012? The obvious points are Father’s Day, Graduation, Weddings, and Summer.  Other interesting finds include fortune cookies, wishbones, biking, customizable shoes, fingerprints and Mad Libs.  The list is quite extensive, so you should read the Etsy June 2012 Trends Report yourself.

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in Nashville.  So, when I met a long-time friend for lunch and we got a nice table on the outside patio of a local restaurant, we lingered and discussed several timely topics as we enjoyed the last few days of crisp spring air before the oppressive humidity of June settles on the South.  My friend is a marketing strategist who does consulting work for several large companies that I cannot name (but at least one of  them sells a lot of quarter pounders)!  He is always good to spark some spirited technology debate.  So, as you might guess based on the events of this week, our discussion soon turned to Facebook and their recent IPO.  With all of the hype and discussion around the offering, it seems like everything possible has already been said about Facebook, and there were certainly a lot of investors interested in buying in to the idea that Facebook is worth somewhere close to $100 Billion.

One thing that he and I could both agree upon is that we would never have put down any of our hard earned dollars based on that kind of valuation.  Our reasoning has nothing to do with sophisticated financial models, projections of future earnings, or cash on hand.  It has only to do with our own experiences with advertising for eCommerce companies and trying to drive converting traffic through those Facebook ads.  The simple truth is that Facebook ads don’t convert to sales for most products.  Sure, you can generate a ton of impressions through those ads, and if you only care about brand impressions, then it may be a good place for you to advertise.  But, if you simply care about how many people you can convert into buyers, then Facebook is not an efficient advertising vehicle.  I believe that the reason for this lies in the behavioral patterns of the Facebook users.  When you go to Google to search for the “best laundry detergent”, you are seeking information relative to consuming a product.  When you log on to Facebook to see the new photo’s that your sister-in-law uploaded of your nieces and nephews, you simply aren’t in the mindset to consider product offers.

All of that is not to say that Facebook isn’t a valuable company.  After all, how could 900 million users be wrong?  Even if they are wrong, I’d like a piece of that pie!  But what I am saying is that advertisers ultimately care about  converting audiences into consumers, and Facebook does not do that well.  Facebook believes that they can achieve better conversion by inserting “relevant” ads into my news feed.  Wrong!  That is the last thing most Facebook users want.  I think that the only thing that strategic move will achieve is to create a few million former Facebook users.  Facebook should focus their revenue strategy on providing goods and services that can be consumed and shared from within the Facebook platform and be careful not to allow advertising to ruin what Mark Zuckerberg created to be cool.

Now Contrast this to the type of engagement that Pinterest creates.  Shopify did some great research with 25,000 of their online stores to provide some very interesting data. (see their great infographic below)  What they found was that Pinterest is already the top traffic referral site for their retailers!  Does that amaze you as much as it does me?  I know many average folks who haven’t even heard of Pinterest yet, and it is already the 3rd most popular social media site in the world.  All of you folks trying to sell products out there need to listen to these next few facts.  Referral traffic to Shopify retailers is already equal to that of Twitter and significantly more than Google+, but here is the important fact.  Pinterest traffic actually converts!  Shopify found that Pinterest traffic is 10% more likely to buy than traffic from other sites.  Not only is that traffic more likely to buy, but they also spend more.  In fact, the Average Order Value of the Pinterest traffic is $80.  That is more than double the AOV of the Facebook traffic.  Etailers will also want to note that pins with prices get 36% more likes than those without.

Pinterest just raised $100 million in a private round of financing.  So, I’m sure we will get the opportunity to see their IPO in the next couple of years, but if you are selling online, then it sounds like you better get to know them now.

Sometimes you have time to read an interesting blog post, but sometimes you just need to find something to help you get your work done quickly.  We are compiling a list of resources for the small business owner that we have found useful in the past.  Reference the list regularly to find some useful applications and service providers.  If you don’t see the information that you are looking for on the list, don’t be afraid to email us a question.  Your question will help us build out the resource list for other readers.

Thanks!

Today is a good day for etsy shop owners.  Yesterday, etsy rolled out changes to quantity listings and renewals, that are very helpful to sellers who repeatedly sell the same item.

Under the new policy, if you list multiple quantities available of a product, you are charged only $0.20 at the original listing.  This is the same price as if you just listed one item.  When the item sells, it will AUTOMATICALLY be renewed, with all of the renewal benefits (such as showing up higher in search results).  When it renews, you will be charged another $.20, just as if you had manually renewed the item.

This is also helpful to shoppers.  If you have a set of 10 notecards listed, you can put in multiple quantities.  Then a shopper can purchase 10, 20, or 30 notecards – without them having to message you for a custom listing.  If they order multiples, shipping costs will automatically be adjusted to your stated preferences when they check out.

If you list a quantity, say 5, but only ever sell 2…no worries.  When the item expires, you will NOT be charged a fee for the quantity that never renewed.

You can read about the changes in etsy’s official explanation.  But basically, they’ve automated the renewal process, made things easier for shoppers, and not charged shop owners more in the process.  Thanks, etsy.

For 15 years I was a full-time freelance writer and contributed to the top national magazines in the country (and many amazing regional ones as well).  I sought out makers and risk takers who had pursued their dream and told their stories for a living. The majority of those I featured were independent business owners, artisans and emerging designers. 

Over time I noted a recurring conversation, one that lead me to write my first book, Recipe for Press, Pitch Your Story Like the Pros & Create a Buzz. Creatives would sooner pay a complete stranger to represent their product to an editor or blogger than to approach media on their own.

All too often that exchange ended in disappointment. Not  only were they out a lot of money that could have been spent on inventory, they felt they could have better handled most of the outreach.

The truth is, editors and writers are constantly on the hunt for new people and products to cover and we don’t care who the messenger is as long as they go about it like a pro (hence the book!) New content is what fuels magazines each month. You don’t have to have a publicist to begin a dialogue with an editor but you do need to know how to approach and work with bloggers and writers to get the best possibly consideration. DIY publicity works, but only if you play by these oft-unspoken rules. When you do, it  makes all the difference in scoring easy press.

Those who get press over and over again are easy to work with and respond quickly. Plenty of products with passionate people behind them fail to reach their press potential because they are slow to respond to editorial requests. When editors or bloggers reach out, drop what you’re doing and return the call or answer the email. Editors operate on very tight deadlines.  If we can’t find you, we move on to the company we know will come through for us every time.

Editors only have time for the sliver of your story that matters most to their magazine. They are not interested in your entire story or inspiration behind the company because they simply don’t have the time. Read a couple of issues of the publication before you pitch to determine what angle might best work and if they even run products or services or profiles like the one you want to pitch. Every page is a formula that works for that magazine. What is on the page in this month’s issue is your key or guide to what they will be running six months from now.

A “no, thank you” for now does not mean “no” forever.  Don’t get discouraged if an editor can’t find a place for your product or idea the first go around.  When you come back to that same editor with a good idea a second and third time, it’s signaling that you mean business and are doing the work it takes to get their attention.  If it is a good match for the magazine, eventually an editor will reward your persistence and find a place for your idea.

Gone are the days when you needed expensive press kits and marketing material to approach an editor.  All we need is a personalized email (one to two paragraphs is usually sufficient) and an amazing picture to know if your product might work for us. If an editor is interested, they go directly to your website (so make sure it is ready for that kind of attention before you pitch.)

Writers and editors appreciate a good lead.  Our job is to make tried-and-true ideas new, issue after issue. Help us out by giving your pitch a clever tagline that let’s us know you “get it,” that you read the magazine and are trying to give us something new and exciting. We might just use that idea and place your product front and center of that roundup.

Amy Flurry is a writer, editor and stylist for 15 years with work featured in InStyle, Conde Nast Traveler, Paste, House Beautiful, Sassy, County Living andDaily Candy. For six years Flurry served as a contributing editor to Lucky magazine. In her new book, “Recipe for Press, pitch your story like the pros and create a buzz!” she reveals what editors and media influences really want (it’s easier than you think!)and shares savvy strategies that leverage your press efforts and get big results. Flurry also travels the country lecturing and her popular DIY publicity workshops serve to strengthen relationships between editors and the entrepreneur.

Buy the book, $23.95: www.recipeforpress.com

Read the blog: http://recipeforpress.blogspot.com/

You don’t hear that much these days, and I don’t know if anything can really qualify as free. Even those organic search results that we all love so much require a significant amount of time and effort to achieve. But if you have taken the time to build out a sizable pool of inventory on your site, then it doesn’t require much more effort to build and submit a product feed to Google that will enable your products to show up in the shopping search results. Have you noticed that the shopping results often appear above the organic search results on a Google search page?

The first thing that you need to do is to create an account in the Google Merchant Center.  This is a painless process and you can use your existing AdWords account information if you have it.  Once you have created your account, you will then want to create a data feed.  The Help sections will walk you through creating your data feed.  The simplest way to do it is to create the feed in Excel and then save the file as a tab delimited text file.  Take the time to read the section on required data fields.  It isn’t difficult, but if you take the time to understand the required fields from the start, you will probably save yourself some time later in the process.

Many of you are probably marketplace sellers.  If you only sell on marketplaces and do not market your product directly through your own website, then you probably don’t need to bother with creating your own feed.  Most of the marketplaces, and Etsy in particular, have deals with Google that allow them to submit their sellers’ listings directly into the shopping searches.  Just make sure that you are completing all of the necessary information within your marketplace so that your listings can be submitted correctly.  I had planned to write more detail about this, but I found a post that covered this very well.

They say that the best things in life are free.  I don’t know if a product feed can qualify as one of the best things in life, but it is a cost-effective way to generate more traffic for your products.

Note from Elizabeth:  Today’s guest post is by Nikki McGonigal from the craft blog Nikki in Stitches.  I met her online a while back, and find that she’s not only a talented crafter, but a great source of information!  Nikki has been featured as Martha Stewart’s Doer of the Week.  I hope you enjoy her post!

I’m back from my trip to New York City, where I met with 80 other amazingly talented Dreamers Into Doers and Martha Stewart’s staff, and as always, it was fantastic. Everything about the event is always picture perfect. And meeting so many other creative women always gets me motivated to jump back into my work full speed ahead.

So, it’s good to be home, and back with my kiddos, but there’s also lots of catching up to do. I thought it would be a good idea in today’s post to talk about the best way to prepare for a networking event like the Dreamers Into Doers conference, or really any blogging conference, artisans gathering, etc., how to maximize the limited networking time you actually have at the event, and also give my tips for what to do afterwards, to make sure you stay connected with all of the people you’ve met, and get the most out of the overload of information you receive. These are just my suggestions. I try to get these accomplished before, during, and after every large event I go to. I’ve road tested them myself, but you may need a little tweaking. Hopefully they will at least help get you started!

1. Join the conversation Yes, your inbox will be on fire in the days leading up to the event with questions about who’s getting there when and does anyone want to share a cab, but there will be important info in the mix that you don’t want to miss. Add yourself to the email group, but create a filter in your email so that all of these messages get set aside. This way your inbox isn’t constantly overflowing, and you can set aside an hour at night to quickly go through all of these messages. Quickly delete the “does anyone want to grab a bite to eat the first night” but respond to the “I’m hoping to meet people that can help me grow my business in the following ways…”
PS…Here’s a great how-to video if you need help setting up labels and filters in gmail!

2. Match names and faces This is the one scenario where cheat sheets are ok! Print out a spreadsheet with the following three things: name, business, picture (of the person or even  just of a logo if that’s all you can find!) You don’t need to memorize it, but get familiar with it. Star people that you know you want to connect with. Look it over on the train on your way into the city, and give it one last glance before you head out of your hotel room to breakfast the first morning. Trust me. You’ll feel so much more comfortable walking into a room of strangers, if you know their names and can introduce yourself. And, if you’ve studied enough, start a conversation about their business!

*Keep Good Notes! Keep this cheat sheet up to date! Make notes next to people you want to talk more to. Jot down notes if you’d like to email them. Did you connect on a personal level? Did you share a joke or a silly story? Write it down! These are all things that will help that person remember you when you reach out to them after the event.

1. Stay Put Remember, you are there to network! Yes, you’re away from your kids, and would love some quiet time, or maybe you’re excited to get out and have some fun in a new city with new friends, but (and trust me, I hate to be a party pooper) that’s not what you’re there for! If there are dinners related to the event scheduled where you can continue conversations with potential partners for projects, and deepen the business relationships you are making, go for it. Make the most of every minute you are there!

2. Keep us up to date Tweet, post, share…do it all. We want to see the connections you are making. Are you enjoying the workshop you’re sitting in? Find the presenter on Twitter, post a quick tweet, and tag them. Nine times out of ten, they will follow you back by the end of the day…and that is a great way to make a connection if you want to contact them to talk further after the conference is over.

*Hashtags exist for a reason! If there already is a hashtag in place for the event you are attending, use it! It’s a great way to connect with people. You can quickly see everyone that has tweeted using the hashtag, get to know what parts of the event they are enjoying (which makes starting a conversation so much easier!), and tweet back to them…furthering the connections you are making. It’s a win/win! And PS…if there’s not a hashtag already in place, make one! I suggested in a forum that we use #DIDinNYC for my Martha trip because a hashtag had not yet been decided upon, and everyone said perfect…it’s that simple!

1. Go through your notes Follow up on all those leads you were writing down on your cheat sheet. Open the doors for working together and collaborating in the future. Include that personal connection so the reader instantly remembers who you are.

*Do you have an avatar? I’m not sure if all/most email accounts come with an avatar, but if yours does, take advantage of it. My little picture goes along with every email I send out, and is the perfect little “Oh! That’s who this is from!” when I’m connecting with people I’ve met at an event.

2. Share pictures Organize or contribute to a photo sharing account. Sure, you’ll get access to more pictures to include in your blog posts and recaps, but it’s another way to stay connected. If you see someone has great pictures, tell them! Ask what kind of camera they have. Have they taken photography classes? Just because the event is over does not mean your relationship with all of the talented people you have met has to be, too.
PS…I’ve used PhotoBucket and Shutterfly in the past. Create a separate account from your personal one. Share the login info with anyone that wants to contribute. Be clear with where these pictures can be used, and if you’d like photo credit to be given in publication.

PS…A few notes on the pictures included above. The first picture was taken outside of the Martha television studio, while waiting to go in for a taping of her show. The notebook shown in the “Before you go!” picture is part of her new line of office supplies available at Staples. That is Terri Shapiro of Deluxe Corporation speaking to us about PR and marketing in the “While you’re there!” picture. And the last picture is the beautiful centerpieces at the event…you know Martha thinks of every last detail!

The Goal, by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox, is a business theory book disguised as a novel. There are a group of lightly developed characters and a protagonist who is struggling with his family life while trying to solve the problems at the plant he runs. If you have a hard time reading business books that are strictly topical, and prefer to learn in the context of a realistic situation, then you would probably enjoy this book.

Even if you don’t run a large manufacturing operation, the theory of constraints most likely still has an application to your business. We all run into situations in which we are doing inefficient things simply because it is the way that we have always done them. When I read a book like The Goal, it is not so much to learn a new skill as it is to awaken my senses to a different way of thinking. I’m seeking to inspire a different type of thought about how I approach my life and work. In this sense, my goal was met by The Goal.

If you decide to read the book, then take the time to read the case study interviews at the end. They give a little insight into how other businesses have made use of the principles discussed in the book.

Good luck meeting your goals!

When the idea for your business first came to you, it probably centered around something that you liked to do, or perhaps you saw a need in the market that was going unfulfilled. Once you made the decision to do something, whether that was designing custom aprons or offering wordpress consulting services, you probably didn’t give a great deal of thought to how or more importantly IF your business could grow or scale to become a sizable enterprise. For some of you, this might not be a relevant question.  I know people that are perfectly happy to make and sell a product because the whole process is a labor of love for them.  Any income that they derive is secondary to their enjoyment of the process of creating their product.  If you fit the previous description, then you can stop reading here.  But, there are others of us who want to develop a business that has the potential to grow.  If that is the case for you, here are some of the things that you should consider in order to get there.

Top Line, Bottom Line, and Everything in Between

I had an Uncle that ran a large and successful construction company for many years.  Shortly before his death, he gave an interview in which he was asked what he had learned about business over the years.  His response was that one of the most important factors in his success had been in always understanding his costs better than the competition.  For his business, it was imperative to understand costs so that they could accurately bid on projects and make money on the bids that they won.  This principal really applies to every business, large or small.  Most people track their revenues (top line) because it is fun to know how much you sold, but do you accurately account for all of your unit expenses so that you understand how much it costs you to produce one unit of your product?  The Gross Profit calculation is Revenues-Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) = Gross Profit.  If you have included all of your product costs and understand how much gross profit you are making, then your next step is to apply all of your expenses against your gross profit.  Don’t forget your own time!  I think that many small business owners forget to apply a cost of their own time as an expense, but your time is one of your most valuable commodities.  So, if you have accurately tracked all of your expenses, then you can calculate your actual Net Profit or Loss.  Gross Profit – Expenses = Net Profit (loss).  You must first understand if you are making money to determine if you can make money when your business gets bigger.

Know Your Customers

This may sound silly, but I know many small business owners who did not start saving customer information as soon as they opened their business.  So, they had no way of going back and marketing to their existing patrons at a later date.  Marketing to your existing customers is one of the cheapest and most efficient ways to grow your business.  Knowing how many new vs. returning customers that you have is an important determinant to how quickly your business can grow.  So, when that first customer walks in your door or visits your site, have a way that you can collect and store that data.  Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems have come down in price significantly over the past few years, and there are several good online options available to small business owners.  Here are a couple of online systems that you might consider:  Salesforce.com, Nutshell, and Batchbook.  Using any of these tools will improve the organization of your customer information, and most of them will enable you to upload your customer lists directly into email management systems like MailChimp or Vertical Response to send out direct marketing messages to your customers.

What is success?

How are you going to measure your own growth?  What are the important metrics for your business?  For any business, the answer ultimately is the ability to grow profits, but your ability to scale your business and the rate at which you can do so can be gauged on a variety of other factors, and you must decide which of those is most important to growing your business.  Some examples of key performance indicators (KPI’s) include:  # of unique visitors, conversion rate, customer acquisition cost, # of sales, average size of a transaction, and new versus returning customers.  There are many other factors that you can consider, but choose the group of metrics on which you intend to focus and monitor them relentlessly.  It is easy to get caught up in the number of likes that you have on Facebook, but if you can’t quantify how those likes are turning into sales, then can you really consider that a key indicator of your business?  Focus on measuring the variables that help you grow most profitably and you will soon see whether your business can scale efficiently.

Find the highest value use of your time

What is often the hardest thing to do for a one-person operation is to determine the best time to hire some help.  You may think to yourself that you can handle it all, “I  just need to get a new printer or a faster computer.”  You may find yourself getting your kids to help you sort your orders or ask your husband to make a run to the post office for you.  There is nothing wrong with these things per se, but have you taken the time to consider where your skills as the founder and operator are most effectively employed.  What is it about your business that makes you unique and keeps people coming back to you?  If you are making custom aprons and locating interesting patterns and developing new designs is the thing that differentiates your business, then you must make certain that you don’t detract from this activity.  But here is the rub, the thing that you most like to do is not necessarily the same thing as the most valuable activity to the growth of your business.  Try to be objective in your assessment of the activities that need to occur in your business and their relative value in helping you to grow your customer base.  Once you have determined what those activities are, then look at how you are currently spending your time.  If the majority of your time is spent on priorities 5 &6, while you are only addressing priorities 1 & 2 as time permits, then you may have a problem.  It may be a simple matter of re-prioritizing your efforts, but if your business is large enough to support some additional expense, then perhaps adding labor to handle activities 5 & 6 will allow you to dedicate more of your time to the top priorities.

Understand your constraints

In manufacturing, there is always an activity or series of activities that is the constraint which limits output.  You have often heard this referred to as “the bottleneck.”  But the theory of constraints does not just apply to large manufacturing operations.  Every business has constraints which limit their ability to grow.  A constraint may be creating awareness of a product, obtaining a critical component of supply, or producing a finished product within an acceptable amount of time.  In order for your business to grow, it is necessary for you to consider what your constraints are based on your current size.  Then, you can begin to focus your efforts on removing those constraints.  As you grow, those constraints will change.  Periodically re-assessing the constraints on your operation is a fundamental piece of running your business successfully.  If you have the ability to limit constraints with relative ease as the company grows, then you most likely have the type of business that scales well and has the potential for significant growth.

Finally, one of the things that the above analysis enables you to do is to look objectively at your operation and quantify how efficiently you are running it.  Don’t be afraid to make a change if you see something that isn’t working right.  As long as you continue to measure your results based on the metrics you have determined to be most important to your business, then you will be able to determine the value of that pivot.

Note from Elizabeth:  I totally “dig” the garden marker we found for the post image. If you like it too, head over to GloryBabiesAtoZ on etsy to see the rest  of their cute stuff! It’s a relatively new etsy shop, so I’m sure they’d love a visit!