Tuesday, October 2, 2012

It's the Great Pumpkin!

Growing up I always loved the Peanuts characters and comic strip.  So in taking a week diversion from my writing a newsletter series, I would like to Welcome the Great Pumpkin!


That's right! October is the month of pumpkins, and I have three absolutely incredible fragrances for you as the October Fragrance of the Month.

Pumpkin Applebutter 12 oz candle
I introduced Pumpkin Applebutter to you last month.  Combining freshly harvest and pureed pumpkin with a melange of apples, this harvest inspired scent is topped with vanilla, cinnamon, and clove for a completely awesome fall fragrance!

Pumpkin Chai Tea tea lights

Returning for its second year is customer favorite Pumpkin Chai Tea. Straight from your favorite coffee shop, Pumpkin Chai Tea combines freshly harvested pureed pumpkin, chai tea, and a hearty dose of cinnamon and vanilla.  Take a deep wiff, and let out a good YUUUMMMM!

Pumpkin Buttercream 12 oz candle

New this month is Pumpkin Buttercreme.  You read right and reacted appropriately.  Sweet, rich pumpkin combined with the rich buttercreme of your favorite frosting, Pumpkin Buttercreme is almost too good to be true. I'm sure it seems I write this with every newly introduced fragrance, but this is truly one of the best!

All pumpkin fragrances are 10% off throughout the month of October.  For a complete listing of all products available, please see my fragrance of the month section.

What are your favorite pumpkin fragrances? I'd love your feedback!

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Featured artist: Mountain Dolls

Today I'm pleased to introduce to your Janice Parrott of Mountain Dolls. Read more of her fabulous work here:


My name is Janice Parrott.  I live in a small area outside of Albany, NY in the Helderberg Mountains.  That give me my creativity - just looking out my window at the beautiful countryside, walking my dog, the change of the seasons.  My children are a constant source of energy and inspiration.

The Circle Game, OOK Mountain Dolls Ornament
My daughter is an incredible fiber artist with a store on Etsy (The Handmade Classroom) and my son is a musician studying at the SUNY college at Oneonta.  I have to keep up with their lives, so that helps keep me current.  I have been making dolls for over 20 years, and I strive to stretch myself with my dollmaking. I always tell myself that with every doll I make I learn some small thing that I have never done before - good or bad, you learn from your creativity and then your creations.

Santa and the Mrs.
I have been working under the name of Mountain Dolls 'n Things for many years.  Several of those years were spent working only on dolls and perfecting my craft.

Sunshine Goddess, Mountain Dolls
Recent times however have compelled me to get an "actual" job so I work for a goldsmith four days a week, which takes up most of my time, sadly not much is left for dollmaking, but I try to work on something on my day off.  I have a new "special" project that I have been working on for many years and hope to show that to the world very soon.  I will only say it involves dolls and certainly the mountain I live on.

Lady Gourdington Pennworthy, Gourd Doll
The product I am most proud of is now in a private collection.  This piece took many months to complete and covered almost every aspect of dollmaking, from my point of view.

Old Friends
Other than working - (haha) the things I like best are hiking and camping.  for me a day walking in the woods is the best day ever! Spending time with family is paramount for me and my family. Many of my children's friends hang out at our house and that is always a treat when everyone is home! Noisy and expensive, but fun!

Artemis, Goddess of the Wilderness
I have a website where you can buy dolls and also view photos of my past commissions and dolls that have just sold outright in my Galleries section. Here is additional information on where you can find me:

Website: http://www.mountaindollsnthings.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mountain-Dolls-n-Things/373706695980239
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mountaindolls




Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Writing a Newsletter: The Electronic Product

In last week's post, we discussed the needs for a printed newsletter. Here's a quick recap:

  1. You can take your newsletters everywhere you go.
  2. Your newsletters are excellent collateral material to showcase your product to potential retailers.
  3. Newsletters are excellent take away pieces for craft shows, etc.
  4. Including a newsletter with a sold product is an excellent way to soft sell to existing customers.

When I begin content development for my newsletter, I usually start with my printed product.  There's no particular reason for doing so; probably just old habit from my former marketing days prior to the proliferation of electronic media.  Possibly because it also helps me to visualize what I want my message to be. Also, once your printed content is written, it is so easy to copy and paste into your electronic format.

So, let's talk electronic newsletters.

When I began selling my candles, I knew how to market a product, but not necessarily how to market a product online  My first electronic newsletters were literally emails with brief articles and the printed version as an attachment.  Sincerely.  And I even sent the printed version in Publisher format.  In time, I learned how to "print" my newsletter into a portable document format (.pdf), which could be emailed quicker and anyone could open.

I decided to move to an online service for two reasons: 1.) I wanted a more professional product. 2.) I wanted to grow my online marketing network.  Sending newsletters via email did not allow me to add customers to my list due to spam laws.  So I was sending to the same network of friends in December as I started with in May.

I chose to use the Mailchimp service.  It's a free service and user-friendly in that does not require .html coding. However, it does have a bit of a learning curve.  So here goes.

Your first step is to develop your list. Hopefully, you've been collecting email addresses and are already communicating, even if on a limited basis, with your customers and prospects.  Side note on your lists: it is ok to email marketing information as long as you include a way for the recipient to "unsubscribe" from the list. We'll discuss this more in an upcoming post.  Mailchimp contains an unsubscribe feature and requires it be included on all emails sent from their system. Fortunately, Mailchimp allows you to add your recipients manually, to upload a file from Excel, or to import from another sales database.

Take some time and think about how you'll use your list.  "You're talking newsletters, so why don't you create a newsletter list," I"m sure you're thinking.  Well, as you become more comfortable with this marketing tool, you'll find a need to develop other lists.  I currently have lists for newsletters, new customers, new subscribers, craft show sign up forms, etc. We'll focus on other uses for Mailchimp in an upcoming post.

Your content is written. Your list is developed.  Now is the time to develop your online newsletter.

Here, you'll work with Mailchimp's "campaigns". Admittedly, this took some time for me to understand.  Your list is your list, and your campaign is your publication software (e.g., Publisher). Similar to how you began your newsletter in your publication software with a template, I highly recommend you choose a template from Mailchimp's offerings. Again, the set up take the most time.  Upload your logo, link your twitter and Facebook accounts. Add your contact information.

Use the template blocks to add your newsletter content.  This part is actually very similar to writing a blog.  You can either copy and paste your content into the text or type, type away.    Be sure to add pictures of your product.  I usually try to incorporate two photos for visual appeal.  I also try to vary the font by periodically using bold or italics.

But here's the key for writing an online newsletter: be sure to provide plenty of links into your shop.  You have their attention, now drive them into your store!!!! Let's count the links available in my September newsletter:

Article: Apples are In!
1.) Link to Fragrance of the Month shop section.
2.) Link to Apple Harvest candle.
3.) Link to Apples & Oak candle. (My Pumpkin Applebutter was not ready to be posted on Etsy or it would be #4.)

Article: Decorating with Candles:
4.) Link to my Pinterest boards.
5.) Link to my Pinterest "Decorating With Candles" board.

Article: New:
6.) Sign up links to Sales & Specials newsletter.
7.) Sign up links to Where Am I? newsletter.

Extra credit:
8.) My Apple Harvest photo also links to my Apple Harvest candle in my Etsy shop.
9.) The candle decoration photo also links to my Pinterest "Decorating with Candles" board.

You'll notice I did not create links for my "editorial" article.  This was purely personal preference on this. My first draft included links to everything, but at the time I could not figure out how to hyperlink my Twitter account, so I deleted all links within that particular article.

It's a lot of information for today, and there is so much more to cover.  Upcoming articles will discuss how to build your online lists, how to market your newsletter, and how to use Mailchimp for other purposes.  As always, I welcome your thoughts and your comments - they have driven so much of this content!!!!

Dorene


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