From the start, I had a dream of building a community of
small businesses (it was handmade and crafting supplies at the time … which we
lovingly added vintage to along the way), who all had a common interest
(growing their business), based around a broadcasting platform.
From the experience I gained during my 25 years in the production world, (which included a lot of business, advertising,
promotion, licensing, and many other factors I use now in my day to day work),
from my days of selling on E, and through my consulting for the likes of The
Home Shopping Network, I knew there was a gap in the market, and I wanted to
fill it.
Community and broadcasting was what I wanted to be
the backbone of our e:commerce site – The CraftStar. And if there’s one single thing I am most
proud of, is the community we have on The CraftStar. I have never seen a group of people who are
so willing to support, encourage, welcome new people (even competitors in their
field) and help each other along the way.
It’s amazing, and until you’re part of it, and involved with it, I don’t
think you can really understand how important that “community” aspect is in our
world of small businesses.
The broadcasting part of the dream has also been very
successful. We go LIVE two to three
times a week, where we spotlight our sellers, pass on important information to
help you grow your business, and invite guests on who are pros in fields that
will help us. We’re the only site in our
sector that does these LIVE broadcasts … but I knew they were important because
it’s pretty obvious: moving pictures
sell (look at the advertising industry).
We’ve been leading up to what
we’re about to embark on for many, many months.
Last week we did our first test run of LIVE SALES. (if you
missed it, you can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/user/CraftStarTV/) Many people may wonder: what is an
e:commerce site doing live sales for?
Well … I can tell you! One of the
things I learned when I was doing the consulting job at The Home Shopping
Network, was that you needed at least 20,000 of a single item to get on a
platform like that. I knew there was no
way a small business (whether you’re handmade, crafting supplies or vintage)
could have that amount of any single item.
I also found that those shopping channels are turning over around $3
billion a year. BILLION! That’s A LOT of people watching moving
pictures and buying!
So, my brain got ticking.
There is a big difference (and a gap in the market) between a
one-dimensional website and a LIVE broadcasting platform. When you’re live with your products, you
bring THEM alive. Your passion shows
through and whether you believe it or not right now, you DO know how to sell
them because you lovingly created them or curated them. Who better to sell a product than the person
who makes it or curates it (vintage and crafting supplies)? I’m sure you’ve all seen Mr. Dyson on TV
commercials selling his vacuums. Why is Mr.
Dyson (who has more money than Trump) doing those commercials himself? Because his passion shines through! He LOVES those vacuum cleaners! He’s PROUD of them. And you can see it, or at least feel it … and
it certainly makes me want one! If only
he offered a great Coupon Code.
THAT’S why we’re embarking on LIVE sales … starting next
Wednesday (October 23), and I am so happy that the day has come to let loose on
them. We’ve been building towards it for
a long time. As I’ve said in recent
broadcasts when we’ve been talking about them, I’m not expecting (and nor
should you) a thousand sales the first week, or even the second or tenth. It’s going to take time for this concept to
build: small businesses selling
live. But we’re focused on it and will
keep plugging away to get the eyeballs on the screens. That’s another thing someone brought up … but
it’s online sales, not like QVC or HSN.
I really don’t think that matters.
How many people actually sit down and watch TV like they used to? People are watching it from their computers,
their phones, from where they want to and when they want to … that shouldn’t
stop our dream and our plan … and who knows what might come out of it one
day? Another question recently sent to
me was, could we use this format of live sales for auctions? Absolutely!
There’s no reason not to … especially as TH is taking such a bite out of
sales these days.
Just last week, I was told “Google is watching you.” At first it scared me to death, what have we
done wrong? No …. “They’re watching you
because of the unique and innovative way you are using Google + and the
Hangouts.” The Hangouts are where we
broadcast live from. HOW COOL IS THAT? GOOGLE is watching US!!!
Speaking of Google + … again, if you’ve been
watching our LIVE shows, you’ll know that we’re on the Google + bandwagon and
have been encouraging all shops to have a Google + account. I couldn’t tell you why it is working so well
for us, but I could see the results … in Google searches and sales. So, we’ve asked a Google + expert to join us
in our live show this Thursday to talk us through Google + and why it’s so
important for small businesses to grasp and jump onto. I actually spent a couple hours talking to
Ben, our guest, this past weekend …. And I was AMAZED at what Google +
does. I literally spent the whole
weekend “playing” – finding ways to help build The CraftStar, awareness, and
our LIVE SALES. I felt like I walked
through a fairy door and every way I turned there was a more exciting door to
go through. We’ll never cover all the
ins and outs in one session, so let’s think of Thursday’s live broadcast as the
“Dummy’s Guide To ….” It really is quite incredible and I have a feeling Ben will
become a regular guest so we can get more and more out of the wonders Google +
has to offer.
There are TWO new features I would love to briefly mention
here … and then you can head on over to the site to check them out
yourself! The Trading Post! We’ve been talking about this for a while and
it’s now LIVE (in beta form – so if you see anything weird, please use the
contact button to let us know.) The
Trading Post is going to become a BIG draw to The CraftStar. What you see now is only a tiny bit of what
it’s going to be – and it’s cool!
There’s a HOW TO GUIDE on The Trading Post at the bottom of the front
page of The CraftStar … check it out and jump on in! It’s a great way to do your Christmas
shopping! I’ll write in more detail about
The Trading Post and its functionality as we build it out to the next phase.
The other new feature, which is going to come in very handy,
is the EVENTS link at the top of The CraftStar front page. From there, you can see what’s happening on
site, you can see who’s participating in the LIVE SELLING BLOCKS each week, our
LIVE broadcasts and special guests (and what they’re going to be talking about)
… and best of all, with a click of your mouse, you can add any of the events to
your own calendar so you automatically get reminded of them.
As you can see, we’re moving on forward and I for one am
super excited. We’re moving into a new
playing field … we’re taking another step away from the crowd and showing how
unique and innovative we are. Thank you
again Google!
I hope you’ve been watching the live broadcasts over the
past few months. And if you have taken
on board the tips and tricks we give you, you will have noticed that up turn in
sales. This is the reason why we do the
shows, and the blogs, and the Facebook updates ... to keep you posted on how to
get the most out of your shop.
I’m wary of bombarding you with unwanted emails. BUT, if you do want more frequent updates,
please subscribe to our newsletter on the front page of The CraftStar.
Before I go … I want to mention that we had two resellers
open up shops over the weekend. They
were both closed within an hour. We
REALLY do take the no-reseller policy seriously on The CraftStar.
If you’re not yet a CraftStar seller – now is a GREAT time
to sign up! Jump in the community, get
the benefits of it, participate in LIVE sales, in the chat rooms, in the LIVE
broadcasts …. There is so much that we offer to help you grow your business!
Hope to see you Thursday night – LIVE – with the amazing
Google + expert, Ben Fisher, as our guest.
As a small business owner, that’s going to be a show you really
shouldn’t miss!
All the best,
Bethan and The CraftStar Team
Here are links to our social media that you should be
following:
Google +: https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/103642489195745052292/103642489195745052292 (make sure you have The CraftStar in your
Circles)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecraftstar
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thecraftstar
The CraftStar Blog: http://thecraftstar.blogspot.com/
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