Wednesday, August 12, 2009

'How to Start A Stork Rental' ebook on SALE!

Our ebook "How to Start A Stork Rental" is now on sale!

SALE PRICE: $9.99
Regular price $24.99

Are you considering starting your own stork rental business?
Our 'How To' manual includes information on marketing, how to run your business, creating a business name, setting up and taking down your stork, staying organized, scheduling, what materials and tools to use, credit card processing, how to handle taxes, lettering and even how to deal with competition.You'll receive examples of our business cards, brochures, post cards and advertisements. You'll learn how to handle customers, how to use your stork for indoor events and much more!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Inexpensive way to market your biz!

I often have booths at baby and children expos advertising my business. Most of the booths have some sort of goody that they give away (custom magnets, pens, cups etc.) . These goodies can get very expensive when you have a few thousand people passing your booth. A good friend of mine who owns love2bcreative.com showed me a wonderful inexpensive item to give away at expos or to include in a goody bag to give your customers.

Simply purchase a bag of wooden clothes pins, design and print out custom labels, apply them to the clothes pins and if you'd like, add a magnet to the back! Ta-da... an awesome custom 'chip clip' and/or magnet! Customers can seal a bag of chips with it or hang it on their fridge! You can either print the label out on regular paper and attach it with a glue stick or you can print the labels on sticker paper for easier application. A great, unique, inexpensive item to promote your business!


August's Special!

This month we are giving our new sign business customers FOUR FREE ZIP CODES to add to their exclusive territory! A $100 value! When you purchase a new business package over $1,500 we will include four extra zip codes to extend your 20+ mile exclusive territory! You choose the zip codes that you want! Simply mention this offer when you place your order and extend your area at no charge! (Zip codes must extend off original territory). Expires 8/31/09.

What should I put in my goody bags?

Most people who deliver lawn signs will also include a free goody bag to their customer. I often get asked "What should I put in it?".

Today I will discuss a few great items to include with a stork rental. Some of these items can also go in the bday bags, but today I will focus on newborn announcements. One of the main reasons to supply a goody bag is to promote your business. Provide items that will make you memorable and that include your contact information so that customers can easily find you again when they want to rent a sign in the future. Providing a nearly empty bag with only your items may not be as impressive as a bag full of goodies!

1. Free sample candy bar - If you have purchased our candy bar business cd you will have access to a wide variety of wonderful personalized candy bar designs. If your customer does not order candy bars, it's nice to include 1 sample candy bar to peak their interest. It's nice because they get a free personalized candy bar with their new baby's birth info on it and you will often find customer who will love it so much that they place a full order.

2. Your brochure, business card and/or magnet - You'll want to make sure that your customer can easily remember you the next time they know someone having a baby or birthday. By providing your marketing materials, especially magnets, they can keep your info handy very easily.

3. Frequent Renters Cards - You wont want your customers to simply rent one sign and then move on to other gifts for future birthdays, new births and other occasions. Let them know how much you appreciate their continued business. Offer your customers a free rental after 4 rentals. This is the perfect item to give to your customers who rent signs from you as well as your customers who receives signs as gifts. For more info on Frequent Rental Cards: http://sweet-greetings.blogspot.com/2009/07/new-product-frequent-renters-cards.html

4. American Baby Magazine - American Baby Magazine is always looking for new baby related retail businesses to market their magazine. Simply contact American Baby and they will ship you a box of magazines every month at no cost to you (even shipping is included!). 1-800-368-7899

5. 'Back To Sleep' campaign items - Help prevent SIDS by promoting the Back to Sleep campaign which suggests placing babies on their backs to sleep. This organization is very near and dear to my heart after experiencing a near death experience with our newborn son a few years ago. Thanks to early intervention and CPR, our 4 day old baby's life was saved and I feel that it's important to promote newborn sleep safety. You can often get FREE stickers, door hangers and more to give to your customers.

For more information on the Back to Sleep campaign:
Web: http://www.californiasids.com/Universal/MainPage.cfm?p=4492#106B
Phone: 1-800-505-CRIB (2742)
Mail: 31 Center Drive, Building 31, Room 2A32, Bethesda, MD 20892
E-mail: NICHDInformationResourceCenter@mail.nih.gov (Use subject line: BACK TO SLEEP ORDER)

6. Info on other baby Items - If you offer any other baby-related items, it's good to advertise them in your goody bags. I am an affiliate for the iseeme.com books and I include a 'free shipping' code and information on the books in my goody bags.

7. Items from local businesses - It's great to network with local businesses and help to promote each other. If you have your brochures in local businesses, it's nice to offer to place their marketing materials in your bags: coupons, discounts, catalogs, free items etc. Contact local businesses as well as local independant sales reps for such items as Mary Kay (what new mom wouldn't love a Mary Kay sample!). It's especially nice if they include some sort of 'gift' with their marketing materials. Even simple things like lollypops, coupons, magnets, chip clips, samples etc.. so that the customer is excited to recieve the freebies and doesn't feel like they are being given a bag of ads.

8. Scour the internet for freebies - Just like with American Baby and the Back to Sleep campaign, many business love to give out free samples to promote their businesses. A goody bag full of great items is a great way to make your business memorable. Depending on the item, you can also include a sticker on the freebies that say "Compliments of your business name"