Advice on Sales!!

have you all been having sales now that the summer dry spell is over?

what feature (that you learned in this thread) do you best attribute it to? or do you think it the lack of sales all summer was due said summer dry spell?

marketing tips

I honestly think that the freebie groups have been great for me, I do well on those days

Marketing Tips and for me too when i announce a freebie i seem to sell a bit more but sales have not picked up in a whole.

WHICH marketing tips specifically?

and my business owning alt is not in the freebie group i don't think. should i be?

well the freebies thing is marketing, getting your name out there and spreading the landmarks. I make sure I hit the forums new products classified as often as possible, I keep my mall spot even though I don't get many sales (I consider it advertising), I package things better, and try to make a better presentation than I did before.

Also my product improves but that is just experience (and my opinon lol)

Yesterda kicked butt- today its a snore fest

The biggest thing for me from this thread has been the exposure. The free spaces I have around the grid which mean more people see my stuff now. This is esp from the space at Primal Arts (which now accounts for most of my sales most days O.o. Thanks Rhia!!!!!!). The space at the free dog mall is also great, i dont often get sales from there but occassionally.

Getting my name out there has been good. ALthough I am certainly not making earth shattering sales I am making some. In fact this last month or so I have made enough to pull out a small amount out for my partner's birthday present. I am a student and sending her a present in RL would have hurt otherwise, but because of my store and this thread im able to afford to send one That might not seem much to soemone who makes 5000L a day... but for me it is wonderful.

I have also been offering lms for my favourite creators from this thread to others. When people at my club ask about soemthign to buy if we dont have soemthing in the mall I will mention one of you guys. Esp primal arts, i send people there a lot, cos i want to give back to Rhia.



Ohh Ama there are more hair accessories in my store. You wanted me to let you know when there were

sales (or lack thereof) have not changed since the start of this thread (actually my sales have dropped)

I have learned a lot from this thread and I do use the freebie groups, it might garner some extra sales (in the case as of late, the only sales) however it also gets the product and name out there which is good

the biggest thing I learned from this thread is... I am not alone.

I have learned so much from this thread and met some really awesome people! The help and generosity of many of you has been really encouraging.

And another HUGE thank you to Rhia for the lovely areas she provided for many of us!!

Re sales: I have sold a lot of the 1L or 5L items that I announce in the the freebie groups, but other than that, just a few sales here and there.

~ ~ ~

I've also learned I'm not cut out to be a full-time SL merchant. (Refer to /327/57/285662/13.html near the bottom of the page).

I realized I was comparing my shop with those who have had a SL business for 6 months - 1 year, or longer. I had planned to start small and build from there, but then was getting advice that I should think ahead and plan for growth up front. Good advice, except I spent so much time trying to follow all the marketing tips here and in classes I took, plus acquiring more property to plan for growth, which then necessitated that I sell something each month to offset tier...that I got myself worn out and in a frazzle and found I had no energy left for the other activities I enjoy in SL.

As I said in the post referred to above - I'm now wishing I had just started with my small store on the 512 plot and gone from there.

I'm in a quandary about selling some of my land. There is one plot I absolutely don't need and only purchased due to it being priced really low so I snagged it for the prims. However, if I sell just that plot, it doesn't lower my tier at all. I keep putting it up for sale then taking it back down again...lol.

I think I'm just tired (I am dealing with some RL health issues) so I'll just clear my head for a month or two, enjoy SL as I did before, and then reassess after the first of the year.

what i saw from this thread that was most profound (imo) and helpful was the growth in some better advertising logos and layouts.

some people ignored that advice, but i hope they will reconsider and make their ads less gunked up with 'stuffs' and let the product speak for itself. that being a bigger product picture (just one) with smaller words and a teeny logo....

less is more, as they say.
too much is too much.

Thanks! I will definitely come and add to my collection

I like the look of the hairsticks in particular.. but... how about we all get together and set up a show? I think we talked about it but nothing came of it- I wear your freebie sticks with my Orient Express gown- nice combo... but maybe there is a bit of a sparkly someone wd think looks good with it? And we can get Honey to model since she's a pro- and a few others as well- hold a big event and showcase each other- what do you guys think?

Czari- I totally hear you. Re this being a real "going concern" - Face it- to make real money here would take a hell of a lot of man-hours that most of us do not have. There is an exterior life after all. For me, the store is fun - more than a hobby cause I do care to make some Lindens, but less than a business cause I am not going to make it a full time job. Between my daily job, friends and family within and outside of SL- something has to take a back seat. While I do spend a lot of time in creating and marketing - and it has paid off - I can't see my self sleeping less than I already do, or not seeing those important to me within SL.

So, while I hope for the day Talon Faire pays tier, I am not loosing sleep over it.

As for selling off ur land- if it doesn't affect tier and u don't need the bux desperately- hang on to it- heck why not?

I appreciate your input Amar

I'm pretty much in the category you described - "For me, the store is fun - more than a hobby cause I do care to make some Lindens, but less than a business cause I am not going to make it a full time job."

I do enjoy the store and creating when my mind is geared for it. I just made the mistake of letting my "all or nothing" personality run away with me.

Yes, I'm going to hang onto the land for now and see how I feel about things in a month or so.

Couldn't have said it better! It's a challenge for me to try and make my business grow, but I don't want to make it so that it's no longer fun either. Getting my products "out there" and seen has been a big thing for me.

Has everyone taken Sarah Nerd up on her offer and placed any freebies at Freebie Paradise? I put a freebie prefab out over there and also put it out at my stores, OnRez and XStreetSL too. It's selling like hot cakes!!! I just hope that some of the people getting it come back to my store for a better look sometime.

I need to look through my notes of items I've been meaning to make "sometime" and haven't gotten around to it yet for Sarah Nerd's offer. Everything in my current inventory I've offered as 1L or 5L items and still do on occasion, so need to make something completely different.

Thanks for the reminder, Prawnyloks

Just noticed the map's been updated, so the mall at Primal Art (thanks again, Rhia!) is now visible from above

oh thanks for the reminder about sarah's

yep I agree, the statement made about it is more than a hobby but less than a business fits most of us I would think

I used to stress about making tier, but.. no more
I decided to not stress about it and if I make tier great, if not then that is ok too

I released something a few days ago, first release in a few weeks, and it was fun.
I do find though that having a weekly release does keep people interested, and sales do tend to be there more.

So once I am done with the hunt preparations, and my RL stuff at the beginning of Nov is done and I know which direction my RL is going, I hopefully will get back into creating and having weekly releases.

Today being the cut off for the grid hunt participants to join up, will mean some of my time devoted to this will be freed up.

Organizing this has been an eye opener, and I have met some terrific folks (even if only via IM)
I can't wait to do the hunt myself LOL

anywho, best of luck to everyone, and continue to love what you do, and do what you love

This thread seems to have grown into something really special and makes me so proud of SL forums. This is quite timely for me as I have been devoting every spare second for the last several months to getting my store together and building like mad to fill a rather large parcel with inventory. Only now am I coming up for air and getting around to actually creating a classified ad (up in a few days I hope) and focusing on marketing my products (lighting, fountains, specialty particle effects) and getting some real traffic going. I've contacted Jojogirl and requested her marketing class notecard and done a little traveling around to see some of the shops mentioned here (Mickey Vandeverre deserves a special mention for EtCetera - I was truly impressed with the products and the creativity in the layout and presentation.) I haven't been overly concerned with the expense as it's been great fun and very rewarding but I'd like to move beyond just barely covering tier.
I admit to having skipped over a large portion in the center of the thread (now 142 pages and growing!) and so if this type of request has been overdone then please forgive me but....... if any of you have a moment to pop into the store and give your impressions I'd be so grateful for the input good or bad. I'm especially concerned with load times what with the growing number of textures and particles. I've worked out a system of particle demos so that there are as few particle scripts running as possible but I'm wondering if it may be necessary to open a sky platform for half the merchandise in order to improve load times. I know that if I'm visiting a new shop and things haven't rezzed within a minute or so then I won't stay unless I'm very motivated. I'm interested in first impressions - is there enough to catch your interest when you land and are you motivated to explore? Does the layout make sense or does it need reorganizing? I am aware that the advert texture for the parcel which appears under search needs a serious overhaul - working on it
Ugh, didn't want this to be such a long post! Anyway, thanks in advance to any who are able to share their impressions and best of luck to all of you involved in similar endeavors.
Klyks Klees

(Eastfield 154,76,21)

Welcome to the thread, Klyks, and best of luck with your new store. I'll try to make it to your place during the weekend. Would you prefer to have responses here in the thread or in IM?

Thanks so much Miles, that would be much appreciated. Either is fine, IM or post. I would leave it up to the poster to decide if the comments are general enough to be worth posting here in forums. If not then maybe an IM would be more appropriate. Cool Blog! I'll bookmark it.

Klyks

That's a great idea Amar, maybe we can all meet up in world and arrange something.

Czari, i'm the same actually. I do this more out of fun than anything. I love playing around in Photoshop and learning new things. My main fun thing too do in SL is dance.. i work at two clubs lol.
I sent out a freebie too Sarah Nerd.. Not sure if she put it up yet.. i really need to go over and look lol.

Hi Klyks, welcome to the thread. I'll come on down tomorrow and have a look at your store aswell and let you know what i think tomorrow.

My store for me has never been about making money. I just love crating stuff and get a thrill out of peple liking it enough to buy it. Unlike the rest of you i pay nothing in tier costs or costs for any of my vendor spaces (thank you to my very generous partner ). So i dont feel the pressure of most of you. If i go days without a sale I just shrug and think oh i might throw out a freebie. I dont feel pressure to build and create constantly to get my name out there.

I build when the mood strikes me (interestingly enough usually when i am in a bad mood.) And 1/2 the time i build something but dont get it in my shop for weeks because im not in the mood to photograph and photoshop boards then box everything up etc etc. (hmmm wonder if I could find someone to do this bit for me? i dunno)

i guess i am really lucky I dont have that pressure to sell things. Dont get me wrong I love making sales and it makes me happy when I make them, but if i dont make any thats ok too.

I have actually just had to start building another section of my shop s I am running out of room (wow never would have thought). I am also slowly running out of prims. I have 150 left though before I get into trouble. But I am beginning to think what I shall do when tht happens. I guess I will have to assess what sells and what doesnt. Box up thtwhich doesnt and put it on SLX (hmmm i sooo need someone to put things on SLX for me too... I have barely anythign on there becuse i am so unmotivated.)


My problem is I love to build and like making sales. But the in between stuff .... the packaging and the marketign for me are big hurdles.

You guys are so great and a wonderful inspiration to me. I agree that if it isnt fun dont do it. For me, creating things, arranging my store, talking to customers is the fun. I dont get to be creative in RL and i dont get to use much of my entreprenurial bent in RL either. So figuring out the marketing, helping customers and other biz owners etc is a HUGE blast for me. I also really enjoy teaching the classes that I do and sharing my SL marketing experience. It is amazing to me how biz in SL is so similar to RL in some ways and so VERY VERY different in others. I have been lucky enough to figure some of that out so sharing what i have learned is great fun.

RL has also been pulling me away alot lately, but in the next few weeks i hope to get back to more interacting. i would have liked to participate in more of the projects you guys are generating like the hunt etc, but i just have not had the energy to get it all together. But i applaud that kind of real support and encouragement. it is what is sorely lacking in SL biz in my view. it is much better to band together and support each other regardless of whether folks do things our way, are our competitors, are just starting out, or have been around a long time. Everyone can use an encouraging word and a pat on the back!

Thanks for keeping this thread going in such a positive direction....it encourages me daily.

strangely not a lot of folks from this thread are in the hunt

with nearly 100 participants, only a handful if that, came from this thread (well from folks that posted here LOL)

the rest has been word of mouth, amazing

Ooooo and thank you aswell JoJo, youve been a great help yourself with yout tips and advice and even your sim

Oh by the way guys, i'm in the process of making something for you all. Just my little way of saying thank you. I'll send it too the group soon.

Hey Rha, when do you need my gift for the hunt hun?

Hugs
Rhianna xx