Site moved to Stampingismybusiness.com/blog/2012/08, redirecting in 1 second...

Stamping Is My Business!: August 2012

« July 2012 | Main | September 2012 »

7 posts from August 2012

August 29, 2012

ANNOUNCING - The First-Ever Mobile Marketing Boot Camp! Early Bird Begins NOW!

2012mobilebootlogo600px
I'm happy to announce Early Bird Registration has opened for the 2012 Mobile Marketing Boot Camp!

This first-ever Boot Camp will take place on four consecutive Tuesdays, beginning September 11th, at 10 p.m.  (if you can't make the live webinars, don't worry... you'll have access to the recordings thru January 1st, 2013!).

Who is this Boot Camp for?  If you're trying to...

  • Find New Marketing Opportunities
  • Attract Younger Customers
  • Grow Your Local Business Utilizing Technology
  • Grow Your National Business In A Low-Cost, Effective Way

...then this Boot Camp is for YOU!

By the end of this Boot Camp, you'll be able to...

  • Set Up Your Mobile-Friendly Website (in fact, I'm going to give you the code that allows you to convert your site automatically)
  • Set Up Mobile E-Mail and Text Messaging Campaigns
  • Set Up You own Mobile App (in fact, by the end of the Boot Camp, you will HAVE your own mobile app to share with your customers)
  • Set Up Your QR Code Marketing

...and much more!!!

Think about it... more email is now being read on mobile devices than on computers... more people will access the internet via mobile devices than computers by 2014.

In other words... your customers are going mobile!

If you want to get there first, I strongly encourage you to take this Boot Camp!

The Early Bird Discount period begins NOW! 

Tell Me More About The Mobile Marketing Boot Camp!

Hope to see you in the Boot Camp!

August 24, 2012

FREE WEBINAR - The Five Principles Of A Profitable Stamping Business!

Free-webinar-2Over the last week or two, I've been swamped with questions about how to run a profitable stamping business.
 
Since this is such a pressing issue, I've decided to host a free webinar explaining...
 
The Five Principles Of A Profitable Stamping Business!
 
Here's the thing...  it doesn't matter what type of stamping business you're operating. 
 
It could be a traditional, workshop-based business, or a completely online one. 
 
If you want your business to be profitable, there are certain principles you should follow.
 
I'm going to share them with you during this free webinar.
 
When: Monday, August 27th, at 10:00 p.m. eastern
 
The webinar will be recorded, and I'll send all registrants the link.  So, even if you can't make it live, you should register.  Just use the link below:
 
 
See you Monday!
 
John
 
PS - feel free to share this information with your fellow stamping business owners.

August 14, 2012

Do These Three Things BEFORE You Implement A New Idea!

Idea-light-bulbOne of the biggest problems facing stamping business owners today is the amount of low-quality business-building information being passed around on blogs, boards and lists

Sometimes, the information passes through so many sources, it's like the game, 'telephone,' where what you finally hear is very different from the original information. 

Sometimes, you're only hearing part of the information. 

Sometimes, the information is being advocated by someone who doesn't share the same goals you do, or has a different business setup. 

And, frankly, sometimes, the information is just wrong.

How do you address this?  Just make sure you do these three things before you implement any new ideas into your business:

1. Take Out A Calclulator

It's amazing how few people crunch the numbers before they implement an idea, but whenever you're thinking about doing something new, crunching the numbers is the first thing you should do.  You need to figure out your revenue, costs and profit.  Then, you need to look at how much time it's going to take.  Divide the number of hours into your projected profit and determine whether or not its worth your time.

 

2. Ask the person sharing it how much money they MADE

If you have the opportunity, you should ask the person sharing the information for their numbers.  After expenses, how much did they MAKE?  How much did they put into their pocket?  Remember, this is NOT the same as how much money they took in OR how much product they sold.  You should also ask how many hours they invested to determine whether or not they were truly paid.

 

3. Ask the person sharing it HOW they made the money

Many of the ideas I've seen lately are only profitable because they lead to increased downline commission percentages.  If you don't have a large downline, however, an idea where you make your money on the back-end won't work for you.  So, make sure the profitability of the idea is being made on the front-end... directly because of the idea itself.

 

If you ask these three questions every time you hear a new business-building idea, then the only ideas you'll actually incorporate into your stamping business will be the ones that are truly profitable and pay you what you're worth.

It takes just a few minutes to do this, but, when you do, the payoff is incredible.

Please share this information with your downline, because if your downline are running profitable businesses, the odds are you'll be profitable, too!

If you have any questions or comments you'd like to share, please leave them in the Comments section below. 

August 10, 2012

How Can I Sell Product At Full Price When There's So Much Discounted Product?

Discount-arrowIn response to yesterday's post about not having to give away the farm, I received the following question from Jan:

I became a catalog demonstrator of stamps because I wanted the discount for myself and because I loved the product. I'm a hobby demonstrator thinking about delving into the business side...But, in all honesty, there are a ton of quality crafting products that I can buy and get a discount on (and a lot of times free shipping). How can you sell catalog stamps at full price, when I think about myself, that I would never buy these catalog products at full retail catalog price?

Thanks for the great question, Jan.

The truth is, it's not difficult to sell your product at full price AND everything else in your business (classes, etc.), as well.  The obstacle you see before you is a common concern, but it's also important to realize this is a self-imposed obstacle.  In other words, it's something that you think.  It's not necessarily what is so. 

The good news is, it's not something you have to worry about IF you can accept what I'm going to say:

You are NOT your customer!

The features and benefits you're focusing on are NOT the same as the features and benefits your customer is focusing on.

Now... are there some people who do place their emphasis on the lowest price?  Sure.

But they're NOT your customer, either!

In every industry, there are discount sellers and there are premium sellers.  The discount sellers attract a certain type of customer, and the premium sellers attract a different type of customer.

Which would YOU like to attract?

If its the premium seller, ask for a premium price.  Don't compromise on that!  Are you going to get as many customers as the discount seller?  No.  But here's the thing... you don't have to!!!

As a premium seller, you're going to make more money with fewer customers, lower expenses and less time invested.

In other words, why be Dollar General, when you could be Bergdorf Goodman, instead?

Let all of the discounters compete with the other discounters. 

YOU market to the people who have no interest in discounts.  It's a much less competitive field... and MUCH more lucrative.

If you'd like to see a LOT of marketing ideas AND plug into a community of PROFIT-MINDED stamping business owners, I urge you to check out the Business Stampers Coaching Group... where we make money WITHOUT selling ourselves short!

Take the $1/30-Day Trial

August 09, 2012

Can I Sell Stamps Without Giving Myself Away?

Were-giving-away-the-farmOver the past few weeks, I've received several emails from stamping business owners expressing the same concern:
 
Does a stamping business owner have to give everything away (their time, their classes, their profit, etc.) in order to sell catalog product?

The answer... absolutely not!

While there's certainly been a push toward this sort of "marketing" lately, I believe it's one of the worst ways to run your business... and completely unnecessary.
 
Whether you're doing this as a full-blown business, or just supporting your hobby, you've all spent significant time and money learning your craft.  Time and money you could have spent on and with your family, friends and other things you love.  You should NEVER devalue that sacrifice!
 
You are all experts in your field... and you should be treated as such...  But nobody is going to do that until you yourself demand it!
 
There is absolutely no reason to increase sales if it's going to decrease your profits
And you should never position yourself as the least important, most discountable part of your business.
 
Frankly, anyone who asks you to do that has simply run out of ideas.
 
Get paid what you're worth!  Demand it.  Be consistent.  And you WILL find customers who are more than happy to work with you!
 
To your success,
 
John

August 07, 2012

Recruiting Video Three-Minute Preview (VIDEO)

Several of you contemplating signing up for the 2012 Recruiting and Leadership Boot Camp have asked me about the Bonus Recruiting Video all registrants will receive.

To give you an idea of what to expect, here's a three-minute snippet of last year's video.  Remember, this video has been at least indirectly responsible for over 100 new recruits in the last year!

For more information about the Boot Camp, click here.

August 02, 2012

You Should Jump On This!

Founderfly-screenshotI wanted to let you know that my Coach, Ryan Lee, has just launched his new membership site, and if you're trying to build the online component of your stamping business, I definitely think you should check it out.

It's called 'FounderFly,' and it's an all-access network for online entrepreneurs
 
The initial launch includes access to well over 30 training products, and new content is added every week.

I'm proud to say I've been tapped to be one of the Experts In Residence, training on such topics as list building and membership sites.

In addition to the great content, one of the reasons I'm recommending this to you is you can't beat the price... just $9.95/month!  (And there are long-term options right now that drop the price even lower!)
 
Check it out!


SPECIAL BONUS
If you do decide to sign up, and you go through any of the links in this email (my affiliate links), I'll give you free access to my 12-part video series, "John Wooden's 12 Lessons In Leadership... And How To Apply Them To YOUR Stamping Business!"

These videos were only made available once several years ago, and have not been released since. 

If you decide to sign up for FounderFly, I'll give you Lifetime Access to the videos.  Simply go through any of the links in this post and e-mail me your receipt.

Take the FounderFly Tour!


IF YOU WERE AN INNER CIRCLE MEMBER
If you were previously a member of Ryan's Inner Circle, this site replaces that one.  You'll have to re-register.  Access will NOT immediately move over to the new site.  If you decide to re-register, use the links in this e-mail and forward me your receipt for access to the 12-part video series.

Re-Register for FounderFly!


If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to let me know.  Hope you decide to take a look!