Learn how Karen Baumgartner, long-time Stella & Dot Stylist and Social Media Jedi, used Cheddar Up and her savvy skills to sell more than $1,200 of samples in 30-minutes. She’s graciously shared her secrets to success in a 4-day plan:
Day 1: Create Your Sale
This is the easy part. Click below to learn about Cheddar Up’s powerful and unique features and to create your own lucrative sample sale.
Day 2: Be Paul Revere
Let friends and customers know that the sale is coming! Karen posted on her personal Facebook page and VIP Facebook group (if you have one) to let friends and customers know that her sample sale was coming up.
She shared her first post 48-72 hours IN ADVANCE of sharing her Cheddar Up sample sale link.
The goal of this first post was to create a sense of urgency and get it on your customers’ radars. The other goal is to generate lots of comments in your feed so people will want in.
Check out Karen’s post below. She had 56 comments on the post. She “liked” and responded to every comment with remarks such as “You’re in!” or “Added you!”, making sure to tag those who commented.
PRO TIP: Not everyone is an active Facebook user. Use ALL your communication channels, including email, text message and other social platforms to sell more and engage customers
Day 3: Share your link in your VIP group and promote the sale on your public feed
The next day, Karen posted her Cheddar Up sample sale link and access code to her VIP Facebook page. She required friends who wanted access to her sample sale to join her VIP group. This helped her increase her VIP group members significantly.
Karen used Cheddar Up’s Access Code and Start Time & Countdown Clock features. This was critical! These features allowed her to share her sale link in advance of the sale beginning. The password kept her sale on lockdown and only available to her network while making those with access feel extra special.
Karen posted a slightly edited version of this post on her public Facebook feed saying: “GOES LIVE TOMORROW! I’ve posted details in my VIP group. Let me know if you want in!”.
This generated several more responses and new members to her VIP group. Every new member to her VIP group is a win. Not only will they potentially buy your samples, but you’ll be able to market to them year-round for main-season sales.
PRO TIP: Did you know you can customize your sample sale URL to make it short and tidy? Find out how!
Day 4: Sale Opening Day! Ramp up the FOMO
Karen decided to start her sale at 8 pm on a Thursday evening. While there’s no proven best day or time for a sale, this timing worked well for her. The nice thing about starting the sale in the evening is that Karen was able to promote it several times throughout the day.
TOUCHPOINT #1
Mid-morning Karen shared the post below, because who doesn’t love Buddy!?! She received more comments and replies. She was diligent to always like, tag and respond to every commenter—while adding them to her VIP group so they would have access to the sale specifics.
TOUCHPOINT #2
The afternoon of Karen’s Sale Opening, she did a mass eblast to her entire customer base. She used MailChimp to simplify this task since her marketing list was so large. She used the same “Style for a Steal” image that she previously used on Facebook. Karen’s email copy was short and to the point (see below). She saw many shoppers that she hadn’t seen in a long time as a result of this eblast.
PRO TIP
People DON’T READ…so hit them with a 1-2-3 punch with social, email and text.
TOUCHPOINT #3
Mid-day, Karen posted this adorable image and authentic message to her VIP Facebook group. The goal? Convince your best customers to add their friends to your VIP group so they too can have access to the sale! Who doesn’t love to share access to an amazing sample sale. This is a stellar move!
TOUCHPOINT #4
An hour or two before Karen’s sample sale started, she posted this “It’s almost TIME” image with corresponding momentum-building copy! Notice the slightly varied text that she posted to her public feed versus what she shared within her VIP group (which had the sale link and password). These posts did some heavy lifting for Karen, reminding her customers to get ready.
By the end of her sale, in a matter of days, Karen had earned over $1,900 to re-invest back into her Stella & Dot business!
Karen held her sale from Thursday through Sunday. We see some Stylists keeping their sale open for only a few days, while others keep it active and up-to-date year-round – using it as a reward for their year-round hostesses as an extra special treat. We also find that Stylists love having an always-active, always up-to-date listing of their personal inventory. Do what works for you.