Proof to Product

On this mini episode, Katie Hunt reiterates something Brice McBeth of Reap marketing talked about on Episode 62 of Proof to Product — the difference between search engine optimization and conversion rate optimization.   Here's what we learned from Brice:   Search engine optimization is driving traffic to your website.   Conversion Rate Optimization is getting people on your website to take action & buy.   Brice shares a lot of great ideas and strategies in episode 62, if you haven’t listened yet I highly recommend it.   There’s so much more to dive into here, so Brice and I will be hosting a free online masterclass next month to talk about why SEO is a hoax.  And, how you can be leveraging your existing marketing to get more customers.  If you to be notified about the details when we open registration.  Head to http://www.tradeshowcamp.com/join and make sure you’re on our mailing list.

Brice McBeth is the founder of Reap Marketing, the only digital agency that hired itself to build an e-commerce business and optimize its own conversations by over 950% on its way to creating a multi-million dollar store that disrupted the salon equipment industry.  Brice also wrote about his journey in his book, Salon Chairs Don’t Sell Themselves which is a fascinating read. He speaks and provides education on the topic of Conversion Rate Optimization to help companies, like us, get better results from their current marketing efforts.   On today’s episode, Brice explains the difference between conversion rate optimization and search engine optimization and why you need to be thinking about both.  He shares a shocking statistic, that typically 99% of your online shop visitors aren’t buying from you and why slick and sexy websites don’t always sell more of your product.     I wanted to let you in on a secret.  We’re going to be doing a free online masterclass with Brice next month, where we’ll talk about why SEO is a hoax and he’ll teach us some unconventional ways to use great content to get more customers.  If you want to be notified about the details when we open registration, head to tradeshowcamp.com/join and make sure you’re on our mailing list. ON TODAY’S EPISODE: A common misconception people have around digital marketing The difference between search engine optimization and conversion rate optimization The industry standard for conversion rates on eCommerce sites The concept, four pillars of optimization, developed to help guide people through discovering what is going on with their website What prompted  Brice to do a live case study & how he landed on salon furniture as the product The first steps he takes to ensure that a site is focused more on the conversion aspect than about the aesthetics Why he had to forfeit some of the aesthetic of the Standish site for functionality The common fears of his clients as they make changes to their sites to increase conversions conversions Brice’s book, Salon Chairs Don't Sell Themselves The most important data points to collect through Google Analytics What surprised Brice most through the testing they ran on Standish How to determine a reasonable amount of time to test something on your site Brice’s advice for increasing CRO on your website The services that Brice offers & how you can work with him KEY TAKE-AWAYS: “CRO and SEO are two different things and they shouldn't be confused with each other.” - Brice McBeth “SEO refers to the practice of writing content on your website for the purpose of getting indexed by search engines like Google.” - Brice McBeth “CRO refers to the process of exploring ways to get more people or to convince more people who are already on your website to do business with you.” - Brice McBeth “There's not really just one definition of what a conversion is, but certainly getting people to engage and become a customer is the endgame.” - Brice McBeth “It seems we sort of glorify this serial entrepreneur, but it can be really difficult, and we forget to glorify the people who can keep it real and have a good of work-life balance.” - Brice McBeth “Nobody comes to a marketing agency and asks for ugly website. Has anybody said, "Hey, I want my website to look just like Wikipedia's website"?. That would be amazing, but you're talking about one of the highest converting websites on the planet.” - Brice McBeth “As long as you know beauty isn't the only purpose driving the design, you can usually get the job done.” - Brice McBeth “We had to really kind of take a hard look at that [the Standish site] and kind of change the aesthetic and forfeit some of the aesthetic for functionality and something that was a little bit more familiar for our audience. “ - Brice McBeth “It [Salon Chairs Don’t Sell Themselves] is definitely a story of the journey that we went through to optimize our own conversions and sort of the pitfalls we fell into along the ways and how we got ourselves out of those pitfalls.” - Brice McBeth “People are six times more likely to watch a video than read the same exact content that's written on the page and after having watched the video, they're 65% more likely to buy from you.” - Brice McBeth CONNECT WITH BRICE: Website: https://reapmarketing.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReapMarketing/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reapmarketing/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/reap-marketing/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/reapmarketing   Website: http://bricemcbeth.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bricemcbeth/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bricemcbeth/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bricemcbeth Twitter: https://twitter.com/bricemcbeth   LINKS: Salon Chairs Don’t Sell Themselves BOOTH BLUEPRINT: If you’re gearing up for trade show season and need help creating a beautiful booth that doesn’t break the bank, I want to invite you to my free masterclass.   I’m sharing my three secrets to maximize your trade show investment and keep wholesale orders coming in long after you trade show end.  To join me for this FREE workshop, head to www.theboothblueprint.com to register! SUBSCRIBE To subscribe on iOS, go to the iTunes page and subscribe to Proof to Product. On Android, you can listen using your favorite podcast app. WRITE A REVIEW Writing a review on iTunes will help other product based business owners find Proof to Product as they are working to up level, scale, and build profitable and sustainable companies. FOLLOW PROOF TO PRODUCT Follow Proof to Product on Instagram for the latest updates. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST If you'd like to receive more information about our upcoming episodes of Proof to Product including show notes and information about our guests, head over to www.prooftoproduct.com and sign up for our email list.   SHARE Be sure to share Proof to Product with all of the product based business owners that you know! ABOUT PROOF TO PRODUCT: Proof to Product is brought to you by Tradeshow Bootcamp and hosted by Katie Hunt. Since 2011, TSBC has worked with hundreds of product based businesses to help them up level, scale, and build profitable sustainable companies. You can find our show notes and additional resources at ProofToProduct.com. If you like what you heard today, please head over to Apple Podcast to leave a five star review and subscribe. Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back next week with a new episode!

  Katie Hunt, founder of Tradeshow Bootcamp dives deeper into how to create a wholesale resource section on your website, something she and Rhonda Warren talked about briefly on episode 61. Katie shares what to include in your resource center, how to structure things and why it is important to make it easy for your wholesale customers to buy.   Listen to Episode 61 Here: http://tradeshowcamp.com/prooftoproduct061/     SUBSCRIBE To subscribe on iOS, go to the iTunes page and subscribe to Proof to Product. On Android, you can listen using your favorite podcast app.   WRITE A REVIEW Writing a review on iTunes will help other product based business owners find Proof to Product as they are working to up level, scale, and build profitable and sustainable companies.   FOLLOW PROOF TO PRODUCT Follow Proof to Product on Instagram for the latest updates.   JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST If you'd like to receive more information about our upcoming episodes of Proof to Product including show notes and information about our guests, head over to www.prooftoproduct.com and sign up for our email list.     SHARE Be sure to share Proof to Product with all of the product based business owners that you know!

Rhonda Warren is the owner of Color Box Design & Letterpress, a letterpress studio located in Dallas Texas. Rhonda has a multi-faceted business. She has a line of paper goods that she sells to both the retail and wholesale markets; as well as a bustling custom invitation arm through which she creates wedding invitations, corporate event invitations and everything in between.   On today’s episode Rhonda jokes that she accidentally started this business that is still going strong after 13 years.  She shares details about the custom side of her business and why relationships with local vendors and word of mouth referrals make up almost 70% of her business.  Rhonda also shares information about her team - how she knew it was time to hire, everyone’s roles and why she wished she had hired sooner. ON TODAY’S EPISODE: What Rhonda was doing before Color Box Design & Letterpress How she first go into letterpress by accident Where she gets her inspiration from How Color Box marries three different design styles and aesthetics into one brand Her team’s roles & how she splits up responsibilities How her business & products have shifted over the years Her experience with certain products being a good fit for retail but not wholesale The need to educate consumers, store owners, & wholesale customers on what a product is and how it is supposed to be used What Rhonda loves about custom work The importance of networking and how she meets people and establishes relationships How she balances all three arms of her business -- custom, retail, and wholesale Rhonda’s advice to those just starting out in custom work How she defines success The advice she would give to someone just starting out in a product-based business How she knew it was time to hire a team KEY TAKE-AWAYS: “I fell  into letterpress by accident.” - Rhonda Warren “We're kind of an eclectic brand, which is how we marry it together.” - Rhonda Warren “We come up with ideas and at the end of the day we honestly don't know who came up with the idea and who finished it.” - Rhonda Warren on how she designs with her team. “You don't have to sell everything to both wholesale and retail. If it doesn't work for your margins to wholesale it, you don't need to sell it there.” - Katie Hunt “It's a little bit of trial and error, trying to explain your product when you’re not there to explain it.” - Rhonda Warren “I love getting to hear about an event and then having that come to life in someone’s mailbox so it's an introduction to the event.” - Rhonda Warren “I don't think we'll ever give up that [custom] side of the business just because we all love it and it's the money maker.” - Rhonda Warren “The [wedding] planners are key just because of the repeat business.” - Rhonda Warren “If the clients happy, I'm happy.” - Rhonda Warren “It's good to step out there before you think you're really ready to do it.” - Rhonda Warren “When you need to hire people you should hire people. It's only going to help you. It's scary at first but it always gets easier.” - Rhonda Warren “As we would get where we just couldn't handle it all then we would bring on another person.” - Rhonda Warren CONNECT WITH RHONDA: Website: www.colorboxletterpress.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ColorboxDesignLetterpress/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colorboxletterpress/ BOOTH BLUEPRINT: If you’re gearing up for trade show season and need help creating a beautiful booth that doesn’t break the bank, I want to invite you to my free masterclass.   I’m sharing my three secrets to maximize your trade show investment and keep wholesale orders coming in long after you trade show end.  To join me for this FREE workshop, head to www.theboothblueprint.com to register! SUBSCRIBE To subscribe on iOS, go to the iTunes page and subscribe to Proof to Product. On Android, you can listen using your favorite podcast app. WRITE A REVIEW Writing a review on iTunes will help other product based business owners find Proof to Product as they are working to up level, scale, and build profitable and sustainable companies. FOLLOW PROOF TO PRODUCT Follow Proof to Product on Instagram for the latest updates. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST If you'd like to receive more information about our upcoming episodes of Proof to Product including show notes and information about our guests, head over to www.prooftoproduct.com and sign up for our email list.   SHARE Be sure to share Proof to Product with all of the product based business owners that you know! ABOUT PROOF TO PRODUCT: Proof to Product is brought to you by Tradeshow Bootcamp and hosted by Katie Hunt. Since 2011, TSBC has worked with hundreds of product based businesses to help them up level, scale, and build profitable sustainable companies. You can find our show notes and additional resources at ProofToProduct.com. If you like what you heard today, please head over to Apple Podcast to leave a five star review and subscribe. Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back next week with a new episode!

Katie talks about the importance of building relationships with your manufacturing partners.  She shares some of her own experiences, fears and missteps when searching for her own print partners.   The risks she faced and what you should look for when reaching out to new manufacturing partners. Want to join the conversation in our free Proof to Product Facebook group?  Join us:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/prooftoproduct/ SUBSCRIBE To subscribe on iOS, go to the iTunes page and subscribe to Proof to Product. On Android, you can listen using your favorite podcast app.   WRITE A REVIEW Writing a review on iTunes will help other product based business owners find Proof to Product as they are working to up level, scale, and build profitable and sustainable companies.   FOLLOW PROOF TO PRODUCT Follow Proof to Product on Instagram for the latest updates.   JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST If you'd like to receive more information about our upcoming episodes of Proof to Product including show notes and information about our guests, head over to www.prooftoproduct.com and sign up for our email list.     SHARE Be sure to share Proof to Product with all of the product based business owners that you know!

Ronnie Williams is the owner of DeFrance Printing, which is a full-service commercial print shop located in Southern California. Ronnie grew up in the print industry and is the third generation to own and operate DeFrance. His grandfather began printing in the late 1930s, followed by his father in the early 1970s, and Ronnie was a fixture in the print shop by the young age of five. Ronnie's background brings a unique perspective, in that he has expertise in both the print process, as well as the outcome.   This episode is a little bit different than most, in that we're diving into some of the technical aspects of printing, common mistakes that people make in file setup, ways to save money on your print runs, and how DeFrance helps a wide range of industries with packaging, catalogs, marketing materials, and more.   Ronnie, and the team at DeFrance, have recently expanded their services to include warehousing and fulfillment, helping independent brands with not only printing, but also storage, fulfillment, and distribution of their products. They have particular expertise handling orders for big box stores, such as Paper Source. Ronnie, and the team at DeFrance, have been strong supporters of our Tradeshow Bootcamp community and advocates for education around the print process.  I know you’ll learn a lot from Ronnie! ON TODAY’S EPISODE: The history of DeFrance Printing and how long Ronnie’s family has owned it Their core clients and the type of work they do for them All of the different print methods DeFrance offers The fulfillment services that they offer Paper Source’s specific rules and regulations as to how things need to be shipped Ronnie’s favorite projects to print The things that people should figure out before reaching out to a printer Some common mistakes he sees people making when submitting art files A Pantone color versus a CMYK color and what the benefits are to both Turnaround times and the expectations people should have When he recommends getting proofs versus not The materials, other than paper, DeFrance prints on The types of products they are getting the most inquiries on right now How DeFrance prints gift wrapping Some cost-cutting or cost-saving tips to maximize print runs Products outside of the stationery world that DeFrance prints What’s next for DeFrance Printing KEY TAKE-AWAYS: “Most people carry low inventory because they don't want to prepay for all the cards, not knowing whether the order's coming. When they get one that's 500, 1000, 4000+ , they then come to us, and we can print the job, sleeve it, package it, UPC barcode it again, and get it out to Paper Source in time. It's something we do very regularly, and our bindery guys have it down pat. “ - Ronnie Williams “You can market your business, create new products, and sell more product, while we worry about all the other work and get it off your back, so you're not up until midnight or 1:00 a.m., sleeving cards the night before it's got to go,” - Ronnie Williams “They don't see the value in [our services], until they start doing it themselves, and then they realize the time it consumes. It's the same as when people are printing for themselves. It's amazing that they can learn these trades and they can do it, but at some point it does cross over and start to consume their time, rather than allow them to grow the business.” - Ronnie Williams “Greeting cards, letterpress, and foil are still some of my favorite. I do get on press still every once in a while. I was just on press last week, doing some art prints.” - Ronnie Williams “I just love the process of seeing how it comes together and gets completed.” - Ronnie Williams “Specs are very important, to make sure we're talking "apples to apples" to each other.” - Ronnie Williams “I find that you're not just a printer. You're not just taking the jobs as they come and just pushing them out. You're trying to make sure that you're maximizing the time,the money, and the effort and energy that everyone's putting forth to create the best possible product.” - Katie Hunt “The first time we produce or make anything, we like an extra day or two to make sure we're double-checking.” - Ronnie Williams “Paper adds up to a lot of money in this process, and so if you're in love with a high-end paper, it's going to make the job more.” - Ronnie Williams “I've seen you try to bend over backwards to help people make their dreams come true. ” - Katie Hunt CONNECT WITH RONNIE: Website: http://www.defranceprinting.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeFrancePrint Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/defranceprint/ BOOTH BLUEPRINT: If you’re gearing up for trade show season and need help creating a beautiful booth that doesn’t break the bank, I want to invite you to my free masterclass.   I’m sharing my three secrets to maximize your trade show investment and keep wholesale orders coming in long after you trade show end.  To join me for this FREE workshop, head to www.theboothblueprint.com to register! SUBSCRIBE To subscribe on iOS, go to the iTunes page and subscribe to Proof to Product. On Android, you can listen using your favorite podcast app. WRITE A REVIEW Writing a review on iTunes will help other product based business owners find Proof to Product as they are working to up level, scale, and build profitable and sustainable companies. FOLLOW PROOF TO PRODUCT Follow Proof to Product on Instagram for the latest updates. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST If you'd like to receive more information about our upcoming episodes of Proof to Product including show notes and information about our guests, head over to www.prooftoproduct.com and sign up for our email list.   SHARE Be sure to share Proof to Product with all of the product based business owners that you know! ABOUT PROOF TO PRODUCT: Proof to Product is brought to you by Tradeshow Bootcamp and hosted by Katie Hunt. Since 2011, TSBC has worked with hundreds of product based businesses to help them up level, scale, and build profitable sustainable companies. You can find our show notes and additional resources at ProofToProduct.com. If you like what you heard today, please head over to Apple Podcast to leave a five star review and subscribe. Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back next week with a new episode!

Suann Song is a graphic designer and founder of Appointed, an American-made brand of carefully designed desktop products that make utility look luxurious. Prior to starting Appointed, Suann conducted an exhaustive but unsuccessful search when she tried to find refined and well-made desktop products that are manufactured in the US, so she decided to create her own. In March 2015, Suann launched Appointed through a kickstarter campaign reaching her goal of $25,000 dollars in the first five days.     On today’s episode, Suann is sharing what it was like to launch a brand and product line through Kickstarter.  She’s also sharing some behind the scenes info on why she’s redesigning the Appointed website and what that process has looked like.  Suann also reminds us that relationships and fresh product are at the core of a successful product based business. ON TODAY’S EPISODE: How Suann got started in this creative field Transitioning from a service-based business with Simple Song Design to a product based business with Appointed Why she chose to launch Appointed with Kickstarter and what the process was like What surprised her about the Kickstarter campaign How her background in PR has helped her strategize and build momentum The motivation behind launching a brand new website for Appointed Why she decided to outsource the whole website -- the redesign and the development Her experience being on the “other side” of the design process Missteps that Suann sees product-based business owners make when they're redesigning their websites How she is sharing the news of their new website with wholesale clients versus with retail clients Suann’s advice for product-based business owners who are just getting started KEY TAKE-AWAYS: “I got the idea for Appointed about five years ago where I saw a need in the market for just gender neutral, really well-made, American made products.” - Suann Song “I spent a solid year of researching, finding manufacturers, figuring out how much money I would need, figuring how much money I would need in year one, two, and three.” - Suann Song “If the Kickstarter was going to be a flop, and I literally put everything out there, invested in a video, produced a video, put all of the information on the Kickstarter page, and if people weren't going to support it, then I thought, ‘Okay, maybe this isn't a good idea.’”- Suann Song “I think that there is definitely a market for men in stationery paper goods, office.” - Suann Song “I really believe people buy from people.” - Suann Song “Business is all about the relationships we're building. You never know when somebody in your life is going to come back in and be a buying customer or have a referral for you.” - Katie Hunt “We're very proudly American made, every single component of our products.” - Suann Song “It was really important that we show the depth of our story, but it really is about the user experience and making it enjoyable, easy, and most importantly, convenient.” - Suann Song “You have to keep it fresh. You have to have something to talk about, and not for the sake of just doing that, but you just need to keep your product line relevant and interesting and release new products.” - Suann Song LINKS:Kickstarter CONNECT WITH SUANN: Website: https://www.appntd.com/ Instagram: http://instagram.com/appointedco http://instagram.com/suannsong Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/simplesong/pins/ BOOTH BLUEPRINT: If you’re gearing up for trade show season and need help creating a beautiful booth that doesn’t break the bank, I want to invite you to my free masterclass.   I’m sharing my three secrets to maximize your trade show investment and keep wholesale orders coming in long after you trade show end.  To join me for this FREE workshop, head to www.theboothblueprint.com to register! SUBSCRIBE To subscribe on iOS, go to the iTunes page and subscribe to Proof to Product. On Android, you can listen using your favorite podcast app. WRITE A REVIEW Writing a review on iTunes will help other product based business owners find Proof to Product as they are working to up level, scale, and build profitable and sustainable companies. FOLLOW PROOF TO PRODUCT Follow Proof to Product on Instagram for the latest updates. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST If you'd like to receive more information about our upcoming episodes of Proof to Product including show notes and information about our guests, head over to www.prooftoproduct.com and sign up for our email list.   SHARE Be sure to share Proof to Product with all of the product based business owners that you know! ABOUT PROOF TO PRODUCT: Proof to Product is brought to you by Tradeshow Bootcamp and hosted by Katie Hunt. Since 2011, TSBC has worked with hundreds of product based businesses to help them up level, scale, and build profitable sustainable companies. You can find our show notes and additional resources at ProofToProduct.com. If you like what you heard today, please head over to Apple Podcast to leave a five star review and subscribe. Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back next week with a new episode!

I’m back with our third and final National Stationery show recap.  Today you’ll hear from four of our Tradeshow Bootcamp alumni. We talk about sharing a booth, the benefits of planning ahead and how you gotta roll with the punches when things don’t go quite as planned.  Today’s episode features interviews with Jessica of Little Well Paper Co, Robyn from Lake & Loft, Meghan from And Here We Are and Allison from The Social Type.   Before we get started,  I wanted to let you know that we’re running our first ever summer session of the Paper Camp E-Course.  This course will help you get your product line ready for wholesale, refine your sales tools, strengthen your marketing and exhibit at shows.  We helped over 800 brands launch or refine their wholesale program. Brands that you’ll find on the shelves of Target, Anthropologie, Container Store, Paper Source and independent boutiques internationally.  If you want to build a strong wholesale foundation and see your products on the shelves of retail shops, I invite you to join us. Classes start on June 4th. Learn more and register here.

I’m back with Part 2 of our National Stationery Show recap.  Today you’ll hear from three of our TSBC alumni about what went well at the show for them, where they skimped & splurged in their spending and benefits to being at a wholesale show like, National Stationery Show.   Today’s episode features interviews with Katie from Page Stationery, Monique from Violet Flamingos and Katie from The Good Twin.     Also before we get started,  I wanted to let you know that we’re running our first ever summer session of the Paper Camp E-Course.  This course will help you get your product line ready for wholesale, refine your sales tools, strengthen your marketing and exhibit at shows.  We helped over 800 brands launch or refine their wholesale program. Brands that you’ll find on the shelves of Target, Anthropologie, Container Store, Paper Source and independent boutiques internationally.   Classes start on June 4th! Learn more and register here.   Enjoy Part 2 of our National Stationery Show special series.  

I recently was in New York for the National Stationery Show where approximately 55 of our Tradeshow Bootcamp alumni were exhibiting. And, I thought it would be fun to bring the show to you.  While I was in New York, I chatted with a handful of exhibitors, everyone from first timers to seasoned pros.   This episode is part one of a three part special edition series and it features interviews with Kathryn from Blackbird Letterpress, Kim from Ramona & Ruth, Pippi from E. Frances Paper and Stefanie from Halifax Paper Hearts.   Before we get started, I wanted to let you know that we’re running our first ever summer session of the Paper Camp E-Course.  This course will help you get your product line ready for wholesale, refine your sales tools, strengthen your marketing and exhibit at shows.  This isn’t your ordinary online course where you’re left to do everything yourself. The class runs for four weeks and every week we’ll have a live coaching call with me and special guest experts.  Classes start on June 4th! Learn more and register here.   Enjoy Part 1 of our National Stationery Show special series.