Heart to Heart Forum: April 2009

Thursday, April 23, 2009

New Merchant and New Contest

Good Morning, This spring has been a bustling round of activity at the Heart Shoppe. We have some great new friends and of course many loyal old friends! Our hits remain constant in a rather stale economy, along with our Alexa rankings : ) Every seems to be coming up roses!

Please join me in welcoming our newest member, Barbara of Paris Chic Boutique:
Third Avenue
I just love our international flare and the touch romance it brings to an otherwise uneventful day! Visitors seem to get lost in another era on our site : ) Pay Barbara a visit sometime today and you can visit Paris in the spring!

We also want you to be the first to see our new contest page:
$100 Contest
I love the retro look of our new contest page and the items our participants have chosen to feature. Take a look and see what's new on those sites!

Thanks and have a glorious day,
Vic

Monday, April 20, 2009

New Merchant to Welcome

Good Monday Morning, Hoping you all had a very pleasant weekend! We finally got nice enough weather to get out in the yard. Oh, my aching back : )

We are so happy to welcome a bright young face to our group this morning! Please take some time to visit Stacey of Shabby Rose Boutique on our Third Avenue shoppes. Stacey has a lovely shop featuring Romantic Shabby Chic & Cottage Style Decor! It looks like she will see some friendly, familiar faces here.
Third Avenue
Our Photo Gallery

Our new contest is almost ready for its debut. We will let you all know when it is up. Our last contest winner picked Pretty Shabby for her $100 Gift Certificate and had some really nice things to say about our mall.

Have a gorgeous day,
Vic

Monday, April 13, 2009

Welcome New Merchant

Good Morning everyone, It is a beautiful morning in New Mexico complete with a clear blue sky : ) I'm hoping this is a sign of our elusive spring! We have a new merchant to welcome to our mall. Take a minute out of your busy day to meet June of Scarlett Rose:

Third Avenue
About Us

In her own words, "...joining up with a few "kindred" souls online would be fun!" I'm hoping you will all pay her a visit and make her feel welcome!

Also, we have room for three more participants in our next Contest and we will be working on the new page this weekend. Those of you who have volunteered, look for more information coming your way. The current drawing will be held April 15th and the winner will have about a week to choose their shop. Any questions, please just e-mail us.

Thanks,
Vic

Monday, April 6, 2009

Welcome!

Good Morning, I hope you will all join me in welcoming our newest member:

Meet Bertie from Aunt May's Cottage on 3rd and 4th Avenues!
Third Avenue
Fourth Avenue
Seems Bertie has been collecting and creating for many happy years following her love of the "Victorian era". You'll love her unique treasures : )

Also, our contest is in its last 10 days and the drawing is drawing near (April 15th). This means we are taking requests for our next trimester contest. This could be just the thing you are looking for to boost those summer sales. We will take up to ten shops to highlight. The price is $25 and the contest will run from late April through late August. Of this amount $10 will go toward the Gift Certificate. If we don't have ten shops, Victorian Heart Shoppe will make up the difference of the $100 prize. Please check out the contest page for an example of what your exposure will look like over the next four months.
Contest Page
The shops are rotated throughout the contest and each shoppe has a share of the re-directs from the entry form. Our entry winner chooses one of the shops on the contest page to spend their Gift Certificate at and we PayPal that shop the amount of the Gift Certificate. (Could be you!)

Thanks,
Vic

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

No Foolin'

Good Morning and Happy April Fool's Day! I hope you haven't been caught off guard yet today : ) I have to admit that I was with one e-mail but there was no harm done! Please take a few minutes of your day to visit our featured shop for April:

April's Featured Shop

We thank Karen of Sweet Necessi-Teas for bringing us her new 'floating banner' and wholesale program!

My mom called this morning with "winter wonderland" images of Minnesota. Hope that all of you around the country are safe and warm!

Greetings,
Vic

12 Tips for a Successful Christmas Bazaar Table

12 Tips for a Successful Christmas Bazaar Table
by Victoria Otto

The following tips are recommended for a small retail shop participating in an arts & crafts holiday fair or a Christmas bazaar.

Up to 6 weeks in advance:

1. Make a list and check it twice; more often if a tendency to misplace lists exists.

2. Brand your booth with the following items: (These can be purchased "free" at www.vistaprint.com for only the cost of shipping) banners, business cards, calendar magnets, rack cards, etc.

3. Invite friends and recruit plenty of help for the actual sale day.

4. Inventory your products (something old, something new): ordering too late could cost a sale so make sure to have plenty of that "most popular"' and "brand new" item on hand for the big day.

5. Print out a readable price list, stickers and tags get lost in the shuffle: whole dollar amounts (round $4.95 to $5) will make it much easier to make change at the actual event.

6. Get in the spirit of the event with tablecloths, decorations, centerpieces, etc. that reflect the holiday theme.

At the event:

7. Provide a sample to all interested traffic (if you are selling perfume, spray a business card "to go", free recipe cards for a food booth, etc.).

8. A sale isn't a sale unless there is a discount: offer 20% or more off the regular price and be sure to bring a calculator.

9. Feed the impulse buyer: the 'five and dime' has acquired dollar signs so be sure to have at least one $5-$10 item for the impulse buyers, perhaps no higher than $30 unless you are prepared to take checks or credit cards.

10. Stage your products: the most expensive jewelry looks better on a hand, the most beautiful scarf around a neck, an exquisite 'wine charm' dressing a crystal goblet, the idea is to show off the goods (baskets, boxes, bags)!

11. Have an appropriate cash drawer, money bag, or register, with plenty of change (makes both dollars and sense).

12. Remember the true meaning of the event: Christmas is a celebration of the Christ child's birth. Arrive early, have fun, be of good cheer, suggest appropriate gifts, and be thankful for all blessings from Above.

Author: Victoria Otto from Victorian Laurels @ www.victorianlaurels.com

Contributors: Linda from Charmed Victorian @ www.charmedvictorian.com

Debbie from Cozy Cottage @ www.cozycottage.com

All of the above shops can be found in one place: Victorian Heart Shoppe mall @ www.victorianheartshoppe.com

About the Author:

Victoria Otto is the owner and CEO of the retail website, Victorian Laurels, and the membership mall, Victorian Heart Shoppe. Her newest venture is as the Editor of an online magazine called Victorian Etc. She has a BS in Mathematics and is a retired school teacher of twenty-five years. Victoria lives in New Mexico with her husband, Jeff, and their dogs, Duke & Roscoe.

Spring Cleaning by Terri Seymour

How to Spring Clean Your Website

Spring is a wonderful time of year but it might not be so wonderful for our online business. The weather is getting nicer and people are spending more time outside, away from their computers. One way to get more people to come to your website is to do some spring cleaning and I don't mean your house! Our websites can get stale and outdated if we do not clean them up periodically.

There are lots of things you can do to freshen up your site and bring new life and new customers to your online business.

1. Add a new section filled with resources, information and maybe even some special deals for your customers. Use relevant keywords to improve your ranking. For example: if you own a home decor business, offer decorating tips and advice. Show people how to decorate on a budget or how to redecorate with things they already own. By providing information and resources along with your products, you are giving people a reason to keep coming back. This is how you build trust with your visitors and get more sales.

2. Remove all dead links, outdated information and products. Nothing is worse than going to a site and finding links that don't work or information and/or products that are no longer useable or helpful. Go through all the links on your site and freshen up the content to offer up to date information!

3. Give your homepage a facelift by adding new graphics, text, etc. Redo your banner and give it some new life. Take out the old graphics and add some fresh new images. Research your keywords and revamp your text with some effective keywords. Write a new introduction to your site detailing all your new additions.

4. If you haven't yet tried blogging, read up on blogging and zap some life into your site. Some free blogging sites are Blogger and WordPress. Blogging is a great way to improve your search engine ranking while expanding your network.

5. Update your product line. Add some fresh new products and offer the old products at clearance prices. Have a Spring Sale and liven up your sales! Keep those customers coming back for more!

6. Add a What's New page so you can let everyone know about all your updates now and in the future. This feature could get more people to return to your site to see What's New?

7. Research the colors used on your site. You may find changing the colors of your site can bring a whole new life to your business.

8. Put a small survey on your site. Ask your visitors what they would like to see and what type of products they are looking for. Getting the information straight from the horse's mouth could do your business a lot of good. Offer your visitors a small gift for answering the questions on the survey.

9. Renew your goals! Make new goals and write out a new business plan. Learn from your experiences, good and bad, and improve your plan for success.

Spring is a time of renewal, revitalization and reenergizing! Our online businesses are no exception!

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