Heart to Heart Forum

Monday, May 31, 2010

June's Faetured Site

Good Morning All, We hope that you will all enjoy the featured site for June brought to us by Barb of SBS Teas:

June's Feature: SBS Teas

Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Good Morning Everyone, May 1st is upon us and we have nothing but good things to announce!

1) Our feature page for May is brought to you by the women of Roses and Teacups. Julie and Nancy have an amazing array of Mother's Day gifts and beautiful things. In fact, every time I go to this site I can't help but think about my mom : )
Roses and Teacups

2) Our new Contest is amazing! You can play Bingo and win prizes and just have fun with it : ) Thanks to those who are participating, it officially starts tomorrow but take a sneak peek today:
Bingo Blast Contest

3) We have chosen our first round of Vetcy Winners in each of the four categories! These winners will compete for your vote to win the Grand Prize which is a full page spread in the next Victorian Etc. Magazine. Voting officially begins for the 'People's Choice Vetcy' tomorrow, but we will accept your votes today. Click the link at the bottom of this page to view the four winners and vote for your favorite:
Vetcy Award Winners Announced

4) Our find Lulu Mae's Monogram Hunt ends today with the winner drawn this evening. Tomorrow we start a new hunt with a new prize and our monogram once again hidden. Tell your friends this one is easy to find and they can still participate today : )
Find Lulu Mae's Monogram Hunt

You might have noticed that everything starts May 2nd. I don't like to start anything on a Saturday since it is such a slow computer day. Also, our computer has been down for two days because the garbage truck broke our cable line. Almost had to make a trip out with the wireless Netbook : )

Vic

Thursday, April 1, 2010

April's Featured Website

No foolin' we have a new Feature Page for April! Stop by Sweet Necessi-teas

Featured April

Thanks to Karen for also writing the feature article for our Magazine, Victorian Etc.

Easter Tea Party

We were quite pleasantly surprised to have over 500 page loads at 8:00 this morning! Please tell your friends : )

We soooooooo appreciate all of you!
Vic & Jeff

Victorian Etc. Magazine Issue #2

Read Issue #2

See what everyone's talking about! Sign-up for the free newsletter, find "Lulu Mae's Monogram Hunt" with a new April prize.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Our Newest Member is a Specialist!

Visit our newest member, Barb from SBS Teas on First Avenue:

SBS Teas

Here is a little info about Barb:
"I am the first STI certified Tea Specialist in North Carolina and one of the first 23 in the world."

Are we ever happy to have her in our community!

Monday, March 1, 2010

March Madness

Good Morning Everyone,

We just wanted to direct your attention to our March featured shop:
"March Features Charmed Victorian"

Brought to you by Linda of Charmed Victorian, you will see delightful new designs for spring and summer!

Also, the magazine is going full steam ahead with a new scavenger hunt bringing lots of lookers which has resulted in many more hits to the Heart Shoppe:
"Lulu Mae's Monogram Hunt"

Take a peek, it's fun. Advertisers will not be allowed to participate in the contest.

Have a great month!
Vic

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Happy February

Good Morning All, We feel like January was the start of something very big for the Heart Shoppe this year. We thank all of you for your support on your sites, blogs, facebook and twitter accounts. We mailed our first Victorian Etc. newsletter and have received a great response already.

We would like to welcome a new merchant to our group. Please pay a visit to Sheila, of "Faded... but Desired Treasures" on Second Ave:
Second Ave.
You will love the look of Sheila's retro shop and some of the treasures featured therein. Sheila and I have a special bond, we both own Bloodhounds so that kind of makes us bloodsisters : )

We have a very beautiful 'featured page' for February brought to us by Nancy of "Coeur d'Alene Gifts". Please pay Nancy a visit at some time this month, you'll be glad you did:
February Featured Shop

We want to thank Bertie of "Aunt May's Cottage" who jumped on the bandwagon and promoted our sister site, Victorian Etc. on her blog:
Aunt May's Cottage

We expect hearts and flowers this month and lots of new targeted traffic and sales beyond belief.

Have an exceptional month,
Vic & Jeff

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!

Heart to Heart Forum