Subject: Online Shop Author: April Jennings Date Originally Posted: 22:54:25 01/02/02 Wed
These messages were originally posted in another service.
Hi, I've visited this forum for awhile and think I am ready to ask for your opinion. I have an online shop and want it to be mainly an online shop. I would consider wholesale orders also. Anyways, the name is going to be "Natural Stone Jewelry & Rosaries", for healing the body and soul... I'm going to market it as such and really get this business going this year...I'd like any ideas and marketing strategies for getting the site noticed and profitable...
I offer a weekly inspirational email note as part of the site..for me and the people getting it... Maybe the site will give you a better idea of my overall shop and what it's about...
April Jennings
http://rosariesangelsmore.theshoppe.com
apjen2360@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: Online Shop Author: Dennis S. Vogel Date Originally Posted: 19:27:15 01/03/02 Thu
In reply to: April Jennings 's message, "Online Shop" on 22:54:25 01/02/02 Wed
Hi April,
Thank you for joining us.
Many churches have web sites.
Some clergy members are open to letting vendors promote religious products. If you offer them a donation for each sale you get through them, for example, 1 cent per dollar when your web site logs show a buyer found your site by clicking a link in their site.
You can promote that on your site - "I'll donate 1 cent of each dollar from your purchases to the church whose site you used to find my site."
Your site may be directly mentioned to church members as a way to get them to contribute more money, besides passing around the offering plate/basket.
It may sound almost blasphemous, but some people feel like church is mostly about giving money. ("Gees, they're asking for money AGAIN!!!")
By buying products from you, they'll contribute money and get something tangible. (Religion tends to be intangible.)
You should have a solid headline that loads immediately when your site is accessed.
How about -
"Hold A Bit Of Heaven In Your Hand While You Pray"
Followed by -
"Sometimes it's easier to offer a sacrifice of praise when you're holding and looking at a beautiful devotional item."
"Some people find it easier to focus on devotions when they have something beautiful to look at and hold. Have you tried it for yourself?"
NOTE -- An experience tends to be more fulfilling when we involve more than one of our senses.
So, what you offer are products that are visually and kinethestically (feeling) appealing.
If you add a link (through an affiliate program, so you get a commission) for somebody who sells devotional music (maybe even Gregorian Chants), you'd help people add an auditory stimulus.
Incense (possibly through another affiliate link) would add an olfactory stimulus.
So, people can use four of their senses to make their devotional time more stimulating.
I don't know if you'd be able to add a gustatory (taste) element without getting to the realm of communion.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2017 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
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This is an update to a blog post from January 2002. The original post might've been a disguised promotion attempt. I took a chance & responded with some advice.
Based on what I wrote below, you may think I'm trying to dissuade you from using my suggestion. I'm just helping you be realistic.
This disclaimer is part of being realistic: I'm not a lawyer. You're responsible for being sure your promotions are legal in your area. My advice is based on a limited knowledge of your situation. There are things I don't know about your situation which can affect you & your customers. You need to follow through with due diligence to be sure you do what's necessary for success.
If you think you'll generate enough donations this way, you could suggest for church leaders to use the money for a specific cause or improvement. Example - If a repair is necessary, church leaders could dedicate your sales donations to pay for a repair. When the repair is made, people will have a personal reference & satisfaction in helping make the repair happen.
If there wouldn't likely be enough donations, you shouldn't link your business with something that won't be fulfilled. The cause or improvement should be something members think of as significant. The total cost of the cause or improvement should be what you could provide through a program like this.
You'd need input from members & leaders about what would be significant & fulfillable. After you get their input, you should consider the possibility of your sales & donations being lower than they anticipate. It's too easy for excitement to lead to high expectations.
Here are a few things to consider about a program like this: Success would depend on -
1 - the number of church members & their financial situations;
2 - how well you can fulfill enough sales to make it work in a specific time frame;
3 - how much & how often church leaders would encourage members to participate;
4 - your ability to promote it to each church group on a regular basis;
5 - your ability to track sales & send donations each month;
6 - your supply chain should be able to send you enough products to avoid inventory lapses
If you have ready access to members, you might be able to maintain top of mind awareness. If church leaders inspire members to order things each week, you might get enough orders each week.
You'd need to maintain a steady flow of donations based on your sales. If people order things but your donations lag behind, you could cause suspicion.
If you do this with more than one church at a time, you could have a hard time tracking sales & sending donations. I suggest moderation in setting up a program, so you can do it well. You'd need to be sure to track sales from specific groups & send the donations to the correct person in each group.
It can be run somewhat like an affiliate program. You might find software to help you administer it.
Your suppliers should provide enough high quality products to avoid an out-of-stock problem. If there are defects, people might return products or demand refunds. You need to be sure you allow for possible returns, when you send donations. If you send donations each month, you should limit returns & refunds to 30 days after a sale.
Your sales copy should specify the importance of people confirming their orders. You should specify refunds will only be available up to 30 days after a sale. After you make a donation & pay suppliers, you won't have funds available for refunds.
To prevent interruptions of sales & donations, church leaders should encourage people to only order what they intend to keep.
You should be sure your program fits all regulations where your business & the churches are. You might need guidance from a lawyer.
You can be successful with programs like this when you gather whatever insights you can.
I don't want to mislead you into thinking there are no risks in promotions.
Please use discretion in what you do & how much you do at any time.
Copyright 2017 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
