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	<title>SELLING WHOLESALE TO GIFT SHOPS</title>
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	<link>http://sellingtogiftshops.com</link>
	<description>Tips on Marketing Your Products from an Independent Gift Sales Representative!</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 21:25:08 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>Rules for Target Marketing</title>
		<link>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/05/17/rules-for-target-marketing/</link>
		<comments>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/05/17/rules-for-target-marketing/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 21:25:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gift Rep Sandy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Marketing Your Products]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rules for Target Marketing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sellingtogiftshops.com/?p=1350</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Mogul Mom posted an article by Dawn Martinello on The 3 Rules of Target Marketing that sums up some very important points that each business person need to be examine for their business.  Too often, we are way too broad with your idea of our target market. Dawn shares with us a great way to help define who our real target market includes.  PS.  I love the little cartoon included in the original article!! The 3 Rules of Target Markets &#8230;there are probably a few readers who may not know some juicy morsels about target marketing either.  I gathered my notes and handouts and boiled the 2+ hour seminar into these three rules. RULE #1: Your market is not everyone with a heartbeat &#8230; &#8230; When your target market consists of too many different types of people, it’s impossible to please them all. RULE #2: No one buys because they’re short &#8230; &#8230; When you get inside their head, you figure out what makes them want to buy from you. RULE #3: Make your own choices &#8230; &#8230; Go ahead, make a list of your dream customer. READ FULL POST I have read many articles about target marketing, but [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Pinterest for Your Business?</title>
		<link>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/05/12/pinterest-for-your-business/</link>
		<comments>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/05/12/pinterest-for-your-business/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 12 May 2012 17:20:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gift Rep Sandy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Marketing Your Products]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Designing a MBA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[is pinterest the right tool for your business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pinterest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pinterest for Your Business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sellingtogiftshops.com/?p=1340</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you have been following the controversy over Pinterest and you are reluctant to try it, you are not alone!  I have featured a couple posts about Pinterest on this blog, but I especially like the comments and references in the following article posted on Designing an MBA blog: is Pinterest the right tool for you business? &#8230;I didn’t jump on Pinterest right away, but once I got on, I got it. And despite a few copyright stumbling blocks, I find myself increasingly inclined to defend Pinterest and fight for it’s value. (Especially after hearing Pinterst founder Ben Silbermann speak at Alt Summit. How do I know Pinterest is something special? The feeling I got hearing Ben speak about it.) You see, so many of the social media platforms that existed before forced makers and designers to translate our work into language. The problem lies in that putting visuals into words is pretty subjective. What I describe in one way you might describe totally differently. We could be looking at the same thing and speaking a totally different language. But on Pinterest, the focus is on the visuals. What I say about something matters less than the visuals that I’m [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/05/12/pinterest-for-your-business/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Taking Your Hobby to a Business</title>
		<link>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/05/11/taking-your-hobby-to-a-business/</link>
		<comments>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/05/11/taking-your-hobby-to-a-business/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 11 May 2012 17:27:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gift Rep Sandy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business Planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing Your Products]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[From Hobby to Profession]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Handmadeology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Taking Your Creative Business to the Next Level]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Taking Your Hobby to a Business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sellingtogiftshops.com/?p=1277</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I quit my job as a book store manager with a large chain store in 2000 &#8212; nearly 12 years ago!  A change that was one of the scariest things I had done for a long time &#8212; but looking back, it was one of the smartest moves I ever made. No I am not a personal crafter or artisan, but I am an entrepreneur, and the principles are the same for any new business as it was for me as a self-employed independent sales rep! Our featured article is from the Handmadeology blog.  Author,  Jodi Ohl, shares her steps to taking her hobby to a business. From Hobby to Profession: Taking Your Creative Business to the Next Level By Jodi Ohl First and foremost, it starts with a lot of planning and daily acts of bravery all coupled with the willingness to work hard, perhaps harder and longer than you have ever worked before and truly sacrifice in the name of your art and craft. I promise, it is worth it in the end. Here is a summary of some key things Jodi did to position herself to go to that next level with her creative business: 1. Creating [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/05/11/taking-your-hobby-to-a-business/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Ready for the Inner Circle?  Launching Wednesday &#8230;.</title>
		<link>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/05/06/launching-wednesday/</link>
		<comments>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/05/06/launching-wednesday/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 May 2012 06:29:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gift Rep Sandy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General Announcements]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Membership program]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sellingtogiftshops.com/?p=1309</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We are launching our first ever, membership program, on Wednesday, May 9, at the end of our free webinar on &#8220;Working With Independent Sales Reps!&#8221; By signing up at the webinar, as a CHARTER member of our &#8220;Selling to Retailers Mastermind Group&#8221;, you will save a whopping  74% OFF the regular price, relative to the full price once the membership program is officially launched to the public. And you will nail down that reduced rate FOREVER! We are very excited! Along with months of brainstorming about the best way to design a membership program that best meets YOUR needs, we&#8217;ve spent most of this week finalizing the feature set, and making it as rich and full as possible. If you only pick up ONE good tip per month (and we think you will get dozens), joining the Mastermind is a steal. Here is the link to sign up for the &#8220;Working With Independent Sales Reps!&#8221; webinar (if you&#8217;ve not already done so). Again, we will be launching the membership program to attendees at the end of the webinar: http://happyprofits.enterthemeeting.com/m/TRWRGRU4 PS You MUST use your assigned password below&#8230; you cannot fill in your own: happyprofits3   (note, I suggest you copy and [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/05/06/launching-wednesday/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>When Does a Hobby Become a Business? Part Two</title>
		<link>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/05/06/when-does-a-hobby-become-a-business-part-two/</link>
		<comments>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/05/06/when-does-a-hobby-become-a-business-part-two/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 May 2012 00:27:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gift Rep Sandy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business Planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing Your Products]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Attitude]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hobbyists]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/04/30/when-does-a-hobby-become-a-business/]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Making a profit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing your products]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sellingtogiftshops.com/?p=1291</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[After I wrote my first post on this top,  When Does a Hobby Become a Business, I was sharing insights received from a LinkedIn Group called Arts and Crafts Community.  Since my last post, more great ideas have been shared that I would like to add. The discussion started by this question posed by Ellen: When do/did you start seeing a (your) hobby business as a ‘real’ business, and is that different from us shop-owners and the rest of the world? I could hardly believe the responses Ellen received! So many ideas and insights by so many different professional crafters and artisans! Fabunmi&#8217;s post got quite a few responses: It&#8217;s a business when it becomes your only means of supporting yourself financially. When all of your attention is focused on beading flowers instead of &#8220;toggling&#8221; between them and a job, it&#8217;s a business. When what you do gets you into a relationship with the IRS, it&#8217;s a business. When you start hiring employees, a lawyer, an ad agency, a financial adviser, and an accountant, you&#8217;re in a full on business. True, you need the business attitude to begin that process. I do believe Fabunmi brings out a point that all [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/05/06/when-does-a-hobby-become-a-business-part-two/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Selling to Chain Stores and Large Retailers</title>
		<link>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/05/02/selling-to-chain-stores-and-large-retailers/</link>
		<comments>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/05/02/selling-to-chain-stores-and-large-retailers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 02 May 2012 18:37:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gift Rep Sandy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Selling to Large Retailers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[corporate buyers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[selling to chain stores]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Selling to large retailers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[walmart]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sellingtogiftshops.com/?p=1234</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Carolyn Edlund, author of the Artsy Shark blog and website, is writing an informative series of articles on Selling to Chain Stores and Large Retailers.  Excerpt from part one: How to Survive and Thrive Without Losing Your Shirt – Part 1 I received a phone call a while back from a gentleman who wanted a consultation about developing his greeting card line and launching it into the marketplace. At one point he mentioned, “I’d like to sell to Walmart.” This was a bit of a leap for a newbie, but since there is a lot to know about dealing with national retailers and chain stores, I’d like to take some of the mystery out of it. While I’m not recommending that you approach Walmart, I’d like to address the process of selling to large retailers, and how you may be able to do that to grow your business. Having been approached by producers SAYING THE SAME THING, makes me realize how important this information is for product based business!  Although selling to Wal-Mart (or any other large chain store) is a lofty goal for a newbie, it is not impossible to reach if you follow some important strategic plans to [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/05/02/selling-to-chain-stores-and-large-retailers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>When Does a Hobby Become a Business?</title>
		<link>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/04/30/when-does-a-hobby-become-a-business/</link>
		<comments>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/04/30/when-does-a-hobby-become-a-business/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:27:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gift Rep Sandy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business Planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Inspirational Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Attitude]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hobbyists]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Making a profit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing your products]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[When does a Hobby Become a Business?]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sellingtogiftshops.com/?p=1238</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[While checking out some of the industry groups and lists I participate in, I found this question posed by Ellen: When do/did you start seeing a (your) hobby business as a &#8216;real&#8217; business, and is that different from us shop-owners and the rest of the world? An interesting question to ponder when starting out in a crafting  or product venue that you would like to take to the next level.  There were several answers that I would like to share here:  You will feel the charge of energy; your friends will see that change in you. They will know you are serious and you mean business!! If they get in your way, step around them! –Vicki WOW!  Great answer!  Can this charge of energy also be inspiration, drive or direction?  Do you feel the &#8220;charge of energy&#8221; in your business? &#8230;I have also come to learn that transferring a &#8220;hobby&#8221; to &#8220;business&#8221; really starts with attitude. Not to diminish all the other hard facts about selling and making money &#8211; we all would like to make money. But when our attitude changes from hobby-ist to business person others will see the difference as well. Your decisions will be different and [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Thinking Outside the Box with Your Business</title>
		<link>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/04/24/thinking-outside-the-box-with-your-business/</link>
		<comments>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/04/24/thinking-outside-the-box-with-your-business/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:30:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gift Rep Sandy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business Planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business tips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[How to Build More Value Into Your Product Line]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thinking Outside the Box with Your Business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sellingtogiftshops.com/?p=1214</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[With all the challenges to product based companies, we all need to learn to &#8216;Think Outside the Box&#8217; with Our Business.  Some of the old methods and tips no longer work &#8212; we need to think of something new! Megan, from Create Hype, writes this inspiring article to help you Think Outside the Box! How to Build More Value Into Your Product Line Written by Megan G., Create Hype What I want to drive home for you here is that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel to get more dollars in your bank account. You’ve got so much potential value right in front of you—all you have to do is see it, and build on it. Here three suggestions are as followings: 1. Take your top 2 best-selling products. Make more of them. And she describes different ways to make more of your best selling products, by making some minor changes to your best sellers to make them into a new product! 2. Add complimentary products to your existing lines She gives several examples of adding complimentary products that are unbelievable easy! 3. RePurpose. How can you take your current products and RePurpose them for holidays or other theme! [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Tips for Working with Wholesale Buyers</title>
		<link>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/04/18/tips-for-working-with-wholesale-buyers/</link>
		<comments>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/04/18/tips-for-working-with-wholesale-buyers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:20:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gift Rep Sandy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Working with Buyers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Art Business Institute]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[presenting your products]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tips for working with buyers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[working with buyers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sellingtogiftshops.com/?p=1196</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Art Business Institute shares a wonderful article on Tips for Working with Wholesale Buyers. The eight tips below are an excellent guide for understanding where buyers are coming from, what they are thinking and how to work with them effectively when presenting your products.  As a ten year + sales rep, I can attest to the wisdom of the eight points listed below: What Makes Wholesale Buyers Tick Although wholesale buyers might be a mystery to many artists and craftspeople, they actually have many of the same concerns you do. 1. They need to stay in business. 2. They need to make sure you are serious. 3. They need new stuff. 4. They need to have products shipped on time. 5. They have to manage their time. 6. They need your help to promote your work. 7. They have to deal with the unexpected. 8. They need to make tough decisions. READ FULL STORY Some of the issues craftspeople forget when Working with Wholesale Buyers is that buyers a busy people &#8212; just like you &#8212; that are looking after their best interests and those of the stores they are representing.  A &#8220;no&#8221; answer about your product or line is [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/04/18/tips-for-working-with-wholesale-buyers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Buyers Market Wholesale Show Feedback</title>
		<link>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/04/16/buyers-market-wholesale-show-feedback/</link>
		<comments>http://sellingtogiftshops.com/2012/04/16/buyers-market-wholesale-show-feedback/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:21:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gift Rep Sandy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Wholesale Trade Shows]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Buyers Market of American Craft]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Buyers Market Wholesale Show Feedback]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rebecca Mercado]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[State of Wholesale Crafts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Rosen Group]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wendy Rosen]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sellingtogiftshops.com/?p=1185</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Wonderful news from Rebecca Mercado, show director for the Buyers Market of American Craft!  The Art Business Institute asked Mercado to share her insights after the Buyers Market show in February.  According to the interview, attendees were up and exhibitors described the show as the best in 5 to 6 years!! The State of Wholesale Crafts: A Show Director Speaks ABI: The Buyers Market February show recently took place. What can you tell us about attendance numbers and sales results for the artists? RM:  Attendance was up by 12% over last year.  Several exhibitors commented that it was their best show in 5 or 6 years, meaning sales that were back to pre-recession numbers. But that’s the high end of the spectrum. Overall, exhibitors were really pleased. Even exhibitors who didn’t make their sales goals at the show felt confident that the strong leads they acquired would become orders in the coming weeks. Mercado continues the interview by explaining why some exhibitors do better than others during these shows.  As a show attendee and exhibitors, I can attest to the wisdom of her advice:  ABI: You often speak with gallery owners about their needs and concerns. In your opinion, what [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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