If you’re a shopper, this post will be a giant teaser for you in terms of what you’ll find inside the upcoming 2012 Holiday Gift Guide. If you’re a shop owner, read on for more details on how to have your beautiful shop included in our seasonal guide — the HGG is a great opportunity for Indie Biz owners as they prepare for the holiday shopping season.
So get ready, cuz in about four weeks we’ll launch the 2012 Holiday Gift Guide — yeow!
I always look forward this annual blog event. When I started my blog four years ago, learning about and promoting other handmade businesses was a driving force to my blog’s purpose. Now that a couple of years have passed I’ve been able to refine my purpose a bit more to bring my own style + uniqueness to my blog… And so the the Holiday Gift Guide was created.
The Gussy Sews 2012 Holiday Gift Guide is this years go-to list for the best holiday/seasonal gifts, selected specifically for the Gussy Sews community. Antsy for more information? Read on, I’ve got lots more to share with you!
The Holiday Gift Guide is an incredible way to connect Indie Biz owners with loyal customers who are passionate about the handmade community.
Not only does sponsorship with the Gussy Sews 2012 HGG include a link to your shop, but the HGG will be hosted on a unique page on my blog and will be linked to from two separate places on my blog {in the navigation menu + the right sidebar}. Here’s a small preview of how the HGG will look:
Every shop participating in the 2012 Holiday Gift Guide will receive a large, square ad {200×200 pixels} linking to their handmade shop. Everyone knows pretty, large images receive clicks and we’re excited to offer this through a large ad size for the 2012 guide. And, shops will be organized alphabetically for ease. {Let us know if we can help with ad design, for free!}
We’re looking for a variety of handmade categories for the 2012 Holiday Gift Guide. Here are a few categories that come to mind right away:
— jewelry + accessories
— creative art {paintings, illustrations, prints [wall + cards]}
— clothing [women, men, children, newborn]
— handbags/camera bags
— home decor & accessories [indoor + outdoor, home + cottage]
— vintage pretties
If your shop fits into one of the above categories, click here to fill out this form! If you’re not sure, definitely still fill out the form. We’d love to learn about your wares and see if there’s a way to work together.
Just like every year, we will be accepting a limited number of shops to feature in the 2012 Holiday Gift Guide. I wish we could accept everyone, but that’s just not possible. Please apply early so we can include your shop!
Even more important details about the Holiday Gift Guide —
HOW TO BE INVOLVED AS A SHOPPER:
Come on over, starting September 15th, to see the Holiday Gift Guide. Shopping the HGG will be easy; each shop will be organized in the guide alphabetically. The HGG will run through January 14th, allowing handmade wares to be purchased after the holidays.
HOW TO BE INVOLVED AS A HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE SPONSOR:
Your shop will be listed in the guide {hosted on a separate page on my blog} alphabetically and will receive a solo Facebook post one time during the duration of the guide. I’ll have a special introductory post on Monday, September 17th, highlighting every participating shop. And, the extended duration allows shoppers to purchase handmade wares with money received over the holiday months.
SPONSORSHIP DETAILS:
–Duration: the guide will run September 15th – January 14th {120 days}
— Size: 200×200 pixels {a large, square ad}
— Price: our PRE-BOOK rate is $185 USD, paid via PayPal. After September 1st the cost is $200 USD
— Feature: Each participating shop will be spotlighted in a solo Facebook post {one time during the duration of the guide} + an introductory post on Monday, September 17th
THE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE WILL BE PROMOTED TO:
Facebook: 12,510+ fans (1 solo post per shop) | Twitter: 8,830+ followers (HGG main page links) | Blog: 100,100+ monthly page views (HGG page link-to)
♥ A note about our pricing: this seasonal sponsorship breaks down to a super affordable rate. We’ve priced our ads to only $46.25/month {at the pre-book rate}. Ad rates are typically higher during the holiday months, across most blogs, due to the increase in traffic. However, we will not be raising our prices. We believe we can achieve quality post content + “the best of the best” Holiday Gift Guide ads without raising our prices.
♥ If you sign up for both a sidebar ad and a Holiday Gift Guide ad, you’ll receive a 15% discount off any sidebar ad booked during the HGG term {the deadline to sign up for the HGG is Friday, September 7th}. Please email cambria at gussysews dot com for sidebar sponsorship rates.
Remember: the deadline for the pre-book rate of $185 is Saturday, September 1st and the final deadline is Friday, September 7th. Click here to sign up for the Gussy Sews 2012 Holiday Gift Guide and be included among the “best of the best” handmade shops.
Holiday Gift Guide ad designed by Gussy Sews // image source found here.
BONUS SECTION FOR HANDMADE BIZ OWNERS —
4 TIPS FOR SUCCESSFULLY MARKETING YOUR HANDMADE BUSINESS DURING THE HOLIDAY MONTHS:
+ Start Early! There’s nothing quite like the “rush” of the holidays to trigger unnecessary stress, not only with your advertising/marketing campaigns but with the making of your handmade wares, even including packaging details + special discounts. If you are prepared for the holidays your customers will be super happy, your product quality will be superb, and you’ll be on the right track to having THE BEST holiday season!
+ Plan Out Your Advertising/Marketing Campaigns. Will you do anything different this year to bring in new, long-term customers? Where will you market your handmade shop? How will you market it? What kind of seasonal promotions will you offer? {What can you afford to offer?} Don’t forget about your newsletter group, they are a valuable resource to your handmade community so be sure to offer them something unique.
+ Think Outside the Box. What can you do to make your shop stand out? This includes fun packaging ideas for the holidays, extra incentives to buy early, limited-edition seasonal items, and the like. Now is the time to start preparing for new ways you’ll maintain your “I’m a leader to the handmade community” status :)
+ Remember Repetition is Key. I’m talking seasonal advertising campaigns –wink! I have a homework assignment for you: Map out three similar ways you can promote your shop, but to three different markets. When a shopper is looking for a specific type of handmade ware, what can you do to encourage your shop coming to mind? That is what you’re working towards achieving. Hint: Promoting your shop across similar markets will make this happen even quicker.
Ready to sign-up for the 2012 Gussy Sews Holiday Gift Guide? Click here to get started!
looking forward to being a part of the ruffled fun! it’s hard to believe we are even entertaining the thought of holiday shopping!
@Katy (lil’ alice), RIGHT??? All the craft stores smell like cinnamon already :)
I am looking forward to participating as a shopper in this event. Haha. I read about it last year, but didn’t participate due to being in Afghanistan on deployment. I will be home this christmas and shall definitely be looking through all these shops for goodies!
<3 Jenn
[…] Click here to see the details on how to sign up BY TONIGHT and have your shop promoted to hundreds of thousands of readers throughout the 120-day period {the guide runs Sept. 15 – Jan. 14}. […]