#27: Secrets to Building a Successful Jewelry Business Online (with Rio Grande’s Arien Gessner & Jamie Gros)
On today’s episode, I was lucky enough to sit down with online marketing gurus Arien Gessner and Jamie Gros. These guys just so happen to be the marketing and creative directors (respectively) of an online business that most jewelry designers out there are probably familiar with… you guessed it: Rio Grande!
I brought these two on the show today because we really wanted to take today’s episode to focus on building a thriving jewelry business in today’s economy and online landscape. Below, I share 3 of the biggest secrets Arien and Jamie shared in our conversation! Click ‘play’ below and let’s get started!
Click here to download the show notes
Secret #1: Email List-Building is Key
According to Arien, designers often fall victim to poor marketing advice, with less emphasis on email collecting and too much on gaining social media followers. Email addresses, as Jamie pointed out, can be so much more than an open door into a lead’s inbox. By building your email lists with newsletters and opt-in offers, you will gain the tools to track customers with your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software, as well as connect with your clients via Facebook and Google. At the end of our conversation, we boiled their advice to this one secret: Your email list is YOURS and no one else’s.
Your Instagram followers or Facebook ‘Like’s, for example, could be gone overnight if Instagram decides to shut its doors or Facebook randomly shuts down your account. Backup your email lists, protect your business, and always remember that emails are king.
Secret #2 Your Online Presence is More Than Your Website
Are any of you guilty of launching a beautiful website, only to leave it untouched and unupdated for months on end? You’re certainly not alone. In fact, this emphasis on the ‘website launch’ is actually one of the most common mistakes Arien and Jamie have seen jewelry designers make. Building a website, believe it or not, is the easy part. Building traffic; using a blog to ramp up your SEO; reaching out to clients through advertising, marketing, and social media: These are all huge factors in building a strong overall online presence for your business. As Arien puts it, “How are you going to identify your potential customers, your audiences, and actually get them to come to your site and then convert either a customer or get an email.” Take a listen to the podcast above to hear us share more common mistakes jewelry designers make all too often.
Secret #3 Consistently Try New Strategies
Jamie, Arien, and I were in all in agreement on this one: The internet is growing and evolving at a rate so fast we really can’t comprehend. Why not keep trying new strategies and testing what works best for you? Whether you start releasing new content or try a new marketing software (listen to the podcast above to hear Arien and Jamie’s recommendations) your marketing strategy should be constantly evolving, month-to-month, based on the response to your previous methods. Remember, jewelry designers in particular usually have incredibly interesting stories behind their brands and their designs. You just never know what is going to hit the fan and what is going to go viral. By sharing your brand journey story, cultivating a consistent online presence, and implementing a ‘trial and error’ mantra for your marketing strategy, you’ll instantly position your brand at the top of the heap.
Don't forget…
We want to remind that Marie Forleo’s free training series is happening right now! We can’t speak highly enough of this training series. It really changed my (Tracy's) life in so many ways and I know it can do the same for you!
Click here to access the FREE training videos.
Links mentioned on today's podcast: Arien Gessner and Jamie Gros of Rio Grande Marie Forleo's FREE Training: How to Get Anything You Want
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