Buy Hand Online Marketing Review…The 10th Day Of Christmas

Elle Roberts knew how to sew as a little girl but it wasn’t until she had her first child that the passion reignited. After an awesome response to her first business, Monkey and Me, and seeing the great work of other Australian crafters, Elle decided to create Buy Hand.

Buy Hand allows people to use a professional online store front, without the cost and hassle involved in creating one of their own. Buy Hand differs from other online marketplaces because they don’t charge listing fees or commissions – just a simple annual membership fee.

It was interesting and challenging to review the online marketing of a business assisting crafters to sell online.

Great online tactics Buy Hand is employing:

• The branding uses strong colours and is consistent across all Buy Hand online marketing efforts.
• Buy Hand tweets frequently and has a well written Twitter bio.
• Elle is active in developing follower engagement.
• The ‘Shop Now’ website page is well designed and easy for visitors to navigate.
• All Buy Hand blog posts are well presented with quality images and heartfelt messages.
• Elle updates Buy Hand’s Facebook status at least daily with a good mix of text, video and images.

Areas needing change/improvement:

• To increase brand awareness Elle should participate in relevant tweet chats and share her expertise as an online retail business owner.
• The opportunity to sign up for the Buy Hand e-newsletter needs to be moved to the top of the website’s home page.

Recommendations:

• The Buy Hand blog gives Elle the opportunity to showcase the purpose and passion behind the business. Potential sellers for the site will want to know the path Elle intends to take the business on to ensure it is worthy of their investment. A series of blog posts could provide them with this information.
• Elle should invite sellers to guest post on the Buy Hand blog i.e. regarding their upcoming collections, their crafting stories and so on. This reduces Elle’s workload and adds value for the sellers by allowing them to connect directly with readers.
• Buy Hand could offer an incentive for readers to subscribe to the e-newsletter and to reward their loyalty. Examples might include printable gift card designs, an offer of birthday reminders for the busy, or a mystery gift after 12 months as a subscriber.
• To maximise the return on each blog post Elle should link to them from all other social platforms as well as encourage sellers to share through their profiles. Doing so is in the sellers’ best interests as it will help drive traffic to the blog and in turn the Buy Hand website.
• As a condition of selling on Buy Hand, all sellers should be required to include a link to the website in their email signature as well as within any hard copy promotional materials. This will lead to increased brand awareness and will reinforce Buy Hand’s value to their clients as new buyers purchase via the website.

Are You Confused By Too Many Online Marketing Options?

Not sure what you are meant to be doing and need some help? Want to know what will work best for you and your business? You’ve come to the right place.

To find out more contact Caylie on +61 428 271 812 or email caylie (AT) betterbusinessbetterlife.com.au.