328 | An inside look at what Paper Camp is like
Have you ever wondered what it's like to attend our Paper Camp program? If so, today's episode is for you!
I am sharing an inside peek into one of our Paper Camp coaching calls. This one is with Alex Gagne of Chez Gagné. Alex has been a longtime member of our Paper Camp community. When she first attended as a student, she had been in business a little less than 2 years.
She was working out of her living room and had designed a collection of 80 SKUs. Alex knew that wholesale was her end game, so she soaked up everything that Paper Camp had to offer and went home and put what she learned into practice.
The Chez Gagné product line has now expanded to over 500 SKUs across product categories and that includes bath and beauty products, home decor, drinkware, consumer gifts, and stationery goods.
Alex sells to more than 3,500 stores worldwide, and she and her team work with sales reps, exhibit at multiple trade shows a year and work out of a very large warehouse, which is a big jump from the humble beginnings in her living room.
One of the reasons that I asked Alex to come back for our 1st week of Paper Camp is because that is the week that we talk about ensuring that our product line is ready for wholesale. Because if we don't have a strong product line that is priced for profit, that meets industry standards, and that can be produced at scale, well, there's no point in worrying about the rest of selling wholesale.
Doing sales and marketing outreach will mean nothing if we don't have that product line dialed in first.
As you will hear during the episode, Alex has done an incredible job of thoughtfully expanding her product line with an eye toward profit margins, sell-through rates, and intentional partnerships. We talk about the profit margins that she seeks when adding new product categories to her line. We also discuss discontinuing products and the pros and cons of working with big box retail stores among other things. This is just a tiny sliver of my conversation with Alex, and it's a tiny sliver of what the Paper Camp experience is like.
Did you know that 49% of your customers want to hear from you on a consistent basis? Yet only a small percentage of product makers are actively sending monthly emails to their direct-to-consumer and wholesale customers.
When I asked our community why they don't send more emails, they said they weren't sure what to say or how often to send those emails, and their biggest pain point was perception. Nobody wanted to come off as salesy or pushy. They didn't want to bother anyone, so I kindly reminded them that if people don't know about your product line, they are not going to purchase it.
Email marketing is hands down one of the best ways to create long-standing strong connections with our customers. So, sending consistent nurture emails, leads to repeat orders and it leads to larger orders. But sitting in front of a blank screen can feel really intimidating.
If you have struggled with what to say or when to send those emails, how to plan out your email marketing strategy, I want you to grab our free email marketing guide that has helped hundreds of product makers plan out an entire year's worth of emails.
Connect with Katie Hunt
Katie Hunt is a business strategist, podcaster, mentor and mama to four. She helps product based businesses build profitable, sustainable companies through her conferences, courses and coaching programs.
Website: prooftoproduct.com | Instagram: @prooftoproduct
