February 2, 2016 - Vertū Marketing

BucketFeet Founders Learned Best from Their Own Mistakes

February 2, 2016 by tylie eaves

Scared to strike out on your own because you feel like you still have not perfected that business plan? Having a neat and concise plan of business is an essential aspect of starting a new company, but reaching perfection is virtually impossible. Instead of letting fear of mistakes or failures hold you back, take a lesson from Aaron Firestein and Raaja Nemani who experienced possibly every potential blunder on their journey to success.

The two owners and founders of BucketFeet, a popular shoe brand that brings together the art world and footwear, started where many newly minted entrepreneurs begin — in their own home. When the first delivery of over 2,500 shoes arrived by 18-wheeler on their residential street, they were stunned when the driver asked for directions to the unloading dock. In the end, the pair shelled out money to the delivery guy and roped in a few friends to help unload thousands of boxes.

The problems did not stop there, and Firestein and Nemani’s lack of inventory experience became evident when they quickly sold out of the most common shoe sizes and were left with inordinate amounts of more uncommon sizes. Excess and unnecessary inventory in the early days of a business can be detrimental to the future success of the brand.

However, with each mistake, the two entrepreneurs took measure of the situation and then revamped their plans. Going forward, thousands of pairs of shoes would need a shipping container, a dock to unload and several hands to unload them. Shoe orders should primarily focus on the most common sizes, with fewer numbers of larger and smaller shoes added to the spreadsheet. Firestein and Nemani faced other hurdles during their journey to create a company that now features 30,000 worldwide artists and is worth $16 million, a feat that they would not have been able to accomplish if they had allowed their first missteps to guide them to failure.

3 Common Problems Behind Plateaued Affiliate Profits

February 2, 2016 by tylie eaves

Plateaus, peaks and stalled growth are frustrating no matter what business a person is in, but affiliate marketers have a distinct advantage when hitting these roadblocks — they can plan and implement change in a much quicker fashion than other types of online businesses.

But wait! Before making any changes, first identify the reasons behind the slowed or stalled growth. Here are common problems behind affiliate sales plateaus:

Doing the same thing again and again. You might like spaghetti and meatballs. In fact, it might be your favorite dish in the whole world. Now, think about having spaghetti and meatballs for dinner every single night for the rest of your life. The first week or so might be an exciting indulgence, but keep at it and your favorite dish will soon become boring, unexciting and perhaps even hated.
Not engaging with readers. While you definitely do not need to reply to every last comment on your webpage or social media — this would obviously be overkill — make a real connection with at least a handful of people. Worried about the time commitment? Carve out time a couple of times a week or even just a few minutes a day to let your readers know that they are a valuable aspect of your affiliate business.
Failing to disclose affiliate links. Most affiliate programs require that their marketers disclose when they are using an affiliate link. Still, there tends to be a lot of fear associated with letting readers know that the provided link is an affiliate one. Many fear that the knowledge will turn readers off and send them elsewhere, when generally the opposite is true. Consumers want transparency from businesses and those they trust.

Have you identified the problem with your stagnant affiliate business yet? Once the reason is pegged down, draft a careful plan to address the issues and begin to make changes to which readers will notice and respond.

3 Common Problems Behind Plateaued Affiliate Profits

February 2, 2016 by tylie eaves

But wait! Before making any changes, first identify the reasons behind the slowed or stalled growth. Here are common problems behind affiliate sales plateaus:

Doing the same thing again and again. You might like spaghetti and meatballs. In fact, it might be your favorite dish in the whole world. Now, think about having spaghetti and meatballs for dinner every single night for the rest of your life. The first week or so might be an exciting indulgence, but keep at it and your favorite dish will soon become boring, unexciting and perhaps even hated.

3 Common Problems Behind Plateaued Affiliate Profits

February 2, 2016 by tylie eaves

But wait! Before making any changes, first identify the reasons behind the slowed or stalled growth. Here are common problems behind affiliate sales plateaus:

Doing the same thing again and again. You might like spaghetti and meatballs. In fact, it might be your favorite dish in the whole world. Now, think about having spaghetti and meatballs for dinner every single night for the rest of your life. The first week or so might be an exciting indulgence, but keep at it and your favorite dish will soon become boring, unexciting and perhaps even hated.

Not engaging with readers. While you definitely do not need to reply to every last comment on your webpage or social media — this would obviously be overkill — make a real connection with at least a handful of people. Worried about the time commitment? Carve out time a couple of times a week or even just a few minutes a day to let your readers know that they are a valuable aspect of your affiliate business.

Failing to disclose affiliate links. Most affiliate programs require that their marketers disclose when they are using an affiliate link. Still, there tends to be a lot of fear associated with letting readers know that the provided link is an affiliate one. Many fear that the knowledge will turn readers off and send them elsewhere, when generally the opposite is true. Consumers want transparency from businesses and those they trust.