Navigating E-commerce in the Beauty Space, with Robyn Holland, Ep. 114

Explicit content warning

09/19/19 • 34 min

1 Listener

Just The Tips, with James P. Friel and Dean Holland

Creating a successful business in the beauty space can be intimidating. With many powerful brands to contend with, how do you set yourself apart in the niche? Where do you even begin? Our guest star today happens to be none other than Dean’s better-half, Robyn Holland. She’s here to walk us through her greatest challenges and successes—and living proof that a small business can succeed against powerhouse brands.

Robyn originally attended beauty school intent on being a makeup artist. She realized that there wasn’t a lot of money in her field of choice and veered into telecommunications sales. After 10 years in sales as a top-performer, she quit and started her own business in the beauty industry, which is now exploding onto the scene. This episode of Just the Tips walks through her winding entrepreneurial journey, so don’t miss it!

Outline of This Episode

[1:40] Robyn Holland guest stars!
[3:50] Where her focus is right now
[6:25] Running an e-commerce business in the beauty space
[17:00] Lessons she has learned along the way
[22:40] Challenges to overcome to scale your business
[27:10] Your business will never be problem-free
[30:40] Don’t be afraid to change and adapt

Push beyond unrealistic expectations

When Robyn finally had enough of her poor treatment at her sales job, she decided it was time to move on. Dean, being the husband that he is, encouraged her to consider starting her own business. Because of her experience in the beauty industry it was a natural choice to settle on that niche. So she dove in and began building her business.

Everything she originally tried flopped completely.

Selling her product on eBay didn’t succeed. Marketing on Facebook was a dud. She even hired models for her product, and their videos never gained traction. But her first paid ad exploded. With over 600,000 views and climbing, it catapulted her sales. But she could never get her continuing ads to reach the same success. Keep listening as we talk about what she was doing wrong, how her expectations needed to change, and what she did.

Be the raw and real YOU

Dean had helped Robyn build out this amazing studio with a green screen and all of the bells and whistles they could need for shooting ads. He even hired a videographer to help her produce high-quality videos. No matter what she did, the videos never found success. But they learned something important through this process.

People want a human connection that is real and raw and lets them see who you are.

After years of testing, their highest converting videos were of Robyn sitting at her vanity demonstrating the products—filming on her cell phone. The expensive highly produced ads made customers feel as if they were being sold to. Humans see through the fakeness. They desire connection. As an entrepreneur it is our job to recognize that!

Scaling your business quickly

Robyn’s product has taken off quickly in the last 6-8 weeks—so much so that they are completely out-of-stock. They’ve currently switched tactics from selling an in-stock product to allowing customers the option to pre-order. Here are a few tips she has to help you scale quickly (and avoid running out of stock):

1. Her product takes a while to produce, package, and ship to their warehouse. She recommends having at least a couple of different production channels so that running out-of-stock never happens.

2. To scale your business, you need to have a customer service and fulfillment team in place that doesn’t consist of just you. Your home can’t be a warehouse and distribution center forever!

3. Build a relationship with your customers. Create content that they’ll love. Offer them something of value that only you and your product can give. Interact with them on social media platforms.

While Robyn didn’t predict her spike in sales in the last few weeks, she now has a better idea of how to be prepared. Listen in as we chat about her experience.

Just keep moving forward—solve problems as they come

Something that entrepreneurs don’t necessarily realize in the beginning is that your business will never be easy. Ideas will fail. Sales vary. Every problem creates a new challenge to overcome. Problems can be a good thing—especially when it’s because your product is selling so well that your stock plummeted overnight.

Just keep pushing forward.

Don’t be afraid to change and adapt as the market is changing. Robyn learned that you cannot be overly attached to anything, especially if it isn’t working. Sometimes, you will need to rebrand and start over—and that’s okay. Overcome worrying about people will think, ask for help when needed, and keep moving forward.

Resources & People Mentioned

Outline of This Episode

[1:40] Robyn Holland guest stars!
[3:50] Where her focus is right now
[6:25] Running an e-commerce business in the beauty space
[17:00] Lessons she has learned along the way
[22:40] Challenges to overcome to scale your business
[27:10] Your business will never be problem-free
[30:40] Don’t be afraid to change and adapt

Push beyond unrealistic expectations

Everything she originally tried flopped completely.

Be the raw and real YOU

People want a human connection that is real and raw and lets them see who you are.

Scaling your business quickly

1. Her product takes a while to produce, package, and ship to their warehouse. She recommends having at least a couple of different production channels so that running out-of-stock never happens.

2. To scale your business, you need to have a customer service and fulfillment team in place that doesn’t consist of just you. Your home can’t be a warehouse and distribution center forever!

3. Build a relationship with your customers. Create content that they’ll love. Offer them something of value that only you and your product can give. Interact with them on social media platforms.

While Robyn didn’t predict her spike in sales in the last few weeks, she now has a better idea of how to be prepared. Listen in as we chat about her experience.

Just keep moving forward—solve problems as they come

Just keep pushing forward.

Resources & People Mentioned

Previous Episode

A Crash Course on Content Creation with Aaron Agius, Ep. 113

Are you aware of the importance that content creation has in digital marketing? Though creating organic content takes time and doesn’t get the instant gratification that ad spend does, it’s one of the best ways to deliver value to your customers. Here to chat with us today about digital marketing is Aaron Agius of Louder.Online.

12 years ago, Aaron was on an extended vacation in Thailand with his girlfriend (now wife). They realized they wanted to be able to travel and work remotely—for life. Neither were happy in the industries they worked in, so they did some research and scouted out options. shortly thereafter, they dove into the world of affiliate and digital marketing. Now they consult for other businesses, helping them reach the same success they found.

Outline of This Episode

[1:45] I introduce Aaron Agius of Louder.Online
[3:45] How Aaron started in the digital marketing world
[6:30] SEO and affiliate marketing
[8:40] Understanding what people actually want
[10:20] How to craft great content
[14:50] Insight behind people taking action
[17:00] Email marketing is NOT dead!
[21:40] Meticulously plan out your content strategy

Affiliate marketing is a great starting point

Aaron started in the digital marketing world with affiliate marketing (Dean agrees, if you’re just getting started, affiliate marketing is the way to go). After 4 months of hard work and dedication, they made their first sale: a whopping 4 cents. But the next day, they made $400. For years, they traveled the world and continued to do affiliate marketing.

Then, people took note of their success and started reaching out, asking them to consult and help scale their businesses.

So Aaron and his partner made the shift into consulting for clients around the world. They specialize in content and social marketing—truly embracing search engine optimization (SEO). The great thing about SEO is that if you have ZERO money for marketing, you just need to invest your time and craft great content.

How to craft really valuable content

The best way to write content that gets readers on your site is to understand what they’re searching for. Put yourself in the mind of your customer. What questions are they asking? What answers are they looking for? You need to provide content that speaks to the problems people are trying to solve.

Above all, become consistent at providing value.

With this in mind, also remember that you need a clear content strategy. If you’re answering a particular question, decide what the goal of your piece is. Is it cornerstone content that will link to another article? Will there be a call to action in it? OR is the goal to have the reader opt-in to an email subscription? Be clear about your goals while providing the answers people search for.

Want more insight into content strategy and getting customers to take action? Keep listening!

Email marketing is NOT dead!

Email marketing is a channel that gives you one of the highest returns on your investment. Many digital outlets claim that email marketing is a dying strategy—but don’t believe everything you read online. Aaron has access to analytics for all of his clients, so he sees its success on a daily basis.

Email marketing ranks even higher than organic search.

Aaron notes that while they do not specifically offer the service, they help their clients tie it into their content and guide their approach. Most people who are part of the email subscription database are loyal customers. They read the emails, click on the links and call to actions, and make purchases. Why not take advantage of the valuable tool it is?

Content creation remains a core strategy for success

In the digital marketing world, we are often asked if there’s anything shiny and new being offered. What is the most popular platform or new toy that can be tested? The simple answer—that people may not want to hear—is that the same things we’ve always done are still working. The same fundamental platforms are still the best route to take.

Channels and platforms come and go: providing value to humans will always remain.

The conversation always comes back to what are you doing to provide ongoing value to your tribe? Aaron points out that it’s important to meticulously plan out the content strategy for your website. You need to give yourselves a structure and know where things will fit. Want to hear more about content strategy? Listen to the whole episode of Just the Tips now!

Resources & People Mentioned

Book:

Next Episode

Podcast Production 101: Creating Top-Shelf Content, with Ginni Saraswati, Ep. 115

Are you wanting to launch a podcast but have ZERO clue where to start with podcast production? Do you know what your primary focus should be as you’re getting started? Admittedly, when we started our podcast we had no idea what we were doing—we just knew it would be fun. In this episode of Just the Tips, Dean and I chat with Ginni Saraswati of Ginna Media.

Ginni is not only a witty and personable award-winning journalist but also runs a podcast production company. She specializes in getting your voice heard and has worked with celebrities and influential organizations worldwide. She knows what it takes to create and market great content—listen to this episode for her top tips.

Outline of This Episode

[2:20] How to create great content with Ginny Saraswati
[5:30] The Secret Sauce to creating great content
[11:20] Quality of Content trumps quality of audio
[15:45] Set a realistic schedule for episodes
[21:20] Why are you doing your podcast?
[25:20] Promoting your podcast
[30:00] Give people a way to search your podcast content
[33:15] How to connect with Ginni

Podcast Production begins with being unapologetically yourself

The key to great content? According to Ginni, it’s authenticity. Authenticity is the backbone of great content. Maybe you’ve heard it a million times and the word doesn’t hold the same meaning it used to—but it’s important. Podcasting is an intimate space, and people gravitate to podcasters who are unapologetically themselves.

Share your message and be true to your means of communicating it.

You don’t need to change yourself to get more followers or listeners. This could potentially be a way to lose listeners! Gary V is a great example of someone who is unapologetically himself—with no desire to change—and delivers great content. So Ginni’s #1 tip: Focus on being yourself and delivering quality content.

Create a realistic schedule you can adhere to

When you’re getting started you need to be realistic of what sort of schedule you can adhere to. From day one of podcast production, you set the bar for what your listeners expect.

Will you produce content once a month? Bi-weekly? Every week?

Make sure you set a realistic goal you can keep up with. As you’re growing your audience, they begin to expect content from you. Honestly, they incorporate you into their daily lives. Every time you miss your release date you begin to lose credibility in their eyes.

Humans are quick to judge and quick to lose trust—so the promises you make mean everything. So deliver what you agree to deliver.

Why are you doing a podcast?

I’ll admit, Dean and I started this podcast because we thought it would be fun. Dean had never listened to a podcast before. But we know so many amazing people and knew we could create content that would resonate with people. Just the Tips was born with no real intention in mind. We are just now beginning to dive into our ‘why’ and really develop our marketing. Some things you want to consider:

Are you trying to build an audience?

Are you trying to build brand awareness?

Do you want to leverage yourself as a brand expert?

Are you concerned with download numbers?

Do you want to entertain people or build relationships?

What are you hoping to achieve with your podcast? When you narrow down and define your ‘why’ it helps give you a clear direction on how to move forward promoting your show.

Promote your podcast by repurposing your content

Ginni tells us one of the easiest ways to promote your podcast is by repurposing your content. This can be accomplished in many different ways. She suggests recording video as well as audio—so your content can go on YouTube and be split up into video clips.

Another easy way to repurpose content? Transcribe your podcast and make it available as part of your show notes. Source key quotes from the transcript and use them on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. Take business quotes and use them on LinkedIn. You can take your content and create audiograms. The possibilities are endless!

There are so many ways to leverage social media to market your content. What can you implement as part of your podcast production process?

Resources & People Mentioned