Real Flower Business

Education and Business Training for Floral Designers.

By

Engagement on Instagram Is Down

Have you heard that engagement is down on Instagram lately? Some of the “most popular” flower famous folks I follow have been mentioning this for the last few months, but what does that REALLY mean for their business…and more importantly, what does that mean for YOUR business?

 

Well, let me show you a few quick REAL numbers from some of the “successful” instagram accounts I follow with 90K-100K followers.

 

First, a note….I know I’m not the only one who looks at numbers like these, but when you’re looking at your own “Instagram stats” and adding up your “likes”, keep THESE STATS in mind:

 

One “flower famous” account with over 100K followers had about 1,000 “likes” on a post recently–which sounds like a lot, but that’s actually ONLY 1% of their total followers! And MOST of their posts had closer to 500 average “likes”, which is 0.5%–that’s ONLY half of one percent of “followers”.

 

Another super talented floral designer with over 90K followers had an average of 149  “likes” on posts lately….and AGAIN that’s just a little over 1% of their follower count.

 

Overall, that is a very small percentage of people who saw the post and took a second to “give it a like”–and, as you may be able to guess, even fewer took the time to comment–and even fewer took action to buy something!

 

If your small business has 600 followers with an average of 10 likes on your posts, that’s 1.66%–Which is in line with the stats of these VERY popular flower accounts with tons of fans!

 

Knowing that the actual reach of these social media posts is “very low”, should you be aiming to grow your Instagram following?

In short, nope.

 

Instead of chasing an algorithm for “likes”, your business needs a more intentional marketing strategy to bring the right clients to your business year after year.

 

Now, don’t get me wrong here–having 1,000 people “like” your stuff is a lot of eyeballs for a small business!…But I’m more interested in how many customers are buying from you than how many people are “liking” your social media posts!

 

Most small businesses don’t have the bandwidth to outwit, outsmart, and out-post on social media to try to gain “popularity”–it’s far better to reach a smaller number of people who are the MOST interested in purchasing what you have to offer.

 

Remember these stats before you worry about a poor post performance! Focus on growing your sales over growing your “followers”.

 

xo. -Alison Ellis

 

P.S. I don’t post on social media every day and I don’t have 100K followers on social media, but I have managed to attract GREAT clients to my business for the last 20 years thanks to an intentional marketing strategy that’s designed to bring the BEST customers to me. I’m sharing some of the MOST important marketing and brand building tips in my Marketing Workshop for Florists on Dec. 5, 6, & 7th at 12pm EST. If you don’t have a marketing plan in place for 2023, consider joining this workshop for just $37!

 

You don’t have to end the year “pushing to the finish line”, but some easy, practical marketing tips can be just the thing to help you reach more great customers who can’t wait to work with you in the new year. Click Here for details about the Workshop and Sign Up Today!

—

By

August Sale

August Sale Is On Now!

If you’re in charge of sales and marketing in your floral business, you can get my BEST tips for attracting great customers and talking about your brand with confidence inside 2 of my MOST popular courses on sale now! (Sale Ends August 31st!) Here’s what you get: [Read more…]

—

By

11 Tips To Update Your About Page

Do you know that your About Us Page is one of the MOST viewed pages on your website?

An interesting About Page works like a magnet to attract great clients to your business. But if your website is “borderline boring”, you could actually be repelling clients.

I know it’s not always easy to talk about yourself with confidence, but your About Page MUST tell a compelling story that establishes trust and makes it clear that you are the BEST choice! [Read more…]

—

By

What Is Sales Copy?

If you’re like me, you fell in love with floral design and decided to turn your passion for flowers into a small business. And if you’re also like me, you didn’t know much about how to market your flower business so you can book clients consistently and stand out against your competition.

I can tell you after 20 years of running my small business, the most effective way to book the best clients year after year is to follow an intentional marketing and branding strategy that speaks to the hearts of your ideal customers so that they KNOW you’re the best choice for them!

97% of the Florists I Surveyed Said They Do NOT Have A Marketing Plan…

I’ve spent the last 12 years learning how to get as good at branding my business as I am at floral design. In fact, I just taught 3 days of marketing and branding strategies to the students in my Marketing Minicourse and it was so much fun that I decided I’m going to do it again in December, but these sessions are free! Click here to join me in the free training!

A florist asked: What is sales copy? Just in case you want to know the answer, too, you can click below for a quick video I shared over on Instagram.

Click Here to Join the free training

Without a doubt, learning how to attract the best customers to your business is one of the most important (and challenging) skills for any business owner to master, however, if you’re working without an intentional marketing strategy, you may find yourself “posting on social media often”, but without any idea of what you actually need to say to attract the best clients!

Instead of throwing out random content, it’s time to add intention to your marketing efforts so that you actually get the results you want–great clients, increased sales, consistent bookings, more joy and freedom in your work.

Whether you decide to join me in the free training or you choose to “go it alone” from here, the most important step is to add intention to your marketing plan so you can book great clients more consistently and create your own version of success. 

I hope you’ll finish the year strong so you can have a great start to 2022!

xo. -Alison

P.S. This 3-Day Training won’t be like some of the free webinars you may have attended where it’s 90% sales pitch and tiny bits of info scatter here and there. We are going to do some work–in fact, I’m making a workbook to go along with it to help keep you moving forward. And if at the end of the training, you want to work further with me, there’ll be an opportunity to do that, too.

Every January I teach a group of highly motivated floralpreneurs how to build their own premium brand in my group coaching program, The Art of Good Business. Enrollment is officially opening Dec. 13-16th and I’ll have more details to share in the upcoming weeks if you’re interested.

 

—

By

The Number 1 Branding Mistake Florists Make

What does it mean to have “good branding”?

In a world where social media “success” can be misleading, today’s tip is essential for all businesses to understand–not just new florists. That’s why I’m closing out the month of April with a Tip on Branding Your Business.

What you need to understand as a business owner is that your brand is what other people say about you!

Your brand is what you deliver. It’s the customers’ experience with you and your staff. It’s the way people feel when they work with you and what they tell others when you’re not in the room.

Marketing, on the other hand, is what you tell people about yourself. And there’s a big difference between what you say about you and what your paying customers say about you.

Click to find out the #1 Mistake New Florists Make when branding their business:

Want to continue your business journey with me and build your brand the right way? (Slow, steady and with integrity!)

Here are some resources that will help you take your business further:

  • Become a Patreon Member: Learn the 3 Keys to Booking Great Clients Consistently with a behind the scenes look at how I prequalify, close the sale and build an integrity brand. Patrons can ask me anything and I will create a lesson to answer your questions!

 

  • Business Plan Jumpstart: A fun, easy business plan to help you map out your future. It’s just $20 and it will set you up on the right path.

 

  • Flower Math: The Florists Guide to Pricing & Profitability teaches the proven formulas to maximize your profit and increase your pricing confidence. It even has a money-back guarantee.

 

You’ll also find a full list of courses HERE including my templates for florists to help you take control of your client communication and establish authority so customers follow your lead.

There’s so much more to what we do than “just flowers”. Pricing for profit, learning how to close the sale, and building a reputation that attracts great clients are just as important as the design work we do.

FYI if you missed any of my April is for Newbies series you can catch them all on Instagram HERE!

Thanks for being here and keep doing beautiful work!

With love from me to you,

Alison

—