5 Easy Tips to Improve Your Website

If you’re a floral designer, you already know that running a successful business means you need to understand a lot more than flower care and design principles.

Marketing and branding are important pieces of longterm success. Most of the florists I work with have a website that “looks pretty good”, but they’re missing some important elements (and updates!).

That’s why I sat down with Emily and Mary-Catherine at Koehler & Dramm last week to talk about 5 Easy Tips to Improve Your Website!

You can take these 5 Website and Branding Tips and put them to work in your business today! Click to watch!

Do you want more brand recognition and inquiries from clients who are eager to book?

I create website tools and shortcuts for florists to help you create a site that doesn’t just look good, but actually attracts great clients and helps you weed out customers who aren’t a good fit.

I can help you take your website and your branding further with 2 courses made especially for florists:

The Art of Good Business is a comprehensive course that takes you through the steps I follow in my own business to get in touch with my ideal clients, improve my website messaging and hold myself accountable for impeccable customer service! (This is one of my signature courses and it includes a private Facebook group and support from me!) Click for info here.

Website Bootcamp is a shortcut to help you improve your website in 3 days or less! This is a quick, affordable course that walks you through the most important tips to improve your About page, help you get more “clicks” from interested clients, and improve SEO. Learn more and start today!

Taylor enrolled in Website Bootcamp and said:

“Love this course so much! Also the blog challenge is very inspiring! I’ve got 40 draft ideas already and 4 blogs written and scheduled!!!”

Successful Bootcamp Students Say…

Samantha said:

“So grateful for this bootcamp! The inquiry form is saving me from a long phone call to find a budget that is just not realistic.”

Another Bootcamper said:

“I can do this at my own pace and revisit the info as needed. I like that it was presented in a way that was not overwhelming in regards to doing the homework….

I ended up redoing my entire website…I think my website is much better than before with a lot more content (doesn’t look like a 3rd grader made it haha) Thanks Alison!!!!”

Tascha wrote after updating her site on Day 1 to say:

“I don’t know if this is a coincidence but…has anyone else gotten an influx of inquiries this afternoon/evening? No joke, I got FOUR! 2 within the past half hour.”

Learn more HERE!

Art of Good Business Students Say…

Rebecca Raymond:

“…four weeks into the class the inquiries started coming, I booked three clients and have two new prospects!…

I’ve learned about myself, my belief system, my ideal client, my accountability, and my personal wisdom (yes! I have some!) I’ve been given a roadmap for business success that will be a baseline for my future growth…”

Jessica Ormond:

“I just booked my biggest gig yet, by $3k…

I just have to say this course, Alison’s content works!…my ideal client is more clearly defined, I’ve mostly reworked my web copy, have been better about blogging, and more intentional about how I talk to my followers on social media posts.”

Learn more HERE!

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

How Do Ideal Customers Find You?

Do you know what your ideal customers are looking for?

I shared this video yesterday about tuning into who your ideal customers are and what you deliver to them.

Today, I want to talk about the next step: getting found by your ideal customers.

Once you’ve identified the “who you serve” and “what they care about”, your next big feat is attracting customers to your website with sales copy that speaks to their hearts.

Click to watch a short video: How Do Ideal Customers Find You?

As I mention in the video, in Week 2 of The Art of Good Business I walk florists through 12 Tips to Build a Better Website so that you “get more clicks” and continue to attract great clients year after year. Learn more about this fun, easy to implement group coaching program HERE.

I’ll show you how to leave a trail of breadcrumbs so customers get to the right places…

show them around…

and create a branding strategy that increases client engagement!

In The Art of Good Business, you’ll learn how to easily organize your website so customers go where you want them to go!

The work we do together in this course is the compass I follow that helps me set the foundation of what I say “yes” and “no” to in my business.

Now’s the time to check your own compass and make sure your foundation is strong as you embark on a new year in your business.

I do this work every year and I am happy to do it with you in The Art of Good Business (click here to join me!).

xo. -Alison

P.S. Not sure if The Art of Good Business is right for you? Click here to hop on a call with me!

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Who Is Your Ideal Customer?

How do you define an Ideal Customer?

People talk about finding “ideal clients”, but it’s rarely defined.

The simplest definition of an ideal customer is: someone you want to work with over and over and over again.

You may have more than 1 ideal customer (multiple income streams sometimes have multiple customer avatars).

Click to watch this super short video on Why you want to get to know YOUR Ideal Clients!

We dive into this very topic in Week 1 of The Art of Good Business, which starts LIVE Jan. 8th.

You don’t have to join me live, but I will be here every Friday in January to walk you through the course.

Learn More HERE!

Ideal customers choose your brand easily.

They are willing to pay what you charge.

They love your website.

They love you/your personality and/or your sales staff.

They get to yes, easily.

In short…

In order to make your social media attract the right customers, you need a clear idea of who you’re actually taking to!

Ideal customers say, “this is for me…she’s saying what I’m thinking!”

You want your ideal customers to read your sales copy and think “yes, this is for me”.

Does your website and social media reach your clients like this?

If not, I can help!

Click here to learn more about The Art of Good Business!

Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog and watch my tips.

Keep doing beautiful work, Floralpreneur®.

With love from me to you,

Alison

P.S. If you have any questions for me about the course or whether it’s a good fit for you, request a free 20-minute call here! I’m happy to hop on a call if you have questions for me.

This is truly one of the most valuable and in-depth courses I teach and I would be honored to have you join me if it sounds like a good fit!

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

A Conversation with Koehler and Dramm

I was invited to to sit down with Emily and Mary-Catherine at Koehler and Dramm to talk about my new book, Falling Into Flowers, and share a bit about who it’s for, what you can expect to get out of the book, and why I wrote it in the first place!

We talked about weddings, dreaming bigger in your business, checklists and production schedules, rediscovering a love for the customer and impacts of Covid moving forward.

Click to watch (or listen while you’re making holiday wreaths)!

Order a Book HERE!

Why am I willing to share what I’ve learned?

Emily asked me to share WHY I am so willing to share what I’ve learned with other florists (see that below!):

Be the Visionary in your Business!

During our chat, Mary-Catherine zeroed in on the need to focus in on what you actually want in your business, and Emily added that it’s the perfect time for strategic planning…here’s where I share a bit about being the visionary in your company instead of the “worker bee” (see that below!):

What’s the #1 Thing Florists Should Take Away?

Falling Into Flowers is for all floral designers who want to run a successful business, but here’s what I hope you’ll get out of it (see that below!):

Order from Publisher

Order on Amazon

If you have ever thought about becoming a wedding florist, this book is for you. Beautifully written, Alison provides a clear and through understanding of the business side of being wedding florist. From an overall plan to selling a wedding to working hard and making a profit, she genuinely shares her many years of experience. I think my favorite part is the wedding production schedule, this clearly lays out the weekly process and the amount of effort required to produce a successful wedding. Overall, “Falling into Flowers” is an authentic and candid view of owning and operating a real wedding floral business. -Nancee (review from Amazon)

Thanks for taking the time to watch my interview with Koehler and Dramm! If you have questions for me, get in touch!

And if you’d like to “dream a little” in your business, check out this intro from the Build Your Dream Into A Business Plan Live Session I hosted for Patreon subscribers:

Get the Full Session on Patreon

You’ll find a full list of my online courses for florists HERE!

To learn more about Alison click here!

By Alison Ellis Leave a Comment

Introducing My New Book on How To Become a Wedding Florist!

A big announcement for the floral world….

I am SO excited to share my new book, Falling Into Flowers, A Step-by-step Guide to Today’s Modern Wedding Business, is available NOW!

You can click to order a signed copy directly from the author (that’s me!) HERE!

This 80-page book covers the essential “must knows” for running a profitable wedding design business of any size—from basic tools and knowledge to presenting proposals and booking clients, to pricing for profit, to production and design schedules, Falling Into Flowers, features beautiful typography, stunning photography featuring my design work, and a step-by-step guide to today’s modern wedding business.

I want to offer up a big huge thanks to those who’ve already purchased the book! Your support has been phenomenally reassuring and humbling!

Floralpreneurs have been so kind and supportive in my first 2 weeks of this book launch that I sold out of my first shipment!

I’ll be filling orders just as quickly as I can….or you can order direct from the publisher for faster delivery!

Click To Order!

As seen in Florists’ Review magazine!…

Here’s what Florists’ Review says about the book…

If you have the desire to perfect your wedding floral sales and business and customer-service skills, and to become more professional and profitable in this segment of the industry, Falling into Flowers is the book for you!
Written in an enchanting, friendly and easy-to-comprehend manner by Alison Ellis, a practicing wedding florist for nearly two decades and owner of Floral Artistry in Jericho, Vt.; creator of Flower Math; and founder of RealFlowerBusiness.com, this book covers it all. Included are sound advice and proven tips for:

• becoming a wedding florist
• finding and creating a niche for your business
• selling weddings (including consultation tips)
• pricing your wedding work profitably
• planning and executing weddings
• managing communications with clients—and much, much more.

Ellis assures that it is possible to make money on weddings, from either a studio or a retail flower shop—even if you believe weddings are too much work and not profitable. By following the steps outlined in this consummate wedding business guidebook, readers will gain the confidence, clarity and professional strategies to become successful and profitable beyond their imaginations. And don’t hesitate to order this must-have business manual for your floral library: Once you start reading it, you’ll have a hard time putting it down! It’s that engaging! Click to order your copy today!

Get It Here

From Alison…

I created this book as a step-by-step guide for wedding and event florists who started their business because of their passion for flowers, but need to improve their skills beyond floral design in order to book clients, turn a profit, and feel proud of the business they run.

I hope readers will walk away with confidence in their ability to book clients who value their work and run a profitable business that brings them joy.

You can turn a profit AND create beautiful designs your customers will love!

I want to especially thank the folks who contributed to the creation of this book:

Robin Avni, my wonderful and thoughtful editor who kept my voice, but made it even better!

Andrea Leksen, my uber talented designer who brought the book to life with her typography and image selection.

Magnolia Photographie, for the fantastic cover image.

Four of my favorite female photographers in the Green Mountain State whose work is included throughout these pages:

Barrie Fisher Photo

Birke Photography

Daria Bishop Photography

Orchard Cove Photography

And, of course, my publisher, Travis Rigby, of Florists’ Review and Wildflower.Media—thank you for asking me to write this book!

It’s truly a dream come true (or perhaps, better stated, it’s a “goal come true”) to have a published book to share with florists around the world. I cannot wait for you to see it and I look forward to hearing what you do with your business once you read it!

Click To Order!

With so much love, appreciation, respect, excitement and straight-up-joy from me to you,

Alison