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    Business

    Baking it Down with Sugar Cookie Marketing ๐Ÿช

    ๐Ÿ‘‹ Hey – Heather and Corrie here with the Baking it Down Podcast with Sugar Cookie Marketing (a group on Facebook full of sugar cookiers turned business owners). 

    ๐Ÿช We’re here to help you rise with your reach, flood with new followers, bake up new ideas, and make that all-important dough (while makin’ that dough – see the pun there?) 

    ๐Ÿค‘. Whatโ€™s it about? Weโ€™re a Facebook Group turned Podcast, Membership, Book Club, and Baking 101 thatโ€™s dedicated to assisting bakers in effectively marketing online to generate more sales and better manage their businesses. 

    ๐Ÿง  With free Facebook Live classes, hundreds of resources, and thousands of like-minded bakers, thereโ€™s a lot to learn in “SCM” (aka Sugar Cookie Marketing). ๏ธ๐ŸŽง As an extension of our Facebook group, this podcast is here to let you learn by listening. ๐Ÿ“ˆ We’ll cover group topics, marketing trends, and more (leaving this wide open in case Corrie wants to start singing). 

    ๐Ÿ’ธ We take the sweet art of selling online to the cottage bakery world with marketing methods that move products (and pastries).๐Ÿ‘‚ So open up those glorious ear canals because we have a podcast! Just when youโ€™ve thought youโ€™ve โ€œheardโ€ it all with those marketing “miracle” twins (that’s our last name – not a proclamation), weโ€™ve got something just for you each week! 

    ๐Ÿฅฃ As a baker, you don’t always have the luxury of two hands needed to scroll in Sugar Cookie Marketing Group or crack open a book in Sugar Cookie Bookies, but what you can do is listen (unless you’re my kid asking โ€œwhatโ€™s for dinnerโ€ for the millionth time). 

    ๐Ÿ‘ Hands full of flour? No problem! ๐Ÿ‘ 18 dozen iced cookies due tomorrow? Letโ€™s do this. The Baking it Down Podcast by Sugar Cookie Marketing is a weekly podcast geared toward helping you grow your bakery business – dropping (almost) every Tuesday. 

    ๐Ÿ“… We choose a topic each week that’s either something new and emerging in the world of social media or something that we saw in “The Group” that was a hot topic and we bake it down… I mean, “break” it down for you. ๐Ÿ—ฏ๏ธ What you can expect in the podcast is about an hour of chit-chat with the meat and potatoes right at the beginning of the episode. 

    ๐Ÿฅ” Thatโ€™s when we dive into the marketing topic of the week! ๐Ÿ“ž Oh yeah, folks can call / text / email in with their questions too – a fun way to hear from other bakers out there. 

    Our promises to you: 
    1๏ธโƒฃ We always make it clean = no cursing. We understand that you are busy and could be around little ones while also trying to get your weekly dose of business growth so we make sure that each episode would make our grandma proud and keep it clean so you can listen while also living your life. 
    2๏ธโƒฃ We always make it fun. Thereโ€™s a lot of negativity in the world so we try and make the podcast an upbeat and fun learning experience for you. I mean, we try to make the Instagram updates and changes as happy as we can, but come on Instagram! Give it a rest! No more changes! 
    3๏ธโƒฃ Other than that, we take a positive approach to marketing We are also *not* professional podcasters. I feel like we need to say this because, hey, sometimes we get giggles! We do our best to extend our marketing knowledge to you all free of charge each week at the cost of listening to our higher-than-normal pitched voices and the occasional giggle spree. 
    4๏ธโƒฃ You can find the podcast on all the major platforms and you can typically expect a new episode each Tuesday afternoon (unless life happens). We invite everyone to listen. 

    Either start from the beginning or work backward! The episodes donโ€™t build off themselves so you wonโ€™t be confused hearing one before the other. You just might miss new Lives we mention but you can always catch the replay in the Sugar Cookie Marketing Group on Facebook!

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    Copyright: ยฉ 2022 Baking it Down with Sugar Cookie Marketing

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    179. Baking it Down - 2 Busy 2 Business Sep 24, 2024
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    ๐Ÿคน 2 Busy 2 Business - 10 ways to up communication in Sept.


    In this week's Baking it Down Podcast - Episode 179 - 2 Busy 2 Business, we wanted to talk about good communication (or the lack thereof... ahem... Bev).

    Corrie led with a personal story where she left her client, Bev, in communication purgatory wondering when or if Corrie had gotten her inquiry. See, Bev was a referral from another client, Ashley, who loved a 4 day waiting period for cookie communication. But unlike Ash, Boss Bev needed a confirmation within 24 hours or not a happy camper she was.

    And Bev was totally right in feeling like she got ghosted (too early for Halloween costumes, my twin sister). So thus we audited the 10 avenues we typically get bogged down with when we get too busy - and added some tips on how to sharpen up the communication skills ahead of Santa's sleigh.

    (ps - do you know we have a Baking it Down Instagram that stores all these lil graphics for quick reference?)

    A lot of this stuff we've covered in past podcasts, but the goal here is to optimize these communication channels for the busy season. ๐Ÿšฟ You know - where we're too busy to even shower let alone check our after-hours auto-responder. ๐Ÿค— The better the communication = the happier your clients. ๐Ÿ’ต The happier your clients = the deeper their pockets.

    ๐Ÿ‘ Rule of thumb: good communication means more money. It's as simple as that (and much easier said than done, oh do we know).

    ๐Ÿคน 1. Autoresponders / Away Messages

    • ๐Ÿ”ด Set a response window - setting an expectation of when you'll get back to someone buys you more time. Be liberal here, if you know it'll take you a while to reply, give yourself 48 hours. But ensure you're definitely getting back to them within the time frame or risk a bad review.
    • ๐ŸŸก Have your booking form in your auto-responder - Your auto-responses can include clickable links to your website or form that way you're spending less time "back and forthing" and more time making money while your website does the labor in the background.

    ๐Ÿคน 2. Google Business Profile

    • ๐Ÿ”ด Use Maps app to reply to questions / get profile updates - Google Business Profiles are hooked to Google Maps - so having the app on your phone can give you immediate notifications of communications and reviews.
    • ๐ŸŸก Remove phone numbers if you can't handle phone calls - if you simply don't communicate over phone calls, remove that from your GMB listing. While I'd like to think I'm good at answer the phone, it's just another avenue to potentially miss a lead, detail, or order change.

    ๐Ÿคน 3. Website Forms

    • ๐Ÿ”ด Ensure you gather all needed information in your form - audit your form. Are you gathering all the info you need there? Because if you're not, you're adding more back and forth which can be a stumbling block come busy season.

    ๐Ÿคน 4. Facebook Messenger

    • ๐Ÿ”ด Have in your notes app a readily available copy/paste for quicker response times - most smartphones have built-in notes apps. Use these to paste faster replies. I like to leave [BRACKETS] for info I can quickly replace to make my "copy pasta" seem more personable.

    ๐Ÿคน 5. Social Media Comments

    • ๐Ÿ”ด Replying to comments as soon as they're posted increases engagement - when someone comments on your posts, reply immediately, and ask questions. This gets people back to your post, replying to your question, and thus increasing engagement.

    ๐Ÿคน 6. Reviews

    • ๐Ÿ”ด Reply immediately to reviews - this shows you care about past clients and gives future clients a warm fuzzy feeling as well as making you look active on the internet.

    178. Baking it Down - Reading the Cookie Room Sep 17, 2024
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    ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ Reading the Cookie Room - Tells your market's telling you.


    In this week's Baking it Down Podcast - Episode 178 - Reading the Cookie Room, ๐Ÿฟ Corrie jumped in with the Tiktok flavored popcorn to tell us about a viral series of posts made this week by a wedding make-up artist who was guilty of not reading the room... er, well, cathedral.

    What started as an innocent disclaimer in the contract that allowed the make-up artist to gather content for their social ballooned into an uninvited (and intrusive) extra guest to the wedding - complete with drama, tears, and an upset bridal party (did I mention a 3-series long TikTok vent sesh to boot?).

    So we wanted to talk about "Reading the Cookie Room." Hey - whether we like it or not, our businesses put us face-to-face with clients daily. Knowing how to read subtle hints from body language and speech can allow us to be better salespeople - and just better people in general.

    ๐Ÿ”Ž We've come up with a list of conversational potential pitfalls and blind spots you might want to consider if you don't feel like you've got the gift of gab. ๐Ÿ“– PS - if you're looking for supporting reading material, check out the books "What Every Body Is Saying" and "How to Win Friends and Influence People."
    Here's the takeaway: not all of these may apply to you. If only one does, you're probably reading the "cookie room" full of your clients just fine. But if you find yourself wincing at a lot of these - then take a minute to assess the situation and slowly learn what you can tweak. Blind spots are hard to see - that's why we call them blind spots. This podcast is just a hint towards lookin' over you conversation shoulder and making sure you're not missing the closing curtain.

    ๐Ÿ™ Your bottom line (and your neighbors) will thank you.

    ๐Ÿ‘€ 1. Are you constantly having to find new customers?

    Do you constantly find yourself running through clients (๐Ÿƒโ€โ™‚ churn is the buzzword here)? If so, you may be the one scaring them off (and just in time for spooky season too). Talking too much or too personally can run off clients, so ask yourself how often you see similar names comin' back to order.


    ๐Ÿ‘€ 2. Are your female clients sending husbands (to avoid conversation?)

    Oddly specific, but Corrie says she finds herself sending out her "husband of few words" to deal with the neighborhood's chatty Cathys. ๐Ÿงโ€โ™‚ If you find that your pick-ups are generally with wall flowers, consider that perhaps someone is avoiding long conversations with you. ๐Ÿ‘จ Again - more of these have to apply to you than just one to be a blind spot - but it's worth mentioning the men (this can be either gender - the takeaway: if someone's sending the "quiet one" to pick-ups, it may be a tell).


    ๐Ÿ‘€ 3. Track the average length of pick-up conversations. Are they over 5 minutes?

    "Time just flies when you're playin' hostage." Do you keep your clients hostage on your porch? โฐ A "tell" is tracking how long conversations last. If you find them averaging over 2-minutes - maaaybe ask yourself if you're keepin' people past the normal length of porch-pickup courtesy convos.


    ๐Ÿ‘€ 4. Release the Cracken - are you giving people options to exit?

    Corrie's husband Nate has an affinity for ending conversations by saying "Welp, it's time I hit the ol' dirt road," ๐Ÿ›ฃ and while hilarious, we can all take notes (and wagon rides apparently). Adding "exits" to your conversations can help people pull the release ripcord. "Well, I don't want to keep you." "So, that's it on my end, any questions on your cookies?" "I can let you go - traffic is going to be bad for you in about an hour." ๐Ÿš—๐Ÿš—๐Ÿš— These are all release points to let people out of conversations with you.


    177. Baking it Down - When Marketing Isn't Working Sep 10, 2024
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    ๐Ÿ˜ฅ When Marketing Isn't Working - What to think and what to do.


    ๐ŸŽง This is an excerpt from this week's Baking it Down Podcast - Episode 177 - When Marketing Isn't Working


    In this week's Baking it Down Podcast - Episode 177 - When Marketing Isn't Working, we wanted to talk about both mindset and methods to reboot a sluggish marketing season.

    ๐Ÿง  In the Diary of a CEO podcast on YouTube, brain doctor, Dr. Daniel Amen who has scanned 250,000 brains, says he was asked to scan the brain of author Noelle Nelson who was writing a book on The Power of Appreciation. ๐Ÿค— She wanted to see how positive thinking affected brain function.

    The doctor then asked Noelle to return the next day after 24 hours of negative thinking to understand how the brain's baselines changed. ๐Ÿ˜ฅ The results? ๐Ÿ“‰ Lower functioning in the pre-frontal cortex - the part of the brain responsible for decision-making, reasoning, personality expression, and other complex cognitive behaviors.

    The takeaway:

    • โฌ‡๏ธ Negative thinking culls cognitive performance.
    • โฌ‡๏ธ Inhibited cognitive performance creates more negative thinking.
    • โฌ‡๏ธ Thus we're in the death spiral of bad news blues.

    ๐Ÿค” "How does this apply to my marketing not working?"

    Great question. You'll hate the answer. Marketing works because it just... works. The more people that know about a product to buy, the more people can buy said product. ๐Ÿ’ญ The how to get them to know there's a product to buy is marketing.

    โœ… So the good news - your problem is fixable. โ›” The bad news? The problem is you. "No one is buying from me" dulls your strategic thinking. "Everything I post doesn't get any likes" is an easy way to never have to strategize why your posts are reaching your intended audience.

    Shift your mindset by running through these cognitive questions:

    1. ๐Ÿง  Is your messaging confusing? Focus focus focus - switching product offerings too often can confuse your audience
    2. ๐Ÿง  Are your goals dialed in? Too much of everything is nothing
    3. ๐Ÿง  Do you have enough campaign runway? Think: run a campaign for at least 3 months to see if something works - yeah, that long.
    4. ๐Ÿง  Are you being consistent over long term or only energetic in short spurts?

    But - if you're marketing truly isn't working and you're in no mood for brain games, Corrie and I came up with a list of six tasks you can implement this month - that, with the right attitude, should turn your marketing numbers around a bit.

    1. โœ”๏ธ Work the campaigns backwards: here is launch date, so where is pre-sale end date / pre-sale launch date / photography date etc. Come up with three campaigns for the rest of the year.
    2. โœ”๏ธ Invest in better camera / photography gear and take one photography course (ahem - the Cookie College has a photography course) - plan photography days.
    3. โœ”๏ธ Start adding consistent posting in community groups - make 2 posts per week (non-sales) for 1 month.
    4. โœ”๏ธ Work on a local likes campaign. Grow your page numbers - you'll never reach 100% of your page likes, so increase the page likes to increase potential eyes on your content.
    5. โœ”๏ธ Audit your sales funnel - is something somewhere driving people to your competition.
    6. โœ”๏ธ Audit your competition - if you can handle not comparing yourself, competitor analysis is a great way to see where you're lacking.

    Try these 6 suggestions out. Hey - your marketing isn't working, you probably have a lot of spare time. What do ya have to lose? Except the yips that is.



    176. Baking it Down - Cookie Crime Scene Cleanup Sep 03, 2024
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    ๐Ÿฆด Cookie Crime Scene - Don't look back, look forward.


    In this week's Baking it Down Podcast - Episode 176 - Cookie Crime Scene, Corrie wanted to talk more cognitively about approaching "bad experiences" in business.

    As a business owner, ๐Ÿ˜“ you will face difficult clients. ๐Ÿ˜ข You will have someone demand a refund. ๐Ÿ˜ข You will experience broken cookies, icing bleed, cookie spread, soap tastes, stale cookies - it's business.

    ๐Ÿ˜ญ And you will also have to deal with clients who had a less-than-ideal experience with your business. BUT - you can harness the tools now to change that experience from a bad one to a ๐Ÿ˜Œ "hey, it wasn't the best, but we made it right" one.

    That's why this week's podcast is called "The Cookie Crime Scene" - because oftentimes the damage is already done before you run to the Sugar Cookie Marketing Group asking for validation. ๐Ÿ˜ค "I told them to get lost in the woods, they have terrible taste in clothes let alone cookies! ๐Ÿฅบ ...do you think I worded it okay?"

    Uh - nope. ๐Ÿšซ No, ya didn't do okay on that one. But you responded with too much emotion too fast without considering the ramifications, and now you get to pick up the pieces (and those pieces are often in the form of bad reviews).

    Ask yourself, "do I just want to be heard or do I want to be helped?" ๐Ÿ˜ค Let me break that phrase down: when you want to be heard only, you want to rant and vent and be angry. ๐Ÿ˜  You want people to lambast your client alongside you. You want bakers to validate your aggressive, dismissive response.

    Why ask us? You already sent the email. ๐Ÿชโš ๏ธ It's a cookie crime scene now.

    But the baker who wants to be helped - they word their posts much differently. โœ "Hey. I think I handled this run-in with my client poorly. I responded way too hastily. I may have limited my options for recourse here, but can anyone help me make this okay with this client?" Yeah - now that's someone who wants help.

    Listen - we're going to respond poorly to clients eventually. โ˜• We're humans. We run on emotion and coffee, and when coffee runs low, emotions run high (amiright?).

    ๐Ÿซ– Corrie told a story she experienced with our grandma, Ruth Ann, this morning. Ruth Ann dropped her favorite coffee cup shattering it into a million pieces. ๐Ÿ’ฅ "It's okay - let's clean it up! Can't unshatter it now. Can't be mad it's broken. Being mad doesn't fix the cup - but we can channel that energy into finding a replacement online."

    You can't unshatter the cup. But you can work on being a better baker despite bad experiences with clients. ๐Ÿ’ญ You just have to accept that you're here to get help - not just be heard.

    Quote of the week: "๐Ÿ™„ Stop, Drop, Roll your eye before your reply"

    ๐Ÿ‘‚ Snag this podcast on any major podcast player (Spotify, Apple Music, Audible, Amazon Music, or your desktop) by searching for Baking it Down - Episode 176 - Cookie Crime Scene.


    175. Baking it Down - Wedding Vendor Recap Aug 27, 2024
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    ๐Ÿ’ Wedding Expo Recap - Our eddie wedding vendor expo debrief.


    In this week's Baking it Down Podcast - Episode 175 - Wedding Vendor Recap, Corrie signed us up for a Wedding Expo - and here's our tell-all - what we did right, what we did okay, and what we wouldn't do ever again.

    The event was complex, to say the least. Conceptually - it's genius. Execution - it's lacking. โœŒ๏ธ The event was two days consisting of two "faux wedding receptions" - one upstairs (๐Ÿชต earthy forest theme) and one downstairs (๐Ÿ›ผ retro theme).

    So both themes had completely different vendor groups - meaning there were two photographers, two event planners, two florists, two bakers, two couple models... you get the point. All vendors were assigned a theme - the vendors didn't decide it.

    1๏ธโƒฃ Day 1 was a photo shoot. All the vendors set up the two themes and the photographers and models got to work. This is where they got the photos of the faux receptions (one upstairs in the venue and one downstairs outside).

    2๏ธโƒฃ Day 2 was a vendor expo, fashion runway, and after-party. This day was open to attendees - there was some ticketed component, but we never really figured out what that was exactly? More on that confusion later. But you get the idea of what this event looked like.

    1. ๐Ÿ‘ฐ Marketing Prep - Build the Funnel

    So we needed to start the marketing prep to get Corrie's "funnel" dialed in. ๐Ÿ–ผ๏ธ Here's what she did in the week leading up to the Wedding Expo. Keep in mind - this is a wedding expo, ๐Ÿคตโ€โ™‚ so she'd want her content to be wedding-specific if we drove traffic to her socials during the event. Always think in terms of funneling people to a desired action (aka purchasing for their weddings).

    • ๐Ÿ’’ Getting socials ready (reposted / pin for new timestamp)
    • ๐Ÿ’’ Posting wedding sets daily leading up to the event
    • ๐Ÿ’’ All comments / reviews responded to
    • ๐Ÿ’’ Matched energy on Instagram
    • ๐Ÿ’’ Updated forms / website


    We decided we'd take Eddie - the edible direct-to-food printer from Primera (also a podcast sponsor). ๐Ÿค” I asked myself, "What would get someone to stop at a cookie booth" and ๐Ÿ–จ the answer was "print them on a cookie - live - as they watch." So this meant we needed some specific supplies to make Eddie work.

    2. ๐Ÿ‘ฐ Source Your Supplies

    We haven't done a vendor expo for Corrie's company before, so I had to order all the custom printed things - which meant the start-up costs for this were high (ideally you'd repeat these events and bring the cost-per-use down considerably). ๐Ÿช‘ I needed a custom Tablecloth (TableCoversNow for $216.60), a Step and Repeat as a photo backdrop (VistaPrint for $338.14), and an A-frame sign (Best of Signs for $128.43). We borrowed a 6'x2.5' table from my mom. I had a Sony A7C mirrorless camera with a 24mm lens. Corrie brought her Dell XPS computer, and then we had Eddie (all already purchased a few years ago).

    • ๐Ÿ’’ Ordered custom tablecloth, custom circle a-frame sign, custom step & repeat
    • ๐Ÿ’’ Purchased add-on carrying cases for easier transport
    • ๐Ÿ’’ Pre-baked 45 Eddie blank cookies + 1 sleeve of Mom Pop pre-dipped cookies (for backup)
    • ๐Ÿ’’ 50 QR Code printed cookies + business cards

    3. ๐Ÿ‘ฐ Do a Setup Dry Run

    I'm a planner - so a dry run for setup and workflow was a must if I wanted to get any sleep the night before. I build out the dimensions in an app called Whimsical. We were limited to a 6x6 event space, so lemme just say - it was gonna be tight.


    174. Baking it Down - Know Newsletters Aug 20, 2024
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    ๐Ÿ“ง Know Newsletters - What to send to who and how often.
    In this week's Baking it Down Podcast - Episode 174 - Know Newsletters, we talk everything you need to know about newsletters. These powerhouses in digital marketing are some of the most untouched real estate in the cottage world - and why? We're not sure - but if you capitalize on it now, you'll be cookin' (baking?) with fire come the busy season.

    Jumping straight into it - in the Onesday Wednesday newsletter, I included the 90-day line chart of our weekly newsletter (this is a Sendgrid report). It's sent on Wednesdays, and you can see I missed a Wednesday a few months ago (the dead zone where there's no peak) and again last week (fam stuff).

    The big takeaway in this chart isn't the number of people receiving our emails. It's the consistency at which the newsletters are sent, how many emails reach an inbox (deliverability), how many get opened (open rate), and what gets clicked on (click-through rate).
    So let's break down the making of solid bones for a newsletter. Before we jump into the content, we gotta actually have a list. So let's start there and build.

    ๐Ÿ“จ 1. Creating an Email List

    You've got to generate a list. Review the CAN-SPAM laws, but my take - you can email people who have purchased cookies from you in the past as long as you follow all the other rules. Ideally, your list is compromised of opt-in emails (people who intentionally signed up for your list). Newsletter senders often include free landing pages and sign-up forms to grow your list as well. Giveaways are a great incentive for quick sign-ups.

    ๐Ÿ“จ 2. Selecting a Sender.

    You won't want to use your personal email to send out newsletters (CAN-SPAM laws require an unsubscribe button and an address), so selecting a newsletter sender is integral to a healthy newsletter campaign. Big names in the biz are Mailchimp, Flodesk, Square, Sendgrid, Constant Contact - there's about a million to choose from so find one that fits your needs, your budget, and your workflow.
    ๐Ÿ“จ 3. Preview Content

    When you go to write your email - the preview content (the "from," the subject line, the preview text) will help you get that ever-coveted opened email. In the preview content, I like to attract attention with the subject line then draw them in with the supporting preview text. Imagine my Halloween email's subject line reading: "๐Ÿ‘ป I've Got Something SCARY To Tell You" and the preview line is "๐ŸŽƒThe 10 closest pumpkin patches to Fairfax". Preview text isn't available in all inboxes, but always think about drawing folks to the "email open." That subject line is a lot more eye-catching than "September Offerings."

    ๐Ÿ“จ 4. Body-yody-yody-yody

    The body of your newsletter - the meat and potatoes - is the content your readers are clicking to read. Corrie came up with a cute poem to guide you, "something for me, something for you, but no more than two." Basically - keep it short, sweet, and skim-able. Header tags, bolded fonts, and bulleted lists are your buddies here. Pictures are worth the thousand words you don't have to type out. An example of the "something for me, something for you" is a list of local cideries in your area + your back-to-school offerings. Another example is your January "Build a Snowman" cookie class + a list of local sledding hills the kids love. You get the point. Don't jam-pack a newsletter with a million different offerings, 4 CTAs (call-to-actions), and a billion photos - you're making that poor newsletter do too many things and thus it does nothing really. FOCUS on one initiative per email.

    We cover more tips in this week's podcast like templates, how nested header tags work, an ideal schedule for someone getting started in newsletters, as well as font best practices. Give it a listen - it's one of the stron


    173. Baking it Down - Prep 4 Q4 Aug 06, 2024
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    ๐ŸŽข Prep 4 Q4 - How to prepare for our busy season.


    In this week's Baking it Down Podcast - Episode 173 - Prep 4 Q4, we're preppin' for Q4 - the baker's "Super (mixing) Bowl." ๐Ÿˆ Right now, you should be feeling the tides of a lullish summer slowly begin to change as we creep into back-to-school territory.

    ๐ŸŒฌ๏ธ Add in the cooler weather blowing in (hey, we can hope, right?) and that signals the official kick-off for baking mayhem that will last until the week after New Year's (until Valentine's Day).

    BUT - ๐Ÿ˜ด we still have a few weeks of down-ish time (are bakers ever truly on vacation though??) to prep for Q4, because - if you remember last year, ๐Ÿ˜ซ you ain't gonna have no time to do this when you're elbow deep in red and green royal icing.

    ๐ŸŽข Twin2 likens this part of the year to a roller coaster that's reached the peak of the initial drop... that point where you feel like the coaster has stopped at the highest point. It feels slow, but what's next is utter calendar chaos, hands in the air, screaming at the top of your lil' lungs. And here's what we think you could spend the next few weeks on so you're all prepped up for Game Day.

    ๐ŸŽข 1. Instagram

    Let's start with Instagram - even if it's not a big lead generator for you, keeping it up-to-date can help signal to your audience you're rearin' and ready to take holiday orders. It's easy to forget about the bio info, but that's an important jump point for people starting their ordering process with you. Here's what we'd focus on:

    • โœ… Update your auto-responder
    • โœ… Refresh the pinned posts (You can have 3) - How to Order | Lead Time | Offerings
    • โœ… Update your bio - Location | Now Booking For [Month]
    • โœ… Audit your bio links (see: Linktree)
    • โœ… Use emojis and line breaks

    ๐ŸŽข 2. Facebook

    Similar to Instagram, but different - Facebook needs some cleaning up too. I prefer to update it on a desktop computer since the Meta Business Suite app doesn't always give you all the editing options. There's an about section and the more important "Intro" section - this intro section has had an extended character limit and can now feature hyperlinks - ya know, for your ordering form. Also updated those pinned posts so they reflect a 2024 timestamp (bonus if it's not January 1, 2024... ahem, Corrie).

    • โœ… Audit About section - check for old information
    • โœ… Retype up Intro bio + add a link
    • โœ… Refresh pinned posts (repost for 2024 timestamp)
    • โœ… Check that your button still works
    • โœ… Update links + add social profile links if you haven't
    • โœ… Respond to all reviews - include a picture of their order!
    • โœ… Add upcoming events to the Events tab for easy tagging
    • โœ… Clean up your personal profile (I don't wanna see you arguing politics)

    ๐ŸŽข Website | Forms

    Many clients discover us on social media but find themselves on our websites or forms to place an order. Clean up that web shop by archiving old products or products from past holidays.

    Make the product options the ones you know you can knock out of the park quickly (mid-December is not the time to attempt to make your first cake pop). Adding an availability banner (or calendar) can signal that you're ready to bake for the holidays and increase conversions. Adding holiday-themed pictures is another signal that you're โœจtheโœจ holiday baker of their dreams.

    • โœ… Add an availability banner (Now Booking for [Month]
    • โœ… Delete / archive old products or past holiday-themed products
    • โœ… Add a "Schedule" page for events like classes / vendor markets
    • โœ… Update pictures to feature upcoming holiday-themed items

    ๐ŸŽข Google Business Profile Listing

    If you've ever made a GBP listing and wondered, "Why am I not getting leads?!" It's because you actually have


    172. Baking it Down - Choc-A Lot Jul 30, 2024
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    ๐Ÿซ Choc-A Lot - How to increase price by increasing value.


    In this week's Baking it Down Podcast - Episode 172 - Choc-A Lot, my sisters and my mom partook in our annual "Christmas in July" gift exchange. For a family who loves gift-giving with birthdays from November - February, the rest of the year feels like a gifting desert. Ergo - Christmas in July for the fourth year running was born.

    The rules are simple: you must buy everyone a gift that is $50 each, and you must give everyone the same gift.

    I'm still in my minimalist era, so I wanted to go with a consumable (something that won't live on the shelf collecting dust), and a new local chocolate shop opened at our favorite mall - Lรคderach (good luck pronouncing that).

    Their claim to fame is giant chocolate slabs you can see walking past their pretty storefront (pic in the newsletter is from their Facebook page here). Yeah - definitely a head-turner for just about any "sweet treat" addict like myself. I ended up shellin' out $250 to meet the "Christmas in July" spending requirement (while also sweet-treatin' myself), and lemme tell ya - Y-U-M-M-O.
    But cheap ain't luxury and luxury ain't cheap - so here are the 10 things we found that made the difference between Laderach and Dove chocolate (no hate to Dove, those are my go-to Saturday night sweet treats).

    ๐Ÿซ Packaging Packs a Punch.

    I swear they had more packaging options than they had chocolate - and for good reason. This chocolate is meant to be gifted. Their store screamed "This is a perfect gift for the hard-to-buy-for" with so many selections for varying chocolate sizes and truffles combos - there was a gift box for every budget. If you were worried about presentation, worry no more - this brand was a packaging powerhouse.

    Same with your packaging - the bigger, flashier, funnier, brighter, cuter - the better. We're not selling food. We're selling really delicious gifts - just like Laderach.

    ๐Ÿซ Samples Sell.

    I'll be honest - this chocolate shop has been fueling my mall powerwalks for months - there's always a person at the front door offering bits of broken chocolate slabs for the passersby to tempt themselves. They don't hard-pitch you on anything - just merely ask, "Would you like some chocolate?" That's one question you'll never hear me say no to. The fun fact is - they'd given me three samples before I finally reached into my chocolate change purse.

    Same with samples at vendor markets. No, I don't think you're "giving away product for free" - I think you're building a returning customer base. Remember - it took me three completely free samples before I spent $250.
    ๐Ÿซ Location Location Location.

    Laderach had one thing on lock - their location. Between a mall entrance and a high-foot-trafficked anchor store (Macy's), there were tons of people walking by (did we mention their all-glass storefront where you can drool... I mean... see the stacked slabs of delicious chocolate).

    While your bakery may be at home, your location at vendor events can make all the difference. See if you can find a spot next to a popular vendor (stay away from direct competitors) and an entryway.

    ๐Ÿซ Brand Fans.

    If being decked out in branded aprons, crisp button-down white collared shirts, and fancy black slacks wasn't enough, the staff truly seemed to be fans of the brand they worked for. One staff member heard us struggling (see: slaughtering) pronunciation and chimed in not only with the easy way to remember the name but added some history about the brand. "That brother works in the kitchen developing some of the most unique chocolate pairings I've ever tasted - he's a chocolate genius."

    Are you excited about your brand?


    171. Baking it Down - Say It, Don't Spray It Jul 23, 2024
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    ๐Ÿ™Š Say It, Donโ€™t Spray It - How to ask for help in the groups.


    In this week's Baking it Down Podcast - Episode 171 - Say It - Don't, Spray It, we wanted to cover a topic to help us help you help us. Because it's how you ask questions in Facebook groups that dictate the kind of answers you'll get.

    Depending on how you asked it, ๐Ÿคฉ you're either going to get really solid advice that moves your business forward, ๐Ÿšฎ or you'll end up with bottom-of-the-barrel, trash comments that do nothing other than get you even more worked up. ๐Ÿ˜ก

    ๐Ÿ”‘ You hold the keys to your own post - ๐Ÿ”“ whether your post gets locked or not is really up to you - the OP (original poster). And when you post in a way that garners good advice, it makes the group a better place.

    ๐Ÿ‘ฟ And when you post spun content that makes your client look like the devil's stunt double, you give the mod team more work - ๐Ÿ”’ because your thread will get locked by the mod team. It's our job to keep this space a resource for folks, not an echo chamber of the worthless comment, "๐Ÿƒโ€โ™‚ RUN."

    ๐Ÿค” Ask yourself: "What am I looking for with this post - advice or validation?" If you're looking for validation, reconsider posting altogether. ๐Ÿ’ฅ We aren't here to clean up a crime scene. If you want advice, we're your people. ๐Ÿš” We can help prevent the cookie car accident altogether with the right strategy.

    If you find somethin' in here that looks like what you've asked in the past - no hard feelings. Your thread is a learning lesson to everyone, and for that, I am thankful (now stop posting threads that get locked, mkaaaay).

    ๐Ÿ™Š Example 1 - Unhappy Client Help

    Let's start off with unhappy client help. It's a guarantee in business (and life) that you won't be able to please everyone. As such, dealing with upset clients is a business-ownership guarantee. How you handle that separates the proverbial "men from the boys" or should I say, "the business bakers from the business boo-ers."

    ๐Ÿ˜ก Spun Bad Question:

    • "I took a last minute order, it was rushed, I fit her in - she begged! My icing wasn't perfect, but now she's upset about how they turned out. I wasn't even going to take the order and I let her know that it wouldn't be perfect, but she's saying the icing isn't the right color. I tell them in my terms that icing won't match, so she knew that going into it. I don't have time to rebake, and I will not refund her. What should I do? Any help?"

    ๐Ÿค” Alternate Healthy Question:

    • "I took a last-minute order and in hindsight, I shouldn't have. I broke my own boundaries, and I acknowledge I have a hard time telling people no. The cookies that include piped names have bumpy icing - not my best work by far. What should I do in this situation? The client is unhappy with those cookies."

    ๐Ÿ™Š Example 2 - Pricing Wheelin' 'n Dealin'

    Example 2 - a client who pushes back on price. It's a bummer when the client doesn't just pay the asking price but thinks there's room for bargain hunting. While likely there isn't much wiggle room, we can still play ball - in fact, that's likely what they expected you to do (remember - there are people who operate off the premise, "the answer to every unasked question is no, so ask").

    ๐Ÿ˜ก Spun Bad Question:

    • "I secured a corporate recurring order and now they want to know if I can lower the price! They waited until after we nailed everything down and frankly, I don't want to work with them anymore anyway, but I want her to know I won't do business like that. How can I tell them they're being unfair?"

    ๐Ÿค” Alternate Healthy Question:

    • "I secured a corporate order - and it would be a nice recurring lead for me; however,..."

    170. Baking it Down - Class Supplies Jul 16, 2024
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    โœ‚๏ธ Class Supplies - A "bake-down" of what we bring and why.


    In this week's Baking it Down Podcast - Episode 170 - Class Supplies, (another) Heather (of One Smart Cookies and Crafts - also a returning Vendy this year) asked us to cover what cookie class supplies we bring and why.

    (๐Ÿคซ Pssst - if you're a Cookie Class Kits or Cookie College member, you get this list with every class drop). Let's go through our general "class supplies" list we use for every class we teach.

    Yours may differ - we try to keep it pretty lean so we have less to pack, manage, and clean up. Hey - if time's money, the less time we spend packin' and preppin', the more money we keep in our apron pockets.

    โœ‚๏ธ 1. To-Go Boxes

    Everyone always likes a box recommendation - so here's ours (keeping the direct links in the newsletter - the Zuck hates a 'Zon link on socials, so check your email for the hyperlinks).

    Our to-go boxes we use for class attendees to take their bakes home in are the same ones we use for the DIY Kit boxes - but Corrie will grab a cheap pack of stickers from Hobby Lobby.

    • ๐Ÿ“ฆ 9x9x2.5 Window Boxes (Amazon)

    โœ‚๏ธ 2. Piping Bags

    While we're not diehards for any one brand of piping bag, when we find one we like, we try to stick with it. I prefer a "middle of the road" micron count - too loose and you'll have a bag bursting. Too hard and you'll have a crunchy-sounding class.

    • ๐Ÿ‘œ Piping Bags (10) (Busy Bakers Supplies)
    • ๐Ÿ‘œ Bag Ties (200) (Amazon)

    Bring some extras - in the event of a bag bursting, it's nice to have these on hand. Plus, if you let your attendees cut their own bags (more on that in the #PodcastPoll below), and they get too clippy, you can rebag and save the flow (and the day).

    โœ‚๏ธ 3. Trays.

    I love these trays. They really help "set an area" for each attendee. We use two different-sized trays per station - a large one where we display the cookies and a smaller one where we put their icing. Both are lined with parchment paper (links below) for easy clean up too.

    • ๐Ÿ“ค Large Trays (9.5x13) (Webstaurant)
    • ๐Ÿ“ค Small Trays (6.5x9.5) (Webstaurant)

    Trays make it easy to designate the station for attendees, keep sprinkles from running free, and help us keep a better headcount. The ones we use aren't the cheapest, but we've been reusing them for 4.5 years now, so worth the investment. Amazon has cheaper alternatives though.


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