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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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    159. Baking it Down - Excuse my Excuses Apr 23, 2024
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    ๐Ÿฅฒ Excuse my Excuses - Don't cry unless you've tried (everything).


    This week's podcast is a deep dive into a post I made in the group earlier this week - the post regarding "woe is me" threads saying the cookie industry is done, pack it up kids, you don't gotta go home, but you can stay... in this kitchen.

    You see - that defeatist mentality ain't go no business being in a business-centric group. It will limit your sales and, over time, cause you to quit. Quite literally the opposite of marketing and growth mindsets.

    ๐Ÿ˜ญ "But I've tried (and cried) everything! It's not working anymore!"
    Have you, though? Have you actually tried everything? Because there are now 159 Baking it Down podcast episodes covering 159 marketing tactics. And I'll wager you aint' tried even a third of the stuff we talked about. That's what today's podcast is about.

    And even if you did - ๐Ÿฅค have you ever wondered why Coca-Cola, founded in 1886, โœจstillโœจ buys ad space at the beginning of every movie? ๐ŸŽฅ They've been at this for 138 years and they still keep hittin' the marketing campaign trail! It's because consistency - over long periods of time - produces results.

    Marketing ain't a one-and-done. If it was, I'd be out of a job and ๐Ÿค‘ cookiers would be millionaires. It's repeated effort for a really, really long time. Let's jump into the post.

    --

    I often see people complain about their local markets in these groups.

    • ๐Ÿงˆ The price of butter is too high,
    • ๐Ÿ“‰ Competitor prices are too low,
    • ๐Ÿ‘ฅ The market is saturated,
    • ๐Ÿšซ The market doesn't want cookies,
    • ๐ŸŽŸ๏ธ Too many people teaching cookie classes,
    • ๐Ÿช‘ Too few people taking cookie classes,
    • ๐Ÿ‘Ž The competition isn't as good as you,
    • ๐Ÿ˜ญ The competition has more tag-happy friends than you.


    You get the point.

    ๐Ÿ‘€ There are 45,000 people here - so I get the honor of reading many contradicting opinions on why sales aren't where we expected them to be.

    Teeechnically... ๐Ÿ™… you can only write "the cookie game is done" if you attempted every marketing tactic covered in this group. Then, and only then, can you say with certainty that the party is truly over.

    ๐Ÿƒ I mean - how can you say you won't win a foot race if you never ran the race in the first place? Same applies to marketing. Can't say you can't sell anything if you didn't try everything in your power to sell it.

    You can't say, "No one buys my cookies" if you never told absolutely everyone that you were selling cookies, right?

    So allow me to ask... have you:

    • โœ… Attempted to market to commercial businesses by dropping by with a logo cookie.
    • โœ… Worked on growing your review profile by getting new reviews and responding to bad reviews in a way that will increase sales.
    • โœ… Focused on upping your curb appeal for in-person pickups.
    • โœ… Implemented copy formulas to increase conversion rates - AIDA, PAS, 4 C's, 4 U's, Before After Bridge.
    • โœ… Implented "customer delight" methods to differentiate yourself from your competitors.
    • โœ… Used better adjectives to make your products and pitches sound more appealing in social media posts and emails.
    • โœ… Streamlined your branding for easier brand recognition across all print and digital profiles.
    • โœ… Run g-i-v-e-a-w-a-y-s to engage your page / group audience frequently.
    • โœ… Focused on adding value to local community groups each week.
    • โœ… Created your own local community group to better facilitate a value-added hyper-local community group.
    • โœ… Consistently posted to your social media every week for an entire year.
    • โœ… Created an email list on a newsletter sender (Mailchimp, Flodesk, Constant Contact).

    158. Baking it Down - Comfy Mistakes Apr 16, 2024
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    ๐Ÿคฆโ€โ™€ Comfy Mistakes - Getting comfortable with uncomfy mistakes.


    We had a (very) abbreviated podcast today - thanks to the door guys. ๐Ÿšช But in the few minutes we did get to chit-chat, we wanted to touch on "uncomfortable mistakes."

    ๐Ÿ˜ฟ Being bad at something sucks. It's no fun making mistakes. In fact, it feels like bad business acumen to make mistakes, right? I mean - imagine a business built on mistakes. Who would want to hire them!?

    But successful businesses were built on the backs of mistakes. It's the "failing forward" that separates the business-ending mistakes from the "oh - I learned another way not to do that, let me try something else" business-building mistakes.

    ๐Ÿคฆโ€โ™€ Mistakes mean youโ€™re learning.

    If you're not failing, you're not learning. There's a clip on Reddit of a guy learning to do a backflip - he actually gets pretty okay, then starts doing worse before finally sticking the landing. *crowd goes wild*

    ๐Ÿง  That's how the brain works (well, not in learning how to back flip - I ain't got the health insurance plan to be trying that).

    You try something new, and in your cluelessness, you have a bit of beginner's luck. As you intentionally refine your process, you get a little worse before finally becoming successful at something. Congrats - you learned something - you failed forward.

    ๐Ÿคฆโ€โ™€ Growth = failing forward.

    There's a difference between "failing" and โžก๏ธ "failing forward." In the prior, you likely quit. This is the wrong type of mistake. The mistake we want is where we know we're going to mess up, but the whole time, we're making mental notes - "Ah yes, don't put the green Jimmy sprinkle in before the cake batter has cooled - that gives E.coli vibes. Noted."

    ๐Ÿ“ Then back to the drawing board once more to implement what we now know not to do - ta-da! We just failed forward. Enough failing forwards and you've got yourself a new skill, my friend!

    ๐Ÿคฆโ€โ™€ Bring clients into the learning phase.

    Don't be shy - invite others to cry! Kidding, it rhymed. But Corrie had a good point. When clients ask her to do stuff "out of her wheelhouse," she lets them know!

    ๐Ÿค "Hey - this would be my first time trying that technique - I've always wanted to attempt it. Worst case, you got yourself some free red cake pops, best case, you got what you wanted! Let's do this!"

    ๐Ÿคฆโ€โ™€ Have a refund fund ready to go.

    Mistakes are only hard to stomach if someone loses. But in the event of failing forward, we hedge our bets with our "oopsie budget" - ๐Ÿ‘ฎโ€โ™‚ the proverbial baker get-outta-jail-free card when it comes to making mistakes. That way mistakes don't hurt so bad (our ego and our wallets). It's easier to take a risk when you know there's a financial net there to break your fall.

    ๐Ÿ‘‚ Snag this podcast on any major podcast player (Spotify, Apple Music, Audible, Amazon Music, or your desktop) by searching - Baking it Down - Episode 158 - Uncomfy Mistakes.


    157. Baking it Down - Deborah Deborah Deborah Apr 09, 2024
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    โญ Deborah Deborah Deborah

    When you've not been seen, heard, or understood.

    Grab your popcorn - ๐Ÿฟ we covered a buttery topic on today's podcast when a Canadian restaurant went viral for all the wrong review reasons. ๐Ÿงˆ Blaming Deborah in a now globally reaching door sign, Heirloom Restaurant closed its doors this April citing issues with... well, unhappy clients. ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿณ


    How did they handle it? ๐Ÿ˜  Making unhappy clients even unhappier clients. ๐Ÿ˜ก Whether it was a staged publicity stunt or a business owner who had just finally had enough of Deborah and her depressing reviews - regardless, they're now shuttered - and here's a small... ahem... heirloom... we can take with us when it comes to replying to reviews.

    (if you're as nosey as me and don't mind some colorful language - ๐Ÿ… google "heirloom restaurant Canada Reddit" and enjoy the rabbit hole).

    ๐Ÿ”Ÿ 10 Ways to Handle a Bad Review

    First things first - how you handle bad reviews isn't a reflection on how well you bake - but rather how well you business. ๐Ÿค Good business owners understand that a bad review can be a tool to secure more business. Lackluster business owners think it's a digital fight - and act accordingly - costing them time and money (even more they don't realize they're losing out on).

    • 1๏ธโƒฃ Understand that everyone will eventually get a bad review (or at least an unhappy client).

    If we could please everyone what kind of person would that make us? See - the thing is, you can't please everyone - so fully come to terms with that, at some point, someone will be leaving you a bad review. It's just gonna happen - and once we accept that, we take away the emotion out of it.

    Repeat after me: "I am a business owner. I will get a bad review. That is okay. How I handle that review makes all the difference."

    • 2๏ธโƒฃ Walk away - ๐Ÿ•’ a minimum of 24 hours (the damage is already done. don't make it well done by replying in anger).

    No one died from not getting a reply to their bad review in time. Thus, take your time in replying. Waiting, thinking, and letting the offended emotions dissipate will clear your mind when writing a reply to a bad review. The last thing we want is to take a page from Heirloom and make the bad, worse.

    • 3๏ธโƒฃ Write a rough draft reply - ๐Ÿค“ then have a third uninvested party read it.

    Write a rough draft - AND BEFORE YOU POST IT - have the least emotional person you know read it first. Ask them, "Does any part of this response sound emotional or defensive?" If they say yes - change that part. We want zero emotional replies here. If you get defensive at their critique... well, I got news for ya, kiddo.

    • 4๏ธโƒฃ Lower your defenses. ๏ธ๐ŸฅŠ

    I can't stress this enough. Lower. Thy. Defenses. Listen - whether or not they're right - they are upset. Raising your defensiveness escalates every situation. Don't do it. If 24 hours wasn't enough to drop that cortisol level, take another 24-hour break until you calm down. Do not run your business on high alert - you'll make mistakes that'll be much harder to fix.

    • 5๏ธโƒฃ Acknowledge their experience as valid. ๐Ÿค

    This is a huge sticking point in the Sugar Cookie Marketing group. Validating how someone feels does not mean you agree with what they said. We are all allowed to feel how we feel (even if it's wrong). Validating an emotion looks like: "I know you're upset right now."


    156. Baking it Down - Class is Canceled Apr 02, 2024
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    โ›” Class is Canceled - What to do when you need to cancel cookie class.


    When you venture into the wild world of cookie classes, the last thing you want to do is consider canceling said cookie class. BUT - it's just a fact of life that even the most seasoned instructors will have to face a cookie class cancelation.

    Heck - we've been doing this for years now and it still happens. No one's above it. So best that we all learn from it. And that's today's podcast, how to mitigate having to cancel, when to consider canceling, and how to cancel, and what to do after you have canceled a cookie class.

    โฌ‡๏ธ Feel free to save this graphic for future reference - it's what we covered on the podcast โฌ‡๏ธ

    ๐Ÿ›‘ When to Mitigation a Class Cancelation

    Okay - before we go straight to canceling, I like to see if we can still sell the seats. We're going to have to get creative to fill seats last minute - and it may touch your profit margin a bit, but there are times when "the show must go on" is a better business move than walkin' away from a non-refundable room rental fee.

    • ๐Ÿ›‘ If someone has a sickness, give them a class credit / refund as quickly as possible - ๐Ÿคง we do not want to force their hand and have them come.
    • ๐Ÿ›‘ For reasons other than sickness, tell the canceling attendee, "If either of us can sell your ticket, I'll refund you." This way you're guaranteed a "one out, one in."
    • ๐Ÿ›‘ Offer Bo-Go to current class attendees (bring a friend, get a discount). We use this one - most folks have friends, it's a great way to fill seats + make the attendees have a better time.
    • ๐Ÿ›‘ Offer up free tickets to a community group (marketing cost now). This will be a 100% loss of ticket revenue, BUT it's a great marketing tactic to raise awareness for your classes to a local audience.
    • ๐Ÿ›‘ Ensure your "no-show policy" is really dialed in. You can't go back in time and write your no-show policies. Every few classes, we just have people literally not show up - and we never hear from them. They knew the no-show policy and respected it.


    ๐Ÿค” When to Consider Canceling

    Okay - let's say we still can't move seats - it's now time to move to the "should I cancel this" phase. Hey - it happens. The sooner we act though, the better (but yes - there's a balancing act: cancel too soon, you could have sold those seats, cancel too late, you may get a (very small) mob of angry would-be class attendees.

    • ๐Ÿค” Time Frame: before you bake (we do 7 days). Don't bake then cancel - you'll be out not only a potential room fee, processing fees, but also ingredients costs. Make that decision before you get to the kitchen.
    • ๐Ÿค” Threshold - what are the minimum required signups to cover room costs? Sometimes your costs can still be covered even with a small crowd - so consider only canceling if you will be operating below your costs (room, ingredients, labor), otherwise - I'd keep the show goin'!
    • ๐Ÿค” Don't focus on room capacity - focus on costs + profit. We see some posters write, "I only sold 50% of my tickets" but when asked about how many that is, that's 10 whole tickets (as in their venue could seat 20 people). Our 100% capacity is 10 tickets - so focus on costs and profit, not on a filled room.
    • ๐Ÿค” Does the venue have a refund cut-off? Sometimes paid venues will let you out of your room fees if you cancel X days in advance - consider that when making the class "TOD" call.


    โŒ How to Cancel

    Okay - now it's time to make the call - we are going to cancel. How do we go about this.


    155. Baking it Down - Upsetspectations Mar 26, 2024
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    ๐Ÿ˜ก Upsetspectations - How setting expectations up front can keep us outta hot water.


    Upsetspectations - the tongue-twister we came up with to describe what setting expectations as a baker and then not meeting them as a baker creates in your clients.

    ๐Ÿ›ซ Listen - you're the one piloting the plane here, you get to set the expectations because likely your clients don't really have a clue what goes into baking. But when you're the pilot ๐Ÿ’บ and don't tell the cabin to buckle up, you set yourself up for some troubled turbulence (and a bad review).

    In this week's podcast, ๐Ÿ˜ณ we cover things we find sugar cookiers forget to set flexible expectations that blow back in the baker's face (๐Ÿ˜ญ and land you in Sugar Cookie Marketing group begging the comments not to client bash so your thread doesn't get prematurely locked).

    When we see these threads pop up in the group, the first question always asked is: ๐Ÿค” What were the policies in place before this became an issue?

    You'll live and die by your disclaimers, TOS, expectations, and heads-ups.

    Here's the most common complaints that we see posted in the SCM group. When you find out one of these bad boys is causing an "unset expectations" issue for you, you'd pay just about any amount to travel back in time and tie these loose ends up. ๐Ÿชก

    • ๐Ÿ“‘ Color Accuracy - "colors will be close, but aren't guaranteed to be 100% accurate."
    • ๐Ÿ“‘ Hand-Made Disclaimer - "cookies are a hand-made product and made include some minor defects. While kept to a minimum, please remember these are delicious, but not perfection."
    • ๐Ÿ“‘ Follow-Ups - "thank you for your order - you'll hear from me again 2 weeks from your pick-up date to confirm details."
    • ๐Ÿ“‘ Refunds - "my bakery has a no refund policy - if you're unhappy with anything about your order, please let me know and we can find a resolution that works for you."
    • ๐Ÿ“‘ Invoice Paid to Reserve - "here is your invoice - please note that the invoice must be paid to reserve your date, and I cannot guarantee the dates availability after today"
    • ๐Ÿ“‘ No Show / Porch Pickup Policies - "your pick-up time is X:XXAM. in the event you cannot show up for your pick-up, your cookies will be..."
    • ๐Ÿ“‘Price Transparency - "my custom dozens start at $X and increase based on design and set complexity and order size."
    • ๐Ÿ“‘Delayed Disclaimers - "in the event that the baker cannot fulfill the order / teach the cookie class, the policy is..."
    • ๐Ÿ“‘Cancelation Policy - "we do not offer full or partial refunds if your event is canceled - but these cookies will taste delicious regardless."

    These will only get ya started. The key to remember is: NO ONE IS READING YOUR TOS, DISCLAIMERS, OR WARNINGS. So you have to keep reminding clients bringing to light the expectation that fits them best.

    ๐Ÿ‘€ Tune into a client you suspect really wants exact color matching - then set their expectations on colors and icing.

    ๐Ÿ‘€ Look for clients you think may want really frequent communication schedules - then set their expectations about your response times.

    ๐Ÿ‘€ Check for clients with spotty communication once you've sent the invoice - then set their expectations on your "pay to reserve" booking system.



    154. Baking it Down - Cottage Curb Appeal Mar 19, 2024
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    ๐Ÿก Cottage Curb Appeal - How zhuzhing up your front lawn can increase sales.


    ๐ŸŒผ Happy first day of spring! And with sunny skies (for some of us - โ›„ my apologies to y'all gettin' snow), it's time to consider that curb appeal - ya know, ๐Ÿ‘€ the stuff people are glancing at as they walk up to your house to snag their sweet treats.

    Ya see - marketing encompasses more than just cute captions and pretty social media posts. ๐ŸŽ€ It's also packaging and customer experience - and if you have at-home pick-ups, that includes your front stoop. Doubtful that a hoarder also has a stain-free kitchen countertop - ๐Ÿงผ as such, we want our home to reflect our products: clean, nice, approachable, and pretty.

    In this week's podcast, ๐ŸŒฑ we cover some spring cleaning check-list items and after that, how to turn some turf cleanup into local community group sales ๐Ÿค‘

    Okay cool - that entire list is pretty self-explanatory, but hey, I never said no to saving a checklist and checkin' it twice (๐ŸŽ…๐Ÿป call me the Santa of several to-do lists).

    ๐Ÿค” "Heather, where's the part where I make more sales? I know how to mow."

    Okay - ๐Ÿ”‘ here's the key. For the following tasks, you are NOT going to shop online or on Google. You're going to shop l-o-ca-l-l-y and you're going to go about it by asking in local community groups... ๐Ÿคซ as a baker.

    • ๐Ÿงน Finding a local powerwasher.
    • ๐Ÿงน Hiring a carpet cleaner.
    • ๐Ÿงน Looking for a custom wreath maker.
    • ๐Ÿงน Sourcing a custom wooden sign maker (woodworker).
    • ๐Ÿงน Searching for a custom doormat maker.
    • ๐Ÿงน Bonus Options: Finding a window washer.


    And here's how you're going to ask for these local business recommendations:

    1. โœ… Go to a local community group.
    2. โœ… Take a picture of your front yard - pictures get more views in groups.
    3. โœ… Post something like this: "Hey [community group]! People often pick up their cookie orders from my doorstep, so I absolutely need to spruce it up for spring! I'm looking for a local small business to do [local service]."
    4. โœ… Then actually hire the business.
    5. Before the business gets there, take a before picture. Once the business leaves, take an after picture.
    6. โœ… Go back to the community group and leave a review for the business posting the before/after photos + tagging that business + tag the person who recommended them to you + and tag the admins for running such an awesome resource group.


    Wash rinse and repeat (๐Ÿถ both the posts and your front door if you have a dog like Ray).

    ๐Ÿ‘‚ Snag this podcast on any major podcast player (Spotify, Apple Music, Audible, Amazon Music, or your desktop) by clickin' here - Episode 154 - Cottage Curb Appeal.


    153. Baking it Down - The Facebook Ouch-tage 2024 Mar 12, 2024
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    ๐Ÿ‘Ž Facebook Ouch-Tage - And what we can learn from Papa Zuck.


    I remember exactly where I was when it all happened... I was... sitting at my computer like I always am. I reached for my phone - only to realize, in horror, my access to the mighty blue thumbs-up app was no more. How was I supposed to post that absolutely hilarious baking meme (see bottom of email)?! Or... or... heart-care react to someone asking whether the "copyright violation" email was a scam or not?!!

    ๐Ÿ˜ญ Where were YOU when Meta went down!?

    Okay - so it wasn't that serious - in fact, a lot of you probably missed it, but for an hour around 11AM est on Tuesday last week, all Meta apps went down - Threads, Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger.

    ๐Ÿ˜ฐ And while an hour of outage ain't a world-ender - it could be a business ender. Imagine if Facebook disappeared tomorrow - how long would it take you to rebuild your lead funnel? Would you be able to fill seats for that cookie class next month? Or would you still have been able to reach out to those 2 clients with pick-ups today??

    โฐ Yeah - this isn't the first time Meta took its 15-minute smoke break per se. It happened back in 2021 too - and many of us swore we'd never be caught with our digital pants down again. But many more of us got busy and never got around to shoring up our loose leads ends.

    So - what can we do not to let this upend our customer base should it happen round 3? We (as always) have a list!


    What We'd do if Facebook never Existed.

    1๏ธโƒฃ Create an Email List.

    ๐Ÿ‘‰ Recommended Apps: Gmail, Mailchimp, Flodesk

    Right off the bat - create an email list. If you're reading this newsletter, you got an email from me โœจ5 minutesโœจ after Facebook went down. See - that's the power of an email list. An easy way to create an email list is by adding your past clients. If you weren't collecting those before, start now. You can add an opt-in on your submissions forms that reads: โœ… Yes, I don't mind being added to your email list for pick-up updates.


    2๏ธโƒฃ Diversify your Social Media Presence (outside of Meta).

    ๐Ÿ‘‰ Recommended Apps: LinkedIn, TikTok, GMB / GBP, Nextdoor, Yelp

    Facebook and Instagram are the fan favorites of bakers because they really just work well in bringing in leads. But if Meta pulls the plug, we're going to need to have backup socials to reach our audience. This is not a "if you build it, they'll come" scenario - you'll actually have to work on growing these platforms - same way we say to work the Facebook algo. Start now, reap when Zucky's having a bad day.


    3๏ธโƒฃ Get a Website STAT.

    ๐Ÿ‘‰ Recommended Apps: Square, Wix, Shopify, MyCustomBakes

    Websites are the "digital hub" of your business. From a website, I should be able to contact you, buy from you, learn about you, and connect with you (on social media). They're also a handy way to pass along information quickly. A simple banner stating "ALERT - PICK-UPS SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY ARE STILL ON."
    4๏ธโƒฃ Always Capture Emails / Phone #s.

    ๐Ÿ‘‰ Recommended Apps: Google Workspace / Google Voice

    Newsletters are for promotions or mass emailing, but Google Workspace (Google's business Gmail) is for regular contact with clients. Collect those emails, then take the conversations out of Facebook Messenger and into Gmail - a much more reliable form of communication. And while you're at it - snag their phone numbers too - perfect backup-to-the-email-backup-to-the-social-media-platform backup.


    152. Baking it Down - Copy This Mar 04, 2024
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    โœ๏ธ Copy This - Copy Formulas for Beginners.


    ๐Ÿ—’ If you see a big blank space asking "What would you like to say" and your brain follows suit and also turns into a big blank space - copy formulas are you're new bestie.

    ๐Ÿค” First - what's copy?

    ๐Ÿ“‘ Copy is any text you use to sell or persuade someone to take an action (like buying cookies). So copy could be the caption on Instagram, the social media text you write on Facebook, the newsletter you send monthly, or the bio writeup you have on your website. Copy = words.

    ๐Ÿค” Second - what's a copy formula?

    ๐Ÿงฎ Copy formulas are different frameworks to help assist you in how and what to write. I mean - we could just write, "Buy my cookies, please - I'm begging." But we can't write that every time without seeming weirdly desperate (but where's the lie though, I ask).

    Copy formulas can help us keep our โšพ sales pitch interesting by addressing our varying audiences and their different paint points, needs, or wants. Copy formulas are plug-and-play approaches to captions - and I love them.

    There are likely hundreds of formulas - and you may find you like more than others - but in this week's podcast, ๐Ÿ–๏ธ we covered our top 5 faves. Let's jump in:


    1๏ธโƒฃ AIDA: Attention-Interest-Desire-Action.

    Probably my favorite - Corrie's too. You'll find both of us using it a lot in our sales posts. AIDA covers all the peppy sales pitchy-ness I love to incorporate in my write-ups. Look at the above copy and how it falls perfectly into this framework:

    • โœ๏ธ A - Attention - Did you know I teach folks just like you how to decorate cookies just like these?
    • โœ๏ธ I - Interest - Check out Sugar Cookie Classes where I teach you everything I know about sugar cookie decorating!
    • โœ๏ธ D - Desire - The classes are 1.5 hours, 6 cookies and tons of fun! Plus - you get my very own cookie dough and icing recipes emailed to ya after class!
    • โœ๏ธ A - Action - March class is filled but my Swiftie Class still has a spot for you!

    Beautiful - ๐Ÿ’ช it's fun, interesting, and asks for the sale.

    2๏ธโƒฃ PAS: Problem-Agitate-Solution.

    ๐Ÿฉน This is the 'infomercial' framework - you know, where the screen is grayscale showing someone who trips down the stairs on the way to the laundry in a way so overly exaggerated that you can't help but watch? ๐Ÿค• Then the scene switches to rather normal tasks looking ridiculously harder than they ever would be right before we flash over to the solution to all of life's problems - whatever the product is the infomercial is trying to hawk our way.

    Now let's adapt it to cookies.

    • โœ๏ธ P - Problem - Struggle with royal icing consistencies?
    • โœ๏ธ A - Agitate - Royal icing can be the most difficult part of learning how to decorate sugar cookies.
    • โœ๏ธ S - Solution - We cover icing consistencies in my upcoming cookie class! You'll get the recipe we use in my class to decorate, and I'll help you work through royal icing issues!

    It's more of a negative learning framework, but I like to drop it in from time to time to capitalize on the segment of the audience who is really frustrated. ๐Ÿ˜ฉ They may not be into a "pep rally post" about how awesome sugar cookies are, but will resonate with the "this is hard - I'm almost about to quit" approach.


    3๏ธโƒฃ FAB: Features โ€“ Advantages โ€“ Benefits.

    Definitely the happy framework, this formula leans hard into the perks. For something as fun as cookies, you can't go wrong bein' FAB-ulous!


    151. Baking it Down - Hobby vs. Have To Feb 20, 2024
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    ๐ŸŽจ Hobby vs. Have To - And what Bob Ross has to say about it


    Okay okay - Corrie and I couldn't agree on the โœจdefinitionโœจ of "hobby baker" since most of us are technically a hobby baker - but in reality - I don't consider filing business taxes, updating your LLC yearly registration, and tappin' a lawyer to check for a trademark anything remotely close to "hobbyist."

    So for this Onesday Wednesday newsletter, we'll consider the "hobbyists" folks who don't have to make money but want to create stunning cookies, and the "have to's" the folks who base their mortgage payment off of this month's dough dough (play on words there - cookie money, get it?).

    Here's the crux: as bakers, we often make our "idols" other bakers. Makes sense, right? We see what we wanna be. But... but... sometimes our favorite bakers and our top-selling money-makers don't align. Therein lies the issue: we pattern our goals around the influencer who reaches a hundred thousand likes and not around the goal to beat last year's February sales.

    But as a baker (listening to a local business baking podcast), you'll see us focus on the bottom line - not the likes. It's been said, "The twins remove the art out of "edible art."

    And that's fair - because you're right - I'm not going to tell you to spend 4 hours on a single painted cookie you can only barely charge $10 for when I can tell you to take a page outta Corrie's Nintendo customs playbook and pipe โญ a gold star with 2 โšซโšซ sprinkle eyes for $3. She can pump out those stars at two dozen an hour (they're that simplistic) - even at $3/cookie, that'd monetarily compare to $288 in 4 hours. (now finding someone to buy 96 basic star cookies is a whole 'other challenge).

    Why? Because our business model applies to teaching local bakers how to optimize for a local bakery business - and not a TikTok content-generating machine (although TikTok does have its place in the local market). And you'll see the goals we talk about and the courses we teach specifically leave out content creator content if it doesn't support making local sales.

    All that to say this: your wishes must align with your goals. And that might mean the less complex, "definitely won't get any likes on Instagram" set - yeah, that's what you're going to bake.

    ๐Ÿช For example - ๐Ÿˆ here's the Cookie Class Kits set for 2024 February. It ain't gonna win you any baking awards. But we don't care about awards - our awards are people signing up for your local in-person beginner class. And ๐Ÿ‘ that's ๐Ÿ‘ okay.

    ๐Ÿ“ Your yardstick is class ticket sales. Not likes. Not followers.

    We came up with a short list to compare the two types of goals. โฌ…๏ธ On the left side is the influencer. โžก๏ธ On the right are folks who plan to pay for Disney on cookie money alone.

    (๐Ÿค‘ Note - influencers make a ton too when their strategies are dialed in - but good luck trying to be a full-time influence and a baker - there just ain't enough hours in the day).

    • โฐ Time Difference: Hours per cookie vs. Cute and Quick
    • ๐Ÿ”ข Product Options: All the Options vs. Only the Best Bets
    • ๐Ÿ’– Free Fame: Open for Compliments vs. Open for Business
    • ๐Ÿ‘ Notifications: Likes and Looks vs. Sales and Strategy
    • ๐Ÿงฎ Complexity: Difficult Techniques vs. Streamline Production (cookie tools)
    • ๐Ÿ’ต Marketing Metrics: Views vs. Very Much Money
    • โญ Simplicity: Show Off vs. Simple Designs

    150. Baking it Down - License to Delight Feb 13, 2024
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    ๐Ÿชช License to Delight - And what we can learn from $400 perfume.


    Twin2 is back in her "Corporate Girly Era" with Neiman Marcus and "Patrick 2" - and here's what we learned from their customer experience manager that will help you delight your own customers all the way to the bank.

    Waiting up in the (fancy) corporate office of Neiman Marcus - a department store so expensive that my hands instantly got sweaty - we had a chance to speak with their CEM - Customer Experience Manager. When I mentioned that it was rather nice of a department store to throw parties for customers with custom cookies included - he said, "No one needs anything at a department store - let alone one this expensive. But what they want is to feel special. And that's what we're really good at."

    You see - Neiman's CEM had placed an order for 8 dozen or so cookies shaped like a $400 bottle of perfume (all praise Eddie the Edible Food Printer for coming in clutch). Here's Corrie's Creed cookie collab (shoutout to Darcie Heater Designs for the stencil too).

    ๐Ÿช This high-end department store in the heart of Northern Virginia was givin' folks who planned to drop ๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต๐Ÿ’ต 4 HUNDOS a cookie that cost around $7 (don't forget that Corporate Girly Era + rush fee + customization surcharge, kiddos). And he said they were ECSTATIC over getting this edible representation of their good-smelling investment.

    Why? โœจ Because it made them feel special. โœจ

    ๐Ÿ˜ฅ How many times have you felt like a burden attempting to give your money to a business? ๐Ÿ˜ž How many times has a business left you feeling like you were robbed at the check-out line? Neiman Marcus gets it - by making their clients feel just a little โœจ specialโœจ spending their hard-earned money, they'll get more of that hard-earned money. ๐Ÿค‘

    You know what Neiman doesn't do? ๐Ÿ“‰ Lower their prices to compete with the likes of Sephora or Ulta (๐Ÿ˜– I can't believe I'm even pretending those places are affordable - but comparatively speaking). Rather than compete on price, they compete on customer experience - and they have the check-out receipts to prove it. I didn't see one "SALE" sign during my ๐Ÿ–๏ธ sweaty-hand-heist at the perfume counter (๐Ÿ‘ƒ hey - I absolutely had to smell what $400 was like - for those wondering, it smells like "Heather, you have to file your taxes next month - the answer is no").

    ๐Ÿค” So ask yourself this week - how do you delight your customers? We have a few ideas to build on. Heads up - it'll all sound like great marketing tips because marketing and customer relations go hand-in-hand.

    • ๐ŸŽ€ Up your packaging game - pretty packaging equals a pretty bottom line.
    • ๐Ÿ“ง Respond quickly - set expectations with auto-responders and then follow-up as a human as quickly as possible.
    • ๐Ÿ“ฆ Have a forgiving return policy - makes you seem like a safe choice when it comes to things going right if they go left.
    • ๐Ÿš— Throw in a few "car cookies" - probably the most "delightful" thing group members mentioned when asked how they delight their customers - a car cookie is a snack for the order-placer (who often doesn't get to taste test their gift).
    • ๐Ÿ—’๏ธ Have bendable policies - but make policy exceptions. Policies are meant to protect us - but they can also make us look like the good guys when we bend them for the right kind of client.
    • ๐ŸŽ‚ Wish them a happy birthday - a good CRM program can help you track customer "big days" and really make them think "wow - this business cares about me."

    Being delightful doesn't have to cost a lot - but it does require being intentional and always looking for ways to set yourself apart.


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