or scroll down to get the highlights

The Monthly Marketing Task That Skyrocketed ToyCycle’s Results

I sat down recently to speak to Rhonda Collins, founder of ToyCycle, a resale marketplace that offers a sustainable shopping solution to parents of young children by selling new and gently used toys and baby gear. As a mom of twins, Rhonda knew firsthand how chaotic and overwhelming keeping small children is, and she founded ToyCycle to take some of the stress and overwhelm out of shopping for toys that were both entertaining and sustainable.

Rhonda has been in the Inner Circle for over a year, but she was mostly flying under the radar, quietly doing the work. Then one day she showed up in our Facebook group with some Year-Over-Year results that completely blew my mind. Sales up 138%. Traffic up 71%. Average Order Value up 36%. And the list goes on.

So I knew I needed to get her on the podcast to find out how she did it.

The One Thing That Changed Everything

If you’re like most of our members, you hear the term “Sales Funnel” and your eyes glaze over, or you envision a bro marketer in front of a whiteboard talking gibberish. Maybe you thought it didn’t apply to your ecommerce store, or maybe you suspected it did but had no idea what it meant. Rhonda felt the same way.

But when she first began the Inner Circle program, the “Big Picture” training (that’s our way of saying sales funnel) completely blew her mind.

“The sales funnel is perhaps the most important thing that I’ve taken from the program at this point. You look at the data, you put all of this together in a picture, you see the funnel, and you can understand what’s missing and where you need to work. ”

After watching the training and looking at her numbers, Rhonda was crystal clear on where her focus should be and what she needed to do next. She says that every single month without exception she takes the time to look at her sales funnel numbers, compare them to where she’s been and where she wants to be, and creates goals accordingly.

Since Rhonda discovered that she needed to build her top of funnel audience, her next step was the Facebook Ads training. Through a methodical process of testing creative and copy, she was able to start running an ad that was getting a lot of eyeballs on her products without spending much money. And now that ad is steadily humming along in the background, continually making potential customers aware of ToyCycle.

“When you understand that an action that you’re taking is not necessarily the thing that…generates the sale right then and there, but the thing that builds your audience, you understand how the whole flow works. Then it’s very fulfilling and exciting to have created that engagement ad.”

Funnel Mastery For The Win

Once her winning ad was in place, Rhonda knew from her big picture/funnel that she needed to get those people one step closer to purchase. Using several other types of social media ads, she brought those people down the funnel to visit her website and sign up for her mailing list.

And now she’s in the middle of our Reliable Revenue course in which she’s setting up email automations that are doing the work of capturing web visitors’ email addresses and turning them into buyers. Which frees Rhonda up to continue building her audience.

Compared to a year ago, Rhonda has so much clarity and a more positive mindset. Instead of running herself ragged pursuing every strategy and reinventing the wheel each month, she tracks her numbers and follows the program while her numbers continue to climb. She believes in what she’s doing, and she trusts that she’s on the right track.

Rhonda’s Success Strategy

When asked what advice she would give to another business owner struggling with traffic and sales, Rhonda doesn’t hesitate – don’t try to do all the things. Look at your numbers, figure out what your priorities are, and put your head down and do the work. She doesn’t get discouraged, she sees each new challenge as just another problem to be solved.

“I love to tackle problems. I mean, I don’t know what would happen if my business suddenly just, like, worked perfectly and there were no problems. I might get bored.”

And she especially loves having the Inner Circle community to validate her struggles. Seeing that other ecommerce store owners face the same challenges she does makes the journey much less isolating. Plus she can always call on one of our expert coaches for one-on-one help when she gets stuck or needs clarity.

What’s Next For ToyCycle

Rhonda is really excited about getting her email automations set up, because once that reliable marketing system is in place she is ready to step on the gas driving traffic to her site. She’s also committed to collaborating with other Inner Circle members to share her best customers with them, and vice versa. It’s one of our favorite ways of growing your audience without spending much time or money.

I expect great things from this tenacious business owner, who leaves us with these words of wisdom – “If you just do the work, that’s the missing piece.”

You can check out Rhonda’s website at ToyCycle.co and don’t forget to tell your friends and family about her super cool (and eco-friendly) business!

RELATED LINKS:

Rhonda’s website:

www.toycycle.co

Don’t risk making this mistake. Behind the scenes of a 6 figure Sales Funnel:

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/dont-risk-making-this-mistake-behind-the-scenes-of-a-6-figure-sales-funnel-episode-176/

How To Get Reliable Sales Every Day:

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/how-to-get-reliable-sales-every-day-episode-145/

Here’s How To Find Your Future Buyers:

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/heres-how-to-find-your-future-buyers-episode-206/

or scroll down to get the highlights

I want to introduce you to Sarah Stenzhorn, who is one of the most steady, humble, and helpful members of our Reliable Revenue program, and now an Inner Circle ecommerce coach. When Sarah speaks, I listen because she really is wise and consistent, and her business success story is nothing short of extraordinary.

In just three years, Sarah has built the kind of ecommerce business that most of us only dream of. And today she’s letting us in on the key strategies that really powered her success.

Get ready for some eye-opening insights – it’s not what you’d typically expect. Click HERE to learn from Sarah’s journey on our podcast, or read on for more.

Riches In The Niches: How Sarah Landed On Pet Cremation Jewelry

Sarah considers herself an entrepreneur first, but she’s also a pet lover. When she happened upon cremation jewelry (tiny, wearable containers for a loved one’s ashes) after a beloved dog died, she had a hunch she was on to something. So rather than purchasing just one, she bought 200 of them and listed them on eBay.

After they sold out within a week, Sarah was convinced that she’d stumbled upon a highly marketable product. Cremation jewelry can be used for any type of ashes, but Sarah knew that if she could serve an audience of fellow pet-lovers, she could corner the market.

Go Big Or Go Home: Investing In Accountability

Sarah was still working a full-time job when she started her business, but when her website sales surpassed her salary, she knew it was time to get serious. She decided that if she made a big investment in her business, it would keep her accountable, so she made the leap to join our Reliable Revenue program.

“If I’m going to spend this money, then I know darn well, I’m going to show up every single week. I’m going to do whatever that assignment is for that week.”

Sarah’s goal that year was to double her revenue–and she BEAT it–taking her sales from $160k to $360k in a matter of months.

Sarah’s Secret Weapon(s)

One of the most valuable parts of the Reliable Revenue program is “the playbook”, a month-by-month spreadsheet that students fill out with their key metrics. Sarah says this data tracking had a huge impact on her sales. The playbook gave her clear insight both into what was working, and how far she’d come. Whereas in the past Sarah might have beat herself up thinking that she was off track or missing her goals, she was able to see a clear line of progress.

The other game-changing part of the program for Sarah was implementing a welcome automation and sending weekly mini-campaigns. She says that showing up consistently for her subscribers has been invaluable. In fact, a whopping 38% of her revenue comes from her new lead and welcome flow.

How?

She tested, tested, and tested some more until she had found the winning combination. She didn’t rely on her feelings, she trusted the numbers. Once she knew what worked, she was confident that she could spend more on ads to drive more traffic to her site, and was actually able to predict her revenue based on that.

Consistency = Confidence

By putting her head down, doing the work, and tracking her Reliable Revenue numbers, Sarah found the confidence to really get behind her business and put the gas on driving traffic. She stopped worrying about what everyone else was doing, and focused on her own store. After that things really started to snowball.

Sarah’s Advice To Her Younger Self

Sarah has been able to build the business she has always dreamed of, but she’s worked incredibly hard along the way. She says if she could go back in time, she would remember her “why” – that she started her business so that she could captain her own ship. And that none of it is worth it if she works to the point of burnout. So these days Sarah makes sure to take breaks, unplug completely, and let her Reliable Revenue automations do the heavy lifting.

So what’s Next?

Now that Sarah’s business is humming along, she’s been able to hire out her social media content creation, and next she’ll outsource customer service. And her big goal? A commercial space so she can get out of her house!

Sarah’s story is a testament to the impact of the Reliable Revenue program. And her success really exemplifies how commitment and consistency drive real growth.

Ready to start your own journey of transformation? The Reliable Revenue course will get started again this March. Whether you’re newly launched or are looking to scale your existing ecommerce store, this program offers the tools, insights, and community support you need. Remember, like Sarah, you have the potential to turn your business dreams into tangible achievements.

Let’s make your business the next big success story. Click HERE to learn more about the course and start your journey to reliable revenue.

RELATED LINKS:

See Sarah’s website here: www.sarahandessie.com

We’re Getting Consistent Revenue Now

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/were-getting-consistent-revenue-now-episode-202/

Make Your Business Run Without You

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/make-your-business-run-without-you-heres-how-episode-201/

How To Reach Your Big Goals in 2024

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/how-to-reach-your-big-goals-in-2024-episode-194/

or scroll down to get the highlights

Consistent Revenue Now

Last summer I spoke with Danielle Beauregard, owner of Fusion By Design Collars, about how she transformed her business last year. During the conversation she said “We’re getting consistent revenue now,” and the confidence in her voice made me smile.

Danielle had participated in my Reliable Revenue program in January. It is an eight week course combined with coaching, designed to get store owners bringing in predictable, reliable revenue that they can count on every month.

We only run the program once a year, and every year more store owners walk away with consistent sales and a clear plan of how they’ll grow their sales in a way that feels like they’re in control.

We’re about to start Reliable Revenue for 2024. I know this program works, and I believe every store owner should get these strategies in place so they can get set up for reliable sales every day. I thought you might like to hear what happens in the 8 weeks we work together from a member’s perspective.

Keep reading or CLICK HERE to listen

Dog Collars. But Make Them Fabulous.

Danielle makes and sells dog collars and leashes in Ottawa, Ontario. But not just any collars. Her gem-encrusted, leather works of art fetch between $300 and $700 EACH. And customers love her products. So much, in fact, that she and her staff were recently able to move out of her home and into their own workshop.

As a member of the Inner Circle, Danielle knew that building an email list was important, but she had let that fall to the bottom of her neverending to-do list. As her business crept steadily past six figures, she had a sneaking suspicion that she was leaving money on the table by not sending emails. And that nagging feeling that all e-commerce store owners have that the rug could be yanked out from underneath us at any moment. If Facebook went down, if our accounts got hacked, how would we reach our customers? Would we even have a business anymore?

“You don’t own your website, you don’t own your e-commerce platform, you certainly don’t own your assets that are on Facebook or Instagram. And I was relying heavily, heavily on social media at the time to get the bulk of our revenue.”

So last January Danielle made the eight-week commitment to join Reliable Revenue and put the systems in place that would allow her to quit working so hard for each and every sale.

A year later she was a true believer in the power of consistent email marketing.

Reliable Revenue: A Transformational Marketing Strategy

Straight out of the gate, Danielle says the course helped her confidence because she gained insights into her metrics. Numbers that she had once thought meant she was failing, she learned were indicators of her strength as a product seller at her price point and niche.

But what she found most valuable was the accountability the community and coaches provided.

“…had it been a self-study type course where you just bought the course and were left to your own devices, it would probably still be sitting there unopened in all honesty.”

With the help of her class cohort and group mentors, Danielle was able to get the work down in a matter of hours each week. She would dedicate an hour each day, or a Monday morning, to putting the pieces in place. And when she got stuck, she was able to hire group coaches to quickly tackle anything that fell outside of her skill set.

I Wish I Had Done It Three Years Ago

Danielle’s hard work and consistency paid off. Big time. Results were incremental, but over time she has come to realize that the rumors are true – email converts better than any other source of website traffic. Seven times better, as a matter of fact. And now she’s sending regular email campaigns and enjoying the revenue that she knows she’ll generate with each and every one.

What surprised her most was that she doesn’t have to “hard sell” in those campaigns, either. By sending a mix of helpful, educational content, special offers, and regular events, Danielle knows that she’s providing value to her subscribers. And they reward her with purchases, in turn.

“So I now have my playbook, I know what events work, I know where most of my sales are coming from. We’re fairly consistent in our monthly revenue now.”

Danielle acknowledges that while her business was doing well, she was missing some critical infrastructure that would have made scaling her sales very difficult. In fact, she says that the systems she put in place during Reliable Revenue have completely changed her ad strategy. Rather than chasing after sales, Danielle now focuses on building her email list. Because she knows that once she pays for a customer to visit her site and subscribe, she can spend time educating and warming them up to an eventual purchase. It’s a kind of confidence that allows her to focus on what’s next, knowing that her marketing system is working behind the scenes, 24-7, to bring in sales she can count on.

Is Reliable Revenue Right For Your Business?

I’m sharing Danielle’s story with you because I know what it feels like when you’re working really hard, and getting inconsistent results. I remember feeling like I couldn’t really count on my income. Like I could only pay myself if my business was doing really, really well. And often I worried that was never going to happen.

What I know now is that the strategies I used when I was developing the Reliable Revenue system gave me the confidence to set up my pay on auto deposit. I stopped waiting till Friday to see if it was “safe” for me to pay myself.

And I really want that for you, too.

This year, before we start the Reliable Revenue 2024 course, I’ve decided to create a free mini course that will show you how Reliable Revenue works. The course is four short videos that will give you an idea of what the program is like, and what you will learn.

I want you to see what’s possible for you, and this mini course will show what you’ll need to do, not only to protect what you’ve built, but also how to grow your sales and be more profitable without spending a fortune on ads.

I encourage you to get these free lessons today. I promise you, you’ll learn strategies that will get you more sales, and make you a confident business owner.

“The Secret to Generating Reliable Revenue” is free for you

RELATED LINKS:

Learn more about Reliable Revenue: https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/reliable-revenue/

or scroll down to get the highlights

Make Sales In Your Jammies: Meet Sam

Have you ever dreamed of making money without getting out of bed? What if I told you that was absolutely possible? And I’m not even joking.

In 2022, I sat down with Sam Gilhooley, owner of Magnetics, and a student of our Reliable Revenue course who did exactly that (although not by choice). This is such an amazing story, because Sam, who sells magnetic therapy products for horses and dogs, had only recently implemented our Reliable Revenue marketing system when tragedy struck and landed her in bed for seventeen months.

Keep reading Sam’s story or CLICK HERE to listen

Magnetics’ Humble Beginnings

Sam started Magnetics in 2013, and despite working a full time job, had built a pretty solid business. Her products were a hit with customers, she had a lot of social proof in the form of shares and testimonials, and her social media engagement was impressive by any standards. But she was still working “in” her business, managing her own customer service and order fulfillment herself.

Trading The Tape Gun for Teamwork

Sam has always been more of a strategic thinker, and knew that she wanted to build a Brand, not work for a business. Even though she didn’t feel completely ready, she finally “put down the tape gun” as we say and found a fulfillment center to ship orders. And while Sam loves her customers, she knew that she was not the best one to be dealing with questions, returns, or lost packages. So she hired one of her customers to take over customer service and never looked back.

Once she had a little more time, Sam decided to enroll in Reliable Revenue [LINK], an 8-week course we offer to help ecommerce store owners implement a proven, repeatable marketing system so that they can get clarity and grow their sales. She had started out selling on 3 platforms – Amazon, eBay, and her own website. Reliable Revenue helped her let go of the other two platforms so that she could put all of her efforts into marketing and growing her web sales.

We sometimes joke that this system will have you making sales in your sleep…Sam had no idea how true this would be until tragedy struck, and it was her Reliable Revenue system that saved her bacon.

How Outsourcing + Automation Saved Sam’s Business

In the months before her illness, Sam followed the course to the letter, even though she was feeling hesitant to implement things like discount pop-ups and weekly emails to her subscribers. She started collecting email addresses, and implemented several email automations (like an Abandoned Cart Flow) that were set to run around the clock with no extra effort on her part. She was already beginning to see results when a scary incident at a trade event turned into six weeks of medical investigation that did nothing to explain Sam’s sudden vertigo, hearing loss, and neurological symptoms.

While her illness remained a mystery, her doctor advised her to remain in bed. Even though Sam had outsourced a lot of tasks, she couldn’t have continued managing things if she wanted to, her symptoms were so severe.

Sam was terrified that Magnetics would sink in her absence, although she stuck with both her customer service employee and fulfillment center, and kept her social media ads running. What she couldn’t have foreseen was that those Reliable Revenue systems were already humming along in the background, keeping things running seamlessly even without her involvement. And so, miraculously, with little to no effort on her part, Magnetics didn’t just stay afloat…it GREW. By 55%, no less.

Her paid ads were sending traffic, her pop-up was popping, her list was growing, and her cash register kept chiming as if nothing had changed at all. And in the meantime, Sam was getting closer to understanding what had happened to her, and inching slowly towards recovery. Even without doing a thing, Sam was still earning a paycheck from her business.

Sam works around animals, so naturally she’s always getting bitten by something. But when she began to do some research, she realized that a strange-looking bug bite from years before could explain nearly all of her symptoms. She had Lyme Disease, and it had attacked her nervous system to the point of incapacitation.

Thankfully, she found a specialist who could help her, and slowly, but surely Sam’s brain began to come back online. She regained her ability to read, and finally started feeling like herself again. After seventeen months of bed rest, Sam had seen the capacity of her automated marketing system to make her business bulletproof…and she was now ready to take it to new heights.

From Bed Rest to Business Boss

In the years since her health crisis, Sam has relied on her favorite business principles of “simplicity, automation, cost management, outsourcing, and team building.” She re-enrolled in Reliable Revenue to implement even more automations to her system, and she is focused on optimizing her website and driving traffic by outsourcing as much as she can to apps or employees. She has also doubled down on email marketing and engaging her customers organically.

And now?

She’s proud to say that Magnetics’ revenue is well into the multi-six figures. All while leaving her time to take on a new project – helping others who suffer from Lyme disease. 

Real Talk: Why Your Business Needs a Reliable Revenue System

While I wouldn’t wish Sam’s misfortune on anyone, her story is truly a testament to the resilience automated systems and outsourcing can create for your business. She couldn’t have known at the time, but the work Sam put in during the months before her health crisis made all the difference when she needed them most. Even if you don’t plan to stay in bed for seventeen months, the Reliable Revenue system is something every single ecommerce store owner should be implementing. You can learn more about it here.

Sam was able to pay herself for 17 months while she was unable to work:

Basically, it was because she had done the work we teach in Reliable Revenue before she got sick.

We only offer this program once a year, and I truly believe that every store owner should do this work.

This year, before we start the Reliable Revenue 2024 course, I’ve decided to create a free mini course that will show you how Reliable Revenue works, and what it’s like as we work together to implement the lessons.

 The course is four short videos that will give you an idea of what the program is like, and what you will learn.

I want you to see what’s possible for you, and this mini course will show what you’ll need to do, not only to protect what you’ve built, but also how to grow your sales and be more profitable without spending a fortune on ads.

I encourage you to get these free lessons when they launch on February 11th. I promise you, you’ll learn strategies that will get you more sales, and make you a confident business owner.

“The Secret to Generating Reliable Revenue” is free for you, and will be delivered on Feb 11th!

RELATED LINKS:

See Sam’s website here: Magnetixtherapy.com

Connect with Sam about Lyme Disease: https://www.facebook.com/livingwithlyme.co.uk

Learn more about Reliable Revenue: https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/reliable-revenue

or scroll down to get the highlights

SIX TIPS FOR STAYING OUT OF SPAM

On February 1st, 2024, the world is going to change for anyone who sends regular emails to their subscribers. And so today I’m sitting down with our resident Klaviyo and Shopify expert, Claudia Howard. She’s going to explain what’s changing, and walk us through what we’ll need to do to stay compliant.

Listen HERE or keep reading to find out how you can keep your campaigns out of your subscribers’ spam folders.

Understanding the New Requirements

You’ve probably noticed that your inbox is filling up faster and faster lately, and much of what you’re receiving is spam, or worse…malicious phishing emails. So in an attempt to reduce some of the chaos, Google and Yahoo are cracking down on abusive senders. This is actually GOOD for ecommerce marketers, because once the changes go into effect, our subscribers’ inboxes will be much less cluttered (and our emails more likely to be read).

BUT

Only if we take the following steps to verify our sending domains. It’s not hard, but grab a pen because you need to get this taken care of right away.

Who Needs to Comply and Why?

The new rules specify that any marketers sending 5k or more bulk emails a day must be compliant. But even if this isn’t you yet, this is the best practice to follow and will ensure that you don’t accidentally get yourself on the naughty list.

The Deal With Deliverability: What’s A Deliverability Score?

We often talk about email marketing as the one communication channel that you “own”. But did you know that email service providers like Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, etc. have their own algorithms? Each sender is assigned a “deliverability score” based on your recipients’ behavior – how many unsubscribes are you getting, how many spam complaints? What are your click rates?

Obviously, you want your email subscribers to see your beautiful campaigns. But they definitely won’t if you end up in their spam folders! So here are our six recommendations to stay out of Spam folders and in Google and Klaviyo’s good graces.

6 Tips For Staying Out of Spam

1. Double-check that the “from” email address you’re using is your own domain. In other words, not “yourname@gmail dot com” but “hello@yourstorename dot com” or similar.

2. If it’s not, change it!

3. Set up your “dedicated sending domain” sometimes called your “branded sending domain”. It improves your branding in the “from” address in the inbox by removing the sent “via klaviyomail.com” disclaimer. This is setup by using the guide in your Klaviyo account to edit your DNS settings at your domain registrar.

4. Set up a DMARC authentication policy on your domain to keep spammers from “spoofing” you. This authenticates the email is coming from your domain. It enhances email security by preventing unauthorized use of your domain, reduces phishing and improves deliverability. Set this up by editing your DNS settings at your domain registrar. Here’s a link to a free DMARC record generator.

5. Make it easier to unsubscribe by adding an “unsubscribe” button to the bottom of all of your campaigns.

6. Keep spam complaints low – the acceptable threshold for inboxes is 3 per 1000. Use Klaviyo’s benchmark and deliverability reports to monitor your spam complaints and if they exceed the threshold take steps to reduce them. Steps include list cleaning and segmentation.

If any of the above tips has your head spinning, Claudia is an expert on Store Tasker, and for just $95 she’ll get your account set up and in ship shape. This is money so well spent, because once these changes go into effect on February 1st, you can really hurt your sales by failing to comply.

Claudia has already made a training for this and it’s in the Inner Circle classroom, but if you’re not a member yet, we’ve made it publicly available. Just go to www.thesocialsalesgirls.com/stayoutofspam enter your email address and we’ll send you the checklist.

AND…if you have any ecommerce store owner friends, please forward them this post! I really don’t want anyone losing sales just because they didn’t know about these new requirements, or how to comply with them.

Email is so important. In fact, we tell our members that at LEAST 30% of their revenue should be coming from email. So set aside some time, go through our tutorial, and we’ll get through this together!