289 – How to Attract Customers and Boost Your Holiday Sales with Amanda Berlin

Gift biz unwrapped episode 289.

Public Is at its heart,

creating relationships with your public.

And there's a lot of different ways to do that.

Attention. Gifters bakers,

crafters, and makers pursuing your dream can be fun.

Whether you have an established business or looking to start one.

Now you are in the right place.

This is gift to biz unwrapped,

helping you turn your skill into a flourishing business.

Join us for an episode,

packed full of invaluable guidance,

resources, and the support you need to grow.

Your gift biz here is your host gift biz gal,

Sue moon Heights.

Hi there.

So happy to be together again today,

and if you're brand new to the show,

welcome if you've been following me this last month or so,

you know,

I'm super excited and promoting Facebook shops in a big way

these days.

Why? Because it's a huge opportunity for you.

If you're thinking of turning your hobby or craft into a

business, but haven't taken that first step yet,

you can start selling your products without having your own website

without knowing about shopping carts,

shipping methods,

or any of the things that typically prevent people from starting.

Just think you could begin making money from your handmade products

this holiday season.

And if you're enjoying that extra income and you like sharing

your products with others,

you can expand into a more formal business.

Next year,

I show you exactly how to do this in my program,

set up and sell in Facebook shops.

I made this super affordable,

so it's completely doable.

You can be up and running within just a few days.

I take you through step by step on how to get

your shop up and running,

and then how to attract people to buy from you.

But time is running out to gain traction for the holidays.

So stop this podcast.

I give you permission and sign up.

Now, check out the details at gift biz,

unwrapped.com forward slash Facebook shops onto the show.

Today, we're diving into getting more visibility for your business because

people can't buy from you.

If they don't know you exist,

I've queued up my lucky charm for visibility.

And she's going to walk us through how to be seen

by more people specifically for this holiday season,

the days are ticking down.

So there is no time to waste Back with us today.

A repeat performance,

Amanda Berlin,

after more than a decade in the New York city public

relations world,

Amanda now uses her pitch for good.

She helps entrepreneurs step into their presence,

create a story that inspires others and spread their message in

the media.

Amanda has created a library of template guides and trainings and

works one-on-one with clients to guide them to strategic storytelling and

media relations based on her 12 years of experience,

guiding strategy for major brands in the corporate world,

Amanda and her clients have been featured in all types of

media, from business insider to entrepreneur on fire and from w

N Y w Fox five to bustle.com.

She's the host of the empowered publicity podcast and loves army

soul powered business owners with the ideas and mindset they need

to go from hidden industry jam to recognized trusted expert.

Amanda, welcome to the gift biz on repped podcasts.

Thank you so much,

Sue. I'm thrilled to be here.

Thank you for having me Encore appearance.

I have to say so that's fabulous and you and I

are working together.

So when I was thinking about the holidays and who do

I want to have on who can really provide great information

for everybody listening here,

as we're going into the holidays,

you were the first person who came to my mind.

I'm so thrilled to hear that.

And I'm delighted beyond words that I get to work with.

You. You are just such a dream client because you're so

driven and focused and motivated,

and you have so many good stories to tell.

So I'm delighted that we get to work together and that

we get to have this conversation.

Me too.

I kept telling you,

you're like my lucky charm because when we talk,

I mean really seriously,

like when we talk things happen,

it's crazy.

I love it.

So give biz listeners just for a reference point,

that was episode number two Oh one.

And we talk about not even just the basics of PR,

but just to lay the groundwork and then some more detail

behind how PR can really help you within your business.

But during that show,

Amanda, we were also talking about PR being a longterm play,

getting visibility,

being able to use it,

not just for the moment,

but also as you're growing your credibility longterm boy,

don't we know that the world has changed in the last

month or so.

Absolutely. So I'd like to talk about it a little bit

from a different perspective,

but first share with me,

So this year totally threw me for a loop.

It was nothing like I had expected.

I had big plans.

I had an event that was going to take place in

March, which coincidentally or just incidentally was scheduled for one week

after we got the word here in New Jersey that our

schools were going to close.

So once schools were closing,

I knew the event was a no go.

And it was to kind of set in motion,

my plan for the entire coming year,

my marketing plan.

And so I really needed to revisit everything that I was

going to do and really come up with an entirely new

visibility plan.

I remember this,

Amanda, because you were promoting this from six months before,

maybe even longer.

So there was a huge build up momentum established.

And so the bracket of time was the very most you

could have had,

right? Because if it was a week before the actual event

was to happen,

everything was done.

Now you're just in final checkpoint mode before you go to

the event and then all of a sudden,

no event.

Oh my gosh.

Yeah, it was major.

So I really feel like everyone has their own tornado of

a story amid this like giant cyclo and that all of

us are in,

and this is just mine.

I know we all have a version of this,

but it really threw me between having to reorient my entire

plan and schooling.

My six year old daughter in kindergarten from home and being

a single parent,

it was just incredibly challenging.

So mustering all my resources and also having a very engaged

co-parent to support our daughter as well.

It was quite the bear,

but I think what I really kind of uncovered and sort

of proved points that I knew maybe in the back of

my mind,

prior to all of this,

that relationships that we build on behalf of our business,

that we have taken the time to nurture over the years

are really what we can lean into when all else fails.

So what do you mean by that?

How were you using those relationships?

I really dug in,

in March,

April may,

and just started reaching out to people who I had maintained

relationships with over the years and asking them,

what can we do to support each other right now?

And this is what I have going on.

This is what I'm launching,

what are you working on?

How can we continue to lift each other up and get

each other's work out there because so many things were taken

off the table.

And I think that's part of what our conversation today is

going to be about.

Is there are so many tactics that were just taken off

the table,

live events,

conferences, networking in person,

even media was really kind of taken off the table because

it was so cluttered with the news of the day,

the pandemic.

So reaching into your proverbial Rolodex and reconnecting with people who

you either lost touch with or who you kept in touch

with and who you just want to continue supporting or creating

new relationships,

new contacts that are going to be nourishing to you as

a person and to you as a business was really the

tactics that I dug into.

So that helped.

And then the other thing that helped was that I was

really even more active,

I think on social,

in telling the story of that just sort of fell apart

in that March week that people reached out to me and

invited me,

I think just because I made myself more visible.

And so I got invited to do trainings inside of people's

memberships and inside of Facebook groups.

And yeah,

I got invited to do kind of like virtual events and

things like that.

So it all goes back to the context that we're supposed

to be building on a daily,

weekly basis.

And that was kind of your lifeline during this point.

So that's really interesting.

I'm thinking about what you're saying here,

where supporting each other and figuring out how you can work

with each other,

maybe a new and different way.

I saw a lot of that in our community.

Also, I'm thinking of a couple of people specifically who have

brick and mortar shops,

who once they identified actually,

how they could do it with social distancing were reaching out

to their fellow handmade creators and saying,

Hey, if you want to come display your products in my

shop, I'm going to be,

Oh, wow,

Wonderful. Yeah.

Supporting Each other.

And then of course then sharing each other's clients list because

that maker can say,

Hey, I'm not able to be at the craft shows,

but my pieces are going to be at so-and-so and mortar

shop. And then also that brick and mortar owner offering a

variety of different things to their customers.

So it's more of a one-stop shop.

Like you're not exposing yourself to lots of other people.

So it was a win-win.

So that's one way I saw that playing out within our

communities here.

Fabulous. But man,

it all goes back to the connections,

right? Absolutely.

That's the bedrock of visibility to begin with,

whether you're looking at the highest level of a superstar publicist

or you're looking at by DIY or who is a business

owner who needs to put themselves out there,

it's all about relationships.

It's who,

you know,

as gross as that may sound,

but it really is about first having the courage to reach

out and then nurturing those relationships.

Absolutely. I mean,

I don't think we can stress that enough.

We've talked about how people find jobs through connections that they

know or a past boss that they had has brought them

on. You know,

you see it in all facets of the world.

So connection,

connection, can't stress it enough.

Let's get to the topic at hand,

which is,

we have quite a few people here who make product we've

settled into kind of a new normal.

Some people no longer have their nine to five job,

or they still have their nine to five job.

They also have children at home.

Still some do some don't right.

Certainly daycare is questionable.

Everyone is in a different situation with this,

but we have this opportunity right in front of us.

I mean,

literally right there,

which is the holidays.

I wanted to get a peek into your mind of what

you're thinking in terms of things that we could be doing

to capture the most opportunity that there is the holidays right

now. And the fact is we've all heard that sales online

this year are going to be better than ever before,

because throughout this year,

people have gotten more comfortable buying online.

Even those people who said they never would now have been

kind of forced to.

And I don't mean to say that we want to use

this to our benefit,

but it's opportunistic for all of us like the seller and

the buyer.

Absolutely. Yeah.

And right,

it goes back to what I was saying before that there

options that were kind of taken off the table for us

as we sort of slid into this pandemic or careened into

this pandemic.

But then there's also opportunities that opened up for us as

a result.

So I think we need to look at that side of

the coin and see what we can do with the opportunities

that we have.

So what comes to mind for me as you ask this

question is really sort of the holistic aspect of traditional public

relations. So we think of public relations.

I think that a lot of people immediately,

their mind goes to media and doing interviews and being featured

in magazines and that sort of traditional kind of media outreach

media outreach is just one piece of public relations.

And public relations is at its heart,

creating relationships with your public.

And there's a lot of different ways to do that.

So we can go into some of those.

But does that make sense?

Does it sound like the direction we should go in?

Absolutely. Okay.

So the way that I teach visibility right now is through

this three pillared process of collaborations and alliances,

speaking and events and media.

And I think of them as concentric circles with collaborations and

alliances at the very center,

because that is the most personal way to create relationships with

your public.

And it's the quickest route to bringing in paying clients or

paying customers.

And so that's where I would begin because like I said,

in the beginning,

that was what I leaned into when the pandemic kind of

ripped my other opportunity out of my grasp.

And it really is the most potent way to get in

front of people who will trust you the quickest.

So what that could look like is Sue,

like what you were saying that you're witnessing inside the breeze

is women who are supporting each other,

particularly in brick and mortar and saying,

you can display your products here.

It also means capitalizing on relationships that you already have,

but it could also mean reaching out and creating new alliances

perhaps with someone who does something that is tangentially related to

something that you do.

So maybe you have a product that serves a purpose for

a particular community.

So instead of staying inside of the handmade product,

reach out to the community that is being served by your

product and make a relationship with an influencer in that space,

make a relationship with someone who is speaking to the same

audience that you're speaking to,

but doing something slightly different than what you're doing.

So you want to sort of support their work while not

being competitive with their work.

Does that make sense?

Actually, we have people who have been in the breeze or

have heard other podcasts we've talked about this.

Sometimes we refer to them as power partners.

Yeah. So you have a similar audience who actually can use

both your products,

but not just one or the other.

They can use both.

So you're not competing with each other.

And then you get exposure to both people's customer bases and

it doesn't look spammy.

It's sometimes you get an email from someone who's promoting a

product that totally doesn't relate to you at all.

It's if that doesn't happen with the collaborations like you're describing,

Right. I love that power partners.

Yes. Strategic partners.

It's a really powerful way to get more visibility.

And like you said,

it comes across as very authentic.

And it is,

I mean,

that's the point.

So also just for everyone who's listening here,

another idea for something like this,

let's say you run a salon and you know how sometimes

when you go into salons,

there'll be tables set up with like jewelry or maybe if

it's closer to the holidays,

even some chocolate or something like that,

because people who are going in and getting their nails done

also need gifts.

And they also might be possibly going to a very limited

and socially distanced event,

but those are other things that they need.

So you're actually helping them out by having those types of

things exhibited or available in your Shops.

I love that.

So Just to give you another feel for how this can

work, I'm just trying to spark ideas for people.

Yup. And that's an excellent idea too,

because we don't want to be running around to all different

stores right now.

We want things to be simplified and to be able to

get things done in one place.

Yeah. Honestly,

just to use my example again,

if I were a jewelry maker and had no ability to

show my pieces,

if someone called me from my local community that I knew

perhaps were even chamber members and offered this as an opportunity,

even if we'd only met and talked once I would be

thrilled that they were thinking of me,

that we had this opportunity together.

Absolutely. I mean,

it's a value add for both sides of the partnership.

Yeah. That's great.

Okay. So that's collaborations and I see I'm relating all three

of these pillars to how much we could use them within

our community.

And this is definitely one of them,

for sure.

Yup. Huge.

So I noticed Sue that there was a good part of

your marketing time,

I think probably in supportive both of your businesses where you

spent on the road going to shows,

speaking, participating,

meeting people in person and me too,

that was a huge part of the way that I created

my network and that I would like to continue creating my

network. I really love doing that kind of thing,

but that is one of the things that at face value

seems like it's really not on the table right now.

But I would like to say that there are ways to

sort of replicate that so that you're getting the same kind

of connection to people,

even in the absence of those conference and networking opportunities.

And that's sort of where the next pillar comes in,

which is speaking and events.

And so at face value,

it may seem like,

Oh, well that's off the table right now.

But think about ways where,

again, it kind of dovetails with collaboration,

but think about ways that you can appear in front of

a group of people who are interested in what you have

going on.

And so that might mean that you're doing some kind of

a tutorial or you're giving some kind of workshop where they're

exposed to perhaps the finished product that they can buy from

you virtually online,

but maybe your providing them with some sort of valuable experience.

Maybe you're even doing this for a group.

I had a client who had a brick and mortar business

that specialized in hosting make your own nail Polish sessions.

So she had like bridal parties and girl scout troops,

and people coming into the studio to do this project.

I'm thinking that these kinds of groups where you tap into

like a group of people who are looking for something to

do, especially during the holidays,

maybe it's a book club or a women's group or a

PTA or something like that,

where you can get in front of a group of people,

provide them with an experience and have your product there as

a takeaway,

as something that they can purchase after they've done this workshop.

And even the workshop itself could be a revenue generating machine

too. Yeah.

I'm seeing a couple of applications that could really work here.

In addition to what you were just talking about.

Maybe they make something very basic that is similar to what

your product is that you do for.

So like if you were a knitter and you make scarves,

maybe you have a package that is,

I don't know if there are beginner needles,

not, but needle is an,

a little bit of thread and some very small project that

then they get to their house and then everyone gets online

through a zoom or whatever,

and you're directed through how to do this.

And so you end up making,

maybe it's even like just a coaster,

something small,

but you get a feel for the craft.

So I'm just thinking that could be an interesting way to

do things.

And also,

I mean,

just talking with so many people who are challenged with the

kids, not being able to have play dates so easily and

free as you used to be able to do,

what do you do with all this time and how do

you make it productive and kind of a learning atmosphere at

the same time,

maybe your product is conducive to something like that,

which is so helpful to parents having,

even that they can do with their child,

like a mother daughter thing,

but you're directing it.

Yup. Good examples.

I like those.

They were mine.

So I liked those.

I would do.

Those is what I really mean.

I would participate in those types of things.

And then the other thing I'm thinking is online sales and

Amanda, I don't know if you've seen it,

but people are getting on social and there are now apps

where you can be selling directly online.

So people literally are buying the product.

It's all connected up.

The order goes through and everything right online.

You also know what a proponent I am right now if

the new Facebook shops program.

So all of that are other ways that you can create

events to sell your product.

That one is more of a direct sale,

but let's face it.

It's the holidays.

People are looking for gifts.

We still are going to be sending gifts and maybe more

so this year,

because we're not going to be getting together with all the

people that we normally do.

Possibly. Absolutely.

Yep. There's so many different sort of quadrants of people.

I don't mean quadrants as in four,

but there are different aspects of life that people are used

to getting together this time of year.

And to give them this virtual option of like a sip

and spend or whatever it is or this online,

like a tutorial or a workshop where an office may have

had their Christmas party or their happy hour or they're off

site or something like that.

During this time of year,

you could potentially offer them this opportunity to engage with you,

to do something fun together.

And it exposes you.

And this is where the PR aspect of it comes in

is the exposure that you get from being in front of

a group of people,

teaching them something,

spending that time with them being a sounding board and then

having your product there and also having that presence in their

lives going forward,

because ostensibly you would collect their email addresses and then they

become part of your list and your community ongoing.

Absolutely. I love that idea so much.

I was also,

as you were thinking,

this is the great thing about having conversations like this because

when you brainstorm ideas,

just come up,

right? So as you're talking about corporations that aren't able to

be in touch with their employees,

or they're not going to have a holiday party,

or maybe normally they have an annual meeting or some type

of get together.

Even when there's maybe a little bit of business to be

discussed, nothing says they couldn't send you like agendas or something

like that that are about the meetings.

Especially if you have a consumable product and you send out

boxes of tea or coffee and a muffin and the agenda

to the meeting.

So everyone opens a box before A hundred percent.

That is adorable.

So many ideas.

And the thing that is so great to your point about

establishing credibility and you being associated with it is if you

bring people,

the ideas they're looking at you not just as the provider

of the product,

but almost as like a business partners slash strategist,

if you're starting to bring ideas to them.

Yep. Absolutely.

Doesn't work for everybody's product here,

but we're brainstorming.

Absolutely. Right.

That's how the good ideas come up when you brainstorm.

Yeah. And just to add a real life example to what

you just said,

it reminded me that my co-parent,

my daughter's dad has been working from home since the spring.

They have mandated that they're not going back into their office

in Manhattan until at least January,

every single month,

Sue, they sent him a care package from some local,

like it was a cold brew set.

It was like,

artismal honey.

It was a coffee cake collection.

It was all of these different things each month.

And so creating a relationship with a company like that,

that really cares about employees and is trying to be creative

in telling them that they appreciate their work.

Even though they're remote.

It could be.

I love that.

And you know,

it also it's showing support for local community businesses,

which is so needed now for sure.

Yup. And that really also kind of leads me to sort

of the last pillar of visibility in my mind,

which is media.

And I think that mainstream media is really tough right now.

There is a lot happening in the world and it's hard

to cut through the clutter and all signs everywhere.

I turn in my work,

those kinds of media placements don't actually even result in sales

or in revenue to be totally straightforward.

The kinds of media.

And I'll say that in air quotes that really will work

for something like this hard,

the super hyper-local opportunities.

So if the craft shows are not happening in your local

church, craft shows or wherever the craft shows are hosted,

but perhaps that entity may have like a newsletter or they

are maybe a local magazine that is featuring local businesses.

That's always a thing.

A local magazine is mandated to feature local businesses,

local newspapers,

mandated to feature local businesses.

And so perhaps there is a community of makers in your

area that maybe you could come together and propose an article

in one of these media outlets that would highlight,

we call it a round up that would highlight all of

the makers who are putting things out there for the holidays.

And like you said,

Sue, the opportunity to sell online right now,

it's just expanding.

And I've learned this from you that you don't need to

necessarily have a robust website that fosters all of these online

sales opportunities.

You can get yourself up and running very simply on some

of these social platforms.

So there's really no reason not to really drive some interest

because you can accommodate the call.

You can accommodate the inquiries.

Yeah. I'm glad you bring this up as an opportunity because

so people are now looking to support small Businesses.

Exactly. The big Guys,

we still need to buy on Amazon for the regular things.

But I think now our eye is turning more.

Even if it costs a little more to support our fellow

business owners.

So continuing on with this idea,

like, let's say we have people who are local and they're

thinking okay,

around up,

like I have five people that I'm thinking of.

And we all have products that would be really great gift

ideas for the holidays.

Maybe we should work together to try and get an article

in our local paper.

And my guess is papers want some feel-good stories right now

too, because you're right.

Most of the news doesn't leave you feeling that great.

Right. And that's being generous.

Right. And they're doing a favor because people are still gonna

need to shop as we were talking about before.

And a lot of times,

like, I even know now for me,

some of the places that I would have normally been out

and about frequenting,

I don't really even know if they're open.

So I don't know if they're open,

if they're closed,

but doing online.

I don't know really anything about some of the smaller now

if I drive by their shop or whatever I could find

out, obviously.

But if you were looking at doing an article like this,

to get the attention of a newspaper,

but also for the purpose of serving the community with your

gifts, do you write the article first and then submit it?

Do you send an idea of how would be the steps

go to do something like this?

We'll continue on with this topic right after a quick word

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The first thing is to start to create a relationship.

So you've got to find the person that's working on this

type of thing for your local paper.

So you may thumb through and look at the local business

section. You might look at the art section.

You might look at the home and garden section,

find the section that's right for you and your collaborators.

The people that you may go in and try to create

this Roundup with and look at writing the pieces that kind

of most speak to you.

And then you can just figure out how to get in

touch with that particular person.

So you're looking for the name of a reporter and you

really just want to try to get in touch with them.

And I will say that the best way to kind of

sleuth out a newspaper reporter is to either look on Twitter,

which is rife with information on journalists,

because here's really kind of the open secret is that they

want you to contact them.

They want you to get in touch because they need ideas.

They need sources.

They need insight into what's happening in the local community.

They would be nowhere without a finger on the pulse of

the community.

It should be easy to find their information.

And you could also look on LinkedIn.

There's lots of information on where people work and how to

get in touch with them on LinkedIn.

So just to reiterate,

you want to find the person who's writing about the thing

or things that dovetail with your idea.

Okay, I'm going to add another way to connect with them.

That I was just thinking about in all the chambers.

I'm not in as many chambers as I used to be

when I had more of a local business,

but in all of the chambers,

they had add representatives for those local papers.

And so if you're friends with them,

they'll be able to direct you to who you should contact.

And they'd probably provide the email yup.

To your point,

it's helping everybody out.

So that would be another point.

Yup. They're on different sides of the business.

So editorial and advertising really are not supposed to mix,

but certainly that ad rep can point you in the right

direction. And it's also,

as I'm even saying that it's also kind of a,

I don't know,

misnomer is not the right word,

but it's a misrepresentation to say that advertising does not influence

editorial in local media.

So unfortunately that is the case.

It's like a bit of a breach of journalistic ethics,

but it is a thing.

So you're absolutely right that the advertising people can point you

in the right direction for the editorial side and especially on

super local level.

It's an unfortunate fact that the staffs of these small local

publications are very tiny.

So they probably all know each other.

Yeah. But what you're really saying just to cut through is

then probably expect a conversation about possibly doing some advertising with

them that is possible.

Okay. Not always,

but it's possible.

So just know that that could happen.

Yeah. Especially in those community magazine,

the glossy magazine that speaks to like your neighborhood or your

local community or your town or your zip code or whatever

it may be.

Those are very advertising driven and their editorial is sometimes dictated

by who advertises.

Okay. And we also,

again, I'm just thinking of my own community,

cause that's what I can relate to.

We do have more just like heavy paper,

stock journals as well,

journals for sake of the other word.

It's not really a newspaper.

So advertising doesn't necessarily mean it's super expensive either.

So it might be something to do an ad to promote

the article.

And if you're doing this with five other people,

well then it starts to get really reasonable.

So don't discount it,

I guess would be my thought.

Yeah. If it feels meaningful to you,

there's a way to figure out how to make it happen.

For sure.

Okay. So we find some people we get in touch with

them. Somehow we reach out to them.

What do we say in this initial contact?

Yeah. I think you can be super down to earth and

this is why I love my clients doing their own outreach

because it will be so authentic coming from you like,

Hey, we're a group of local makers.

We think we have something really special to offer.

Even the idea that you're collaborating is something to play up

that you've come together because there is a lack of opportunity

to sort of be out there in the community this year.

And you wanted to see if they'd be interested in highlighting

your local businesses and the fact that you've all teamed up

to support each other during this time when it's been really

challenging and a lot of the opportunities to be seen out

there have been taken off the table during this holiday season.

Perfect. Got it.

And then you wait.

Yeah. So I would send that.

And then I think that the fact is that if someone

is interested,

if a journalist is interested in what you've sent them,

they're going to get back to you.

And they're going to get back to you quickly.

You Sue,

you might remember when we pitched WGN,

she got back to me the same day that she was

interested in what we had pitched her to have you on

the show.

They don't hesitate if they are interested.

If you don't hear back,

you absolutely should follow up.

And that may have also been part of what ended up

making that placement successful too.

Cause I know I definitely followed up with her several times

over the course,

actually that all happened.

I think during a really heavy news cycle too Delayed because

of it.

But then we slipped in the spot right before COVID hit

so well my telling you my good luck.

It's like Sliding under the door in an Indiana Jones movie

Set your back.

That's amazing.

Yeah. Do you only send this to one publication at a

time? Like you don't send the same type of an,

a letter or a pitch for an article to multiple publications,

Correct? Yeah.

So if you're pitching,

like I have a client right now who is doing something

that's very specific to an awareness month that's happening right now.

We sent a pitch to all the television stations in her

media market because it's newsworthy that I feel is okay for

a written piece,

you really do only submit an idea to one outlet and

then you really just kind of wait to see if they

get back to you and you can move on.

If they don't get back to you,

then you can consider it a license to move on.

And let's say they come back and they say,

Oh yeah,

we want it.

Then you really do have to say,

Oh, okay,

well I submitted it over here.

Can I give you a different idea or something like that

if They come back to you later.

Yup. Which is Always a good problem to have.

Yeah. And I mean,

this is a good strategy for long and hopefully short term,

let's say we're talking late October,

early November.

Is it too late to do this for this holiday season?

It depends on which outlet.

So there are short lead outlets and there are long lead

outlets for the short lead.

It's not too late now is the time for sure people

are going to start thinking about holiday shopping even earlier this

year because of everything that's going on.

And I know that retailers are gearing up for holiday earlier

to avoid the crush,

to avoid putting people through that.

So definitely it's not too late for that.

And by short lead,

I mean newspapers and even like local newsletters or depends on

how frequently a particular magazine comes out.

If it's a weekly,

then that's considered short lead,

but magazines that come out quarterly or monthly,

those are considered longer lead.

And it would be probably for holiday too late for those.

But shortly I say,

go for it.

Okay. Perfect.

And something to keep in the back of your mind as

you move forward as well,

to your point of establishing relationships.

Yeah, absolutely.

All right.

So is there anything else in terms of the relationship or

have we kind of completed this pillar at this point?

Yeah. So I think that we've completed the three pillars.

We talked about collaborations and alliances,

which is like the fastest track.

We talked about speaking in events and sort of modifying that

for the time that we're in,

by offering events virtually and looking for opportunities to be in

front of a group in a virtual manner.

And we talked about media,

so yes,

completely. Okay.

Complete turn into another chapter now.

Cause I have one more topic I want to talk about

and that is storytelling.

So I'd love to hear from you.

I think maybe for our audience,

we should even define what that means.

It's not necessarily once upon a time,

but storytelling and how that can work for getting visibility.

A story is important for everyone.

It's particularly important.

If you're doing something that perhaps someone could say,

Oh, I know other people who are doing that.

Okay. So that's everybody here,

right? We need to be able to wag the finger and

say, Oh no,

no, no,

one's doing it the way that I do it.

And you need to be able to tell the story about

the way that you do it,

how you do it.

And the way to distinguish yourself is by leaning into the

story because no one else has come to this work in

the same way that you have.

No one else has the same path that you have or

that you've tried it already.

So that's the story that we need to tell and the

way that I would suggest kind of initially framing that story

so that we AE ensure that all of the relevant details

are in there and B we're not dragging out all of

the skeletons from the closet and sh oversharing and feeling a

vulnerability hangover afterwards and see,

to make sure that there's just a concise fit for print

version of your story is to look at it as a

before and after.

So it's a classic storytelling structure that we have related to

for millennia.

We have always told stories in this way,

it's a three-act narrative.

So you can tell the story of where you were before

you were working a corporate job,

or you were passionate about what you're currently doing since childhood,

or you had this really kind of funny quirky habit as

a kid that lends itself to what you're doing today.

So think about where you were before that is relevant to

what you're doing today.

Then the second act of this story is that big epiphany

moment. Where did everything shift for you?

How did you realize that you needed to move in this

direction? And what did you do about it?

What was that big epiphany moment and really take us into

that moment.

And then the third act is what are you doing today?

How did it bring you to where you are now?

And how has that apifany and that before the backstory been

actualized in your work today,

beautiful, It could still be a work in progress too,

right? Absolutely.

I mean,

I'm thinking of people who are creating and selling their products

on the side because they still have a nine to five.

Absolutely. Yeah.

It doesn't have to be that you're full-time now.

And your story,

I guess then could also evolve as you go.

Right. Amanda,

For sure.

Yeah. None of our stories are oversew if we're listening to

this, none of our stories are over.

There's more to come For every single one of us.

Well, this is a good way to segue into what is

your story Com?

Ooh. Oh my goodness.

That's a really good question.

So that moment in March,

when I realized on March 12th,

that my event that was supposed to take place on March

19th was not going to happen.

I remember I was coming out of a fitness class in

Hoboken, New Jersey,

and I remember which corner that I was standing on.

I was walking to get coffee with a friend and I

like went through the stages of grief right there on the

side of the Hawk in quick succession.

And then I had this realization that whatever happens,

it actually might be better than what I had planned because

I don't know,

what do I know?

I don't have the full 360 degree viewpoint that the universe

has. I can't plan the way that these unseen forces can

plan if you believe that sort of thing.

I don't know if I went that in depth into it,

but I just had this notion that maybe it's going to

be better.

Maybe it is who knows.

And so what has really happened for me has sort of

been either because I had that mindset or I don't know.

I mean,

it's either because I had that mindset or it just sort

of was born out that like,

okay, I'm open to something better or as good coming along,

but maybe it's not all going to fall apart.

And the new program Sue that I launched just this last

week that you've also become a part of,

was born of that experience.

And also that notion that like,

Oh, there's something more to come of this.

And it's a program that's based exclusively on that first pillar

of visibility that collaborations and alliances,

because really that was what saved me in March.

That really was the only thing I could think of to

lean into,

to replicate the visibility that I was going to get from

that event.

And it saved me.

It completely saved me to the point where I'll be totally

honest in January and February,

I had a revenue level that I was happy with in

March. It was a quarter of what that revenue was.

And then by July I was like,

okay, by July,

I want to be back to where I was in January,

February. And then I got back to where I thought I

was and I looked at my numbers and I had surpassed

it. Wow.

I surpassed what I was in January,

February. So it was really this moment where I was like,

Oh my God,

I just dug in.

I did the work.

I cried every day,

mostly because of the school from home situation.

But it was very hard,

but I really kind of kept this attitude that I'm not

going down like this it's not happening.

And really this new program that was born of it is

really just such a labor of love because I so believe

in the power of relationships What's happening with your live event.

Are you looking at doing that at some point here?

So fingers crossed that we can have it at that point,

if not,

we'll continue to reschedule it,

but yeah,

it's put off for a year from when it was supposed

to happen.

So that means you virtually added another level of services to

your business because of this.

Yeah. Like for us in the product world,

that would be like selling on multiple platforms,

having Facebook shops at sea or your own website.

Yeah, absolutely different revenue streams.

Yeah. Different revenue streams.

That's so exciting,

Amanda. And I do think there's a lot to say about

your mindset going in,

like, this is the cards we're dealt now,

how am I going to make this work?

And then not just what you've already been doing square peg

into a round hole type thing,

but adjusting and seeing what was in front of you and

how your services could fit needs and then working accordingly.

Yeah. Such a good point.

Yep. And just being open to whatever kind of comes next.

Yeah. Did this just come as a brainstorm to you or

did it develop over time?

Yeah. It came as a brainstorming.

We did a challenge that was related to this called Connect

Fest. And that's also the name of the mastermind Connect Fest.

It's a challenge that I did last year and I did

it again this year and it's always been well received.

People get really into it.

They get excited about it because it's really super simple.

It's just about being out there,

reconnecting with old connections,

initiating new connections,

rejuvenating relationships,

where you felt like you dropped the ball,

like really just kind of picking up all of those ropes

or those ties to people that you might've dropped and actually

making them worthwhile again and also making new ties.

So we did this challenge and then I just,

I think either I had this idea or someone on my

team, we were like,

what if we made the,

I think it was me.

I don't know.

It all sort of blends together.

What if we just made this like a mastermind,

like a longer term engagement where we invited people in and

it was all about creating relationships within the community with people

in the mastermind,

but with the also express purpose of taking action outside the

mastermind to reinvigorate your relationships and create new ones.

Right. It's double because I'm already seeing connections with people that

I didn't know.

And we've only just introduced ourselves at this point.

Right. So it's both you're right.

I'm also thinking now just as brainstorming as we kind of

close up,

but for the maker community,

it doesn't have to just be people who are makers.

You're part of a whole community.

So nothing says that you don't come together and collaborate as

small business owners within your hometown.

And you could be the one who ringmasters it altogether,

be it a Facebook group or zoom calls or something like

that. You don't have to be the one with all the

answers or all the expertise.

But if you're the one who's bringing everybody together that could

put you in a light of visibility too.

And I'm thinking,

Amanda, that could be a story for a newspaper.

Absolutely. Yup.

And it goes to our point earlier about casting yourself as

the person who does what you do among people who do

something different,

but for the same audience.

So like if you're a group of local businesses,

you're all serving the local community.

But your,

the maker in that community,

along with a hair salon owner,

along with a drug store owner,

with all the different kinds of local businesses that there are,

yeah. I could sit here and brainstorm with you for a

long time.

It's one of my favorite things to do.

Me too.

You are full of amazing ideas.

You're super savvy.

Oh, Well you're so sweet.

The feeling is mutual because you definitely are showing it to

us here today as we're talking.

So any final comments for us as you kind of release

us into the wild with all this new direction you've got.

Yeah. I mean,

my final comments really are.

I want to cheer you on because there are people out

there who are looking for you right now.

And if you are feeling held back by your mindset or

by the story,

you tell yourself that no one cares or like I haven't

made it happen thus far,

or this is hard or whatever.

Just remember that you are the answer to someone's prayers.

They're looking for you right now.

And they will be grateful that you raised your voice and

you put yourself out there because they will have been able

to find you So motivating.

Amanda Love it.

And if people are looking for more from you,

where would you direct them to go?

Absolutely go to my website,

Amanda berlin.com.

And that's Berlin just like the city.

And if you feel moved by this and you want to

connect, I love to hear from you.

So go to the Connect tab on my website,

fill out the form there,

those come directly to my inbox and I read and respond

to all of those emails.

So I would love to hear from you.

Please reach out if you feel moved to Thank you so

much, Amanda,

I really appreciate you popping on today and sharing with us

how we can increase sales this holiday and beyond.

It's not just for the holiday.

It's a longterm approach to Absolutely thank you,

Sue Relationships.

If we look around,

we can all see that this is the key to connections

that lead to opportunities and sales.

We talk today specifically about actions you can take now to

affect your holiday sales,

but don't do this just as a one-time thing by continuously

initiating and deepening relationships.

You'll be positioned for growth today and in the years to

come if need be,

listen to this again with pen and paper in hand,

write down one specific action that you'll take and then schedule

the time in your calendar to actually do it.

The magic isn't in the knowing it's in the doing want

to know what's on deck for next week.

We'll be talking email marketing.

And in this show,

I really try and think of all the questions you'd want

to ask our guests because I know this topic is challenging.

Tune in and see how I did on your behalf.

And as we conclude here today,

thanks so much for spending time with me.

If you'd like to show support for the podcast,

please leave a rating and review.

That means so much and helps the show be seen by

more makers,

a great way to pay it forward and now be safe

and well.

And I'll see you next week on the gift biz on

podcast. I want to make sure you're familiar with my free

Facebook group called gift is breeze.

It's a place where we all gather and our community to

support each other.

Got a really fun post in there.

That's my favorite of the week.

I have to say where I invite all of you to

share what you're doing to show pictures of your product,

to show what you're working on for the week to get

reactions from other people and just for fun,

because we all get to see the wonderful products that everybody

in the community is making my favorite post every single week,

without doubt.

Wait, what,

aren't you part of the group already,

if not make sure to jump over to Facebook and search

for the group gift biz breeze don't delay.