Interview with Zanta du Plessis, CEO of Isabella Garcia International
Our October profile is Zanta du Plessis, CEO and founder of the beauty and cosmetic house, Isabella Garcia Int. She tells us about her entrepreneurial journey, her relentless passion for creating state-of-the-art products and making them available to people from all walks of life in a convenient and unique way. She shares her and the Isabella Garcia team’s commitment to making a difference in the world. Today, she continues to build on her dream, to offer women and men products to bring out the best and most beautiful versions of themselves. Isabella Garcia is a dream turning into a reality; history in the making. Describe yourself in 3 words Driven Passionate Perfectionistic What made you decide to start a business? An internal desire to grow and learn. An urge to make a difference in our country and the world. A natural inclination to lead. A belief that one must also serve. A longing to create. A desire to build. Describe the typical Isabella Garcia customer Our beautiful Ambassadors are people like me… Mothers, sisters, daughters, friends and family members, ladies and men that take 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes in the evening to ensure they can share their love, passion and uniqueness with the world and the people around them. Our Ambassadors want to feel confident in who they are; they want to radiate style, elegance, and grace, and they want to leave a lasting memory with their signature scent and beautiful smiles. What makes Isabella Garcia’s products stand out from other beauty products? The 4th point on our mission statement is to never to do something that we are not proud of. I believe that our difference lies in our guardianship of this… of us working together as a team to give life to exceptional products that create an immediate effect, but also lasting benefits. I am personally involved in all product-related steps with regard to the end-to-end process. Sometimes we test 40+ formula variations before we sign off on a final product and, even then, we ask our staff and Ambassadors for their input to perfect it. From a formulation perspective, our cosmetic chemists formulate all our products according to EU regulations, to ensure that we combine nothing but the BEST that nature and science have to offer, to create masterpieces, every time! How do you attract new visitors to your site? Through joint marketing ventures with various partners. The most important tool in your Digital Marketing strategy? This is what AdMarula is helping us figure out! 😊 What have been your highest highs and lowest lows on the journey of building your own business? Our highest highs revolve around anything that involves moving forward and making progress, whether it relates to new products, our clients, or our staff. It is important to note that it is my responsibility to ensure that our lowest lows turn into our highest highs. I say that because the lowest lows, although never nice to face or go through, often bring about beautiful new beginnings and improvements that one would have never tried or thought of if one were not faced with a crossroad. In 2017, we realised that our main campaign was not financially viable and, therefore we had to undergo a restructuring process. This was probably the hardest thing we ever had to do. That being said, I always tell people that, even during that process, I knew that who we were spoke louder than words. We were hands-on, we made sure we helped our people and made as many plans as we possibly could. We reengineered our process and changed direction. As I say, it is about wiping off the tears, standing up the next day, making a plan and putting that plan into action, as soon as possible! The best advice anyone has ever given you? There is SO much to share on this topic! I have been blessed with real life and book mentors… “Power is the ability to take action.” – Tony Robbins “Wisdom is knowing when to have compassion versus courage and vice versa.” – Shachar, CEO Platinum Life “Something can be as common as dirt in one industry but extremely powerful in another.” – Jay Abraham “Speak the truth in love.” – My mom “Things are never as bad as you fear nor as good as you hope.” – My dad “Never let fear block your destiny.” – Maria I often pray that I will have enough wisdom to know when it is within my circle of influence to change something and when to make peace with it if I can’t… – derived from Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits book Find out more at https://www.isabellagarcia.co.za or follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isabellagarcia_int/
Interview with Zissy Lewin, Nutreats.co.za
This month we chat to Zissy Lewin, writer, recipe developer, food stylist and MD at Nutreats.co.za, an online resource to healthy living and a digital content creation studio. A firm believer that healthy living is simple and attainable, Nutreats was created to share content that is all encompassing, inspires action, and showcases brands, products and books in a tangible way. With her love for recipe development, food styling and fitness, she gets a kick out of creating high quality food and fitness related content for brands in the health, wellness and lifestyle industry. Describe yourself in 3 words curious, fast, creative What made you decide to start your own business? I had an idea and wanted to see it through. My attitude has always been to just jump in, try things and act on ideas. If it works amazing and if not, you have experience and a good story to tell. Describe the typical Nutreats reader We have such a wonderfully diverse readership, but the common ground is that they have an appreciation for well-researched content. Demographically, our average reader is over 30, South African and loves physical activity, wellness, reading and of course food. How would you describe your content strategy? We always look to create content that leaves our readers with their cups full and has value. Our content strategy looks at healthy living as all-encompassing and this comes out in our content pillars which include mental and physical fitness, food and nutrition, beauty and home, self-growth, and learning. We’ve developed a knack for spotting trends, finding them locally and trying them out before they hit mainstream, sharing with our readers, and becoming a place to go to if you want to know the latest in wellness, food, books and fitness. How do you attract new visitors? Good quality content that is current and has a strong SEO backbone. In addition, we have always put a big focus on people and sharing their stories – whether it’s brands, athletes or people that have a story to share. We’ve always loved that story sharing aspect and it’s exposed us to new audiences and people that become loyal readers. Every great website should have…. An easy to find search button. How do you work with Affiliate Marketing/Advertising? We utilise affiliate marketing for banner ads as well as through shoppable links within articles that allow readers to purchase things we use and love. Affiliate marketing is still young in South Africa, and we would love to see more brands adopt it. What have been your highest highs and lowest lows on the journey of building your online business? Nutreats today is very different from what it was when we started out. We started as an online store selling sports nutrition and pivoted to being a hub of wellness and lifestyle content. Making the decision to pivot the entire business was both our lowest low and the highest high. Accepting and acknowledging when something isn’t working is both difficult and freeing. The world is a very different place now from what it was 18 months ago. Has it changed the way you do or think about business? Business before was very location based. Location matters less and it’s opened us up to being able to work with international clients as well as clients around the country. We’ve become more flexible and more focused on the immediate – looking ahead a month or two at a time instead of a year – which works better with the current uncertainty. Content wise, we’ve focused more on the home – things that people can do to enhance their lives within their own space. Where will Nutreats be in 5 years from now? Our vision for Nutreats is to be the best and biggest online wellness and lifestyle destination in South Africa that also has a physical presence in the form of products and events. Find out more at www.nutreats.co.za or follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nutreats/
Why affiliate marketing is right for SME’s
As a small or medium enterprise, navigating the digital advertising landscape can be daunting and budgets are likely tight. Small businesses do not always have a dedicated marketing team to promote their business. Affiliate marketing offers a cost-effective, low risk and efficient way to drive more traffic to your business and increase profits. However, while having a terrific affiliate marketing network is a huge advantage for small businesses, you still need to be selective in who you choose. Rather than accepting everyone into your program, it is best to have a vetting process in place. In the same way that an ecommerce search marketing strategy impacts your brand’s visibility, your affiliates also impact your brand image and reputation. This is often where a reputable affiliate network company can help. Not only will they assist in finding publishers relevant to your offer/product, but they will also do all the checks to eliminate illegitimate sites and potential fraudulent traffic. A network should also provide transparent, real-time reporting on your affiliate program, assist with uploading creatives and content, and deal with the invoicing and payment of publishers on your behalf. You can of course run your own inhouse affiliate program, but you will need to allocate resources towards this and make sure you do your homework. Much like the search engine strategies used in ecommerce, affiliate marketing will help increase your product exposure and increase sales. Here’s a rundown of its benefits: Boost brand awareness. Every business’s online goal is to be easily recognized by as many potential buyers as possible. As affiliates drive more traffic to your website, they increase awareness of your brand and its reach. Because affiliates earn a share of your revenue, they have a vested interest in your success, are loyal brand advocates, and help build trust with potential customers. Broaden your targeted audience. Small businesses can tap into the audience of their affiliates and, as a result, expand their brand’s reach. These new audiences might not have been easy to target and identify using other marketing and advertising methods. By selecting affiliates who resonate with your brand, you ensure that the traffic you receive through an affiliate’s link will be targeted to those who find your products or services useful. Up your conversion rates. The ability to track how your business performs enables you to make operational improvements in the future. By collecting data from affiliate marketing tracking, companies can gain essential insights into where their customers come from and why they are buying. Studying and analyzing the rich collection of data helps companies improve conversions by making changes to their website, offering more engaging visual creatives, and identifying which affiliates bring in the most revenue. Save money. When compared to the costs of advertising or other marketing initiatives, affiliate marketing is far more cost-effective. Because it is performance-based, affiliates are only paid when they generate a sale. Businesses set up the commission structure in advance and avoid wasting money on ineffective advertising campaigns. Increase ROI. The performance-based model of affiliate marketing is built for profitability. Businesses are not paying for potential buyers through impressions or clicks, only for closed sales. This is one of the primary reasons small businesses choose to utilize affiliates to promote and sell their products or services. By channeling your promotion efforts through an affiliate program, you are gaining influence and direct access to a receptive, highly targeted audience more likely to buy from your company. Happy selling! The Publisher Team
Connecting with the people behind the data
According to psychologists, we have genetically evolved to experience the tangible benefits of human connection and studies across all mammals show that our well-being depends on our connections with others. It is therefor not surprising that the modern consumer increasingly cares about personalization. Now more than ever, digital marketers need to find ways to connect with the people behind the data. We live in a data-driven marketplace, no matter the industry you’re in. Many of the interactions you have with customers are online, and data is now a part of every transaction. At the same time, modern consumers increasingly care about personalization. An Accenture report showed that 91% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands who “recognize, remember, and provide relevant offers and recommendations.” Marketers are faced with what is becoming almost a universal truth: Personalization helps advance customer relationships. But when dealing with so much data, and with so much pressure to make things personal, how do you connect the two? The first step is to recognise that there are actual humans clicking through your website or liking your social media posts, not just targets. Campaigns should therefor be centered around building relationships with people, not just metrics and optimization. When customers feel understood by brands, and when they begin to trust those brands, they’re more likely to provide their personal information. But how do you go about it? It all comes down to the assumptions you make about the data you’re analyzing. For example if your sales numbers changed drastically from one week to the next, and impacted one age range in your audience the most, what could be impacting that change that’s external to your brand message? Looking at the data this way means seeing the bigger picture, recognizing that there are many factors that drive a person to engage with a brand or make a purchase. Finding patterns is another part of analyzing data effectively. But to do so while keeping the focus on the human behind the data requires that you’re acknowledging the thought process behind the patterns of behavior. Data is powerful in this way. In addition to gathering metrics and tracking effectiveness, marketers can use data to better understand the intent and motivation behind the action. By following these intuitive steps, digital marketers might uncover, and be able to address, questions their customers have about their products that aren’t answered by their marketing.
Interview with Suretha Swart, Digital Campaign Manager
Meet our newest team member, Suretha Swart, who joins us in the role of Digital Campaign Manager. Her fascination to understand people directed her from Psychology to Marketing after she completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing at Stellenbosch University. The past year and lockdown gave rise to her growing interest in Digital when she realised the powerful impact it can have if used correctly and to its full potential. Describe yourself in 3 words. Disciplined, inquisitive, reserved. You recently completed a 5-month Digital Marketing internship in Cape Town. What were the highs and lows? It was a remote internship so my communication skills improved and I learned how to manage my time more effectively. Working remotely also gave me the opportunity to expand my skill set and helped me to realize the line of work I want to pursue. It was difficult to learn directly from my superiors as we were not working in an allocated office space on a daily basis. Since I was an intern, I did not have a clear job description which made it difficult to navigate and keep track of my various responsibilities. What will your key responsibilities be in your new role at AdMarula? I will be managing the current running campaigns and source new potential publishers. I will also be connecting ad offers to relevant publishers and communicate directly to publishers. I will be tracking the performance of campaigns daily and validating the transaction reports at the end of each month. What do you hope to add to the team/business? I hope to add a fresh and young perspective to the team and contribute to the efficiency of the business. Best piece of advice anyone has ever given you? Take responsibility of your life. In order to move forward, you have to stop looking back. How do you stay on top of developments in the Digital industry in South Africa/globally? I am subscribed on Bizcommunity so I receive all the latest marketing news on a weekly basis. I listen to The Business of Digital podcast when I have a chance. I also plan to enroll in some extra digital marketing courses and renew my Google Digital Skills certificate every year. Any tips for new graduates currently out in the job market? Try to get as much experience as soon as possible, even if that means working on some NGO campaigns. Set yourself apart by taking extra courses relating to your field of interest, and get your LinkedIn profile going early on! When I’m not working, I’m… Online shopping, watching YouTube tutorials, practising my French and drinking good wine.
Tips for boosting your conversions in 2021
Building and running an online business successfully takes a lot. It therefor becomes extra more frustrating when someone leaves your shop without buying anything, whether you are getting them via content marketing, paid ads, or any other sources. A high traffic site is worthless if visitors are not converting into loyal customers. This is why optimizing your website, landing pages and ad copies is important. Understanding your conversions rates is the first step to your e-commerce site’s success. An e-commerce conversion is recorded when a desired event occurred on your site. This is more often a sale, however, it might be sometimes adding products to cart or signing up for a newsletter. All these actions encourage your leads to go through the site’s sales funnel. Some of the most common conversion metrics for an e-commerce website include: purchase from the site adding products to the cart adding an item to the wishlist signup for newsletter social media shares any KPI your business counts valuable By calculating the conversion rate based on these attributes you can understand if your strategies correspond with your company’s goal or if it needs to be changed. Conversion rate optimisation (CRO) refers to how effectively you convert your website visitors into paying customers, leads, or other metrics by the actions they take on your site. CRO is only one metric among many that can—and do—determine the success of your website, and a high conversion rate does not necessarily equal business success. After all, a website that has had only one visitor would have a conversion rate of 100% if that visitor converted, but a single conversion will not keep the doors open. Relevancy, relationship, your business vertical, cost of your product, cost-to-value ratio, copywriting and user experience all influence your conversion rate. Hierarchy of conversions Like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, CRO has a hierarchy of conversions. The basic functionality of your website makes up the foundational layer and runs all the way up to the most specific CRO tweaks and adjustments. To quickly run through the different steps in the CRO hierarchy starting at the bottom and working our way to the top. Is your site functional, accessible, usable/user-friendly, intuitive and persuasive? When optimising your site for conversions, it’s important to start with the first step (functional) and make sure that is fully covered, before moving on to the next step and so on. Once you have these basic needs covered, you can apply the following tips to further increase your CRO: Communicate your value proposition – This should clearly communicate the benefit, or value, that the product or service in question will provide. You want to make your website visitors feel like they want what you offer. Improve page speed – Page speed is a prominent part of the core web vitals that Google intends to add to their existing search signals. Remove unnecessary formatting and properly size and format your page images to ensure your page is ready when your customers want it. Streamline page design – Distractions can stop your customers’ journey to the check-out page dead in its tracks, so don’t bombard your page visitors with too much at once! An efficient, streamlined page design not only looks more professional but also makes your customers feel like they’re in control of their site navigation. Mobile-first strategy – Assume your customers will buy using their mobile devices and then design your site and strategy accordingly. A site that’s attractive and easy to navigate on mobile puts you in a prime position the moment your potential customers are ready. A/B test your messaging – The words you use on your site can have a huge impact on your conversion rate. The language you use must speak to your ideal customers and demonstrate an authoritative understanding, not just of your brand and product or service, but of their needs as customers. Social proof – social proof is merely people doing what they see other people doing. It’s why we’re more likely to try a new restaurant if we see that many others are eating there. Make testimonials and positive user reviews readily available and visible on your site to let potential customers know they’re not in uncharted waters. Happy selling! The Publisher Management Team
Interview with Ryan Vermaak, new Digital Account Manager
Meet Ryan Vermaak, newest team member at AdMarula. Ryan joins us in the role of Digital Account Manager and will be working on new media accounts, as well as with existing clients and their marketing teams to optimize their campaigns and ensure the best execution of their digital strategies. Ryan is a Marketing Graduate from the AAA school of Advertising and recently relocated from Johannesburg to the Western Cape. Describe yourself in 3 words. Driven, honest & passionate. Tell us a bit about what you’ve been doing since you graduated? After graduating from university, I co-founded a small business in Johannesburg (operating within the motor industry) which was specifically field-service driven and mainly serving the industrial sector. I mainly focused on the day-to-day running of the business and took charge of all marketing responsibilities. After countless visits to the Western Cape, my heart had been stolen and so I sold my share in the company and decided to relocate down the beautiful coast. I then joined a leather manufacturing company in Stellenbosch as the Marketing and Sales Manager for a short stint, before being fortunate enough to join the AdMarula team. What do you love most about working in Digital? I love the ever-changing environment which digital presents and the challenges which come along with it, it keeps me on my toes and feeds my desire to continuously keep learning. I feel as though we are only at the tip of the iceberg and there is so much more to come within the digital space. What will your key responsibilities be in your new role? I will be building strong relationships with AdMarula’s media clients to continue growing their paid media accounts across a host of different channels. I will take the time to understand each client’s specific needs and find the best solutions to deliver the best possible results through paid media. With AdMarula’s tried and tested technology I will be able to provide and suggest new ways of achieving success for each client. The most important lesson you’ve learnt in your career so far? Be teachable! Each and every business/industry is different and so I find it important to keep an open mind when listening to what it is a client is aiming to achieve. This will also open you up to learning something new on a daily basis and keep you on a constant learning curve. Where do you believe the Digital industry is heading in South Africa? Being a developing market, I believe that South Africa will soon see an influx of users in the digital space and so the room for growth and development is endless. With a growing middle class and the availability of smartphones becoming easily accessible I also see a boost of new users consuming digital media in the near future. Any advice for aspiring digital marketers? Position yourself within an agency that has a proven track record for success. Here you will learn a lot and hone in on your skills to become a master of the trade. When I’m not working, I’m… Spending time on the beach, walking my two doggies, and the odd picnic with my girlfriend. I enjoy playing around with recipes and having friends over to enjoy a weekend braai while watching the sport of the day.
Interview with Clint Roper from SoccerLaduma.co.za
This month we chat to Clint Roper, seasoned news writer as well as General Manager at Media 24 and former Editor of Soccer Laduma, South Africa’s biggest soccer/sports publication where he has spent the past 20 years of his career. We pick his brain on what it takes to keep readers happy in today’s ever-changing and competitive digital landscape. Describe yourself in 3 words. Creative, driven, passionate. What do you love most about your job? Being surprised by our readers on a daily and weekly basis. The passion that they have for the game and the two publications is mirrored in the correspondence that we receive from them. This could be a heartfelt email, a WhatsApp or a phone call. We love that they see Soccer Laduma and Kick Off as their own and that they will take the time to let you know when they are not happy with something but also take the time to thank you for a job well done. You have been with Soccer Laduma since 1999. How has the business changed since you started there? We broke 90% of the big stories in SA in our weekly paper. These days it’s harder. News breaks on social media and digital. We didn’t have a website when I started at Soccer Laduma as a junior journo. We transferred interviews to the subbing department by taking a disk to them and having them copy it across. When we did eventually start up our website, we thought that having an updated league table and three or four stories a day would suffice. We had no social media channels. We’ve come a long way since then and now are a top 10 South African website based on page views. We generate anywhere between 30 and 70 million PVs in a month. Our social media following is now in the millions. We are able to put together offerings for clients across multiple platforms. Print holding hands with digital holding hands with social media holding hands with podcasting and digital video. The ecosystem has changed and so have we. We’ve needed to expand into all the platforms that our readers have expanded into. Also, Kick Off was our target in terms of catching ‘them’. They set the benchmark in terms of South African football coverage. Today we sit under the same roof and work together to produce the best soccer content in the country. It was interesting coming together at first. Imagine Barcelona and Real Madrid sharing a changeroom before a match. But we’ve adapted well and there is equal love and care for both of these proud soccer titles. You recently took over the management of Soccer Laduma Kick Off from Peter du Toit, the founder. How has that changed your role? Nobody replaces Peter du Toit. You’d fail at trying to do things the way he does them. As such I will try being better at the things that are my strengths. I have the publication’s DNA in me and will continue to try and grow it. Management of the publications is a huge shift for me. I’ve done just about everything there is to do at Soccer Laduma in terms of different areas of the business. Obviously having come through editorial as a journalist and then editor of the print publication and then editor at large once we ventured into digital. I then spent a number of years involved in sales and marketing more especially content marketing solutions for clients. These days I spend a lot more time in exco meetings and instead of reviewing interviews and articles, there is a lot more time spent looking at the numbers of the business. Add to that the fact that Covid has resulted in accelerated pressure on print as a whole with no playbook to go by makes it even tougher. But we live by two rules here. The reader is our boss. The advertiser is our boss. As long as those two things remain the guiding light, we will continue to grow these two great brands. What do you believe were the main drivers behind the success of Soccer Laduma? Peter hired soccer people in his editorial team. He understood that soccer is a language. That you can have the best grasp of the English language, but still come across as completely fake or lack credibility if you didn’t speak and write the language of soccer. Most of our editorial team were failed footballers or very competitive amateur footballers who saw a chance to stay involved in the beautiful game through Soccer Laduma. Interviews! Readers don’t want opinions of journalists; they want words from players and coaches and legends. There is a saying in football that a good referee goes unnoticed. We tried to always do the same on our pages. Let the stars be the stars and Soccer Laduma be the place where you allow professional footballers and fans to meet. Siyagobhoza! The stories that happen behind closed doors in boardrooms, between agents and clubs, in heated dressing room debates. The rumours and secrets of football fascinate readers and we do it better than most. Obviously, Peter seems to have a knack for having hired some incredible champions over the years that have helped put together this footballing empire. Describe the typical Soccer Laduma reader Knowledgeable about the game. Passionate about his or her favourite team and players. Needing to connect with the game in a unique way. Having an opinion. Wanting to be able to share something with someone about the game that Soccer Laduma or Kick Off gives them that others didn’t know. Our audience is the black male mass market. We are well represented across all the SEMs. Whether you’re a petrol attendant or a bank manager – if you love the game you love the game. For me, soccer is the true meeting point of South Africans. Now if we can just get Bafana Bafana to improve! How would you describe Soccer Laduma’s
Interview with Michael Krynauw, Head of Digital at Joox
This month we chat to Michael Krynauw, newly appointed Head of Digital at Joox, a Naspers-owned music streaming business. With over a decade’s experience in Digital, on both client and agency side, he shares some valuable insights with our readers as well as his thoughts on where we can expect Digital to go in South Africa and Africa in the next few years. Describe yourself in 3 words. Inquisitive, Determined and Ambitious Tell us a bit about your new role at Joox? I’ve recently joined Joox as Head of Brand and Digital, this is a fantastic opportunity to look at all areas of the marketing landscape to determine what levers need to be pulled to acquire users into Joox at the best price and at the same time identify areas to retain and re-engage our audiences with relevant and impactful content. The music streaming industry is highly competitive and you always need to be questioning the status quo and evaluating what marketing mix is optimal to keep users engaged on a daily basis How is Joox different from other music streaming services like Spotify? Joox crafted its position as a music streaming platform that creates meaningful value between fans and artists. With a full local team on the ground in South Africa this has given us the opportunity to react quickly to local trends and needs. During the pandemic, as an example, we understood the plight of artists who had lost their livelihoods and felt it our responsibility to do what we could to offer our support. This led to the creation of a number of unique initiatives including Gig to Earn which paid local artist to perform live in JOOX This was followed by our Big Live initiative where JOOX created live shows in app by leading South African musicians including Cassper Nyovest, The Parlatones, Mi Casa, Demi Lee, Vusi Nova, Master KG, Jeremy Loops and Shekinah to name a few. JOOX also supported up and coming artists through our JOOX Live Wednesdays, which again provided a stage for local up and coming talent to get noticed and stand a chance to open up for the big live artists, an opportunity that they would have never been available to them during this time. JOOX coins store is another unique product feature which rewards users for participating in daily activities with coins. Coins can be used to earn VIP subscriptions as well as purchase goods in our Coin store. How would you describe JOOX’s Digital Marketing Strategy? JOOX is deeply focused on ensuring that our audiences are engaged on a daily basis, this means constantly looking at ways to reach and interact audiences with relevant and impactful content and ensuring that users have a great experience using JOOX. What do you love most about your job? The people! JOOX has managed to secure some of SA’s best talent and working with such a wide variety of experienced individuals has been rewarding and exciting. The most important lesson you’ve learnt in your professional career so far? Team work makes the dream work! The most successful business and teams are ones that have found a rhythm and a strong work culture centred around performance. Where do you believe Digital commerce is heading in South Africa/Africa? It’s going to grow from strength to strength. We have only really begun. Digital commerce in South Africa is still only a small percentage of total trading and the pandemic has showed us we have a long way to go, but it has sparked action by many leading business to take digital commerce more seriously. What advice do you have for aspiring Digital Marketers? Question everything and keep an open mind. Speak to as many contacts you have the industry to understand what new tools/tech or platforms have been developed and how this can your current business. Digital is ever changing so be comfortable with the fact that the only constant is change. Best advice anyone has ever given you? Back yourself. Trust your intuition and always keep your eye on the big picture – your vision for success! When I’m not working, I’m… At the gym, running, mountain biking, spending quality times with friends and family. I’ve also recently started playing the piano which has been a lifelong goal.
Interview with Sarah Putman, Delicious-Monsters.co.za
Our October profile is Sarah Putman, seasoned merchandiser and owner of Delicious Monsters, an online shop for designer Kids & Baby Accessories. With their nature and animal inspired designs, Delicious Monsters give shopping for the younger generation a whole new edge. With a 15,000+ following on Instagram, Sarah has certainly done something right. We find out how she manages to make her business stand out from the crowd, and what her plans are for the future. Describe yourself in 3 words Dedicated, consistent, reliable. What made you decide to start your own business? After being in the competitive and demanding clothing industry for 16 years and needing to be available to my babies, I knew it was time to start my little side-line passion project. My ‘mommy hobby’ grew quickly and the demand was high whilst trying to juggle the two jobs. I finally took the plunge and decided to follow my true passion fulltime, creating beautiful spaces and complementing Mom’s nursery décor whilst finding a balance with being a present Mom. How did you come upon the name ‘Delicious Monsters’? I love Delicious Monster leaves and all things tropical so it was only fitting that when my own little Delicious Monsters, Ford & Steele were born, that I brought the name to life. What do you do to make your brand stand out in such a competitive space? Keep things fresh and service, service, service! Go the extra mile wholeheartedly – your customers feel the love and care you pour into their products and shopping experience. I think that makes all the difference, well it has for me anyway. How do you attract new customers? A giveaway never hurt anyone 😉. But mostly just keeping it real and being relatable to your followers and customers. Word of mouth and social media posts, if your customers love their products/shopping experience, it goes a long way. Share the love, like your friends service or business posts – do what you can, every small little impression, boost or act of encouragement makes a difference, especially to our local Mompreneurs who work so tirelessly to make their brands stand out. Every great website should have…. Life! I am yet to meet someone who doesn’t love beautiful pictures and spaces. Bring your site to life with colour and fun and of course a seamless and enjoyable online shopping experience, start to finish. How do you work with Affiliate Marketing/Advertising? I am still very new to Affiliate Marketing, and recently partnered with AdMarula to test the waters. I like the fact that their model is based on them carrying the risk for acquiring customers through their network. It’s still early days, but so far I have found their service professional and they have done most of the heavy lifting for me. What have been your highest highs and lowest lows on the journey of building your online business? I think the hardest part is the competition, people see your business and products and draw inspiration from you and replicate some of your ideas. Sure it’s a compliment, but it’s difficult to see others taking what you have worked so hard on and putting their names against something similar. I have realised that this isn’t going to stop though it’s all part of the game and the only way to respond is to pour your energy into keeping one step ahead and to keep innovating. The highest high is definitely being able to employ three incredible people who desperately needed the work. They are now able to support and look after their families, school their children and even build a house for their parents. Their gratitude and happiness makes every difficult day a positive one. The world is a very different place now from what it was 6 months ago. Has it changed the way you do or think about business? Thankfully for me, it has only changed for the better in the last 6 months. Online is everything and I am grateful that I was part of the online space before the lockdown period. Many of our poor soon-to-be-moms felt scared and disconnected from the outside world and their special pregnancy journeys and I was grateful to still be able to deliver beautiful products to their door despite Covid, and add some joy during these uncertain times. Where will Delicious Monsters be in 5 years from now? I would like to continue to grow steadily, possibly even go international, but really I just want to continue to be happy and fulfilled within my business and as they say when you do what you love you will never work a day in your life. Find out more at www.delicious-monsters.co.za or follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/delicious__monsters/
