419 | How To Create Your Own Gift Guide and Boost Holiday Sales with Katie Hunt
One of the things we've been talking about in our LABS program is Q4 sales strategies because we are heading into the holiday season which as you know, is one of the busiest times of year for product-based business owners. Today, I want to talk about one really powerful marketing strategy that often gets overlooked, but it's a good way to help drive sales for Q4. That strategy is being your own gift guide. I think there's a misconception for smaller product brands that big media or working with influencers on their product roundups is the only way to get more eyes on your products. While yes, these are good options and you can and should be pitching yourself to these opportunities, getting placement in larger media isn't the only way to shine a spotlight on your product. In fact, you can create your own gift guide experience and you can do this on your website, through your email list, across wholesale and retail channels. It's all done in the name of making it easier for your customers to purchase from you. So I'm going to walk you through how to do this, including how to set up your gift guide collections on Faire and Shopify, how to create emails that highlight those products, and how you can collaborate with other like-minded brands to expand your reach of your gift guide and perhaps share theirs too. Today's episode is brought to you by our Proof to Product resource library. It's where you can get your hands on our free resources to help you start, streamline and scale your business in your own way and at your own pace. GET FREE ACCESS You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/419 Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp
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418 | Expanding into Tabletop Products with Alyson O'Connor, Rust Belt Love
Friends, you know that I am all about simplifying and systematizing your business, but I'm also about taking risks and experimenting within your business. When we run these experiments, sometimes we have to adjust our thinking and our normal processes to make it happen. That's what we're talking about today: taking risks, experimenting, and releasing a new product category during an off-cycle season. Today's interview is with Alyson O'Connor of Rust Belt Love. Frankly, it's your permission slip to lean into the things that you're excited about, even when it doesn't feel like the timing is right. Alyson is an Advisory Board member, and I invited her on today because she recently launched a brand new tabletop collection. Think paper placemats, napkin rings, and table tents. These products are available now, just in time for the holiday season. We talk about where her inspiration for this collection came from, what it took to get this product to market, and the logistics of quickly launching. We talk about the easy things and the more difficult parts of this process, and the perks of her having manufacturing in-house. We talked a lot about her manufacturing processes and how this has changed over her 15-year career in this business. So if you're just getting started, this is going to be really enlightening for you to hear how they've done things both in-house and also outsourced. Alyson also reflects in this episode on her 15 years in business, the evolving landscape of wholesale, the pricing and margin challenges that are unique to this season, and the importance of staying agile, especially during uncertain times like we're in right now. Today's episode is brought to you by our Proof to Product resource library. It's where you can get your hands on our free resources to help you start, streamline and scale your business in your own way and at your own pace. GET FREE ACCESS You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/418 Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp
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417 | 8 Ways to Prepare for the Holiday Sales Season Now with Katie Hunt
Today, we're talking about getting your website ready for the biggest sales season of the year Q4. I know this time of year can feel super hectic. Between prepping for holiday markets and promotions, fulfilling orders, and managing inventory, the last thing you want to do is lose sales because of a preventable website issue or overlooking something that you hadn't really been paying attention to. So today, I'm walking you through a quick checklist to make sure that your online store is buttoned up and ready to handle the traffic and the sales, and any last-minute shoppers that are headed your way. Before we jump in, I wanted to let you know that our LABS community just got a major glow-up. We switched platforms and have some major upgrades coming to the program. More community connections with businesses at a similar level. More support from industry experts, plus experimentations and case studies, so that you can truly see what is working for other product-based business owners and how to apply similar strategies to your business. REQUEST YOUR INVITATION You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/417 Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp
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416 | 2025 Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sales Strategies with Jessica Totillo Coster, eCommerce Badassery
According to Experian, Black Friday 2025 spending in the US is predicted to reach over $12 billion in online sales alone, and global spending is forecasted to be between $80 and $82 billion. That's a lot of money. Despite consumer caution and economic pressures here in the United States, this represents an 8 to 10% increase over last year. 2024's Black Friday buying season totaled almost $11 billion. Why am I sharing these stats with you? Because Q4 is a critical sales season for product-based business owners and we want you to be prepared. Jessica Totillo Coster of eCommerce Badassery is back on the podcast today, and we are talking about Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales strategies. Specifically, what's working, what we want you to avoid, and why we insist that you keep your sales strategy as simple as possible. Today's episode is brought to you by our Proof to Product LABS coaching program. This is a coaching program specifically built for product-based business owners, with members from across industries and across the globe. We have member-only events inside of LABS, so request your invitation to join below! REQUEST YOUR INVITATION You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/416 Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp
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415 | Wholesale vs DTC: Why These Are Different Business Models with Katie Hunt
I'm going to give a little tough love: some of you are new to selling wholesale, and it shows. I am seeing a lot of people using direct-to-consumer strategies when they're launching their wholesale program and then feeling frustrated when the orders don't come in. Here's the thing: it's not your products that aren't a great fit for them, and you're not doing anything wrong. It's that wholesale and retail are completely different business models, and they require different strategies, timelines, and messaging. Today on the podcast, I'm breaking down the key differences between selling retail and selling wholesale, what each one of these things means, and how the buying process is different. Understanding this will completely change how you approach your sales and marketing for both revenue streams. Today's episode is brought to you by our Is Wholesale Right for You private podcast! This free 12-part audio series will help you decide whether wholesale is a good next step for your specific business. After listening to this audio series (in less than an hour), two things will be true. You'll know whether you want to pursue wholesale for your product business, and you'll have the confidence and action steps to get started with wholesale. Sign up for the private podcast today! SIGN UP You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/415 Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp
Ranked in the top 1% of ALL podcasts, the Proof to Product podcast is your trusted resource for sustainable business growth - especially if you make and sell physical products!
Join Katie Hunt, each week as she shares strategies & solutions to enhance your sales & marketing so that you're building a business that supports your best life.
If you've ever asked yourself can I make money selling physical products? Am I ready to sell my products wholesale to stores like Target, Anthropologie, Nordstrom or Barnes & Noble? When should I consider hiring a sales team or sales reps? Can I really turn my passion into profits? Whether you're a just starting out on your business journey or you've been at it a while growing an empire, this show is for you.
Proof to Product is like on-demand business school for product sellers spanning a wide range of industries. Whether you're in home decor, apparel, beauty, food & beverage, hand-made items, jewelry, consumer gifts or the stationery world, you'll gather new ideas each week to help you grow your profit, build your team and lead with integrity.
Host Katie Hunt and her guests bring you actionable ways to expand your product line, manufacturing overseas, optimize your e-commrce websites on Shopify, Faire, Etsy, Abound, Tundra, Squarespace or in brick & mortar locations. How to start or scale wholesale sales including pitching stores, wholesale outreach, trade show exhibition, working with sales reps, managing inventory, warehousing product, sales systems, wholesale follow-up strategies and working with key accounts. Marketing strategies for small businesses including content creation, leveraging tik tok and instagram tactics without feeling burned out, why you can't rely solely on social media for sales and why email marketing systems on platforms like Klaviyo, Flodesk and Active Campaign are so powerful. Listen in as Katie and our guest experts help you strategize and tackle your biggest business goals.
Host Katie Hunt brings a unique perspective to entrepreneurship. Since 2011, she's helped thousands of product brands get their products on the shelves of their favorite retail stores through her Paper Camp program (www.prooftoproduct.com/papercamp). Prior to that she worked in the corporate world for over a decade leading business development and marketing teams. She has two MBAs - one in finance and one in marketing. And, she owned & operated her own product based business for over 8 years, selling her products to stores throughout the world from her garage. Katie knows the struggles you face as a product based business and she's here to pull back the curtain and share her best kept secrets so that you don't have to learn things the hard way.
Find our free trainings & resources for product based business owners at www.prooftoproduct.com/resources
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