218. Best of Retailer Success Series: Community Marketing Strategies with Millie Blackwell

Creative Shop Talk with Wendy Batten

With host retail coach Wendy Batten

https://wendybatten.com/podcast-intro/

Happy July! This month, we’re celebrating our retailers in the Retailer’s Inner Circle. It’s Member Appreciation Month! We’re hosting weekly giveaways (including private coaching sessions with me!), launching promotional guides, editable social media graphics, and so much more. It’s not too late to join us - and NOW is the time.

You don’t have to run your retail business alone! Join the Inner Circle today and get immediate access to countless Masterclasses on topics from merchandising to social media and our coveted monthly playbooks that break your month down for you into bite sized pieces. You’ll also have an opportunity to make peer-to-peer connections in our community with retailers who are facing the same questions and issues as you. Q4 is looming and our revamped Holiday Bootcamp also launches soon. Retail doesn’t have to be so hard! Join us today!

In keeping with our celebration of our members, over the next few weeks on the podcast we’ll be highlighting some of our favorite past interviews with Inner Circle retailer members! These retailer interviews are some of our most popular episodes and what you all are telling us you want more of. This week we are going all the way back to Episode 132 with Millie Blackwell of Mrs. Blackwell’s Village Bookshop in Greytown, New Zealand. Let’s dive in!

In This Episode:

If you think you have to be on FB to grow your business, think again! Meet Millie Blackwell - owner of Mrs. Blackwell’s Village Bookshop in Greytown, New Zealand.

Before opening her shop in December 2020, Millie and her husband owned digital businesses and did a lot of home renovations. Her shop is perfect for romantic, curious minds and romantic souls. Her bookshop is filled with books and creative items such as notebooks, jigsaw puzzles, fountain pens, stationary, etc.

Because Millie opened her shop during the height of the pandemic, she really had to work hard to build their market base in unique and creative ways. Storytelling has been a successful marketing strategy for them with print ads, Instagram, and their quarterly newsletter: The Blackwell Bugle. Fun fact: Millie doesn’t use Facebook for personal use or for her business! It can be done.

All of Millie’s business marketing decisions are based on building community and becoming a destination shop. Listen to her attract strategies! They go against the grain and work for her! She’s doing it her way and making connections, human to human.

Millie is a member of our Level Up and Accelerate Mastermind group and works hard at business development, and pays close attention to tracking, measuring, tweaking, training, and focusing on foot traffic.

Ready to Level Up? Join The Retailer’s Inner Circle.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Retailer’s Inner Circle. You’ll have access to countless Masterclasses including Foot Traffic Made Simple, Shop Standards, Money Matters, and so many others. Plus, you’ll have access to a private Facebook group where members can ask questions or share advice and their experiences of running a retail shop.

Related podcasts we think you’ll like:

Episode 113: Retail Success Series: Growth Mindset with Jeff Lee from The Vintage Nest

Episode 118: How To Create Loyalty and Amazing Customer Experiences with Guest Expert & Author: Shep Hyken

Episode 133: Retailer Success Series: Community, Culture, and CEO Mindset with Amy Cseh

About your host, Wendy Batten

In case we haven’t met yet, I’m Wendy, a small business coach and founder of the Retailer’s Inner Circle, where I help other independent shop owners learn how to gain the right business skillsets to see more profits, paychecks, and joy as they navigate running their retail business.

Through online classes, business coaching programs, speaking, and a top-ranked podcast, I’ve helped hundreds of retailers around the globe reclaim their dreams and see the success they want from their beautiful shops. My signature private coaching community, The Retailer’s Inner Circle, has helped retailers around the world build their retail business skill sets and confidence.

I am proud to have been featured in several major publications, including my own business column in What Women Create magazine. I have been privileged to be a guest on top-ranked podcasts and sought-after as a guest speaker and teacher for several brands, associations, and communities that are passionate about the success of independent retailers.

When I’m not coaching, you will find me either DIYing and renovating my very imperfect old crooked cottage by the sea in the UNESCO World Heritage town of Lunenburg, NS, or blogging about our travel and RVing adventures and the weird fun things we get up to in our coastal village. I’d love to invite you to check out one of my free resources for real retailers at https://wendybatten.com/free-resources/

For more support from Wendy

Retailer’s Inner Circle - Join Wendy inside the best retailer’s community

Free resources for shop owners

Hang out and connect with Wendy on IG

All of Wendy’s programs and services for shop owners can be found HERE.

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