Retailer Success Series: Community Marketing Strategies with Millie Blackwell | Episode 132

Show Notes:

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

Before opening her shop in December 2020, she and her husband owned digital businesses and did a lot of home renovations. Her shop is perfect for romantic, curious minds and romantic souls, a shop 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 FB!  

All of Millie’s business marketing decisions are based on building community and becoming a destination shop. Listen to her attract strategies, and how they go against the grain and are working 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. Millie is on her way to her 2023 goal of becoming a million-dollar bookshop!

 

Listen on:  Apple PodcastsSpotify | Radio Republic | YouTube | PlayerFM | Stitcher | iHeartRadio

 

 

A Quick Glance:

[0:31] Mrs. Blackwell’s Village Bookshop

[5:08] Greytown + more

[8:52] Marketing

[19:24] Million-dollar bookshop goal

[25:17] Struggles

[27:01] What’s coming & a quote

[30:46] Closing remarks

 

About Millie:

Mrs. Blackwell is a specialist in non-fiction categories and stationery. She grew up on an apricot orchard in Central Otago but never really cared for the taste of the fruit. Mrs. Blackwell’s Village Bookshop is an independent bookshop for inquisitive minds and romantic souls in Greytown, New Zealand.

Website | Instagram | Four Thousand Weeks

 

Don’t forget to leave a review on Apple podcasts!

 

Resources Mentioned:

Business and Planning Guide
Retail Made Simple
Level Up Mastermind
Foot Traffic Made Simple
Retailer’s Inner Circle

 

Related podcasts we think you’ll like:

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Episode 118 – How To Create Loyalty and Amazing Customer Experiences with Shep Hyken
Episode 96 – Before You Pay For Ads – Do These 3 Things
Episode 93 – How To Wow and Delight Your Customers
Episode 79 – Your Competitive Advantage Over Amazon
Episode 74 – Maximize Your Business with the Right Size Audience
Episode 68 – Growing and Doing Business Your Own Way with Marian Parsons
Episode 65 – Staying Positive While Building Community & Profits with Lee Hawn
Episode 56 – How To Add Additional Revenue Streams to Your Retail Business
Episode 47 – The Secret to Getting Your Customers to Choose You Over Your Competition
Episode 31 – 7 Tactics to Attract Foot Traffic to Your Brick and Mortar
Episode 5 – How To Stand Out In Your Brick and Mortar Retail Business

Creative Shop Talk | Wendy Batten | Retailer Success Series: Community Marketing Strategies with Millie Blackwell
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Hi there! I'm Wendy Batten, and I'm obsessed with helping independent shop owners like you achieve success.

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