Newbie marketer selling chocolate gifts

Do you sell locally or do you ship? I ask because it might make a difference in the type of answers you receive.

Here in Florida mailing chocolate this time of year would result in nothing but a big mess.

Rose

Rose makes a good point.

In general, you might study other people who offer gift baskets.

And think about posting content related to groups that tend to favor gift baskets. Two that come to mind are parents of kids away at school and military families with family members deployed away from home.

The challenge that I see for you is the fact that
(1) Chocolate is a consumable with a shelf life,
(2) There are shipping challenges (as Rose pointed out)
(3) There is ready and convenient access to chocolates in most every grocery store in the aisle and also at the checkout counter (at least here in the U.S.)

So maybe look into marketing your chocolates from a different angle than how it is usually done.

- Can you geo-target places where chocolates are not readily available?
- Can you include complementary products that aren't easily found?
- Can you create some kind of service that takes the work and hassle out of regularly ordering chocolates (kind of like the "jelly of the month club"?
- Can you offer something exceptional to set your service or product apart in some way from all your competitors (special pricing, rushed shipping, large quantities, not-so-familiar brands, etc)?
- Can you make your "hamper" or gift basket a selling service for people wanting to send a "sweet treat" as a gift to someone else?

Get creative and look for ways to overcome the challenges of the market that you've chosen. You have a tall task in front of you.

The best to you in your new business,

Steve

You could try putting flyers up in the windows of convenience stores with all your social handles on.

If you do any email marketing the include your social links at the bottom.

Hope this helps

I always wondered why places that sell gift baskets and hampers didn't think a little more out of the "basket" so to speak.

As a former magician I always thought it would be cute to have a magic top hat filled with magic tricks. This would be a great gift for a bored kid stuck in a hospital bed.

Advertising unusual gift ideas in a local Facebook group could be good if you're willing to deliver.

I agree with John that stores that already sell what you're selling is a lost cause.

Now, if you added a bottle of wine with that dark chocolate -- now you're talking.
Rose

Instead of buying chocolates, you can try partnering with different stores (in your target locations) to supply you with chocolates. If this will be successful, there is no need to store chocolates on hand, rather you will only order whenever you have orders.

Leverage your social media by posting pictures of happy customers and encourage them to leave reviews. With their permission, you can also post their stories; since you are targeting the gift giving, take advantage to share emotional touch in your audience to inspire.

If only more people regarded Internet Marketing in this simple manner (instead of needless monotone of affiliate product promotion, blogs and lists), people would actually find it easy to make money.

Good job.

If you're selling something that isn't on the shelf in a particular country, you'll do well and your persistence should pay off.

What you do on social media is probably going to be dependent upon how and where you are selling. If you're in a crowded marketplace, you'll benefit from brief and direct links. If you've established an online store, you'd also benefit from general branding.

If you haven't thought of this already; be sure to take full advantage of special occasions and package the products accordingly. You can also use Fiverr graphic designers to develop themes for the hampers.

Tap into 'Lovers of X' hampers too, where 'X' is perhaps Hersheys Peanut butter products or something similar.

The more you dig into the unique themes, the stronger your unique selling point becomes. This helps to position yourself in the busy marketplaces infront of a focused demographic who use the themes as search terms.


Daniel