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FAQ FOR HANDMADE BUSINESSES INTERESTED IN CONTRIBUTING · HOW CAN I CONTRIBUTE TO TLBB? Participating is easy! Just sign up on our sign up page letting us know when you'd like to send in samples, as well as what type and how many samples you'll be sending. You will also need to email us a banner ad that measures 125px by 125px (a perfect square) in either .gif or .jpeg format along with a photo of your samples. The banner ad and photo should be sent to us before your samples arrive. Also, the banner ad and photo are used on the Who's in the Box page of this site. If you do not submit both items, then your listing on that page will simply be incomplete; if you do not submit either, then you will not appear on this page even though your samples will be included in the Boxes. · I DON'T HAVE A BANNER. DO YOU HAVE SOMEONE WHO CAN MAKE ONE FOR ME? No, we do not have anyone associated with The Little Black Box to create your banners for you. If you would like information about creating your own banner, please check out the following resources:
No worries! Things come up and life gets in the way at times. Just PLEASE email us and let us know as soon as possible. Be aware, though, if you make a habit of signing up and then cancelling, you may not be allowed to participate in future Boxes. Also, if you do not contact us to let us know you will not be able to participate, then you may not be allowed to participate in future Boxes. · DOES IT COST TO PARTICIPATE? The only cost is the time and expense necessary to create, photograph, and ship your samples, as well as create your banner ad (or have one created for you). Think of these costs as the price you would pay for advertising. The items that you contribute will be sent to 100+ people each month, people who would have never heard of your company until you submitted the item for your advertising purposes. We sell out every single month! The more contributers we have, the more items we can have in each box and potentially the more boxes we can put together! We currently have more than 1500 people on our mailing list, more than 1200 followers on Twitter, and more than 600 followers on Facebook, and all of these numbers are growing every day. And all of these folks LOVE Handmade and want to be introduced to new Handmade businesses just like yours! · DO WE GET PAID TO PARTICIPATE? No, we do not pay our contributors. However, your participation could benefit you by bringing you potential sales from customers who received your sample. Remember, the more samples you are able to send in, the more customers receive your samples, and the more potential sales you can make! The money made from the sale of the Boxes goes toward packaging supplies, shipping supplies (labels & ink, we use USPS Priority Mail boxes to ship), shipping costs, PayPal fees, website host costs, newsletter/mailing list costs, advertising costs, etc. · WHAT IF I CAN'T SEND YOU SAMPLES OF MY WORK? For some businesses, it is simply not practical to create an of actual product to send in for our Boxes. Either your art is too expensive to mass create or the item is too large. We suggest these businesses send in postcards featuring photos of their work, flyers, or even gift certificates. Please note, though, that if businesses who send in strictly promotional items (no samples) will not be included on the Who's in the Box page, nor will these items be included in the count of items in that month's Boxes. While customers do not mind receiving a limited number of promotional items, they do NOT want these counted along with the samples in their box and would like them only used as extras. · WHERE DO I SEND MY SAMPLES? Package your samples and promotional items all nice and neat, and then send them to: Milly Roland -- TLBB · WHAT TYPES OF SAMPLES DO YOU INCLUDE IN YOUR BOXES? We feature everything Handmade! Previous samples have included: votive and tealight candles, candle tarts/melts, soaps, body scrubs, bath bombs, bath melts, hair care, lotions, cosmetics, perfumes, earrings, rings, necklaces, bracelets, food, teas, coffees, dog/cat treats, pet toys, stationery, magnets, pens, key chains, button pins, hair clips, photography, art prints, bookmarks, gift tags, paper crafts, gift certificates, and more. All samples must be handmade and representative of YOUR work. Be sure that the items you submit are your own property (physically and intellectually) -- do not infringe upon others' designs or copyrights. Samples should not be "seconds" or "mistakes", but should accurately represent the quality of your work. NOTE: We reserve the right to refuse any contributions that we feel may be offensive to our customers, including but not limited to items promoting violence or with pornographic, racist, or vulgar content. · HOW SHOULD MY SAMPLES BE PACKAGED? You should package your sample as if you were giving it to a customer or as a gift. Some people really like to go out of of their way to give their samples some extra flare! When the customers open their Box, you want them to go straight for your sample. And you want them to order your item in a full size because whatever it is that you did was amazing! One issue for customers is receiving samples and promotional materials from a single business that are not connected in some way. PLEASE don't make them hunt through everything in the Box trying to find the business card that goes with your sample! If you are sending both samples and promotional materials, package them together, whether that means attaching the promos directly to the samples or putting them in a container of some sort (zip-top bag, envelope, box, gift bag, etc). Most contributers include coupons, and this can be a percent-off purchase, specific $ amount off purchase, a Buy One, Get One type offer, free or reduced shipping, or even a free gift with purchase. I strongly suggest you use a coupon code so that you can tell these customers are coming to you because of your TLBB participation, and if you offer a percent off purchase, that you consider giving 15% or higher! People LOVE discounts! Our Boxes will actually be packaged in 6"x6"x4" black boxes, so please keep this in mind when preparing your samples -- you want to make sure your samples will fit inside these boxes! · WHAT ARE THERE RULES FOR MY PACKAGING? 1. All samples MUST include a business card or something similar that identifies your business, your website, and how to contact you. · WHEN IS MY BOX OF SAMPLES DUE TO YOU? Due dates are as follows: July = 7/12/2010, Sponsor - Sweet Sally's Soaps Holiday Boxes January = 12/15/2010 * If you sign up and do not feel that you can follow through with your commitment, please let us know as soon as possible. Businesses that sign up and have no contact with us and their samples do not show up may not be allowed to participate in future Boxes. *NOTE: Beginning with the January 2011 Boxes, all Boxes will go on sale on the 1st of the month and all samples will need to be postmarked no later than the 15th of the prior month. Samples with postmarks later than the 15th may be included in the next month's Boxes or may be held until the following month, depending on when they actually arrive. · HOW MANY SAMPLES SHOULD I SEND? Send in as many or as few samples as you can afford. We are currently selling about 100 boxes a month. The more samples you send, the more boxes they will go into, and the more potential customers you will reach. We do ask that you submit at least 25 samples, but again please keep in mind that the more you send in the better the response! Also, businesses who send at least 100 quality samples in a month will receive a free Box for that month! See our Incentive Programs page for more information. · DO I HAVE TO PARTICIPATE EVERY MONTH? No. You can sign up for just one month or for several months. And if you sign up for only one and want to participate again later, just submit another Sign Up form. · WHO PURCHASES YOUR BOXES? The Little Black Box's audience is mostly women ages 25-60 from a middle income background. We are often asked whether the people buying the Boxes are just other businesses or actually people who are wanting to shop with Handmade businesses. We can assure you that at least 90% of our Boxes are purchased by actual people who want to buy Handmade and want to "meet" new Handmade business! · HOW CAN I BE A SPONSOR? Sponsorship is easy! The Box Sponsor spot is reserved for just one business each month. There is a $30 fee, for which the Sponsor receives a banner ad on the Home page for that month. Sponsorship spots are not held and must be paid for when they are requested. The banner for the front page spot needs to measure 468px by 60px. NOTE: Beginning in January 2011, our Sponsorship Program will be quite different, but will hopefully provide a lot more exposure and benefit for our Sponsors! Sponsors will continue to have the 468px by 60px banner ad on our Home page, as well as have an interview and up to 5 product photos featured on our new Meet Our Sponsor page and top-billing on our Who's in the Box page. The cost of Sponsorship will be increased to $40, and Sponsors must send at least 50 samples for the month they are sponsoring (those sending in at least 100 samples will also receive a free Box for that month, the same as any busiiness who sends in at least 100 samples). Sponsorship spots will not be held and must be paid for when they are requested. Interview questions will be sent when payment has cleared. Completed interviews, product photos, and banner ad must be received no later than the 15th of the month prior to the month being sponsored. All Sponsor info (banner ad, interview, etc) will go "live" on the 1st of the month, and will remain through the end of that month. Lastly, businesses may not sponsor two consecutive months, but are welcome to sponsor more than one month each year. |
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