• Favorite Business & Personal Things for Product Sellers [February 2025 Edition]

    I just wrapped up enrollment for the March round of my Affiliate Program Intensive yesterday, and I’m excited for the four amazing women who said YES to this round! 🥳

    Today I’m excited to share my monthly “Favorite Things” post with you as we head towards the end of February!

    If you’re new around here, first off, WELCOME! And secondly, know that this post is a monthly glimpse into what I’m doing and buying for my own business, plus other fun resources you might be interested in.

    I hope you’ll enjoy reading through this post, and will take time to check out all the resources available to you! 

    Business & Marketing Favorites

    • Affiliate Tip of the Month – Send a newsletter to your affiliates!  I sent one out for my new affiliate management client last week, the first time one has been sent in over a year, and it resulted in 3 new sales for her in just one week!  (Use code FEBRUARY to save $20 off by February 28th.)
    • Tool I’m Loving – I use this finance tracker from The Organized CEO in my business weekly.  Use my code CYAP25 to save 25% off!
    • Best Business Read – I’ve really been enjoying the emails that HerPaperRoute sends, with a personal favorite post of theirs being 10 Things to Do Before You Hit Publish On Your Next Article.

    Personal Favorites

    • Something I Bought & Loved – Loving picking out outfits in my Nuuly subscription for my upcoming trip to Palm Springs.  I’m going to place my order today, and hope that the outfits all work. 
    • Current Drink Obsession – I’m legit obsessed with a King Cake Latte from my local coffee shop.  It’s Mardi Gras season here in Louisiana, and I’m going to be so sad when this drink goes away after Fat Tuesday.
    • Self-Care Must-Have – I’m hitting add to cart on this soap… My poor little spotty face is not surviving the winter very well.   Use my code CYAP to save 15% off!

    Community & Inspiration

    • Shoutout to a Business I Love – So grateful to have Jen of How She Scales as our Platinum Sponsor for the upcoming The Product Seller Summit!
    • A Quote That Stuck With Me – In last week’s email from The Organized CEO, Becky shared this quote “”The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” – Hans Hofmann”.  I loved it so much because it just really reiterates that by saying NO to more, we can say YES to what truly matters.
    • A Question for You – What’s the best product you’ve ever discovered because of a recommendation from a friend? Reply and let me know—I love hearing about hidden gems

    Just for Fun

    • What I’m Watching – Have you watched The Night Agent on Netflix?  We finished it in just 5 nights… It was SO GOOD.
    • Upcoming Trip – I’m headed to Alt Summit in Palm Springs next month!  If you are going, hit reply so we can make plans to meet in person!  If you have any recommendations on what to see and do in Palm Springs, let me know that, too.
    • Behind the Scenes – I’ve been busy working on The Product Seller Summit, my 5-day Summit for physical product sellers, which is happening April 7th – 11th. I’ve got sponsors and speakers and secured (can’t wait to share them with you!) and am deep into putting together all of the website pages for the Summit.  It’s a lot of work, but I’m LOVING it and can’t wait for everything to come together!  Will be sharing more details soon.

    ** Please note – this post contains affiliate links, but I only recommend products and resources I use and love myself!

  • Favorite Business Resources for Product Sellers [January 2025 Edition]

    I’m excited to share my monthly “Favorite Things” post with you.  If you’re new around here, first off, WELCOME! And secondly, know that this post is a monthly glimpse into what I’m doing and buying for my own business, plus other fun resources you might be interested in. I hope you’ll enjoy reading through this post , and will take time to check out all the resources available to you! 🥰

    PS: One of my favorite parts of January so far?  All the snow we got this past Tuesday…  Our yard was a true winter wonderland, and I loved it on Tuesday.  On Wednesday, I was cold and over it… 😆

    Favorite Business + Personal Resources

    ❄️ GET ORGANIZED

    Want to get organized with your finances this year?  Grab this Business Finance Tracker to make tracking expenses and income super easy in your biz.

    Is the cabinet under your kitchen sink a mess like mine?  Add this to your Amazon cart ASAP.

    Organize your desktop while you are at it!


    ❄️ GROW YOUR BIZ

    I joined Melody’s Grow. Profit. Scale Membership last month and I love it so much!  It’s super affordable, and has me getting into action each week.  See all the details for yourself here.

    Need to set a budget? This template will help.

    This $9 strategy made me over $1500 in 2024.



    ❄️ PRODUCTS YOU’LL LOVE

    I’m obsessed with fun earrings, and a lot of my favorites come from here.

    Use code CYAP to save 15% off the best organic self-care products!

    Want to refresh your home or office?  Check out the cutest floral art!


    ❄️ AFFILIATE PROGRAM BLOG + RESOURCES

    NEW on the Blog: Affiliates vs. Influencers – What’s the difference?

    I’m running another round of the Make More Together: 4-Week Affiliate Program Intensive for Product Sellers in March.  Everyone on the waiting list gets super early bird pricing, so be sure to sign up here for the waitlist to be notified when doors open.

    Want to know how to pitch potential affiliate partners? You need this template.

    Already have affiliate partners?  You need to be emailing them a newsletter every month.  Grab these templates to make this easy-peasy.  

    ** Please note – this post contains affiliate links, but I only recommend products and resources I use and love myself!

  • Affiliates vs. Influencers – What’s the difference?

    Last week I received a reply to my newsletter asking what the difference is between Affiliates and Influencers.

    This is actually a question I get fairly often, so I thought I would write a quick blog post sharing the difference between the two.

    With affiliates, you are giving them a link to promote your products and in return, they receive a commission for anything they sell.  You are only paying them if they refer a sale, and you aren’t giving them free products in order for them to promote.  

    With influencers, you are giving them free product and paying them a fee to promote your products – regardless of if they make a sale or not through their affiliate links or promo code.  

    What I like about working with influencers is that even if they don’t refer sales to you, they can provide you with user generated content and help get your business name out there further.  And sometimes if you work with influencers who have a following of 5k to 25k (this is a sweet spot, in my experience), they won’t require a huge fee, and are sometimes happy to work in exchange for free product.  They will also still generate sales because their audience is more engaged than people who have massive audiences and are posting all sorts of products all the time.

    If you are a small product based businesses wanting more sales, I recommend starting your affiliate program first and inviting your existing customers to become your affiliates (there’s a way to incentivize them to join your program and give them affiliate perks without giving them free products) and then once you have that going, start layering in influencer marketing.  

    Having your current/past customers become your affiliates is the “easiest” path to more sales because they already are loving your products and if they can earn a little extra moolah for sharing it with their friends and family, that’s just the icing on the cake!

    If you are wanting more user generated content regardless of if any sales are made, working with influencers might be the route to go first instead of working with affiliates.

    If you’d like some support setting up your affiliate program, I’d love to have you join me in the next round of the Make More Together ~ 4- Week Affiliate Program Intensive for Product Sellers in March.  Registration will open in February, and there will a bonus call all about working with influencers.

  • Increase Your Candle Sales in 2025: 3 Reasons to Start an Affiliate Program

    If you’re someone who is making and selling candles in-person and online via your Shopify store, you probably already know how competitive your industry can be. Between developing unique scents, coming up with innovative designs for your vessels, and sourcing premium-quality wax, you’re constantly thinking about ways to stand out and get noticed, in addition to figuring out how to sell more candles. 

    Have you ever considered starting an affiliate program? If not, you might want to add an affiliate program to your marketing mix in 2025. Why?  Because an affiliate program can become a powerful tool to expand the reach of your candle company, increase sales, and build brand awareness without much upfront cost. 

    Here are three of my favorite reasons starting an affiliate program for your candle business should be a goal for you in 2025:

    1. Affiliates will help get your candles in front of new potential customers quickly

    You are already out there posting your candles on Instagram, and maybe even doing some in-person markets on the weekends.  Affiliates can help you get your candles in front of more potential customers quickly, because instead of just you promoting your products, you’ll have an army of affiliates on social media doing the same!

    Think about it this way:  If you have 5 affiliate partners, each with 1000+ followers, sharing your candles on their Insta’s, that’s potentially 5000+ new people seeing your candles and visiting your website.  Even if just 5% of their audience sees the post, that’s 250ish new people checking out your candles and visiting your website.  What would it look like if you had 10 affiliate partners?  20?  Even 100?   Think of the reach your candles could get if you spent a little time setting up your affiliate program now and pitching a few affiliate partners to talk about your candles.  

    👉 Get your affiliate program started today.

    2. You’ll only pay your affiliates when they make a sale for you

    Affiliate marketing is a performance-based model, which means you only pay affiliates when they bring in a sale of one of your candles. This makes starting your affiliate program for your candle business a low-risk investment. You’re not committing to paying for impressions or clicks like you would with traditional paid advertising; instead, you’re only paying your affiliates for actual conversions.  Running Facebook ads can feel a little bit like a gamble (you have to pay Meta even if no sales are made).  

    👉 Cut out the risk by starting your affiliate program instead.

    3. Your affiliate program will help with your SEO rankings and your content creation

    Creating an affiliate program for your candle business can help to boost your search engine rankings over time. When affiliates create blog posts, reviews, or social media content that links back to your Shopify website, those backlinks can improve your site’s SEO performance. Google values backlinks from reputable sites like your Shopify store, and more quality backlinks can translate into higher visibility for your store on search engines. 

    Another great benefit is that affiliates are often content creators. Depending on who you partner with to be an affiliate for your candles, they will generate fresh, engaging content that you can share, repurpose, or even use to refine your own marketing strategy. This content can be anything from candle care tips and home decor ideas to showcasing your latest seasonal scents or limited edition collections. It’s essentially free marketing content that promotes your brand without you being the one who had to spend all the time creating it. Win-win!

    👉 Get ready to spend less time on social media.

    If you are ready to boost your sales without running expensive social media ads or spending 24/7 on Instagram…

    Scoop up your copy of The Step-by-Step Guide to Creating an Affiliate Program for Your Shopify Store – the ultimate resource to help Shopify store owners like you tap into the power of affiliate marketing and grow your business with ease.

    Whether you’re just starting out with your candle business or you are looking to scale, this guide takes the guesswork out of creating a successful affiliate program so that you can get affiliates promoting your candles ASAP.

    This will be the best $10 you spend to market your candle business.

  • My 2024 Review

    Happy end of 2024!  I love reading people’s end of year recaps and wrap up emails for two reasons: because I am nosey {lol}  and because I find them inspirational and encouraging.  

    I personally love giving my community a behind-the-scenes glimpse into my own business, so today I’m sharing my own recap of 2024.  I hope you’ll enjoy reading this and that you’ll take some time to do your own end of year recap.  (Share it with me if you do!)

    🤓 Favorite Work Project

    I led three rounds of the ✨Make More Together✨ 4-Week Affiliate Program Intensive for Product Sellers and I loved each one of them!  These group Intensives are really small, which means I get to give a lot of personal attention to the product sellers who join.  I can’t wait to host the next round in March. Get on the waitlist here if setting up your profitable affiliate program is one of your 2025 goals.

    I also launched The Affiliate Program Directory, and have plans to grow it even bigger in 2025!

    ⚒ Favorite Product Created

    My two absolute favorite products I created this year:

    The Affiliate Program Checklist + Monthly Task List – with this Checklist, you’ll have the exact steps to make sure your affiliate program is dialed in and driving consistent revenue. It really is the ultimate resource to help improve your existing affiliate program and ensure that your affiliates are bringing in sales for you every single month.   Go here to scoop it up for just $17.

    The Step-by-Step Guide to Creating an Affiliate Program for Your Shopify Store – this guide takes the guesswork out of creating a successful affiliate program that works for your Shopify business.  Go here to scoop it up for just $10.

    🧳 Favorite Trip of 2024

    I went on a bunch of trips this year, and have narrowed it down to my top two!  

    The first was my trip to Arizona and California.  I was headed to California to attend the Ultimate Product Party conference, and my mom and aunt came along and we made a vacay out of it. It was a great conference and I’m looking forward to going to some more fun conferences in 2025!

    My favorite trip this year that was not business related was my cruise to Alaksa!  I went with my boyfriend, his son, his dad, my mom and my aunt on a week long cruise to Alaska, then we did a five day land tour of Alaska that included a trip to Denali National Park.  It was truly the trip of a lifetime, and I hope to go back one day!

    📝 Favorite Learning Resource from 2024

    My absolute favorite learning resource I invested in this year is the Sherose Content Club.  I signed up in November and it’s already been a game changer for my Instagram content.

    📅 What’s Next in 2025

    I plan to host a round of the ✨Make More Together✨ 4-Week Intensive for Product Sellers every quarter.  {Next round begins in March!}

    I want to serve 1000+ product sellers with this checklist in 2025.  Will work with affiliates and run FB ads to make it happen.

    I’ve got a few events on the radar that I want to attend in person (Alt Summit, Rich Girl Cult, Powerhouse Women, and a few local-to-me events).

    And I’ll continue to be just so dang grateful that I get to work with the most amazing clients and customers here at Create Your Affiliate Program.

    Thank you to everyone in my entire community for being here, reading my newsletters and blogs, and purchasing resources to help you set up your own profitable affiliate programs. 

    Wishing you a great end to 2024 and a very Happy New Year!

  • My Favorite Small Businesses to Shop this Holiday Season

    It’s super easy to shop Amazon for holiday gifts, but this year I plan to buy as many of my Christmas gifts from small businesses as possible (even if it means I have to pay shipping).  

    Below are a few of my favorite brands that I encourage you to check out and shop this holiday season, too!

    If you are an entrepreneur, check out the bottom of this blog for some of my favorite deals for my biz friends!

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    💖💚🛒 Small Shops I Love 🛒💚💖

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    🎄 Wondermint Goods

    All of my favorite holiday earrings come from Wondermint Goods.  

    >> Shop the cutest acrylic jewelry here.

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    🎄 Little Buddha by Daisy

    I have Daisy’s body butter and it is amazing!  Daisy will be running a Black Friday and a Cyber Monday Sale so be sure to check out her sales in the coming days!

    >> Shop Little Buddha by Daisy products here.

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    🎄 Sprinkles & Confetti

    Looking for cute party supplies for Christmas or year-round?  Sprinkles and Confetti has the cutest party supplies!  

    >> Shop Sprinkles and Confetti here.

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    Bake Bake Hooray

    I ordered the cutest cookie stamp from Bake Bake Hooray, and can’t wait to use it year-round!  

    >> Shop Bake Bake Hooray here.

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    For my entrepreneur friends, here are a few must-shop sales happening this week! 💚💖

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    🎄 Launch In Style

    Imagine never having to build a sales page from scratch ever again. Now you don’t have to with these easy-to-customize sales page templates for Kajabi from the Launch in Style Template Shop. Get 40% off the entire shop from Monday, November 25 until Monday, December 2 at 11:59pm ET when you use the code BF2024.

    >> Click here to shop the 40% off Sale!

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    🎄 Cheerful Productivity Shop

    Optimize your business for less!  For a limited time, access Lucy Reyes’ top organization and systems resources at half the cost. From Trello templates to courses, find everything you need to refine your systems and boost your business success.  🎁 Plus, when you spend $50+ during the Black Friday Sale, you’ll also get a Black Friday Goody Bag ($100+ Value) which includes 5 mystery gifts, including templates, bite-sized trainings, Q&A support and more!

    >> Click here to see everything on sale now!

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    🎄 BluChic

    A gorgeous, professionally designed WordPress theme made specifically for female entrepreneurs? Yes, please! Get 30% off the perfect theme for your biz during Bluchic’s Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale!

    >> Click here to shop the 30% Off Sale!

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    💖💚 Writers for Life

    Don’t miss Writer’s Life for You’s Black Friday Five Days of Deals! Each day from November 26th to November 30th, a new deeply discounted offer drops for just 24 hours. From half-off resources to exclusive bundles, these deals are designed to help you grow your content and streamline your business—grab them while they last.

    >> Shop the 5 Days of Deals here.

    Please note: this blog post contains some affiliate links, but I only recommend businesses, people and products I personally know, use or have worked with. I cannot recommend the businesses above highly enough! 😊

  • Spice Up Your Thank You Pages 🥳 (and Boost Your Sales!)

    Let’s talk about your thank you pages.

    I’ve been working the past few weeks on my upcoming 5 Days of Deals Black Friday Sale (it begins November 25th – I’ll share a sneak peek next week!).

    One of the things I have been creating are thank you pages once someone purchases to let them know their order is complete.  Typically mine are pretty basic pages where I say thank you and direct them to check their inbox for their download.

    However, I’ve decided to spice things up this year and freshen up my thank you pages, so I’ve been doing some research on different types of thank you pages because these thank you pages are a great opportunity to keep customers engaged and even encourage further actions.

    Here are are 8 effective strategies I’ve recently learned about for making the most of your thank you pages (these ideas work great for both physical and digital product sellers):

    1. Encourage Social Sharing

    Add social sharing buttons so your customers can share their purchase on Instagram or Facebook.

    Tip: Provide pre-written, shareable posts or images, especially if the item is something they’d be proud to show off.

    2. Invite Your Customers to Join Your Community

    If you have a Facebook group or online community where they can interact with other buyers, pop the link to join on your thank you page!  This will work especially well if you are a brand with a passionate following or products that encourage user creativity or improvement.

    (more…)
  • You can’t compete with Amazon (And why that’s a good thing.)

    November is here, which means the holidays aren’t far behind. 

    For some people, it feels like it’s too late in the year to reach the revenue goals you set for your product business.

    I’ve been seeing people say things on Insta and Threads like:

    • I can’t compete with Amazon.
    • People are only paying attention to the election and then it’s going to be chaos depending on who wins.
    • No one is spending money on $28 candles when they can barely afford to go to the grocery store.

    But there are still 56 days left in 2024 as of today.

    And that’s still plenty of time to make more product sales.

    Because here’s what I believe:

    🤓 No, you can’t compete with Amazon.  But that’s a good thing. Amazon doesn’t build relationships with its customers the same way you can on Instagram.  Amazon doesn’t take the time to beautifully gift wrap the item someone purchased and include a personalized thank you card from the person who created it.  You can’t compete with Jeff Bezos, so don’t even worry about it.  Stay in your lane, create amazing products, and delivery exceptional customer service.  {I love and recommend this book for all my product seller friends.)

    🤪 Yes, people are paying attention to the election, and yes, things might be chaotic for a while.  But the holidays are still going to happen.  Think about it… has there ever been a year when people didn’t buy Christmas gifts?  Not that I can remember. So don’t stop marketing your products now.

    😍 People will absolutely still buy your $28 candle (or whatever you’re selling that you think is “too expensive” for people to buy} even if bread costs eleventy billion dollars.  Christmas is happening regardless of what’s going in the world, which means gift buying will still be happening.  As a product seller, you’ll want to make sure that you are getting your products in front of as many people as possible this Christmas.  Facebook ads is one way to do that (but can be costly this time of year) and participating in in-person markets is another way to make more sales (though it requires a lot of your time).  My favorite way of course is starting an affiliate program so you can get other people sharing your products all across the internet this holiday season. 

    I know you have amazing products. Don’t let what’s going on in the world discourage you from marketing your business these last 2 months of 2024.  

    Cheers to more sales in 2024 (and also cheers to the election texts and calls ending today! 😂)

  • 2 ways to make a little extra moolah this week

    While normally I talk about setting up your own affiliate program so that others can promote your products for you, this week I want to switch gears temporarily.

    What I share in this post will still help you make money, so keep reading.

    Earlier this year I announced The Affiliate Program Directory, which is a list of affiliate programs you can join today!

    It is designed to connect affiliates with amazing brands offering various products and resources your audience will enjoy, and that you can earn commissions by promoting!

    If you are looking for great products to share with your audience, the Affiliate Program Directory is for you!  

    It contains a mix of physical products, services and digital products that you can begin promoting today to make extra income.

    👉 Check out the Directory here.

    (Want your affiliate program featured in the Directory? You can sign up here.)

    Wondering how you could make a little extra money as someone’s affiliate?

    Check out a little extra moolah.

    A little extra moolah is something I’ve created to show my fellow online entrepreneurs exactly how I earn a little extra money each month in my business through affiliate marketing, and how you can do the same.

    This isn’t a course on how to make thousands of dollars every month sharing your affiliate links online while you sip mojitos on the beach in Miami…

    This is a simple PDF of me sharing the realistic behind-the-scenes of how I, as an online course creator and digital product seller, make an extra $200-$500 a month through simple, repeatable, easy to implement affiliate marketing strategies.

    💸👉 Scoop up a litte extra moolah here.

    I hope you have a great week, and that you’ll consider becoming someone’s affiliate this week!

  • 20 Ways to Get More Traffic to Your Online Shop

    Below is a list of 20 ways to get more traffic – aka potential customers – visiting your online shop.  

    My favorites are ideas 1, 3, 5, 12 and 19 – they would be the fastest ideas to implement from the list if you are wanting to make more sales asap.  

    I sprinkled in some resources that align with some of the ideas below, too. They are my affiliate links but as always I only recommend resources I personally love and use.

    Okay, let’s hop into the list….

    🚦 20 ways to get more traffic to your online shop 🚦 

    1. Run paid Social Media Ads 📲 – Use Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest ads to target your ideal customers and direct them to your website.  I highly recommend Jana Bishop’s Facebook ads course.
    2. Start a Blog 📝 – Share helpful tips, stories, and product insights to boost SEO for your website.  If you’re worried you won’t have enough ideas, check out Lucy’s Endless Content Ideas Bank.
    3. Collaborate with Influencers 💁‍♀️ – Partner with influencers who align with your products to promote your products.  Influencers in the 5k to 25k followers range seem to be the sweet spot with my clients – they are often willing to promote in exchange for free product and a commission without requiring large fees.
    4. Start an Affiliate Program 🤝 – Reward people with commissions for promoting your products and driving traffic to your site.  Get started here.
    5. Offer Time-Sensitive Discounts ⏳ – Run flash sales or limited-time offers to create urgency.
    6. Create Eye-Catching Pinterest Pins 📌 – Pin your products, blogs, and gift guides on Pinterest to boost visibility. 
    7. Start an Email Newsletter 📧 – Build an email list and share regular updates, promotions, and product launches.
    8. Go Live on Social Media 🎥 – Host live product demos, Q&As, or behind-the-scenes IG lives to engage your audience and get them curious about what you are offering.
    9. Optimize Your Website for SEO 🔍 – Make sure your product titles, descriptions, and images are SEO-friendly to improve search rankings.  This isn’t a “get traffic quick” strategy but definitely something you should be doing for long-term growth.
    10. Run a Referral Program 💬 – Give customers rewards for referring friends to your Shopify store. 
    11. Use TikTok Trends 🎶 – Jump on TikTok trends to showcase your products in a fun, engaging way.
    12. Host a Giveaway 🎁 – Collaborate with other brands or influencers for a giveaway to expand your reach.
    13. Collaborate on a Bundle 📦 – Partner with another brand to create a special bundle and promote it to both audiences.  One of my favorite brands, Wondermint Goods, does a great job of partnering with others brands.
    14. Leverage User-Generated Content 📸 – Share reviews, testimonials, and customer photos on your website and social channels, and tag the creators if you can so their audiences see it, too.
    15. Write Guest Blog Posts ✍️ – Partner with other websites to write guest posts and link back to your Shopify store.  For example, if you sell stationary, you might write a blog post for coaches on the power of sending thank you cards to your clients. Or you could write a blog post on how best to address Christmas cards.
    16. Start a YouTube Channel 🎬 – Create tutorials, unboxings, or product reviews to attract new customers.
    17. Run Google Ads 💻 – Use Google Ads to show your products at the top of relevant search results.
    18. Partner with Local Businesses 🏙️ – Collaborate with local stores to promote your products to their customers.  If you sell physical products, this is also a really great way to start building relationships so you can get more wholesale orders for your products. (Side note: Cat with Kitty Meow Boutique is the wholesale queen.)
    19. Create Seasonal Promotions 🎉 – Align your marketing with seasonal events and holidays to attract new buyers. You might even consider running a Black Friday Sale for a cash-injection in November.
    20.  Engage in Facebook Groups 👥 – Join groups related to your product niche and provide value while subtly sharing your products.

    Hope this helps boost your traffic. Head over here and let me know which ones you’re going to implement next!