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(www.businessandblogging.com) I don’t know about you, but whenever I pass a neighborhood restaurant or small business with an “Out of Business” sign I feel a small pang of regret. I wonder whether there was something I could have done to keep the business alive. It seems that I always meant to stop in to that store or restaurant, but was simply too busy and kept putting it off for next time. Suddenly, there is no next time, and the business, and the business owner’s dreams are gone without a trace. If I had known that they were in trouble, that my patronage might have made a difference to their ability to stay in business, I would have made the time to stop in.
Katie Novotny is one business owner who was not going to let her family-owned business go down quietly. When faced with soaring ingredient prices and sluggish sales she posted the following post on her business blog, St Paul Classic Cookie :
Help Keep St. Paul Classic Cookie Open, Support a Small, Family Owned Business
It is with a sad heart that I have to write this when we are so close to making it, but because of substantial price increases in our ingredients in recent weeks, we may be forced to close.
St. Paul Classic Cookie is a small, family owned bakery located in the heart of downtown St. Paul.
We make cookies, muffins, brownies, bars, cupcakes, cakes, and cookie cakes. Everything we make in our store is made from fresh ingredients and mixed from scratch and baked fresh daily.
We are trying to keep the cookie tradition going, but in order to do so we are reaching out to our loyal customers to help us get through this next week. We need to raise some extra money before the end of Wednesday to keep our doors open, so if you were thinking about buying cookies, bars or brownies, now is a great time!
Please come visit us Tuesday or Wednesday, between 7am and 4pm, if you live or work in downtown St. Paul, MN, or you can buy cookies, bars, or brownies from us through paypal and we can mail them out anywhere in the U.S.
Katie’s post was picked up by friends, acquaintances, customers, bloggers and fellow business owners in St Paul. The response was more than Katie could have hoped for. Customers poured in, ordering a dozen cookies at a time – anxious to keep the Cookie Company in business. One week later, Katie was able to post the following entry:
Thank You St. Paul!!!
You made this happen!
Well we made it through, Yippee! And we couldn’t have done it without the support of all those who work and live in downtown St. Paul.
Katie’s story is a heartwarming example of the power of community and connection that can be built through blogging. Customers genuinely want to help your business and will reach out if they know you are in need.
This story has a happy ending because of all the things that Katie did right:
- She started her blog and built her community before she needed it. (Her blog has been in existence since July 2006 using the Free blogspot service)
- She wrote a sincere post describing a real need and specific action that customers could take to help
- She used her network to get the word out, emailing a link to her post to her community
- She publicly thanked all the people and businesses that helped her get the word out
- She let the customers know how much they had helped and offered them a blog-based discount and a customer-appreciation day
If any of you are still questioning the ROI of blogging as a marketing tool, I invite you to look closely at the example set by St Paul Classic Cookie Company’s free blog.
And if this story has you craving a fresh baked goodie – don’t forget that Katie’s St Paul Classic Cookies ships cookies by the dozen and brownies by the half-dozen!
photo credit: phillie casablanca
Thanks Liz for sharing our story! It was truly amazing to watch the community come out and support us last year, and look what happens when you support your local, small businesses, we are still here hanging tough a year later. Although I wrote the blog and sent it out to a few people, I had no idea it would go viral like that. I was working at the counter the next day and all of a sudden people started coming up and buying dozens telling how much they love us. We had so many people come out and help us, Lisa from the Q kindness, Michael Belean from the St. Paul Chamber of Commerce, Linda Labarre and Ashlee Olds of Organize Life, and all the loyal customers who came down and supported us, it was truly amazing to watch this community come together and support us, we have been so blessed.
1326 days ago
[...] which leaves the door open for small publishers to sell subscription and pay-per-episode models, a feel-good article about how a blog saved a business, listing of all the blogs of the New Media Expo speakers, and a [...]
My co-worker just told me that TGIFs might be next. Maybe its just here in my state. Last night I attended a networking event and 90% of the audience had their primary business and a secondary business. . .this is definitely not the way to live. There has to be a better way.
Hi Angie!
That is scary.
People don’t realize that owning a franchise is sometimes not enough. You still have to make an effort to promote your location and develop your business.
I was actually driving down a main street today when I notice two franchised businesses had closed their doors. . .which is scary given the state of affairs and where we are either at or headed. This is a great story of knowing when you ask for help and thinking outside the box. Hopefully, it will be enough.
1463 days ago
[...] Blogging Can Save Your Business – Real-Life Example When faced with soaring ingredient prices and sluggish sales she posted the following post on her business blog, St Paul Classic Cookies (tags: blog business) [...]
1465 days ago
[...] always interesting Liz Fuller at Business and Blogging has a great story about a business that recognized it was in trouble, financially and reached out [...]
Hi Barbara
I really felt good about this story as well – very heartwarming – and very empowering!
Liz
The above is testimony to the power of the Internet to do good. Thanks for sharing!! I really enjoyed the article.
Best wishes,
Barbara
1466 days ago
[...] Blogging Can Save Your Business – Real-Life Example When faced with soaring ingredient prices and sluggish sales she posted the following post on her business blog, St Paul Classic Cookies (tags: blog business) [...]