by Wendy Dager
With three decades of writing behind me, including a long stint as a stringer/freelancer for a newspaper, I felt time had come for something new.
Vintage has been my hobby for a very long time. I wear vintage clothes and jewelry. I have an online vintage purse museum, featuring thousands of purses, accessories and related ephemera, which I hope to expand to a mobile exhibit and a source of income. I also have a ton of vintage stuff I never wear or use—basically, a built-in inventory.
I tried selling vintage merch on various online platforms, but the cut taken by the host was ridiculous and some buyers’ “offers” of a fifty percent discount on my goods was—well—insulting and not worth the small amount of money I’d receive.
I created PansyBox, LLC because I wanted to get in on the current subscription-box craze. I incorporated for legal protection of my personal assets. Do your homework if you decide to do this. In my state (California) the minimum annual corporation franchise tax is $800, no matter your income. This was a big chunk of my starting budget.
My idea was to sell boxes with unique items such as a piece of vintage jewelry, a pretty handkerchief, and a tube of private-label lip balm (from a local maker I found on Etsy), plus individual articles of vintage clothing. I had some gimmicks in mind, because to start a business, especially in a saturated market, you have to stand out. With PansyBox, there’s no subscription required—hence, it’s a “goody box” store rather than a subscription company, for which users generally sign up and are charged on a monthly or bimonthly basis. PansyBox users can buy as many or as few boxes as they like. My target is tweens and teens, which I felt was an under-represented demographic in terms of vintage fashion. There’s a huge element of recycling behind PansyBox, which promotes wearing vintage as the ultimate in fashion recycling. We also pack our products in recycled materials, like fabric remnants and shredded paper.
Parents have to see the overall appeal of PansyBox as well, because, presumably, they’re the ones paying for the goody boxes.
This is where my writing background comes in. In addition to using wording for my website that’s clean, error-free, and professional, I knew I’d have to employ social media to get the word out about PansyBox. I sought the advice of my daughter, who is a children’s librarian. During grad school, one of her courses focused on not talking down to kids. I ran some of my promo copy by her to critique and make sure it’s written for tweens and teens without being patronizing, but also for parents to know what and from whom they’re buying.
Blogging is another way to promote products. For example, PansyBox has a 1950s charm bracelet for sale. I wrote a blog post on the website about the history of charm bracelets, added screenshots of old newspaper ads for charm bracelets (I purchased a subscription to Newspapers.com, which I use regularly in research), and blasted the post on PansyBox’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.
I post to social media not quite every day, and not always with a sales promo. Some of it’s random fun stuff about vintage to try to draw people to the site.
I hosted a goody-box giveaway, which I promoted for free on a couple of websites, and through a paid ad on Facebook. I got a number of PansyBox Facebook page followers because one requirement to enter the contest was to like the Facebook page.
I’m currently exploring other options to get publicity, but, as opposed to ye olden days of people wanting free swag, getting someone to promote your product comes with a price tag. Influencers—popular personalities with a lot of followers on Instagram and other social media sites—expect you to pay for their reviews, and they’re not cheap. I’m planning to do some YouTube videos soon, but I’m not the right demographic, so I have to get someone with a fresher look to be on camera. All of this is scripted, and I can definitely write scripts. I also have experience filming and editing videos.
If you decide to take a hobby and turn it into a business, you will have to either write your own web copy and promos, or hire someone to do it. Let’s say you build custom mailboxes that resemble the owner’s home. You can use the same techniques I used to create and promote PansyBox. First, make a list of all the legal stuff—acquiring a business license, fictitious name, bank accounts, sales tax ID, Paypal account or other method of receiving funds, etc. Some of this may not apply to your business in your city, county, or state, but I encourage you to check out all your options to make sure your company is legit.
Next, set up the website for your custom mailbox business. For budget reasons, I created my site from scratch, which was a challenge, but you can hire a professional. Make sure your product descriptions are worded properly for your demographic. Have someone proofread it if necessary. Use your cellphone to upload beautiful pictures of your mailboxes.
Think of creative ways to promote your products. You could email press releases and photos of your mailboxes to realtors, home-construction companies, and anyone else who might want to buy some as gifts for clients. Do a Facebook giveaway to entice individuals to check out your mailboxes and follow your page. Set up Instagram and Twitter accounts. Start following people on social media. Like their posts. Use your writing skills to engage, entertain, and, ultimately, make sales.
It’s not going to be easy, and probably won’t be an instantaneous success, but like everything else in life, you’ll never know unless you try.
Wendy Dager is a professional freelance writer, entrepreneur, and vintage clothing aficionado.