Consulting Wi! Tulle. Internet Business Plan: Part I-III. Nina Stockman Internet Business Columbia College Chicago May 10, 2013

Transcription

1 Consulting Wi! Tulle Internet Business Plan: Part I-III Nina Stockman Internet Business Columbia College Chicago May 10, 2013

2 Consulting Wi! Tulle Internet Business Plan: Part I INTRODUCTION MISSION STATEMENT VALUE PROPOSITION BUSINESS MODEL REVENUE MODEL MARKETPLACE EVALUATION Introduction to Business Consulting With Tulle is a blog that will cover wedding trends, including analysis and a comprehensive understanding of the latest movements within the industry. Furthermore, this blog will provide wedding advice and information for couples, both pre- and post-marriage. Topics to be discussed will range from the early planning stages of the ceremony and reception, following through the actual execution of the celebration as well as what to do after the conclusion of the wedding into the beginnings of married life. It is, at its core, strictly a service as opposed to a product-based business. Most importantly, however, is that the blog will chronicle my personal experience within the bridal industry. One of the most effective ways to establish oneself in the wedding profession is by building an online reputation associated with the internet bridal community. As I intend to pursue a career in this industry, having an online following would be incredibly beneficial. While I don t intend for this blog to be a major source of income (as will be discussed within this outline), it would still help further me on both a professional and personal level.

3 Business Mission Statement Consulting With Tulle is dedicated to providing inspiration for weddings, as well as giving an inside look at working within the bridal industry. With an emphasis on individuality, creativity, and practicality, this blog follows the experiences of a young bridal consultant as she makes her way through the wedding industry, while she shares her knowledge and insight with brides as they work to plan their own weddings. Online Value Proposition The online value proposition statement for Consulting With Tulle is straightforward: Bridal inspiration and advice from a young consultant as she makes her way in the wedding industry. This OVP summarizes the intention of the site in a concise manner to effectively convey the purpose of the blog to potential readers. It also works to differentiate Consulting With Tulle from other wedding blogs. Whereas most wedding blogs OVPs will simply mention wedding advice or bridal inspiration, the Consulting With Tulle OVP includes the factor of this being advice from someone actively working within the bridal industry. This automatically sets this blog apart as an expert source of wedding insight, which will attract readers looking for a more personalized and trustworthy reference as opposed to a business-oriented blog. Finally, this OVP will also appeal to anyone looking to begin their own career in the wedding industry. As it s not a field as straightforward as, say, chemical engineering, it can be difficult to break into. The fact that this blog will follow my own progress in starting my wedding career makes it useful to others intending to do the same. Even if they re only considering it, the insight into what it s like to work in bridal will aid them

4 in making their decision. This targets a demographic of college students that is typically ignored in bridal blogs, thus significantly expanding my potential audience. Business Model The model for Consulting With Tulle is a cross between an Advertising Platform and Personal Establishment. As mentioned, this blog is not intended to be a fullyprofitable e-business. It is meant for building my online reputation and establishing a following within the online wedding community. Any revenue will be acquired via advertising. Most likely, this will be done using Google AdSense, as it s a service I ve grown familiar with through running my YouTube channel. Ads will be tailored towards bridal and fashion, as well as home goods, particularly those for which brides can register. However, the blog will not have ads to begin with. I want to maintain a simplistic, clean design to make the blog more appealing to readers; overcrowding it with ads at the beginning can make a website look cheap and ill-maintained. Therefore I ll be waiting until I have a significant readership before introducing advertisements to the site. By that point, my audience will hopefully be loyal to reading my blog, and the introduction of ads won t turn them away. As my blog continues to grow, I may consider adding a personal consulting service. Brides could contact me through my website to request design and planning advice for their weddings, possibly for a reasonable fee. This service could also potentially include online chat sessions, where I will set a time and date during which I ll be online, and then readers can speak with me directly about anything they want in relation to weddings. During this sessions, I could provide advice relating to personal

5 weddings, breaking into the industry, and so on. This would establish direct interaction with my readers, making me appear more reachable, instead of some invisible face behind a computer screen. The value of starting this service would depend largely on whether or not my blog is successful, so for the time being, it is only a speculative idea. I will also use the site to acquire freelance writing projects, such as articles, or perhaps even speaking engagements at bridal expos or similar events. Online Revenue Model The revenue model for Consulting With Tulle is based on CPM advertising. Most blogs make money via advertising, specifically through impressions. As readers are on the blogs with the intention of reading the content, they re less likely to click on advertisements that would distract them from their purpose of visiting the site in the first place, therefore making an impression-based advertising model more practical. While a CPC model would increase revenue, it would not be the logical choice for my blog, especially during its early stages. As my audience grows, I may consider switching to the CPC model if I feel that the ads are appealing enough for readers to click on them, but for the moment, a CPM system will be effective enough. Marketplace Evaluation The main target audience for Consulting With Tulle will be young women, particularly those who are engaged or expecting to become engaged in the future and are thus seeking wedding inspiration. An additional target audience will be college students or others interested in pursuing a career in the bridal industry.

6 Soon-to-be-brides are constantly looking for tips and inspiration for their upcoming weddings. The internet has become their main source for findings these things, and bridal blogs are especially popular for this purpose (Copage). Brides are always looking for a second opinion when it comes to every aspect of their weddings plans, and by providing advice and insight to the industry, they will be able to get that from my blog. That being said, the competition is certainly steep. The bridal blogging community tends to be a bit over-saturated. In order to garner attention, I will differentiate myself by the fact that I m young, therefore possessing unique insight as opposed to the women who have been either involved in the industry for many years, or those already working in it who know the game. Despite being young, I also have an education in fashion, and I have first-hand experience working with bridal fashion, which makes me a reputable source instead of the typical lifestyle blogger. As far as potential partners are concerned, the most appropriate partners for me would be other bridal and lifestyle bloggers. By establishing networking connections within the community, I can expand my own audience by gaining readers from the audiences of those blogs.

7 Consulting Wi! Tulle Internet Business Plan: Part II BUSINESS STRATEGY CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES CUSTOMER ACQUISITION & SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT Business Strategy The strategy for Consulting With Tulle is very straight-forward. The main channels that will be utilized to build an audience will be Facebook and Twitter. To begin with, I will use my own personal social networks to promote my blog, and as my audience grows, I will create specific profiles for the blog (i.e. a Facebook Fan Page and a dedicated Twitter feed). I will also make use of sites such as Blogluvin to encourage people to follow my blog; through this service, I can track how many followers my blog has, as well as see what other blogs my audience reads in order to determine potential partners or other ways to differentiate my content. WordPress also offers services to track consumer statistics, such as demographics, which I can use to focus on my target audience. In order to prevent being overextended between different focuses (as the act of starting a blog involves many steps and can be overwhelming), I have created an outline of tasks, beginning with the most immediate priorities:

8 Develop a cohesive design and identity for the blog. This includes title, layout, graphics, etc. Create content. Aim for quality posts so the blog has a good amount of content as a base. Purchase domain name. (Technically this should be done at the beginning, but I personally don t want to make a monetary investment until I m 100% certain that this blog is an endeavor I want to continue longterm.) Set up Google Analytics. Begin promoting blog through social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter. Establish a consistent posting schedule. Aim for 1-2 times per week to begin with, i.e. every Tuesday and Friday. Network through specific blogging sites (WordPress, Blogluvin ). Contact similar blogs about establishing promotional relationships/ affiliations. Throughout all of these stages, the most important priority is differentiation. It is vital that I demonstrate how my blog offers my audience value that they can t find anywhere else - specifically, my personal insight to the wedding industry and the insider s look I can provide for them. The only way to do this is by consistently producing new, original content.

9 SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES THREATS - unique perspective (young, working within the industry, educated in fashion) - quality writer - experienced in design and website functionality - still a student; not working consistently/ on a daily basis - age (may not be viewed as reliable ) - procrastination (may fall behind in posting schedule) - low income (not enough financial support to invest in promotional services) - blogging is a consistently growing industry - many connections on social networks; can be used for initial promotional strategies - several friends with lifestyle blogs; can utilize them as affiliates - online wedding community is oversaturated DEMAND ANALYSIS MY BLOG: A new start-up blog can offer more personalized advice and content, as the author has a smaller audience that s/ /he can connect with. Thus, the blog can be tailored specifically to the audience s needs, and the audience can feel as if they have an influence on the content and are active participants. The bridal community is always looking for new sources of inspiration and innovation on tried-and-true traditions. MY COMPETITION: Well-established sites such as The Knot and WeddingBee are seen a reputable sources of knowledge within the wedding community. These are go-to websites for all members of the bridal industry and, especially in the case of The Knot, are viewed as the ultimate experts. This is where brides will go for the majority of their wedding planning, while individual blogs like mine are used more for the detail inspiration. Customer Relationship Management Strategy Communication on Consulting With Tulle will occur primarily via comments on entries. Customers will use names and s when commenting, as well as optionally linking to their own websites, which will allow me to identify them as potential, regular, and loyal customers. If they choose to include a link to their own website, it can further help me identify them by their marital status, occupation, and so on. As most of my readers will be in the same general demographic, the best way to differentiate them will be via their marital status and life cycles. Additional factors include their preferences in wedding designs, budgets, location, and religion. I will be

10 sure to tailor my content to a variety of these groups (i.e. posts about wedding planning for those who are engaged; lifestyle content for those who are married; industry information for students). Because Consulting With Tulle is a blog, the site itself will not be customizable. However, customers can control how they receive updates, whether it s via a blog reader, , etc. The easiest method for me to gain customer info will be via polls and surveys. When it comes to blog audiences, they do not require much incentive to participate. That being said, offering giveaways, sweepstakes, and discount codes from partners to those who participate in these surveys is certainly an option. A potential extension for loyal customers is that once I have a specific idea of who my customers are, I can offer them personalized wedding advice and content. Due to the nature of blogging, there are not many opportunities for re-selling/ cross-selling/etc. strategies. However, I could possibly incorporate a promotion-based referral system where my readers can mention my blog when purchasing or using services from my partners and receive a discount. This will attract both readers and business partners to Consulting With Tulle. Customer Acquisition & Supply Chain Management The majority of my advertising will be done through social media platforms that require little to no monetary investment. As such, the cost per acquisition of my customers will be very low. Most blogs rely on word-of-mouth, affiliation, and search

11 engine optimization in order to expand their audience, and I will be using these methods to their fullest extent before considering any alternatives. At most, I may run a handful of Facebook ad campaigns, but that acquisition technique will be postponed until my blog is better established. At this stage, if I make any sort of financial investment in terms of advertising, it will be to improve my SEO ranking so that I reach more potential readers via sites like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. The main product of Consulting With Tulle is bridal advice, inspiration, and industry insight in the form of blog posts. The content is not a physical product, therefore it does not require any materials. The only investment is my time (which does incur some form of opportunity cost but requires no monetary contribution or contractual agreements to obtain). There is currently only one person necessary to create the blog s product - myself, being the sole author. I function as both the writer and manager of the content. In the future, perhaps more contributors may be added as the blog grows and the audience expands, but for now, the only contributor is myself. SUPPLY CHAIN I BRAINSTORM IDEAS I DRAFT A POST I EDIT THE POST I UPLOAD THE POST I PROMOTE THE POST A simple way to incorporate a pull strategy is by having my readers suggest blog topics that they are interested in reading about, or having them request advice or an

12 editorial on a specific subject. This enables me to precisely target my audience s demands so that the content is tailored to things they are interested in reading about, rather than just blindly assuming that a post will be pertinent to their interests. My blog will benefit especially from technology oriented towards social media. Any new developments in networking promotions on sites such as Facebook and Twitter will be helpful, but new features on Pinterest and widgets on WordPress will be the most beneficial, as those sites are the ones most prevalently utilized by the online wedding community.

13 Consulting Wi! Tulle Internet Business Plan: Part III CONTENT STRATEGY & SCHEDULE BUSINESS DESIGN ONLINE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE Content Strategy & Schedule In terms of content, I will have several different subjects that are featured within my blog posts: Career stories from my experiences working at the bridal boutique. Design inspiration in the form of inspiration boards and collages. Trend reports from bridal expos and the industry as a whole. Commentary on cultural aspects and changes within the wedding industry and bridal blogging community. Sponsored posts featuring products and services for brides to utilize during their wedding planning process. Consultation posts requested by readers to their specific weddings.

14 My posting schedule will be one weekly post every Tuesday, with additional posts on Friday as needed. This will create a reliable schedule for readers to follow, so they know when to expect updates. To ensure that I don t miss a day due to something like work or a vacation, I can also schedule posts ahead of time. Business Design Consulting With Tulle will contain several different sections in order to further organize content. Home: the main blog where the majority of the content will be posted. This will be updated consistently and will be the main attraction of the website. Content will be organized in reverse chronological order. Categories will also be used to help readers easily find the content they are interested in. Examples of categories include Bridal, Culture, Inspiration, Marriage Trends, My Life, and more. Additional categories will be added as needed. Finally, a tagging system will be included for easy and specific navigation.

15 About: This section will contain a short biography so that readers will have a better idea of who I am, and why they can trust me in terms of wedding advice. This will include information on my education, career, and hobbies. I want my readers to feel like they have a personal connection to me; I want to be someone they think of as a friend, not simply some anonymous entity behind a blog. 30 by 30: This is a popular trend amongst lifestyle bloggers. In this section, I will have a list of 30 goals that I wish to accomplish by the time I turn 30. Not only does this give readers a better idea of my interests and what I m most passionate about, but it will also be proof that I am self-motivated, a dreamer, and adventurous, all of which are attractive qualities for a lifestyle role model to have. Contact: This page will contain a contact form that readers can use in order to submit questions or requests for advice, inspiration, or posts about specific topics. My address will also be provided if they would prefer to contact me directly. Affiliate: This section will show information on how to affiliate with my blog. Affiliates will be featured on the sidebar; readers will see their advertisements while looking at the main content of my site. This page will also contain the HTML code for my own site button that other bloggers can copy and paste onto their website if they would like to feature my blog. My overall website design will feature a header, a sidebar, and the main content section. The sidebar will contain another short biography, social networking links, a

16 search function, subscription links, a list of recent posts, and finally navigation via tags, categories, and the archives. Online Customer Experience As previously stated, the OVP of my website is to provide inspiration, advice, and an inside-look at the wedding industry. The site will be tailored to novice users; most blog readers are not incredibly tech-savvy, so I aim to make it very easy to use and navigate. MESSAGE The primary message I wish to convey to my audience is one of inspiration and creativity, as well as personalization. While trends are important to be aware of, ultimately I would like my readers to realize that their weddings should be based on their personal desires, not what the industry deems as in vogue.

17 As mentioned, my overall goals for the website are to establish myself in the wedding industry to improve my professional reputation. I will differentiate my blog through my own experiences within and knowledge of the bridal economy. The key reasons why people will choose to read my blog are that I can provide them with wedding inspiration from the perspective of someone who actively works within the wedding industry. PERCEPTION When perceiving my website, I would like readers to think of the words unique, personal, and informative. There are several challenges incorporated with establishing this sort of reputation, but the main challenge is addressing the idea of being unique within such an over-saturated community. I believe that the best way I can do this is by creating dialogue with my readers. Many bridal blogs simply feature posts without engaging the reader, but with each of my posts, I will end by asking questions that the reader can answer in order to expand on the topic and generate discussion. ACTION The primary action I would like for my visitors to take from the main page of my site would be to subscribe to my blog, either via WordPress, a blog reader, or . The option to do so will be available in the sidebar. Before leaving the site, I would like them to explore the other sections of the website. At the very least, I would prefer that they look at the About and 30 by 30

18 sections, but the most practical would be for them to use to Contact and Affiliate pages, as the actions visitors can take from those page will help to expand my network. The key items that I would like to be available on every page of my website are the header, page navigation, and the sidebar. These elements will make it possible for the user to navigate the website easily, no matter what page they go to. To put it simply, there will not be any dead ends. MARKETING For the time being, my short-term marketing goals are to use my blog to brand myself when applying for jobs or interacting with industry professionals. This site will show both my knowledge and passion for weddings, as well as my skills with branding and managing social media. In order to promote this site, I will continue to share posts on my current social media pages, such as my Facebook page, my Twitter feed, and my Pinterest boards. Once my blog starts to receive more attention and my audience expands, I will create new social media accounts specifically for Consulting With Tulle to help solidify my brand image. At this point, I will most likely transition from a WordPress.com account to a WordPress.org account, giving me more extensive control over the aesthetics and functionality of my website. Having my own domain will also make it easier for me to brand my site.

19 BIBLIOGRAPHY Charlie. "Tips for Bloggers & How to Start a Wedding Blog." Fifties Wedding. N.p., 20 May Web. 14 Mar Copage, Eric V. "Blogging Brides." The New York Times. N.p., 10 Sept Web. 10 May Dichoso, Melvin. "5 Reasons Why Blogging Is the Best Industry Ever." Famous Bloggers. N.p., 3 May Web. 27 Mar Preston, Leo. "How Can You Establish Yourself As An Influential Blogger?" Web log post. Inspiration Feed. N.p., 26 Sept Web. 14 Mar Reitmeyer, Jennifer. "How to Start a Wedding Planning Business." About.com Event Planning. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar