Can you find online business success with influencer marketing? Not the kind where you connect with a big, flashy celebrity, but with influencers whose names you’ve never even heard. And can you do it selling a product that isn’t some huge new thing? The answer to all of these questions is “YES!” And Megan LaFrance joined me on the How to Sell Online podcast to share how she’s done it.
“Momming” Led to Her Business Idea
Ideas for online businesses can come from almost anywhere, but for Megan, it was a series of mom moments that occurred during the recent Covid-19 pandemic. Specifically, it was all the spills and messes made by her kids while their schools were closed for two years. While paper towel ads make clean ups seem easy, she found that the dishtowels she was using tended just to push things around. Like many entrepreneurs, Megan thought, “there must be a better way!” and she went out to find it. (Wait until you hear what her product is! You’ll want dozens of them!!!)
Once she had a product, it was time to let customers know about it.
Getting Started with Influencer Marketing
If you think that you’ll start making money the moment you begin working with an influencer, you’re not alone. Megan thought so too. But it took her a while to find people who were a good fit for her product—and she’d be a good partner for as well. Her product could be used by virtually anyone, so she had to work to find the right influencers with the right audiences who’d be drawn to her specific product.
I love how, over time, Megan drilled down into a unique category of influencers. It’s also great that as she built relationships with a few influencers, others reached out to her.
Influencers Coming to Her Rescue
Megan has taken the time to build solid relationships with the influencers she works with. She wants them to benefit from her business the same way that she benefits from their work.
Their appreciation for her was never more evident than when Megan’s social media accounts were hacked…and subsequently shut down. As she explained during our conversation, she used her social media to promote special offers and events, and she was devastated. But influencers came to her rescue (you’ll want to listen to what they did for her!)
Keeping Her Business (and Family) Going Strong
Since Megan began manufacturing and selling her dishtowels, she’s shipped out over 7,000 packages. At first, she opted to send them out herself. As her influencer marketing strategies paid off, however, she began to feel like packing and shipping was all she had time for. That’s when she decided to find a fulfillment center.
Megan indicated that the decision to have a fulfillment center store and ship her products changed her business. She had more time to focus on growth strategies, which led to even more sales.
Because Megan has been building her business, it’s easy to think that she now doesn’t spend as much time with her kids. And she says that’s true to a small extent. But giving herself the time to work on her business and interact with influencers is a form of self-care. It makes her brain happy. (yay!)
It also allows her to afford someone to come in and help with housework, which means that when she’s not working on her business, she’s also not spending all of her time mopping her floors. And finally, she’s got her fulfillment center running in the background, so she’s also not printing out shipping labels.
All of this means that while she does spend a little less time with them that a few years ago, she’s way more focused when it’s family time. That’s a huge blessing for her and them.
Top Takeaways
Getting to talk with Megan about her business, about influencer marketing, and about her “aha’ moments was fantastic! Which…is why it was hard for me to narrow down some takeaways. But here are 10 of them:
- Find a product that is easy to ship.
- Simplify the shipping process.
- Sell something soft, squishy or one size fits all.
- Ask what your customers will buy over and over again.
- Be resourceful.
- Sell grab boxes!
- Create habits for your customers.
- Batch your work.
- Get influencers attention with love.
- Building a business made her a better mom.
Additional Resources
About Megan LaFrance
Megan is a mom to three darling boys, who are 3, 6 and 8. After cleaning up way too many spills to count, she wanted to create a product that made you feel absolute joy when you use it, from its design to its functionality. Bloom Towels have darling, double-sided designs that make you feel happy when you see them. And in addition to being cute, they are super absorbent and dry quickly. Her hope is to always bring joy to life’s messiest moments.
Shop with Megan:
- On her website: bloomtowel.com (limited time offer of 20% off with code BECAUSEICAN)
- On Instagram: @bloomtowels
Connect with Alison:
- On Facebook: @alisonjprince
- On Instagram: @alisonjprince
- Learn about the 0-$100K System and how you can launch and grow your own online business at https://0-100k.com/master-class-reg-page
- Join the Print Sprint at https://theprintsprint.com
