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Transcript
Hi, this is Mim Jenkinson and you’re listening to The Planner Podcast.
Hello, and welcome back. I’m really excited about today because I’m going to answer a listener question!
The question is all about making and selling planner stickers, particularly on selling them. The question I’m asked all the time from listeners and readers and students is, “Is the market too saturated? Is there room for you to sell your own planner stickers?”.
I think it’s a really intelligent question first of all, which is why I like it because, we shouldn’t be leaping headfirst into any new business venture without really researching and thinking it through.
There is always a risk of not finding customers or moving into a space that’s very busy and competitive and how can you set yourself apart from the crowd? Is it even possible? Is it worth it? These are the kind of questions that we should be asking ourselves.
However, what it can do is then stop you from moving forward, so you get so paranoid and confused and worried and concerned about “Is there room for you? Is it worth it? Will it be a waste of time and money? And will you have success? Will you fail?” And then you don’t move forward at all. I think it’s a great question.
The second reason I love this question is because I love the answer! I’ll tell you what my take on this is and then I’d love to hear your thoughts.
So, is the market too saturated for another planner sticker shop? The answer is both yes and no.
First of all, if you’re planning to open a planner sticker shop and sell the same kind of stickers in the same kind of way to the same people, or at least try to find the same people as every other shop, then it’s probably too saturated. And unless you already have a really big social media following or big customer base or a big email list, or a lot of people who are just waiting at home for you to sell any product, which isn’t really the case with most of us then yes, definitely. It’s going to be a real struggle for you if you’re going to do exactly the same thing as everybody else.
If you are planning to do the same thing, there are some ways that you can set yourself apart from that I’ll talk to you about in a moment.
Going back to the question, the other answer is no. No, it definitely isn’t too saturated and we’re actually going to start with that first today. So when you’re thinking about setting up any business and selling anything, creating any kind of content, it doesn’t have to be planner stickers but we really do want to focus on how we can be different and how we can be unique.
We certainly don’t want to copy what everybody else is doing, copying isn’t right anyway and is illegal in most cases. And it just isn’t going to set us apart from anybody else, so copying is a no-go. At the same time, we also don’t just want to do the same thing that everyone else is doing, especially in a market that’s already very crowded and we know that the planner sticker shop market doesn’t appear to be very crowded, there’s a huge potential for finding customers. However, there are a lot of shops out there selling the same things. So this is my biggest tip to you:
You really need to find a way to set yourself apart and it’s much easier than you would think. Really we can sit at home and get confused and find ourselves paralyzed by “How can I be different? How can I be unique? What’s the market looking for? What’s the big idea that I need to find?” And it really comes down to simply asking or watching to see what people need. And there are a few ways you can do this.
When I first got started, and I still do this really regularly now, I asked people for their feedback. I’ll ask them simple questions, such as “Where do you struggle in your life or in your job or with your family or in your day, where do you need help? What are your challenges?” And I then think about how I can perhaps design products, whether they’re stickers or printables or planners, or even my courses to help them make their lives easier.
If you can find a way to make somebody’s life easier, save them time, save them money, but find a way to help them feel less stressed or anxious or concerned, then that’s the key and that’s the way you can help them and then set yourself apart. Now that’s quite a broad answer so what I mean is, and this is something that everyone can do, it doesn’t matter where you are in your journey to open a shop of any kind, but you can start to identify who your ideal customers might be and then ask them the question.
That might start in the Facebook groups that you’re in or with your friends and family. For me, it would be asking friends or family members who use planners I would say to them, “How do you currently use your planner and what planner do you have right now and why did you choose that one? How do you plan your day and week? What kind of things do you put in your planner? What kind of tasks or jobs do you never seem to get round to and why is that the case? What might make it easier for you? Would it be an appointment label sticker? Is it building a planning routine? Do you want some routine trackers or habit trackers? What kind of habits are you tracking?”
These are the kind of questions that I would ask of myself and also of potential customers, and once you do have an email list or whether you have a group of regular customers, they’re the kind of questions that you can be asking those people, but you don’t need to wait until that point.
Notice in the Facebook groups that you’re in, especially in the planner sticker realm, and hint, you can join mine, at Paper Planner Club. Have a look and see what people are talking about. Where do they look like they’re struggling? What do they need help with? And then think about how you can design, whether it’s stickers or printable planners, and so on.
I mean, we’re not getting 20 questions a day saying, “I’m looking for a new blank header, where can I get them?” And don’t get me wrong, I have a lot of very simple, functional stickers in my shop because I know that my customers want those things. However, we don’t want to put ourselves in a position where we’re simply creating the same as everybody else, because the market’s already saturated for those very simple stickers, but perhaps you could create a range that’s really, really niche. And what I mean by that is something very specific.
What are your other hobbies apart from planning? Do you play netball? Do you read books? Do you love Audible? Are you focusing on starting or stopping or changing a particular habit? Do you meal plan? What kind of activities do your kids or your family get up to?
What kind of stickers would make your life or somebody else who shares those hobbies, what would make their lives easier as well? Spend some time thinking about how you can be different simply by delivering and making the kind of products that people want, not just more of the same.
So, going back to the original question of, “Is the planner market saturated?” The answer is still both yes and no. I hope that this has helped you see what the difference is and how you can really set yourself apart from the crowd.
We can design the same kind of stickers that other stores currently have at the moment. For example, maybe you want to add things like headers or appointment trackers or weekly kits or full boxes of the same kind of stickers that other stores are having because there is a really high demand for those still, but even then think about how yours are going to be different.
Why would somebody choose your labels or your stickers over the same ones in another shop? Can you make your colours more appealing or get more variety or can you make your sticker sheets more valuable? Can you look for a sticker paper that is a nicer quality and that will really set you apart? Can you really work hard on making sure that your customer service is impeccable? And think about all of the different ways that your shop and your products can stand out from that busy crowd because I feel really strongly that there’s a place for all of us. I really, really do, but not if we’re all doing exactly the same thing.
I hope that’s helped answer that question. Like I say, it’s one that I’m asked most often. And if you are thinking, “Well, I’m ready to give this a go. I really want to learn to make and sell my own kind of stickers.” Then you can watch my webinar!
It’s a masterclass that I’ve put together, which I think is super important for anyone to, before they dive into selling planner stickers, everyone should watch. It’s had extremely good feedback and I absolutely loved putting it together. It’s all about selling planner stickers and it’s everything you need to know before you even open your shop.
As well as advice and some really great tips on what you need to do to sell the stickers, what you need to make them sell them and how you can set yourself up from the crowd, I also talk about five, really key mistakes that I do not want you to make. Some of those I made myself, some of them are quite cringe-worthy!
I really want you to know these things before you get started so that you can get to the point of being really happy and proud of your shop and successful and profitable as quickly as possible. You don’t need to make the mistakes that I did.
You can go to www.lovefrommim.com/webinar, and I’ll pop the link in the show notes.
If you have any questions on anything to do with planning or organization or making and selling planner stickers, please pop me a message. I’m at mim@lovefrommim.com and I would love to answer your question on the show.
Hope you’re having a great day and I’ll see you next time!
If you’re ready to take action on turning your hobby into a business, join The Etsy Plan now by clicking here!
I’ll teach you how to make and sell planner stickers from scratch, the fun and fast way.
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