I feel so defeated

I am just not making sales anymore, i really have no idea why. I know i cant produce my seasonal sauces as I have no idea where to get peppers now that judy is out of the game. I just moved and now I have absolutely no income. What is a saucer to do? I give out discount codes sometimes, that doesnt sell my stuff. I try to get the word out but I always get yelled at for "spamming". I really just dont know where to advertise. I advertise here but I get no bites. I advertise on reddit and a plethora of other places as well. I feel like nobody knows that I have a website (look in my sig if youre interested). 
 
Someone else will have to be sympathetic/compassionate ... but here's my .02 on possible solutions ...
 
Make posts showing people how to make the products, and us that as one vector to gain exposure ...
 
Spent whatever time you spend in chat, posting instead ... those investments of your time create something that's indexed and last forever, where the long-tail can come into play ... chatting is ephemeral, and while you might make some friends (who you probably end up feeling awkward charging etc), the literal work you put in (typing) is lost ...
 
You want fanatical customers ... one's who come back because 1) it's easy to find plenty of things one wants, 2) the site works & seems secure enough, and 3) provide additional wisdom w/ the product (have recipes showing them used, namely) ...
 
There's a whole different element of how to create hype/meme etc is a whole different animal, and not something you can fake and get results out of in a matter of a short period of time - but you want to understand it, so you LAUNCH stuff ... you can't just put it out there, you have to make it appealing ...
 
I haven't opened a bottle yet, so I can't speak to the quality - but WaffleBum recently reviewed it well, I've heard JayT compliment other bottles in the past, so I'm assuming it's good ...
 
But that's the thing, why should I open your bottle instead of all the other bottles? ...
 
If people were talking about in the threads, I'd probably have opened one already ...
 
You gotta play ... so it's fun.
 
I think there were 25x pages in total for the Memorial Day thread, and that was just the original threads ... don't be afraid to make a contest for as little as a single bottle of sauce - why not? ... if you craft it up right, it can still be interesting ...
 
Make a page on your website and make up fake titles, and have contests, and the winners can have their name listed on your website ... you'll be amazed the extent that lots of people will go to ...
 
 
 
Other than that ... well, I'll be opening up my bottles and getting you into MY rotation sooner, for knowing this, because that's something that I can do ...
 
for big sales you gotta get in supermarkets / stores / restaurants. 
 
There is only so many people who actually go out of their way to search for new sauces online / at festivals.
Most people just get what they were raised with.. tabasco, cholula, tapatio, etc 
Others will be walking down grocery isle and see a cool looking label or something intriguing and buy it.
 
PexPeppers said:
Good thinking! I just went askew for a bit
 
Happens to everyone.  You've got great products and solid business acumen, but sales will always ebb and flow.  Don't take the lows (or the highs) too literally.  :)
 
grantmichaels said:
If you were in the threads, talking about it, I'd probably have opened one already ...
 
They key is getting others to talk about it. You can't promote your sauce in the discussions yourself, that would be a free-for-all never ending ad. Also it would annoy members and look desperate and spammy.
 
Think of LDHS and Defcon... members promote these sauces. You see them posting bottles and cooking with them. When anyone asks about a sauce they mention LDHS. Why? 1. They are good. 2. He is good at marketing to set the initial hook. Uses the Promotion forum wisely, contests, and the like. Defcon is still promoted heavily, anytime anyone mentions a wing sauce. That comes back to good product, but also, he promoted wisely here years ago and it is still going.
 
Follow their lead. Be social with your promotion. Engage. Follow up on discussions where members have mentioned your sauces, in this case, of course you are free to discuss and engage.
 
LDHS always thanks members personally on the forum for reviews or purchases. But you never see him in the discussions bringing up his own sauce. Always others. That's what you want!
 
Ha!
 
Well both are correct. He should be talking it up in Promotion in ways that gets others to talk in the discussions. ;)
 
The Hot Pepper said:
 
Engage. Follow up on discussions where members have mentioned your sauces, in this case, of course you are free to discuss and engage.
 
 
This is what I wanted to convey ...
 
The bottle of sauce I use on my food is going in the picture for my own utility, regardless ... I like all of the info for my cooks contained in the pictures themselves ... I comb back through my pictures and get reminded of things I liked and forgot about ...
D3monic said:
Bigger brighter sig, go with a larger font in bold and red
 
Send D3 a bottle ...

LOL.
 
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