Klaviyo Email Marketing
Find out how Renaissance Ribbons increases sales by running partnered giveaways
Where do needleworkers, quilters, and crafters find designer ribbons to add the defining touch to their textile projects?
Edith Minne, founder of Renaissance Ribbons, recognized a gap in the market 30 years ago. She had just emigrated from France to the US after serving as a nurse in refugee camps around the world.
With a 4 year old in tow, she sought out a venture to support her young family.
Introducing a proven product (from France) to the US market
A light bulb went off when she heard these words: “there are no good ribbons in the US”. She was talking to a button manufacturer. Yes, the owner of a company that only produces buttons.
Edith saw the power of niching down and returned to her native France, seeking out the best woven ribbon she could find. Three weeks later, samples in hand - she visited fabric stores in California.
The button manufacturer was right. US store owners had never seen such gorgeous ribbons. They ordered immediately and Renaissance Ribbons was born.
Building a brand
Renaissance Ribbons quickly established itself as a source of high-end ribbons and trims. The business sold exclusively wholesale at the beginning.
Edith’s business savvy led her to license artwork from artists with their own large followings online: Tula Pink, Mary Englebreit, Kaffe Fasset and Dinara Mirtalipova, to name a few.
Renaissance Ribbons converts their signature artwork into exclusive designer ribbons. A covetable product for textile crafters.
Some of the artists collaborate regularly with Edith on seasonal releases. Edith's capacity to manufacture a unique product from scratch, proves to be a winning strategy.
Building a community
Sewing alone in a craft room (or corner) can be an isolating experience. Home crafters look online for community, inspiration, and advice.
With this in mind, Edith opened an online store. She dove into learning how to use social media and email marketing building an online community of eager sewers and crafters.
Joining The Social Sales Girls two years ago–a digital marketing program–was pivotal to Renaissance Ribbons online growth.
Email marketing was key to skyrocketing Edith's sales.In a few months Edith grew online sales from 2K to 20K a month and is now on track to 25K a month.
Today, sales from Klaviyo email campaigns and automations contribute to over 50% of all online revenue.
List building with sticky giveaways
If you sell anything online, you know that giveaways get sign ups. People love free stuff. But how to get them to stick around and actually buy from you? That’s the tricky bit.
Like all online entrepreneurs, Edith was looking to grow her email list and convert more.
Edith learned how to create a post-giveaway funnel in The Perfect Giveaway training module from The Social Sales Girls. It taught her how to get giveaway entrants to stick around and actually buy.
Better together
When Edith invited one of her ribbon designers to help promote a giveaway, she didn’t know it would become her number 1 method for increasing giveaway subscribers.
By collaborating with designers to promote the giveaways, Renaissance Ribbons boosts their signups from audiences with similar interests.
Here’s a quick rundown of the strategy to increase signups: when a new ribbon design launches, Edith runs a giveaway.
She promotes the giveaway signup page on her blog and social sites. Participants enter by subscribing to a Renaissance Ribbons email list.
Edith’s design collaborator also promotes the giveaway signup page - via their own blog, social media and email newsletter.
The joint promotion of the giveaway increases signups by three, four, and sometimes five times over a giveaway not promoted by a designer partner.
What happens after the giveaway, is equally important: participants go into a post-giveaway email funnel, where everyone who did NOT win, receives a tempting gift card, incentivizing a visit to the Renaissance Ribbons online store.
Giveaway participants have multiple opportunities to engage with Edith’s brand and make a purchase, as a series of emails is dripped over time.
Results
Sales conversions are 161% higher from partnered post-giveaway funnels than from regular subscribers. And the Average Order Value (AOV) is 18% higher.
By partnering with designers Renaissance Ribbons:
- Increases exposure to new fans
- Gets their brand (and that of their designer) in front of an eager audience
- Adds value to relationships with designers
A collaborative giveaway brings together different audiences with overlapping interests. It engages and rewards followers by introducing them to relevant content. And most importantly, results in sales.
Renaissance Ribbons partnered giveaways attract participants who convert to customers at a higher rate.
Edith outsources running her Giveaways to Claudia Howard, a Klaviyo Master and Shopify Expert that takes care of all the details.
Book Claudia for a Klaviyo Email Marketing Project
"Quick, communicative, responsive, knowledgeable and kind... love working with Claudia!" ~Edith Minne
