How to Create a Gift Guide For a Jewelry Business

November 3, 2024

Episode #312 - "How to Create a Gift Guide For a Jewelry Business"

Check out the new JoyDeck YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MyJoyDeck

Welcome to Episode #312. With the holiday season fast approaching, it’s the perfect time to talk about holiday gift guides. These guides are an incredible tool for connecting with customers, making shopping easier for them, and helping your brand stand out.

If you're looking for some ways to elevate your holiday marketing, I’ll be sharing some of my favorite strategies to help you create a gift guide that’s memorable, engaging, and tailored for your audience. So let's dive into how you can make this holiday season your best one yet with a standout gift guide!

And in the GOLD MINE segment, I'll be diving into the hidden power of holiday gift guides and how they can do so much more than just suggest gifts. Yes, gift guides offer an incredible opportunity to tell your brand’s story and connect with your customers on a deeper level. So stay tuned for my insights, which hopefully inspire you to think about gift guides in a new way!

Transcript

Ready to break free from algorithms, vanity metrics, PR, and money-sucking ads? My name is Laryssa Wirstiuk, and I've learned in eight years of jewelry marketing that content is the crown jewel. My agency, Joy Joya, takes a holistic approach, leading with laser-focused storytelling, impactful content creation, and strategic content distribution. This method has worked for solopreneurs and multimillion-dollar companies alike, and now I'm sharing the same systems and tactics with you. Here’s to standing out in the sea of sparkle.

Welcome to episode 312. The holiday season is fast approaching, so it’s the perfect time to talk about holiday gift guides. These guides are an incredible tool for connecting with customers, making shopping easier, and helping your brand stand out. If you’re looking to elevate your holiday marketing, I’m sharing some of my favorite strategies to help you create a gift guide that’s memorable, engaging, and tailored for your audience. We’ll dive into how you can make this holiday season your best one yet with a standout gift guide – maybe even two or three! Stay tuned for the "goldmine" segment toward the end, where I’ll dive even deeper into gift guides and show how they can go beyond simply suggesting gifts. Yes, gift guides offer an incredible opportunity to tell your brand story and connect with customers on a deeper level. So stay tuned for my insights; hopefully, they’ll inspire you to see gift guides in a new light.

But before we get to the solid gold, I'd like to remind you that this podcast is available in both audio and video. You can listen on your favorite podcast platform or watch on YouTube by searching "Joy Joya." Support the podcast for free by subscribing, rating, and reviewing it on Apple Podcasts. Also, if you didn’t know, I co-host another podcast called Success with Jewelry with my friend Liz Kantner, who’s also a jewelry marketer and the founder of the Stay Gold Collective. We have a free version on YouTube and anywhere you listen to podcasts, plus a membership community if you’re interested in extended episodes and additional resources.

For my fellow sparklers with small jewelry businesses, I have something just for you: a jewelry marketing platform called Joy Deck, designed to support small and emerging brands. Joy Deck members recently kicked off the 30-Day Holiday Promotions Challenge for November, and it’s not too late to join. Each day, we provide one actionable step to help you stay on track with your holiday marketing, and it only takes 15 to 30 minutes a day. To start your free 30-day trial, visit myjoydeck.com/trial – I'll put a link in the show notes.

Now, let's get into today’s episode. My sparklers, we’re diving into holiday gift guides. It’s not too late to create and share a gift guide this season. A well-crafted guide can connect with your audience and showcase your jewelry as the go-to holiday gift. I’ll be sharing some of my favorite tips for building a compelling guide, inspired by the work that my team at Joy Joya and I are doing to prepare gift guides for our clients. So if you’re ready, let’s do it! Listen on for strategies to make your gift guide a must-see for holiday shoppers.

The first thing to know is that a gift guide can be either a blog post or a dedicated landing page – whichever makes the most sense for your website. By keeping it in a central, easy-to-find place, you’re providing a valuable resource that customers can rely on throughout the season. And the best part is, once you create it, you can refresh and update it yearly with new items and ideas, making it a holiday staple that shoppers look forward to revisiting. You can even modify it for other holidays, like Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day, so it becomes easier to maintain over time.

First things first: curate with clarity. There are so many ways to approach a holiday gift guide, and you can create multiple guides if that suits your business and customers. But no matter your approach, gift guides are most effective when they’re clear and specific. Consider categories that will resonate with your audience – maybe by price point, recipient (like gifts for mom, dad, wife, or friend), gemstone, or material. Get creative! The key is to organize offerings into easy-to-understand themes or categories based on your buyer profiles. This segmented approach lets customers self-identify, guiding them to exactly what they’re looking for and increasing the likelihood of a purchase.

If cross-promotion is part of your marketing strategy, consider featuring your products alongside those from other businesses you love, whether local brands or businesses run by friends or family. This allows for mutual promotion, building goodwill and boosting brand awareness for everyone involved.

Incorporate customer stories if possible. Adding depth to your guide by sharing real customer stories can be impactful. Feature testimonials about how people have gifted your jewelry in the past, what it meant to them, or why they chose a particular design. A real-life "gifter" series could showcase various reasons people choose your jewelry as a meaningful gift. This builds an emotional connection and allows potential buyers to envision your pieces in their own gift-giving plans.

For visuals, use product photos, lifestyle images, or even editorial shots with a holiday feel. Consider creating graphics with Canva to add holiday flair. If you have special packaging, gift wrap, or festive props, include them in photos for a consistent and cohesive look. Images and graphics from your gift guide can serve as standalone Instagram posts, Pinterest pins, or elements in your email campaigns. Repurposing content this way encourages organic sharing and gives your guide a strong visual identity, while saving you time.

Consider adding a last-minute gifting section. Holiday shopping doesn’t always go as planned, so you might want a section for last-minute shoppers, especially if you have items available for quick shipping. Highlight ready-to-ship pieces, provide clear shipping timelines, and call out express delivery options. If you offer digital gift cards, be sure to include those too, which can reassure customers that their gifts will arrive on time.

For an extra festive touch, leverage video. A short video walkthrough of your guide lets you highlight details personally and share styling ideas for each piece. This is particularly effective for smaller brands, allowing the maker or designer to add a sense of intimacy and trust, helping customers connect to the person behind the brand.

To create a sense of exclusivity or urgency, consider including limited-edition pieces or personalized options in your gift guide. This creates a special experience for customers and can make gifts feel more unique and thoughtful. Only if applicable, create a section for sets, like earring and necklace combinations, which make great gifts and often result in higher-value sales.

If your brand has a charitable component, highlight it in your gift guide. Shoppers are often more inclined to buy gifts that support a cause. Make this message clear and visible in your guide.

As you can tell from this episode, gift guides are fun to create, and they offer real value. They help customers by making holiday shopping easier, and they let you highlight your products in a way that feels helpful rather than salesy. Have you created a gift guide yet? If you’ve seen unique gift guide ideas or have your own creative spin, let me know in a comment on YouTube or DM me on Instagram. I’d love to hear from you and answer any questions.

Okay, let’s get into the "Gold Mine" segment. This is where I get personal and share insights on entrepreneurship, mindset, success, and growth. This week, I want to let you in on a secret: gift guides aren’t just about providing gift ideas. They’re an opportunity to tell a story about your brand and convey who your customers are. For example, take Amazon’s gift guide catalog – full color, multi-page, almost like a magazine. It’s not just a guide; it’s a statement. It says, “Amazon wants to be your go-to for all your gifting needs.” That’s their brand. Now, one of our clients who makes one-of-a-kind fine jewelry has the opposite approach, creating a thoughtful guide segmented by unique, memorable personalities, like “The Trailblazer” or “The Supermom.” This approach speaks to independent, powerful women, and the people who want to celebrate them. So think about what you want your guide to say beyond gift recommendations. How can it reflect your brand’s identity and values?

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Drop me a DM on Instagram, leave a comment on YouTube, or email me at laryssa@joyjoya.com. If you love this podcast, please share it with a friend who’d appreciate it. Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. And if you’re new to digital marketing, consider reading my book, Jewelry Marketing Joy. Visit joyjoya.com/book for more information.

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