Since this will be our 10th BerserkerDay, I’d love to make it the biggest and baddest EVER. Each BerserkerDay surpasses the prior year(s), and I’d like to put extra effort into this one, given the software/server updates and that (primarily) it’s the 10th one.
I had a referral from Paul Mabray on a PR firm but then I received the estimated cost and just about lost it - about twice what this site makes in GROSS revenue per month, so that’s not gonna work, particularly after the huge costs this year from the big update.
Anyway, I’m assuming the ‘tell your friends, share on social media!’ routine from prior years might be all that WB can afford, but just in case anybody has some good ideas for AFFORDABLE (huge emphasis on that) PR options for the wine industry, so we can reach out to those who’ve never heard of BerserkerDay or Wine Berserkers, for that matter.
If I can’t swing anything, we’ll just do the sharing method as before, but everybody benefits if we can bring more people here, those who haven’t been here before, so it’s worth looking at, particularly on the 10th one.
Ideas are welcome, posted publicly or privately (via PM or email)
Todd, I’m a total Neanderthal on the Internet thing, but is there any way (that doesn’t cost a bundle) to get B-Day to show up prominently if people google things like “wine deals,” “wine sale,” and such?
Do you think that participating wineries would want to share with their email/social media contacts?
Personally, I think a couple of producers who showed up and have not been heard from again detract from what this board is. How do others feel about that? Might feel different as a consumer; as a vendor, it doesn’t feel so good.
Those keywords/key phrases are INCREDIBLY highly sought after, so chances of getting a piece of that market are VERY slim, unfortunately. Massive money is thrown at marketing to those keywords.
As for the participants, yes, most send to their lists, and perhaps this year I can require (via showing proof) of social media shares on various sources.
Agreed personally, Merrill, but it’s difficult to force tiny producers to participate on the forum between BerserkerDays, as most of them are up to their eyeballs with the work of the winery, from my experience. I"m guessing those who don’t participate during the year but just pop in to sell goods don’t do anywhere near as well as those who DO participate, so I’m thinking the wallets do the talking, which is good. I wish they would, but to force it or disallow them from participating because they don’t is a rough road. Also, if I get more traffic than we already have on BerserkerDay, we’ll need more producers selling!
Saunter, Smith-Madrone, and a few others…stopped by, never participated before nor after, and my sales were down I think because of that. Just as you have a number of posts to qualify for selling on Commerce Corner, why not have something similar to that instituted?
I would posit that no producer is tinier than I. I manage to participate here, although at times with stalkers amd naysayers it does get difficult, but I would argue that I “earn” a space on BerserkerDay (and yes, pay for that), but wonder if those drop bys earn their keep.
Not trying to throw jabs here, but what about a Berserker Day Photo of the wines of the 5 (or 10) producers that contribute the most to the forum? It’s a great way to honor those that are also a part of the community here while also giving everyone the same photo recognition on the internet if they post in FB, IG, or others.
It’s just an idea, I’m not invested in the outcome…I just wanted to share.
although at times with stalkers amd naysayers it does get difficult
Seriously?
That’s terrible.
Of course, that assumes you’re not talking about the politics forum. But if people take issue with what you post here to the point that they become stalkers, etc., that’s just unacceptable. If I were dictator I’d ban them.
As to Todd’s query - I’ve done things as class projects where you hook up with an MBA class or undergrad class and have them come up with ideas, but I suppose that’s not really viable here. But if you don’t seem like you’re in competition with stores, and instead offer them another chance to reach a targeted audience for a single day, you may be able to get them to post some fliers or use their lists. Guys like Randy obviously must get something out of it.
The question is what the goal is. If it’s to attract more long-term participants, both wineries and people to post, that’s a little different than driving traffic to get a deal once a year. One option might be to put together a brief paragraph detailing the concept and date, and offering some kind of demographic. Make it a link and people here can either copy and email or click to send it to all the wineries they buy from, asking if they’re going to participate.
Not sure I agree. I agree with Merrill - if this is supposed to be a ‘community’ then a producer who ‘benefits’ from taking part in BD Day really should take part in discussions from time to time.
We are all busy - we all have a life outside of this board. But I feel there is an ‘obligation’ as a part of this community to give back if at all possible. . .
Why not give vendors who are active participants some type of preferential treatment - say first offers to hit the day, sticky threads, etc.? I love the value our regulars bring to the community.
They do social media marketing and campaigns. They can scan the entire social media population and determine who has an interest in wine or who may have an interest in wine. From there they can then blast out WB marketing materials to that specific group that would then drive retailers and users to the community.
Yeah, that’s along the lines of what I was thinking as well, as I started the 5-year badge/group and will have a 10-year badge/group as well. Maybe have a preferred grouping with active participants as well, but again, I know for a fact that most of those who don’t participate during the year get fewer orders than those who do, as over the years I’ve gathered the sales data that was submitted by those participants, and, assuming the non-active fly-by-night folks aren’t significantly (and consistently) reducing their numbers as reported, the stats clearly show that they don’t do as well when the just blow in and leave thereafter.
Now, if possible, can we get back to any ideas on the OP? Getting something good lined up serves to help everybody, and MORE SO those who participate often, as there is more discussions on their offers than the newbies.
You mean create a ‘place’ or ‘business’ called BerserkerDay and have people rate it? That would be awesome, but I have no clue if that would be allowed, as there’s not a ‘location’ that could be named - I’m guessing events don’t have Yelp-ability, but that would be amazing.
Facebook ads are relatively inexpensive and you can pick the audience. I heard these have been effective in things like political campaigns and such.
As far as buying from active board members, I buy from some just because they do participate here and I want to support them. On Berserker Day I buy from others because the wines sound great or the deal is too good to pass up. I am an equal opportunity buyer.
Instead of this, why not push for an article in the wine press about the community itself? Surely there are folks in here who know folks who could write a story - and this could be a more organic way of going about it?
