I received an email from a long-time friend and gift shop retailer yesterday, and in it I noticed a tone of frustration and desperation. She was asking me my thoughts on how to increase sales, since store traffic and, subsequently, sales are really slow for her over the long summer months.

One of the most important things that a retailer needs to do every day is keep the marketing momentum going. While she may already have a few marketing initiatives under way, I encouraged her to keep thinking about how to grow her sales, build traffic, and keep pushing forward with new ideas.

Here is a simple list of questions that I sent her to get her thinking about new ways to connect with her customers and sell more products:

• Are you using your customer list to do regular email marketing? How many customers do you have on your list?
• Do you have a great sales team calling on your top customers to invite them back to the store for special events?
• Have you had a special store event lately?
• Are you employing a top-notch sales team?
• Have you done any craft or artisan shows to market your store to the public and to build your list?
• What is your top-selling line in the store? Can you buy things in that line or for that price point?
• When was the last time you re-merchandised your store windows?
• Have you done any market research or focus groups to determine what people want now?
• Have you tried a Facebook ad campaign or Google ad campaign to drive more traffic?
• Are you issuing a monthly press release to your local newspapers?
• Are you using snail mail to connect with top customers?
• What types of alternative advertising have you tried (like billboards or radio) to drive more traffic?
• Have you started using social media to make new connections and build deeper relationships?
• Are you developing your online presence to sell not only in your community, but also around the world?

My top tip that I gave my friend for increasing store traffic and sales was to develop her website more. Why? So she can reach new customers and sell more to existing customers! Having a robust site filled with content will ensure that she (and you) will SELL MORE PRODUCTS.

This might sound complicated—but I assure you it's not. Need some ideas on how to improve your website to drive more traffic and revenue? Join me for my webinar, "Boost Web Sales with 9 Simple Steps" on August 12, 2010, starting at 1:00 EST.

I'm so sure you'll that you'll love this session (and walk away with immediate and actionable takeaways) that I'm offering a 100% no hassle, money-back guarantee if you're not completely satisfied. Space is filling up quickly, be sure to register now at: RetailConferenceSeries.com

What are you doing to keep the marketing momentum going in your store?

Every Friday, thousands of people can be seen playing the #FollowFriday game on Twitter. What started out as a single tweet announcing the game a year ago has turned into a hugely popular trend that keeps on growing.

The concept is simple: every Friday, tweet about a friend who you think is worthy of following. Include their twitter name + #FollowFriday. Those looking for new people to follow can easily search #FollowFriday and see what others have to offer.

#FollowFriday was specially designed to help people get connected and stay engaged on Twitter. If the people you’re following are starting to bore you, #FollowFriday is the perfect way to help you find new prospects.

This social networking game is also great for businesses. Ask your friends to promote your company with #FollowFriday. Your company’s name will appear on the Twitter feeds of all their friends, in addition to whoever finds your name through a #FollowFriday search. Be sure to make your tweets fun and interesting that day, because you never know who might be checking you out!

The majority of commercial emails go straight to the trash without being opened. This means that the average email is being judged solely on the subject line of the message (before being opened) and/or getting sent to the trash automatically.

MailChimp.com conducted a study, sending out 40 million emails with various subject lines to see which got opened and which got ignored. The results were surprising.

With an open rate of 60-87%, the most successful subject lines were:

1. [COMPANYNAME] Sales & Marketing Newsletter
2. Eye on the [COMPANYNAME] Update (Oct 31 - Nov 4)
3. [COMPANYNAME] Staff Shirts & Photos
4. [COMPANYNAME] May 2005 News Bulletin!
5. [COMPANYNAME] Newsletter - February 2006

With an opening rate of 1-14%, the least successful subject lines were:

1. Last Minute Gift - We Have The Answer
2. Valentines - Shop Early & Save 10%
3. Give a Gift Certificate this Holiday
4. Valentine's Day Salon and Spa Specials!
5. Gift Certificates - Easy & Elegant Giving - Let Them Choose

You’ll notice that the “successful” subject lines are extremely straightforward. They’re not pushy or aggressive in any way—in fact, they’re almost boring. Alternatively, the least successful subject lines are all about selling and read like a newspaper advertisement. While these subject lines may be more “creative” than the straightforward ones, they also look like spam to the recipient, and are therefore extremely likely to end up in the trash.

However, not all emails advertising promotions will be trashed. It’s important to think about your audience. If it’s people who signed up to receive promotional and sales information, go ahead and send them the catchy tagline because that’s what they’ll be looking for.

MailChimp.com’s study showed that some of the more “creative” subject lines also boasted some high opening rates—mainly because people were expecting it. However, if your email list is comprised of people who signed up for a company newsletter, rather than advertisements, they aren’t going to be happy receiving your hard-sell, promotional emails.

The most important tip is to make sure your subject line matches what it contains. Don’t confuse newsletters with promotions. Be straightforward, and most importantly, don’t write your subject lines like you’re writing an advertisement.

When it comes to email marketing, the best subject lines tell what's inside, and the worst subject lines sell what's inside.

I was recently interviewed for an article on web retailing. The reporter asked me for five suggestions on how retailers could improve their sites, or what they should keep in mind if they are launching their first site.

Here are the five tips that I shared:

1. Skip the introductory page and Flash-based code.
   Consumers are impatient and an introductory page takes time to load. You run the risk of people leaving your site while they wait. Plus, an introductory page won't be indexed by search engines.

2. Easy navigation is key.
   How many times have you left a website because you were frustrated that you couldn't find what you were looking for? Easy-to-use navigation will ensure that consumers can easily find what they came for, and will encourage them to explore other areas on your website as well. Logic tells us that the longer a customer spends on your site, the more likely they are to make a purchase (and if you don't offer e-commerce, the more likely they will be to visit your store).

3. Include easy-to-find store information.
   It seems like common sense, but a lot of websites that I visit have their contact information buried, no physical address or store photos (I recommend posting at least one photo of the inside and outside of your store), they forget to post their store hours and it's nearly impossible to find a store phone number.

4. Quality content.
   By providing quality content on your website, you increase the likelyhood that consumers will find your store when they do an online search for a specific product that you're selling. Retailers often ask me how you provide quality content: it can come in the form of a daily blog, posting a product description for each product you sell and/or a detailed store description on the "about us" page. Plus, the more you update your information the more you will increase your search engine ranking when people try to search for products that you sell.

5. Collect names.
   Your website provides an invaluable place to collect names for sending your email marketing efforts. Be sure to offer incentives for sign up (maybe a free product they pick up in the store), and be clear about how you intend to use the list.

Today's guest post is from Meryl Hooker, Sales Rockstar.

I am not a sports fan but like so many others, the Olympic games in Vancouver caught my attention. I didn't make time to sit down and watch any of the events, but some of the highlights really got me thinking. Of all the amazing performances, I found two athletes particularly inspiring: snowboarder and gold medal winner, Shaun White, and cross country skier and bronze medal winner, Petra Majdic.

Petra Majdic had a brutal time. During a trial run, she tumbled head first off the course into a rocky stream and could barely walk. Volunteers had to help her out of the ravine. She turned around and not only participated in the main event; she placed third – after rejecting a painkiller that would have hindered her movement. Talk about commitment!

How many times have you crashed into your own ravine and just stayed there in defeat?

Shaun White met and exceeded all expectation as well. He locked in a repeat gold performance in the amazingly elegant snowboarding competition. He later admitted he was nervous going into the qualifying round because he didn't want to be the guy who "couldn't hold." I don't know about you, but I sure can relate to that.

How many times have you reached a new personal best, and had moments of doubt about whether you could hold… or exceed it?

When he was asked about what he did to keep his emotions in check and deliver the killer execution of his routine, White responded, "That's how I pictured it in my mind, of how it was going to go down."

How good are you at picturing how something is going to go down… and then making it happen?

I am a die-hard sales enthusiast and there is no doubt that the principles of being an Olympic champion are not all that different from being a sales champion. It doesn't matter if you're running a store or a sales rep running the road. Here's what the games reinforce for me about sales training and execution:

• You don't get good in day.
• You must practice and train every day.
• You must have a deep, down in your soul, drive to be the best.
• Focus always.
• Discipline always.
• Have fun.
• Represent your sport (or manufacturer or customer or store) the very best you can.
• Take a trick and do it a little better and a little bigger.
• Create new things.
• Set goals for yourself. Some that are out of reach, some that aren't.
• It's not always easy and it's not always fun.
• Hard work pays off.

I don't know that any of these are revolutionary new lessons in sales or athletics. It doesn't have to take big events like the Olympics to remind us of these basic principles. We can create the motivation for ourselves everyday by focusing on, planning and practicing a better performance in our stores and with our customers. We may not be as hip as Shaun White, but that doesn't mean we can't earn the gold… or the green.

Meryl Hooker is a manufacturer's representative, writer, speaker, sales coach and all-around Sales Rockstar. She is the writer of "Road Rage," a blog about repping and selling and co-author of the forthcoming book, Pushing The Envelope: The Small Greeting Card Manufacturer's Guide to Working with Sales Reps (Center Aisle Press, May 2010). She lives in Washington, DC and can be reached via www.merylhookersales.com.

I've been busy today finalizing a webinar that I'm giving tomorrow (at 1:30 EST) geared toward wholesalers and manufacturers who are looking to understand how to market and sell their products to the cart and kiosk industry. I've had a lot of malls and retailers sign up as well, so it's really open to everyone.

I'm planning on covering the following topics:

• An overview of the specialty industry.
• A profile of cart and kiosk retailers.
• Which products work in the industry.
• Tips and suggestions for how to market to this lucrative segment of the retail industry.

For all those in the industry out there, I'd love to hear any tips you might like to share!

And it's not too late to register (for FREE) if you're interested in learning more.

The founder of Twitter is launching a new iPhone application that will enable you to accept credit cards from your iPhone—something that will be very convenient for retailers who are doing special events and don't have a portable credit card machine.

Watch the YouTube video below to see this cool technology. I know it will certainly come in handy for me at trade shows.

According to a survey recently conducted by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, of 1800 independent stores sales were up 2.2 percent November and December, versus the same time period in 2008. In comparison, overall retail sales rose just 1.1 percent on a year-to-year comparison.

Retailers recently quoted in an article in the San Francisco Chronicle attributed increased holiday season sales to the shop local campaigns they promoted in their stores.

As you think about your marketing for the year, remember to incorporate the shop local message in your signage at the store, outgoing correspondence (email and direct mail) and in any advertising you do. It's a powerful tool that can influence consumer spending, as people do want to support their local community— they just need a friendly reminder.

By nature, I'm a very competitive person… but I think it's because I find it so rewarding to win. So naturally, I love participating in contests.

Back when I worked for the chain store Gantos, we were paid a base salary plus commission. In addition, our store manager loved to have contests. She would create different teams (day team versus the night team, or a mix of new and seasoned sales people) and the whole team was very motivated by the commission that we were paid for each item sold. It was amazing to see how competitive and driven the team became when a monthly contest was added to the mix (even if the contest reward was only $50 per person).

This just reaffirms that great sales people love recognition (some even more than money—or at least just as much!), so remember to recognize your sales team regularly.

Here are a few ideas:

1. A handwritten note or certificate for the person with the top monthly sales.

2. An individual or team contest with a prize (the prize doesn't have to be big).

3. A pay program that offers commission to reward your employees each time they make a sale. You'll find it will incentivize them to sell more as well.

4. Verbal recognition for a team member at a staff meeting who made a big sale, had a great month, or went above and beyond for a customer.

I do a lot of speaking all over the world to educate retailers, so I just uploaded my first professional video clip to YouTube. I thought it would be a good marketing tool in YouTube and on my website, so we've embedded the video on the homepage of PatriciaNorins.com. Plus, we've also added video testimonials to our tradeshow site.

It got me thinking about the many creative ways you can use YouTube to promote your store, so here are a few to get you started:

1. Interview some of your customers to get reviews of a product they've bought in the past. I just read a study that reported customer reviews can up web sales of a particular product by as much as 30%.

2. Feature a new product of the month that you profile and talk about in a two minute video. Make sure to link to your video in your enewsletter—and embed the video on the page of your site that lists the product.

3. Make a short design video. Show your customers how to set the perfect holiday table, how to accessorize their fireplace mantle or how to hang pictures to create a gallery effect on their wall. This will position you as not only a resource for gifts and home decor, but also as an expert who is willing to give advice to customers who are in need of a few tips.

4. Ask your customers why they love shopping in your store. (They keep coming back, there must be a good reason!)

5. Show a "before" and "after" display of your windows or a section of the store. Use the opportunity to talk about the products you've placed.

Have you made a YouTube video for your store? Post a link so we can see it!