Want to be a Featured Vendor? Yeay! Please review our guidelines below.
***PLEASE DO NOT POST ADS OR LINKS TO YOUR PAGE OR PRODUCTS IN ANY COMMENTS, OR ON OUR FACEBOOK WALL WITHOUT OUR PERMISSION. FURTHER, PLEASE DON'T BE MIFFED IF YOU HAVE DONE SO WITHOUT PERMISSION, AND YOUR POST OR COMMENT GETS DELETED.***
Now then... :-)
REQUIREMENTS - You must be #1 (and really, who doesn't want THAT), and provide #2-#5:
- Small, US based business (5 or fewer employees), with goods or services available to all 50 states
- Facebook business page
- Online store url (website/etsy, etc., MUST have secure credit card processing)
- One "G-Rated" item to give away free (standard shipping included) in the $20-50 price range
- Photo & Detailed description of item, including retail value.
We reserve the right to review and accept or deny any submissions. (Please submit the above either via FB message on our page, or email to smallbizdeals@gmail.com.)
Since we can't, in good conscience, promote any business that is unable to process secure payments for our fans, your business must have its own website or etsy store, where customers may purchase your items in a secure environment. (If you need help setting this up, let us know...we've been there!)
In order to be a Featured Vendor, select an item from your inventory to give away, something in the $20-50 range. (preferably one currently available for purchase, that we can link to, so people may buy more if they choose) Send us a photo with a detailed description, including retail value of the item, along with any information you'd like us to share about you and your business - make it personal - our fans want to get to know YOU! Please include your website or etsy url, a link to your business FB page, and your contact email, as these are all required.
Once you've met the 5 requirements listed above, we'll "Like" your page, adding you to our list of Vendors (which we promote as often as possible), and feature your store as soon as our schedule permits, sending our fans over to Like your page before your giveaway, and in order to enter it.
Your giveaway will be hosted by the Rafflecopter widget on our page, in order to conform to Facebook's giveaway guidelines, which actually DO exist, here, in their unadulterated, unexplained glory: https://www.facebook.com/page_guidelines.php. Or here, with some helpful Rafflecopter commentary: http://blog.rafflecopter.com/2012/08/facebook-giveaway-rules-regulations. Yes, we know hardly ANYBODY pays attention to them, but then, Facebook knows that too. When they finally decide to crack down, we're guessing you'll want to be in the group that was prepared. ;-)
When a winner is selected, we'll notify the winner via email (per FB guidelines), with a copy to you. You are then responsible for collecting the winner's contact info, and shipping their prize to them in a timely fashion. We'll also post winners on our FB page.
Currently, we're doing a new giveaway every two days. This schedule is subject to change, and new Vendors are added to the schedule in the order in which complete Vendor requirements are received. Once we've received your requirements, we will provide you with an approximate promotion date, along with a heads-up closer to the actual date.
IMPORTANT TIPS:
- Share our page as often as you like (without overdoing it) on your personal & business pages, and let people know you'll be featured on "www.facebook.com/SmallBizDeals" soon! (Be sure to Like our page with both your personal & business pages.)
- By the way, see what I did there? I said, "www.facebook.com/SmallBizDeals" instead of saying, "Hey, I'm getting featured on this cool page, Small Biz Deals." Give people a link, don't make them look it up - they won't! Ok, maybe your mom or best friend will, because they love you. Either way, ALWAYS include a link or a Facebook Tag (to tag, type "@PageName" until the correct name comes up, then select it), EVERY TIME you mention a page. Every time. If you're having trouble, "Google it" - this is your new mantra.
- Share at will, BUT PLEASE DO NOT POST UNSOLICITED LINKS TO OUR PAGE, ON OTHER FACEBOOK PAGES. This is generally considered spam by page admins, and is likely to get you blocked at worst; ignored at best, and won't give us a very good name - and we want to be able to do our best for you! I know it's tempting...don't do it. Just...DON'T.
- More importantly, your Likes, Comments and Interaction count on OUR page! The higher our "Talking About" number is, the more people we can send to YOUR page, so please feel free to interact on our page, but do so as a PERSON, NOT A SALESPERSON...your turn will come soon!
- Prior to your giveaway, like NOW, visit your webpage and your Facebook business page with "customer eyes," as if you'd never been there before. Does your website take too long to load? Is important contact information readily available on your homepage and Facebook page? Do all the links work? Do your graphics look awesome? Does your milkshake bring all the boys to the yard? Most, if not all of these answers are vital to your customer's shopping experience.
- If you're running a sale or special, LET US KNOW so we can share it on our page!! (either Tag SmallBizDeals, or send us a message that includes a link. Please don't make us look for it - see 2nd bullet point above. ;-)
Last, but not least, our page, our resources, and our team are here for YOU. Please feel free to send us a message with ANY questions or comments. We've done the small biz startup thing, and we can help. Seriously. Now, you don't ever have to ask yourself (like we did) why there isn't a big, super-helpful, Small Biz friendly page that can help you get your numbers rolling - we're here! :-)
