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2020 Calendar of Social Media and Tentpole Holidays

Touching on silly social media holidays to major tentpole holidays are easy wins for your digital marketing, social media, email marketing, and more. We have compiled a robust calendar of these events and the dates that they will occur in 2020! Be sure to bookmark this page for reference throughout the year

January 2020

Monthly Observances

  • National Blood Donor Month
  • National Thank You Month
  • National Hobby Month
  • National Tea Month
  • Girl Scout Cookie Season Begins

Weekly Observances

  • January 14-20 – Hunt For Happiness Week
  • January 15-19 – Sugar Awareness Week
  • January 22-26 – Clean Out Your Inbox Week
  • January 22-26 – National School Choice Week
  • January 28-February 2 – Meat Week

January 1. New Year’s Day #NewYearsDay

January 2. Science Fiction Day #ScienceFictionDay

January 4. National Trivia Day #NationalTriviaDay

January 5. Golden Globe Awards #GoldenGlobes

January 9. Bubble Bath Day #BubbleBathDay

January 14. Clean Off Your Desk Day #CleanOffYourDeskDay

January 15. Hat Day #HatDay

January 16. Get To Know Your Customers Day

January 18. Winnie The Poo Day #WinnieThePooDay

January 20. Cheese Lovers Day #CheeseLoversDay

January 20. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day #MLKDay

January 20. Blue Monday, Jr. Day #BlueMonday

January 23. National Pie Day #PieDay

January 24. National Compliment Day #NationalComplimentDay

January 25. Year Of The Rat #YearOfTheRat

January 28. Data Privacy Day #PrivacyAware

January 31. Backwards Day #BackwardsDay

January 31. Hot Chocolate Day #HotChocolateDay

 

February 2020

Monthly Observances

  • Black History Month
  • American Heart Month
  • National Heart Month
  • National Weddings Month
  • National Cherry Month

Weekly Observances

  • February 1-7 Eating Disorder Awareness Week
  • February 6-13 – New York Fashion Week
  • February 10-16 – Freelance Writers Appreciation Week
  • February 13-19 – International Flirting Week
  • February 14-21 – Condom Week
  • February 14-20 – Random Acts of Kindness Week
  • February 14-18 – London Fashion Week
  • February 18-24 – Milan Fashion Week
  • February 24-March 4 – Paris Fashion Week

February 1.  Eat Ice Cream For Breakfast Day #IceCreamForBreakfastDay

February 1.  Bubblegum Day #BubblegumDay

February 2. Groundhog Day #GroundhogDay

February 2. Super Bowl LIII #SBLIII

February 4. World Cancer Day #WorldCancerDay

February 5. National Singing Day #SingingDay

February 5. World Nutella Day

February 5. National Weather Persons Day

February 7. Wear Red Day #WearRed

February 6. Chopsticks Day #ChopsticksDay

February 9. Oscars Ceremony

February 9. National Pizza Day #NationalPizzaDay

February 11. Make A Friend Day #MakeAFriendDay

February 14. Valentine’s Day #ValentinesDay

February 17. Random Acts Of Kindness Day #RandomActsOfKindnessDay

February 17. Presidents Day #PresidentsDay

February 18. Drink Wine Day #DrinkWineDay

February 20. Love Your Pet Day #LoveYourPetDay

February 21. Sticky Bun Day #StickyBunDay

February 22. Be Humble Day #BeHumbleDay

February 22. Be Humble Day #BeHumbleDay

February 22. Be Humble Day #BeHumbleDay

February 24. 91st Academy Awards #AcademyAwards

February 26. Pistachio Day #PistachioDay

February 27. No Brainer Day #NoBrainerDay

March 2020

Monthly Observances

  • Women’s History Month
  • Nutrition Month
  • Peanut Month
  • Music in Our Schools Month
  • Craft Month
  • Irish Heritage Month
  • American Red Cross Month
  • March for Meals
  • The Great American Cleanup

Weekly Observances

  • March 23-28 – National Sleep Awareness Week
  • March 12-17 – Girl Scout Week
  • March 12-17 – Campfire Birthday Week
  • March 26-31 – National Cleaning Week

March 2. Peanut Butter Lovers Day #ILovePeanutButter #PeanutButterLover

March 2. Old Stuff Day #OldStuffDay

March 3. World Wildlife Day #WorldWildlifeDay

March 4. Grammar Day #GrammarDay

March 6. National Employee Appreciation Day #EmployeeAppreciationDay

March 7. National Be Heard Day #NationalBeHeardDay

March 8. International Women’s Day #BeBoldForChange

March 8. Daylight Saving Time begins #DaylightSaving

March 10. Pack Your Lunch Day #PackYourLunchDay

March 12. Girl Scouts Day #GirlScoutsDay

March 14.Popcorn Lover’s Day #PopcornLoversDay

March 15. World Consumer Rights Day #WCRD2020

March 16. Freedom Of Information Day #FreedomOfInformationDay

March 17. St. Patrick’s Day #StPatricksDay

March 18. Awkward Moments Day #NationalAwkwardMomentsDay

March 19. Spring Equinox -First Day of Spring #FirstDayofSpring #SpringEquinox

March 20. Proposal Day #ProposalDay

March 21. World Poetry Day #WorldPoetryDay

March 23. Puppy Day #PuppyDay

March 28. Weed Appreciation Day

March 31. World Back Up Day #WorldBackupDay

April 2020

Monthly Observances

  • Earth Month
  • National Volunteer Month
  • National Autism Awareness Month
  • Keep America Beautiful Month
  • National Garden Month
  • Stress Awareness Month
  • National Poetry Month

Weekly Observances

  • April 15-22 – National Volunteer Week
  • April 16-22- Animal Cruelty/Human Violence Awareness Week
  • April 23-29 – Administrative Professionals Week
  • April 22-28 – Every Kid Healthy Week
  • April 22-28 – National Princess Week

April 1. April Fools Day #AprilFools

April 2. World Autism Awareness Day #WAAD

April 3. National Walking Day #NationalWalkingDay

April 4. Hug a Newsperson Day #HugANewsperson

April 10. National Siblings Day #NationalSiblingsDay

April 11. National Pet Day #NationalPetDay

April 16. National Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day #PJDay

April 18. National High-Five Day #NH5D

April 19. Good Friday #GoodFriday

April 20. National Look-Alike Day #NationalLookAlikeDay

April 21. Easter #HappyEaster

April 22. Earth Day #EarthDay2019

April 24. Denim Day #DenimDay

April 25. World Malaria Day #EndMalariaForGood

April 26.  Arbor Day #ArborDay

April 28. Pay It Forward Day #PayItForward

April 29. International Dance Day #InternationalDanceDay

April 30. National Honesty Day #NationalHonestyDay

May 2020

Monthly Observances

  • ALS Awareness
  • Asthma Awareness
  • National Celiac Disease Awareness Month
  • Clean Air Month
  • Global Employee Health and Fitness Month
  • National Barbecue Month
  • National Bike Month
  • National Hamburger Month
  • National Salad Month
  • National Photograph Month
  • Gifts from the Garden Month
  • Lupus Awareness Month
  • Military Family Appreciation Month

Weekly Observances

  • Food Allergy Awareness Week (second full week of May)
  • April 30-May 4 – National Tourism Week
  • April 30-May 4 – Drinking Water Week
  • April 30-May 4 – National Pet Week
  • May 7-11 – Teacher Appreciation Week
  • May 6- 12 – Nurse’s Week

May 1. May Day #MayDay

May 2. World Password Day #WorldPasswordDay

May 3. Space Day #SpaceDay

May 4. Star Wars Day #StarWarsDay & #Maythe4thBeWithYou

May 5. Cinco de Mayo #CincoDeMayo

May 6. National Nurses Day #NursesDay

May 7. Thank a Teacher Day #ThankATeacher

May 10. Mother’s Day #MothersDay

May 12. National Limerick Day #NationalLimerickDay

May 13. Mother’s Day #MothersDay

May 15. International Day of Families #FamilyDay

May 17.National Bike to Work Day #BTWD

May 21. National Memo Day #NationalMemoDay

May 24. National Scavenger Hunt Day #NationalScavengerHuntDay

May 25.  Memorial Day #MemorialDay #MDW

May 28. Hamburger Day #NationalHamburgerDay

May 29. Paperclip Day #PaperclipDay

May 31. World No-Tobacco Day #NoTobacco

June 2020

Monthly Observances

  • Men’s Health Month
  • National Safety Month
  • Acne Awareness Month
  • LGBTQ Pride Month
  • National Adopt a Cat Month
  • Aquarium Month
  • Candy Month

Weekly Observances

  • June 4-10 – Pet Appreciation Week
  • June 12-18 – Men’s Health Week

June 1. National Say Something Nice Day #SaySomethingNice

June 1. International Children’s Day #ChildrensDay

June 2. National Cancer Survivor’s Day #NCSD2019

June 3. Leave The Office Early Day #LeaveTheOfficeEarlyDay

June 5. World Environment Day #WorldEnvironmentDay

June 5. National Donut Day #NationalDonutDay

June 6. Higher Education Day #HigherEducationDay

June 7. National Donut Day #NationalDonutDay

June 8. Best Friends Day #BestFriendsDay

June 14. World Blood Donor Day #GiveBlood

June 16. Father’s Day #FathersDay

June 20. First Day of Summer #SummerSolstice

June 20.  World Refugee Day #WithRefugees

June 21.  National Selfie Day #NationalSelfieDay

June 21. Father’s Day #FathersDay

June 27. National Sunglasses Day #NationalSunglassesDay

June 30. Social Media Day #SMDay

July 2020

Monthly Observances

  • Ice Cream Month
  • National Grilling Month
  • National Picnic Month
  • National Independent Retailer Month
  • National Blueberry Month

Weekly Observances

  • July 15-21 – Capture the Sunset Week
  • July 16-22 – Independent Retailers Week

July 1. National Postal Worker Day  #NationalPostalWorkerDay

July 2. World UFO Day #WorldUFODay

July 4. Independence Day (United States)

July 7. World Chocolate Day #WorldChocolateDay

July 11. Cheer Up the Lonely Day #CheerUpTheLonelyDay

July 12. Malala Day #MalalaDay

July 15. Give Something Away Day #GiveSomethingAwayDay

July 17. World Emoji Day #WorldEmojiDay

July 18. Nelson Mandela International Day #MandelaDay

July 26. Talk in an Elevator Day #TalkInAnElevatorDay

July 30. International Day of Friendship #DayOfFriendship

August 2020

Monthly Observances

  • Back to School Month
  • National Golf Month
  • National Breastfeeding Month
  • Family Fun Month
  • Peach Month

Weekly Observances

  • August 6-12 – National Farmers’ Market Week
  • August 13-19 – National Motorcycle Week
  • August 13-19 – Feeding Pets of the Homeless Week

August 1. Respect for Parents Day #RespectForParentsDay

August 2. National Coloring Book Day #NationalColoringBookDay

August 8. International Cat Day #InternationalCatDay

August 9. National Book Lovers Day #NationalBookLoversDay

August 10. National Lazy Day #LazyDay

August 11. National Sons and Daughters Day  #SonsAndDaughtersDay

August 12. International Youth Day #YouthDay

August 13. International Lefthanders Day #LefthandersDay

August 15. National Relaxation Day #NationalRelaxationDay

August 16. National Tell a Joke Day #NationalTellAJokeDay

August 19. World Photo Day #WorldPhotoDay

August 20. National Lemonade Day #NationalLemonadeDay

August 26. National Dog Day #NationalDogDay

August 26. National Women’s Equality Day #WomensEqualityDay

September 2020

Monthly Observances

  • Wilderness Month
  • National Preparedness Month
  • National Food Safety Education Month
  • Fruit and Veggies—More Matters Month
  • National Yoga Awareness Month
  • Whole Grains Month
  • Hispanic Heritage Month
  • Little League Month
  • Better Breakfast Month

Weekly Observances

  • September 9-15 – National Suicide Prevention Week
  • September 18-24 – Pollution Prevention Week
  • September 17-23 – National Indoor Plant Week
  • September 24-30 – National Dog Week

September 2. Labor Day #LaborDay

September 4. National Wildlife Day #NationalWildlifeDay

September 5. International Day of Charity #CharityDay

September 6. Read a Book Day #ReadABookDay

September 8. International Literacy Day #LiteracyDay

September 11. National Day of Service and Remembrance #911Day

September 12. National Video Games Day #NationalVideoGamesDay

September 13. Stand Up To Cancer Day #KissCancerGoodbye

September 19. Talk Like a Pirate Day #TalkLikeAPirateDay

September 21. International Day of Peace #PeaceDay

September 22. Car-Free Day #CarFreeDay

September 23. First Day of Fall

September 25. National Women’s Health and Fitness Day #FitnessDay

September 26. European Day of Languages #EDL2019

September 27. World Tourism Day #WTD2019

September 28. World Rabies Day #WorldRabiesDay

September 30. International Podcast Day #InternationalPodcastDay

October 2020

Monthly Observances

  • Breast Cancer Awareness Month
  • AIDS Awareness Month
  • Bully Prevention Month
  • Adopt a Shelter Dog Month
  • Celiac Disease Awareness Month
  • Financial Planning Month
  • National Pizza Month
  • Allergy Appreciation Month

Weekly Observances

  • October 1-7 – Great Books Week
  • October 1-7 – National Work From Home Week
  • October 15-21 – Mediation Week
  • October 15-21 – National Business Women’s Week
  • October 22-28 – National Red Ribbon Week

October 1. World Vegetarian Day #WorldVegetarianDay

October 2. International Day of Nonviolence  #InternationalDayOfNonviolence

October 3.  National Techies Day #TechiesDay

October 4. World Smile Day #WorldSmileDay

October 5. World Teachers Day #WorldTeachersDay

October 7. World Habitat Day #WorldHabitatDay

October 10. World Mental Health Day #WorldMentalHeathDay

October 11. International Day of the Girl #DayOfTheGirl

October 13. National Train Your Brain Day #TrainYourBrainDay

October 14. National Dessert Day #DessertDay

October 15. Global Handwashing Day #GlobalHandwashingDay

October 16. World Food Day #FoodDay

October 17. International Day for Eradication of Poverty #EndPoverty

October 20. World Statistics Day #StatisticsDay

October 21. Reptile Awareness Day #ReptileAwarenessDay

October 24.  United Nations Day #UNDay

October 25. Greasy Foods Day #GreasyFoodsDay

October 30. Checklist Day #ChecklistDay

October 31. Halloween #Halloween

November 2020

Monthly Observances

  • Movember
  • National Healthy Skin Month
  • Gluten-Free Diet Awareness Month
  • National Adoption Month
  • National Gratitude Month
  • Peanut Butter Lovers’ Month
  • National Diabetes Awareness Month

Weekly Observances

  • November 13-19 – World Kindness Week
  • November 13-17 – American Education Week

November 1.  World Vegan Day #WorldVeganDay

November 3.National Sandwich Day #NationalSandwichDay

November 4. National Candy Day #NationalCandyDay

November 8. National Cappuccino Day #CappuccinoDay

November 11. Veterans Day #VeteransDay

November 13. World Kindness Day #WKD

November 14. World Diabetes Day #WDD

November 15. America Recycles Day #BeRecycled

November 16. International Day for Tolerance #ToleranceDay

November 17. International Students Day #InternationalStudentsDay

November 19. International Men’s Day #InternationalMensDay

November 20. Universal Children’s Day #UNChildrensDay

November 21. World Hello Day #WorldHelloDay

November 26. National Cake Day #NationalCakeDay

November 28. Thanksgiving Day #Thanksgiving

November 29. Black Friday #BlackFriday

November 30. Computer Security Day #ComputerSecurityDay

December 2020

Monthly Observances

  • National Human Rights Month
  • Operation Santa Paws
  • Bingo Month

Weekly Observances

  • December 2-10 – Chanukah
  • December 26-January 1 – Kwanzaa

December 1. World AIDS Day #WAD2019

December 2. Cyber Monday #CyberMonday

December 3. International Day of Persons with Disabilities  #IDPWD

December 4. National Cookie Day #NationalCookieDay

December 5. World Soil Day #WorldSoilDay

December 6. Microwave Oven Day #MicrowaveOvenDay

December 8. Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day  #PretendToBeATimeTravelerDay

December 10. Human Rights Day #HumanRightsDay

December 11. International Mountain Day #InternationalMountainDay

December 13. National Salesperson Day #SalespersonDay

December 21. First Day of Winter #WinterSolstice

December 24. Christmas Eve #ChristmasEve

December 25. Christmas Day #ChristmasDay

December 26. Boxing Day #BoxingDay

December 30. No Interruptions Day – Last Work Day of the Year

#NoInterruptionsDay

December 31. New Year’s Eve #NYE

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How Ben and Jerry’s Incorporates Social Responsibility Through Conscious Capitalism

“Business has the responsibility to give back to its community.”

–Ben Cohen

By now you must know that Ben & Jerry’s is more than just a groovy ice cream company. Although with psychedelic flavors like Cherry Garcia (named after Jerry Garcia from The Grateful Dead), or Phish Food, and their latest creation “Netflix and Chill’d,” the great deeds of the company may not be completely obvious to the average consumer.

Back in the early ’80s when CSR (corporate social responsibility) was still on the rise, Ben Cohen dubbed the phrase, “Caring Capitalism.” Both Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield remain local Vermont and global heroes for their outstanding community activism. They’ve become an inspiration for many businesses striving to become more socially responsible over the past four decades. Fun Fact: The chunky style of ice cream originates from Cohen’s need for texture due to his anosmia (the loss of ability to detect smells). How lucky for us Chunky Monkey and Half Baked ice cream fans out there who love gobs of chocolate and fudge chunks! Not too shabby for a solid branding differentiator either.

Since 1985, the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation has funded 7.5% of its annual pre-tax profits to community organizations across the country. That amounts to 1.8 million dollars annually, not including the hundreds of thousands of dollars they’ve donated to progressive causes over the years such as racial justice, climate change, peacebuilding, and more. 

You may be wondering how this ice cream company became one of the best social impact companies in the world. Is it because of their give-back model to charitable causes? Or is it because they take a public stand on progressive social and environmental justice issues? Perhaps it’s the sustainable way that they make and package their ice cream? The answer is yes to all of the above! Ben & Jerry’s three-part product, economic, and social mission combined with their linked prosperity concept is an exemplary model for conscious capitalism done right.

Above and Beyond The 4 Tenets of Conscious Capitalism

1. Higher Purpose 

It’s unquestionable that Cohen and Greenfield weren’t just in the company for a profit. They clearly defined conscious objectives in their company mission that they continue to focus on to this day. Since 1989, the company has shared yearly social performance highlights of their achievements as well as improvements that they’re still striving to make. They provide accountability through yearly SEAR Reports (social & environmental assessment) on their website that showcase their three-year plan, activism campaigns, social equity performance, environmental performance, etc. The activist company has made significant efforts to support “grassroots activism and community organizing for social and environmental justice around the country.” Many of their special edition flavors revolve around creative awareness campaigns such as Justice Remix’d and Pecan Resist.

2. Stakeholder Orientation

“The mission of the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation is to engage Ben & Jerry’s employees in philanthropy and social change work; to give back to our Vermont communities; and to support grassroots activism and community organizing for social and environmental justice around the country.” 

Ben & Jerry’s entire ecosystem of stakeholders is very much involved (if you couldn’t already tell by their mission statement)! Their conscious approach for philanthropy empowers Ben & Jerry’s employees to make decisions on progressive issues by serving on Community Action Teams and Employee Grantmaking Committees. They also believe that people who are most affected by the problems are in the best position to determine how to use the grants for solutions. Under a unique acquisition agreement, Ben & Jerry’s is also one of the only Unilever brands that has an independent board of directors to preserve and expand their social mission. Whoa, talk about a full circle!

3. Conscious Leadership

Without a doubt, Cohen and Greenfield were “caring” and conscious leaders from the start. The co-founders remain involved with the company and continue to make appearances at activism campaigns. An important aspect of conscious leadership is the focus on we, rather than me. The 2018 SEAR Report includes a letter from CEO, Matthew McCarthy, who speaks from a grateful and motivational standpoint. He mentions, “we at Ben & Jerry’s must raise our ambitions, double our efforts and amplify our positive impact around the world in new ways.” It looks like the company continues to be in good hands!

4. Conscious Culture

How a company practices and applies its values should increase trust for employees and consumers. A few of the company’s best traits are its integrity, accountability, fairness, and transparency! You can see their entire ice cream making process from the farm, to the factory, and its destination on their website. They’re also certified Fair Trade and B Corp which demonstrates their high standards for corporate social responsibility. Conscious culture is what makes this socially responsible company so trustworthy and easy to love!

For more ethically and socially responsible companies, read our ChuckJoe blog on Patagonia! 

Sources

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Ideas to Make Your Virtual Holiday Party a Success

We are a completely remote company here at ChuckJoe. That means every one of us works on our own – mostly in our own homes – in multiple states across the globe. This is both an amazing opportunity, however it does present a certain set of obstacles.

One of the biggest difficulties working within a remote team is the reduced opportunities to “gather around the water cooler” and connect on our personal lives. Most of our conversations happen via Slack, so many of the day-to-day bonding interactions get lost. We combat this pain point by implementing a “How Are You as a Human?” kick off during our weekly Monday Team Video Meetings via Zoom. We each chat about how our weekend was, any personal achievements, if there were any wins from the week before, and we answer a “question of the week” that is usually humorous in nature. This allows us all to remember that there’s a real person on the other side of that email and lets us all connect in the way we might if we were working in a physical office together.

Holidays however, still presented a particular challenge. How could we all come together for a holiday party? Well, for the last four years, we have thrown a Virtual Holiday Party! Everyone hops on video chat at the same time and we have an end of year celebration. Through trial and error, we have found some sure-fire ways to make a remote holiday party a success. We would like to share them with you in the hopes that you are able to throw your very own party with your team, no matter what time zone they are in!

1. Send a Gift Box

Every year, we send gift boxes to each of our team members that say not to open until the holiday party. Sending this to each person helps build comradery as everyone opens their boxes simultaneously. In addition, this gesture shows that your company cares for its employees.

Some ideas to include in the Gift Box:

2. Include Party Necessities

You can’t have a party without poppers… or other party supplies that would be expected in “real life”. Each of the boxes contain the same items, so it’s like we’re all together celebrating at the same party! Our boxes over the years have included:

  • Cookies and Candy
  • Savory Snacks
  • Party Hats
  • Small Toys
  • Company Gift
  • A Small Bottle of Champagne
  • Christmas Poppers (crackers)
  • Small Holiday Crafts
  • Photo Props

3. Play Games

Games can be a great way to get everyone on the team involved and having fun! For example, within your gift box you can send a couple bingo cards. Someone on your team can share their screen and use a Bingo Number Generator to choose digital Bingo Balls. Have a prize ready to be sent to the winner for a little extra competition.

Bingo is a fun option, but there are all kinds of games you could play online including Charades and Fibbage.


4. Stir Up Conversation

Prepare some questions to ask the “room” and have each person give their answer. Some examples are:

  • What is your favorite holiday tradition?
  • What is a hidden talent of yours?
  • What was your favorite gift you ever received?
  • If you could spend the holidays anywhere in the world, where would it be?
  • Do you have a New Years’ resolution in mind? If yes, what is it?

Just because your team works remotely doesn’t mean you can’t build relationships with co-workers and get into the holiday spirit like other office teams. This holiday season there are plenty of ways to stay connected and bring the festive cheer with remote team celebrations.

How do you celebrate the holidays with your remote team?

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7 Tips For Working Remotely

Telecommute, remote work, virtual job, work from home–a few decades ago, these terms may have been a completely foreign concept, but in today’s digital age they’ve become a part of modern culture. Whether you own an online business or picked up a freelance gig from Upwork, the advantageous remote lifestyle is steadily luring employees away from their conventional office jobs. According to the State of the Remote Job Marketplace report from FlexJobs, 3.9 million U.S. employees, or 2.9% of the total U.S. workforce, work from home at least half of the time. Those numbers are expected to rise exponentially in the years to come.

If you’re working remotely, you’ll find that there are unique challenges while acclimating away from an office. As a collective of individuals who pride themselves on exceptional quality work and superb remote culture, we’ve curated 7 tips that can help you successfully transition into the remote workflow.

1. Designate a Workspace

Now let’s start with the basics. Yes, one of the glorified perks of working from home is that you can work from your bed, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you should. Unless you’re feeling under the weather, avoid catching the “work from home blues” and set yourself up with a savvy designated workspace. Having a centralized space can increase your productivity, reduce distractions, help channel your creative energy, and focus.

When decking out your workstation, try to take into consideration an ergonomic layout that will benefit your health in the long run. Enter your height on the Ergotron’s Workspace Planner for tips on the right measurements for your home desk.  

2. Over Communicate

Clear and effective communication is important for any team, but when you enter the realm of virtual coworking, over-communication is essential. There are amazing communication and project management tools out there, but it’s ultimately up to the user to make the most out of it. “Did he read my email?” or “Is she going to make the deadline?” These are some thoughts that may come to mind if questions or tasks go unanswered. Likewise, one of the most damaging setbacks you can commit as a team player is to assume that your co-worker will or will not do something.

When you’re virtually collaborating with team members you must replace assumptions with proactive communication. Some examples may be to ask about upcoming projects before they’re assigned, giving your team a status update, following up on a task, or asking for an extension ahead of time.

Here’s an etiquette pro tip for correspondence: when getting any form of message, be sure to “confirm receipt.” This will notify the sender that you’ve received their message and are aware of its contents. Confirmation also helps build trust and accountability by clearly accepting the transfer of responsibility from the sender.

3. Have a Weekly Check-In

Here at ChuckJoe, our weekly Monday check-in is the one time during the week where the team gets to see each other via Zoom. The meeting consists of each member recapping the previous week with a combination of the following topics.

  • Last Week Wins ­- Project accomplishments, ways that you’ve excelled in a task, or positive client feedback
  • Team Shout Outs – Highlighting a team member for outstanding work or assistance
  • The Weekend – Summarizing weekend activities or anything that’s new in your personal life
  • Question of the Week – Random open-ended ice breakers that helps get the team warmed up and engaged
  • Client Accounts – Reviewing each account’s status, projects, upcoming tasks, and pending account opportunities
  • Internal Housekeeping – General updates, individual schedule changes, and upcoming goals

Trust me when I say, these weekly one hour check-ins make a huge difference! Getting to know your co-worker helps build relationships and improve team chemistry. Instead of wondering what each member is working on, or being unsure about a client’s status, the check-in makes priorities clear and gets the team on the same page. This is not only a time-saver, but provides team synergy to get you through the upcoming week.

4. Be Professional and Human

You may find yourself a little bit more relaxed at home than if you were working at an office. As easy as it is to have a laid-back demeanor, it’s important to remember to be professional when it counts. One of the best ways to express professionalism is to be punctual. We treat our general channel in Slack as an “office door.” We greet each other when our workday begins, provide notices when we go on break, and disclose when we’ve decided to call it a day. Providing transparency through the virtual window works wonders for the team.

If you’re expecting a client call, try to have that conversation in a quiet space. A loud and disruptive coffee shop probably isn’t the best option. Some factors to take into consideration for obvious reasons is the Wi-Fi connection, lighting, background noise, and appearance.  

Last bit of profesh advice is to have a positive attitude and keep communications similar to an office setting. When you have a group of individuals who are all positive thinkers, it’s easier to collaborate and get tasks done with optimism instead of a sour perspective or curt impersonal responses. Positive attitudes are definitely a major contributing factor when striving for a successful team!

5. Dress for Success

Having a zero commute is another terrific benefit of working remote (and it’s more sustainable too)! Your new and improved commute may just be walking to the other room, but having a morning routine is still a priority. Get dressed! Even if you don’t need to make a video conference appearance, don’t work in your pajamas. It may have been one of the shiny attractions on a job post that got you into the remote business, yet in reality working in your pjs may leave you feeling icky and unproductive. You’ll likely be in a better headspace and more effective if you’re dressed and feeling ready for your day.

6. Take Breaks and Know When to Unplug

One of the best ways to recharge is to take frequent breaks, real breaks. The kind where you can completely step away from your computer and take your mind off of work. Going for a walk can be a beneficial way to relax and unwind in the midst of a workday. A short walk can even elevate your mood and boost creativity while also improving your cardiovascular health.

In Buffer’s recent, State of Remote Report, they found that 22% of remote worker’s biggest struggle is unplugging after work. When your work and home space intertwine, it can be difficult to disconnect. Setting boundaries for yourself is crucial when avoiding mental burnout from working throughout the entire day. Let your co-workers know when you’re signing off and don’t respond to non-critical emails to protect your personal time.

7. Take Advantage of the Flexibility

In other words, treat yourself! Remote positions are sought-after for a reason, the perks are phenomenal. You’re given the ability to personalize how, when, and where you work. Spend more time with family or friends, incorporate exercise into your day, or spend a couple of hours on your favorite hobbies. As long as you continue to produce quality work, you have the freedom to create a schedule that best fits your lifestyle!

As technological capabilities continue to accelerate, so will the opportunities in the way remote work is being conducted. Spatial is a new real-time AR collaboration platform that includes lifelike avatars where remote employees can ‘teleport’ into an augmented workplace.

As we’re on the brink of mainstream holographic conferences, our tips for working remotely may evolve in the near future. Stay tuned for what’s to come!

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What Clif Bar Can Teach You About Food Marketing on Instagram

You know an Instagram presence is important for your brand, but how do you create the right brand presence to get your audience excited about using your products?

Successful brands go beyond just talking about features and benefits because they know brand storytelling is about more than the retail value of their products–it’s about how people feel using them. Think of Instagram as a content platform for generating high perceived value.

A good example of brand success is the energy bar company, Clif Bar. The company was founded by a cyclist who had trouble finding a high-performance bar that tasted good. You’re probably already familiar with their protein bars and associate their brand with outdoor adventure. Super fans also know their stance on preserving the environment and sustainable food production practices.

If you go to Clif Bar’s Instagram account, you barely see their product. You might even mistake it for a nature photographer’s personal account.

Clif Bar’s Instagram has 150,000 followers and counting, with high engagement on each post.

Let’s take a look at why it does so well:

Showcase the Lifestyle, Not the Product

These days, especially with Millennial customers, transparently showing who you are and your values is essential. Clif Bar is great at showing, rather than telling why they exist and who they exist for. One way is by capturing where their fans use their products and what kind of lifestyle they enjoy. If you want to have a long runway with your target audience, look beyond simply selling a product. Capture a few core values you can convey visually to tell a consistent story.

Understand Your Style Principles

A quick way to get a sense of a brand’s style is to scroll through all the thumbnails on the page.

What kind of colors pop out at you?

Is the style very minimalist, or is it bright and colorful with a lot going on?

Are there more photos of objects or people?

Do you see a lot of text overlay or do the images speak for themselves?

A glance at Clif Bar’s page and it’s clear they are all about the outdoors. You see different seasons, mostly colors found in nature, saturated hues, and a stillness that is found only in nature. When you do see people they are often very small in the photo surrounded by wilderness, or they’re captured in action in an outdoor environment.

Just like any marketing communication channel you should have a plan before you post. Discuss what color schemes represent your brand well. Understand what themes tell your brand’s story. And, don’t forget that the words you use should be chosen carefully (even sounds!). Create a basic style guide that defines your brand’s voice. Is it playful, sarcastic, serious, or youthful? This will make your audience feel it’s consistently engaging with a single character, not a corporation.

Engage Your Audience with User Generated Content

There are many great ways to engage your audience, like posting tutorials or generating buzz with user-generated content contests. Something you can do with regularity is repost content from your already happy customers. Many of Clif Bar’s stunning Instagram photos come from their fans. This is a great way to establish a sense of community that remains true both online and out in the real world. Pro tip: remember to always credit the photographer!

Show Your Product as It’s Meant to be Used

A genius way to show value is to post content from your happy customers that show them using your products in the way you want them to be used. In Clif Bar’s case, it’s out in nature, having fun.

Use A Unique Brand Hashtag to Curate the Conversation

Clif Bar’s tagline is “Feed Your Adventure” and they use it as a hashtag. Doing this helps with a couple things. First, it makes their tagline stick. Second, it helps direct traffic back to their page when their fans use it. Creating a long-form hashtag is a not only a useful way to find fans who are engaging with your product, but you can also find great fan-generated content to then repost on your own page.

Be sure to use a hashtag that people can easily associate with your brand, rather than settling on something generic.

Remember that your Instagram page is an opportunity to visually translate the story you want your brand to tell your audience. Your content should always be answering the question of why you exist, who you’re here for, and how you want your customers to feel when they use your products and engage with your brand.

Take a look at the ChuckJoe and Vegetarian Dude Instagram accounts for additional inspiration, and reach out to us with questions at any time!

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15 Food Marketing Strategies For Your Brand To Crush It On Pinterest

Have you been thinking about using Pinterest to market your food brand but not sure where to start? The Pinterest visual search engine has grown to become one of the most important mobile platforms for both men and women. Recent polls show that men consist of at least 40% new signups proving that the platform isn’t just for women. 

Millennials use the platform more than anyone else for food inspiration. Despite all stereotypes of Millennials and their access to money (or lack thereof), Millennial Pinners plan to spend more money on food than people who don’t use Pinterest. Why? That’s because Millennials say that Pinterest helps them easily find ways to use different ingredients. The more that you get to visually see the outcome of a recipe makes chefs everywhere more inspired to cook!

Ready to get your food brand noticed on social media? Here’s how you can take your presence to the next level on Pinterest.

1. Promote your pins

promote your pins on Pinterest

To get the most ROI, you can advertise on Pinterest through “Promoted Pins.” Promoted Pins look natural and are less disruptive to users than traditional ads. According to Pinterest, 73% of users say content from brands make the site more useful. 61% of users say that they have made a purchase after viewing a Promoted Pin. In other words, Pinterest drives sales.

2. Optimize for re-pins

optimize for re-pins

According to Curalate, you’ll get 23% more re-pins if you don’t use a face in your image. And, pins with less whitespace get re-pinned more.

3. Recipes and DIY tutorials are most popular

DIY tutorials on Pinterest

Tutorial content really resonates with people. Include recipes or smart tips that incorporate your food products.

4. Pin for a broader audience

Your followers on Pinterest will view your pins, but you must remember how re-pins work. When a follower re-pins your content, their followers will also view it and possibly re-pin it, and so on. Your reach on Pinterest is bigger than you might think. Pins on pins on pins!

5. Long form video is on trend

A longer form video is taking off! 60-90 second videos are being saved 50% more than short form videos. Try creating more detailed videos for your “how-to” segments. Crack a joke or give an interesting fact about the recipe. Followers will enjoy the little extras you’ll have time to reveal versus racing through instructions. This also gives you time to let your followers get to know your personality, so be upbeat and bubbly!

6. Pin for search engine optimization (SEO)

Think of Pinterest as a search engine. First, find the right keywords for your business using a search tool like Google Keyword Planner or Moz. Next, use these keywords for your Pinterest content. You don’t want to stuff keywords everywhere and be spammy. With just a little effort, using the right keywords in your board titles, captions, pin image file names, and descriptions will help your pins show up in search results. Get creative with your titles and captions. This is a sure way to draw users to your Pins.

7. Share Pins across your owned channels

Be sure to include your popular pins in emails to customers, and connect your other social media accounts to your Pinterest page. Make your own website Pinterest friendly so that others can pin images directly from it.

8. Time your posts

According to research by CoSchedule, the best day to post food-related pins is Sunday, and the best overall time to post is Saturday after 8 pm. Generally, late afternoon by 4 pm, late in the evening, or even in the middle of the night is a great time to post. Perfect for any night-owls out there! There is no better time to engage your audience than at these peak times.

Always remember to include a call to action. What do you want the user to do after they see your pin? Give them some direction that will either get them to your website or share your pin across social media to help promote your brand.

9. Post frequently

Keep a schedule for your posts so your audience can build a relationship with you over time and receive fresh content at a regular pace. Doing this keeps engagement high, rather than dumping content all at once.

10. Post your own content

Re-pinning other people’s content is a great way to engage with them, but putting in the effort to create your own inspiring, pinnable content will give you the most bang for your buck.

11. Keep up the relationship

engage with followers on Pinterest

Just like on your other social platforms, remember to respond to comments and follow other popular boards. Use your brand voice on Pinterest in every interaction! Commenting on other Pins is another way to get your brand out there and get users to follow you. Be courteous and kind when commenting while establishing yourself as an expert.

12. Connect with relevant influencers

Knowing and connecting with influencers is important to building relationships on Pinterest. Invite them to post on your boards or partner with them to post some of your original content. Key influencers who have a big following on Pinterest, and whose aesthetic and values align with your brand, can have an explosive effect on brand awareness and website traffic.

13. Always use high-quality images

The agency Omnicore has a great cheat sheet infographic that you can use for various social media platforms. Pinterest also goes in-depth into how to make great pins here. Generally, Pinterest says the ideal ratio for your pins is 2:3 (600px wide x 900px high). You’ll want to use photos with light colors as they are more likely to get more pins than dark ones. Find high-resolution photos that really show off your products and make mouths water!

14. Use text overlays

Get straight to the point by overlaying text on your image. Pins with text overlay tend to perform better, especially when the text provides clarity. The purpose of your text and any descriptions is to be immediately helpful, not overly promotional. You don’t need to be a graphic designer to add text to an image. Canva is a free program with templates to help you do so. It’s user-friendly and you’ll be able to create eye-catching Pins in no time!

15. Test, test, test

Remember that you won’t always have the answers right away, and that’s okay. Experiment and use Pinterest analytics to see which images perform the best. Be sure to place your most popular boards at the top of your business page on Pinterest where people will be able to see them easier.

That’s a wrap! We hope this starts you off on getting the most out of Pinterest for your brand. Check the ChuckJoe Blog for more tips and tricks!

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How To Grow Your Email List: 5 Ideas To Get More People to Subscribe

Does this sound like you? You are wondering what you should be doing to increase your email subscribers. You feel like you have tried everything but haven’t seen growth. Before you go spending thousands of dollars on advertising or buying lists (please don’t do that) there are a few simple adjustments you can make to change this outcome.

First, what value are you offering?

First, why should people sign up to receive your company’s email? This might sound simple, but at the very baseline, you need to give them something for subscribing.

Think about it as a simple value exchange. They’re giving you their email, which has value. What are you giving them in return? Ideally, whatever you’re giving them in return should have significantly more value than their email address.

Give Subscribers Coupons

One example of what you can do here is giving them a coupon. This is a very common and efficient tactic that food brands use. Include a coupon that is good to get $1 off, get $2 off, buy-one-get-one-free, whatever it might be.

If it’s eCommerce, give them an instant coupon, so as the subscribers sign up for the list, they get a coupon code delivered that they can use right away.

Create a Recipe or Tip Ebook

If you have a product that can be put into recipes, create an ebook that can be downloaded immediately. In general, with this approach, you want to have the delivery happen in the email. You don’t want them to fill out the subscription form and then they have to go to a page to get it or be redirected right away.

The reason for this is that if they get it in their email, then they have to go and actually pull up your email, open it, click it to download it, or view the video or whatever it might be. That will help with your deliverability. It also gets them comfortable with the behavior of opening emails that are coming from your brand.

Depending on the product, a few other ideas along these lines are:

  • Meal prepping tips
  • Healthy cooking tips
  • Diet-specific tips
  • Video series that helps the subscriber create kid-friendly meals

Create an Informative Email Series

An alternative idea to the single ebook is creating an email series that is delivered over a few days. For example, it could be something around clean eating. You’d have a series of emails revolving around a five-day kickstart to a cleaner-eating diet. Once the potential customer submits their email, they get a welcome email, then one email per day for the next five days covering different ways to incorporate clean eating into their life.

This is great tactic because it gets people into the habit of checking their inbox to get the next email in the series. The subscriber is getting used to engaging with your brand, and you in return are providing a value to their life.

Use a Signup Form Pop-Up Box

An easily overlooked way to increase email signups is by simply having your signup box be prominent. A lot of brands that we are in the early stages of working with will have a signup in the footer or on the sidebar somewhere. Using a tool such as a lightbox pop-up to design and time your popups, works really well. Sumo and OptinMonster are great resources for that. You can also get fancier with things like Exit Intent Popups, so when somebody’s leaving your website they actually get a pop-up to subscribe.

Focus on putting that call-to-action front and center. Often you will only get one chance to hook people when they come to your site. Give them a reason to sign up! This is also where a compelling offer can come into play with that popup, so don’t hide it.

Embed A Signup Call-To-Action within Your Blog Posts

If you have written content on your website that people are finding through search or social, strategically include a call-to-action to sign up for your email list. Remind people while they are looking at your content, that if they like the content, and if they want to get more content or a premium version, then they should sign up for the email list. This is an incredibly easy and natural way to add some more subscribers to your email list!

These are just a few ways that you can increase your conversions and get more email subscribers, but there is a multitude of additional tactics that you can implement.

 

To set up a consultation on building your email list, reach out to us at yo@chuckjoe.co or click the button below!

Want To Grow Your Email List? Contact Us!

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5 Mistakes That Are Repelling People from Participating in Your UGC Contests

User Generated Content (UGC) Contests are a powerful strategy to drive brand awareness. These are campaigns that people run when they want to have certain products shared on social media, posts shared using a hashtag, as well as generate engagement from the general public. They usually include actions such as “share a post/photo, tag a friend, or use a hashtag for a chance to win”.

So why do so many of them go wrong?

Fear not! Here are 5 of the most common mistakes that are made throughout these campaigns and strategies to rectify them.

1. Asking Too Much

The most common mistake that brands make is asking a ridiculous amount from contest participants. The best approach to finding an appropriate ask is to think about the bare minimum entry.

While setting up UGC campaigns, try to think about what people are already doing throughout their day. Where could they easily include a hashtag to have it be a part of the campaign or conversation? Does it only require a slight tweak or variation in their day-to-day activities?

For example: You are a food brand that has a beverage that you want to promote. You decide to run a UGC contest where the goal is to have people share photos for a chance to win a month’s supply of your beverage.

One approach for entry requirement could be, “Build a birdhouse using 30 empty bottles of our brand’s beverage”. However, no one is going to do that. Would you? It’s too much work and takes too much time out of their busy day.

Assuming that you have product on shelves, an alternative approach would be reaching out to existing customers and say, “Share a photo of how you enjoy your fill-in-the-blank beverage during your day, using hashtag “#blank”, for a chance to win something amazing”.

In that example, people are already using the product at some point during the day, so asking them to take a photo and use the hashtag is a simple way to incentivize them to create user-generated content.

The point is, step back and think about who your target customers are. What is their day-to-day like? How can you integrate your campaign so that it’s not forcing them to do a bunch of other work?

person holding withered bouquet of flowers

2. Giving Too Little

An additional mistake that people make is not completely thinking about the prize value in relation to what you’re asking participants to do. Flashback to my first example. You have decided that you really want someone to build that birdhouse out of the beverage bottles. If you were giving them much larger value, like a car, for example, it is much more likely that they’re going to put in extra effort for a chance to win.

Take time to think through the prize to ask ratio:

  • What are you asking people to do?
  • What is the value of the prize that they can win?
  • Do those things make sense together?
  • Does the prize balance out the ask?
  • Is it worth their time?

People are willing to do a lot more work for a much higher prize value. Keep in mind that value is not just a dollar amount. It can also be how valuable this is perceived in their life. Is this going to make their life better? Is it something that you know your target audience really wants? These are all things to think about while crafting these campaigns.

3. Flying Solo

During UGC contests, brands often make the mistake of exclusively using their product as the prize. This especially rings true for food brands that have a lower priced product but are trying to create a higher prize value. If you are aiming to create a $250 prize and your product costs $5, do people really want 50 products? This result might be overkill for most people.

Get out of the mindset that your product is the only thing that you can give away as part of a UGC campaign. For example, you can partner with other non-competitive brands or offer gift cards. There are a wide variety of things that you can do but at the end of the day, you want to get your audience to engage. Collaborations are a great way to incentivize participation, especially if you are asking your audience to do more work than sharing a photo and hashtag.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is famous.jpg

4. Expecting An Immediate Viral Sensation

If you build it, they will not come.

Forgetting to pre-seed content for UGC campaigns is a costly mistake. When your UGC contest goes live and people check the hashtag, there needs to be something for them absorb.

All too often, companies will launch contests while thinking, “Okay, everybody share, using our hashtag, it’s going to be great, look at all these entries,” and then there aren’t any entries to show the type of content you want.

Before you make the competition public, pre-seed your social media accounts by having posts 100% ready to go live as soon as the campaign launches. At the very lowest end, this could mean working with your team to create a few initial posts that help give participants a sense of what you want them to submit.

Another great way to pre-seed content is by working with influencers. This could mean paying influencers or you could be offering them exposure, but whatever the exchange is there are a few steps to remember before you launch the contest:

  • Connect with a variety of influencers and get them on board for the campaign.
  • Confirm that they are clear about the campaign launch date.
  • Confirm the day, time, and platforms that they are going to be posting their content.
  • Structure what you ask of influencers so that they are calling out what the contest is, what participants need to share, the rules and requirements, when the deadline is, etc.

The influencer strategy is powerful because you are going to get awesome content from those influencers while simultaneously reaching their fanbase. Your brand will instantly have an audience that’s seeing the contest, getting them excited to participate, and have great content created to seed your overall campaign. Using this strategy, anywhere the campaign is announced, people can go to their feed, check the hashtag and immediately absorb content.

5. Setting and Forgetting

Don’t anticipate launching your campaign and then leaving it unattended until the final date. Setting and forgetting can bring any UGC momentum to a screeching halt. There are a few ways to stay on top of the process and ensure a successful contest.

  • No one likes a one-sided conversation. Engage with participants by checking brand mentions and uses of your hashtag. Like photos and comment on their posts, letting them know that you love their entry and appreciate them taking time to participate in the contest.
  • Tied into the above tip is sharing more than just the winner’s post. Throughout the entire contest, share a variety of UGC content as it is posted. Often the photos that you share encourages the user to re-share saying “Look, this brand re-posted my photo! How cool!”.
  • Also by engaging, you are able to control the conversations around your contest and turn potentially negative situations into a positive customer service experience.
  • Double check that your influencers are posting when and where they are supposed to be. Influencers are human beings and sometimes even the best-intentioned people get distracted with life and occasionally forget. If they do forget a post, it usually only takes a friendly reminder to have them get the post out.
  • When influencers share a photo, be sure to comment on their post, thanking them and letting their audience how excited you are about the collaboration.

Turning a campaign to auto-pilot can turn into a disaster quickly. The results from engagement and spot checking will be worth every moment of extra effort.

Didn’t read the entire post? To recap:

  • Don’t ask too much or give too little.
  • Pre-seed by collaborating with non-competitive brands and influencers.
  • Stay on top of your contest as it progresses!

By avoiding these 5 mistakes, you will be well on the way to running a successful UGC contest. Any tips that we missed? Let us know in the comments!

Contact Us For UGC Strategy Support! Click Here!
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5 Natural Food Brand Welcome Email Templates That Work

The welcome email you send to your newly subscribed customers is an opportunity to make a great first impression–one that you don’t get to make twice.

When you meet a new customer in person, you probably want to show your best self, and you want them to get to know you. As in any good business relationship, you follow-up quickly and deliver on your promise.

You want to aim to do the same with your emails. Once someone submits their email on your website to subscribe to your newsletter or offer, be sure your welcome email reaches their inbox within ten minutes. Make that first impression count.

But what about the content of the email? How do you start the relationship? Here are 5 great examples of email templates from socially conscious food brands big and small, along with breakdowns of why their ideas are worth stealing.

1.  Amy’s Kitchen

Amy’s uses beautiful design and earthy colors, which helps shape their warm, friendly personality created by the copy. Words like “family” and “we’re so happy to have you join us” work together to invite you to further engage with them with clear calls to action to follow them on social media and to “start cooking” with recipes.

2.  Organic Valley

Discounts or coupons are great first impressions too. But first, be sure to make it clear on your website what your customer will get before they sign up.

You also want to set expectations for your customer by telling them in your email how often you’ll be emailing them and about what. It’s a better idea to set these expectations on the website so customers aren’t worried about whether they’ll get too many emails.

Here, Organic Valley lets you know they’ll email you about 2-4 times a month about various topics, including coupons exclusive to subscribers.

3. Erewhon Grocer & Cafe

This local grocer does a great job by thanking you first, both in their subject line and in their email. According to research by the marketing automation platform MailChimp, word pairings like “thank you” have a positive impact on email open rates. Surprise! People love to be thanked.

At the top of their welcome email, they ask subscribers to add them to their contacts. This helps make sure the emails get delivered to the subscriber’s inbox and do not get flagged as spam.

Erewhon also has a nice CTA calling attention to learn more about its loyalty membership without pressuring signup.

4. Bob’s Red Mill

The best traits of Bob’s welcome email is how personal and personalized it is in its first message. You’re greeted by name in the subject line and email, there’s a photo of Bob, he tells you his story, and he signs off personally. In the same research by MailChimp, the team found this type of personalization works well, especially for open rates.

5.  Santa Cruz Organic

When you write your subject line, it doesn’t pay to be too cute. Say what’s in the email, if you want to decrease the chances it’ll be trashed without being opened at all. Build trust. Deliver what the customer thinks they signed up for.

Bonus: These days you have to make sure your emails are mobile-friendly. This means they don’t just look good on a desktop computer, they are also formatted for and easily readable on a smartphone.

Your welcome email is an essential part of your marketing communications and can be the first impression someone has of your brand.

Key Points to Remember

  • Get your customer excited about joining.
  • Take the time to create the look and feel of your design, and make sure the content matches the substance of your offering and the flow of the customer experience.
  • Automate your email to be in the customer’s inbox within ten minutes of signup.
  • Set expectations. Before asking for emails, let customers know what you’ll be emailing them and how often. In your subject lines, say what’s in the email.
  • Thank your customers for signing up.
  • Personalize with your customer’s name.

Use these welcome emails as inspiration to create your own campaign and you’ll be on your way to building a beautiful relationship with your new customers!

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10 Common Web Design Mistakes Natural Food Brands Make

You have a great product but is your website successfully representing your brand?

Your customers are on a mission when they land on your website: they want the answers to their questions without straining to navigate your site. The typical customer is goal-oriented and searching for something, so it’s important that you don’t distract them with content that doesn’t help them. Rather, keep their attention by surfacing the answers they’re looking for in a way that’s pleasant for your customer.

That’s a lot of pressure, but the good news is you can learn from the mistakes of others. Here are 10 common mistakes to avoid when designing your website.

1.  Talking about yourself instead of your customer

Your business needs to sell in order to make money, but if all you’re doing is selling and talking at people, or talking too much about yourself, you’re not adding value and your potential customers will walk away. The trick is to position the customer as the hero and your brand as the guide to help them get what they want.

2. Not capturing customer emails when they visit

You want to get useful customer data or you miss a huge opportunity to reach your audience and generate more revenue. One of the most effective ways to do this is to build your email list, and offer something of value to your customers so they’ll feel comfortable giving you their contact information. Creating a loyalty program, an informative ebook, coupons, or a newsletter that announces new products and special discounts, are all possible value propositions when asking customers to subscribe.

3.  Shaming customers into subscribing

When you do ask for their emails, be sure to do it politely and in the right context. Don’t make people feel bad if they want to say no, don’t force people to sign up, and don’t make it difficult for them to opt-out. Manipulative tactics like the one below are not only shameful, they’re not effective in the long run.

One beautiful example of a call to action to subscribe comes from socially conscious yogurt brand Chobani. The company offers a discount with a “Get your coupon” button, then directs you to a page to submit your email.

4. Not including links to social media

Once you have your relevant social media pages set up, make sure you display links or calls to action clearly on your website and emails so that you generate multiple paths for customers to engage with your brand and get to know what you offer.

5.  Only using one type of content

Don’t overload on one type of content or your customers will get bored and may not stay long enough to convert. People also prefer to consume different types of content at different times and on different devices so variety is key.

Create a balance of text, images, video, audio, and infographics where appropriate. Remember to use high-quality photos to show your product. Recipes using your products as ingredients are really effective and can engage your customers in different ways.

Berry Bunny “Cereal Shakes” from Annie’s

Nature’s Path Organic is another example of a great website that speaks to their customer’s needs, has clear calls to action to capture email and links to social media, and has a good balance of colors, images, textual content, and motion graphics at the top.

6. Content overload

Plan your content carefully, and use customer feedback and data to understand how much information is just enough. Are people coming to your site and leaving right away without looking at other pages? Are there pages that almost no one ever visits? Are there too many colors and not enough white space on your homepage like the one below?

Your goal is to provide just enough information and at the right time and place. Let it be easy for your customers to find what they need. And remember: white is a color, too.

7.  Poor navigation

According to a usability study, drop-down menus are small annoyances that create friction for the user. Menus can get particularly unwieldy when there are too many items to choose from. Make your navigation easy to find, to the point and clear, and try not to have more than a few items for your customers to choose from. As mentioned in mistake #1, make sure you’re thinking of this navigation from the user’s perspective to help them find what they are looking for as fast as possible.

8. Font is difficult to read

Don’t let poor font size and style be the reason you’re not growing your customer base. You may have good products and services, but they need to be findable at a glance. Think of the diversity of your audience as well, and make sure the font you use is easy on the eyes.

9. No pricing 

Especially for specialty products where the price can vary, even if your answer to the question, “How much do you charge?” is “It depends,” customers often come to websites to find out pricing information and get annoyed when it isn’t there. If you can’t give exact pricing, consider giving enough information about what goes into deciding what you charge, so that potential customers trust where you’re coming from before they commit.

10.  No contact info

Don’t hide your contact information! All relevant information should be clearly displayed on your website, including where to buy your products locally if possible. If you have limited ability to provide support through one channel, set expectations immediately. For example, if it takes you 48 hours to get to email inquiries, mention it at the top of your contact form.

You can also use this as an opportunity to direct people to your social media channels to connect with someone on your team or other members of the community to help answer questions.

What are some problems you’ve had with your web design or seen on others? Are there other mistakes you see a lot that we missed? Let us know in the comments!

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