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How I did it - online

Cherylcolestyle.com
In a highly competitive online environment, directing customers to a website can be a challenge. If you’re new to the game, you may find that potential customers stick to the devil they know, preferring to use, say, Amazon or HMV for books or CDs rather than experiment with a less established seller. So how do you make yourself heard? One way of attracting traffic is to use content as bait for consumers. This is the approach taken by Cherylcolestyle.com, founded by Lucie Follett.

The idea is simple. By drawing on material created by stylists and fashion experts, the site shows its target audience – teens and twentysomethings – how to copy the look of style icon Cheryl Cole while also providing a means to buy the recommended clothes. “For instance, if Cheryl Cole is wearing a certain type of jacket in a video, we can show people how to get that look on the high street,” says Lucie.

The site makes its money through an affiliate system. “Our content attracts consumers, then we show them how to get the look and allow them to link through to affiliate sites where they can make the purchase,” she says.

Follet’s day job as director of Mavenmetrics.com is in search engine optimization (SEO) – and as she describes it, the site follows the golden rules of SEO. “You bait people with content and then offer them relevant opportunities to buy.” Perhaps surprisingly, creating content for the site isn’t difficult. “If you use a content management tool such as WordPress, you can add content cheaply and easily,” says Lucie.

To ensure the content is relevant, Lucie uses an analytics programme (the free Google analytics) to track where customers are going on the site and what they’re doing. “Once you know what people want you can create even more relevant and popular content”, she says.

Maxine’s of London
For Maxine Wells, founder of own-brand lingerie company Maxine’s of London, the web has provided a low-cost means to sell direct to the customer. Maxine’s aim was to establish a brand that could be sold both in the UK and internationally. Recognizing it would take time to establish relationships with enough fashion retailers to provide a sufficient income, Maxine built her own website as a base from which to generate income and build her brand. “I was able to do it very cost-effectively,” she says. “I was working from home and I managed to get the photography and the models for free. The only cost was the fabric.”

Before launching the site, Maxine researched the market thoroughly. “I looked at whether the market was big enough and I also looked at what my competitors were offering and their price points,” she says. Today, Maxine sells through her own site to the retail market while supplying one boutique and another online retailer on a wholesale basis. There are further orders from shops in the pipeline and Maxine aims to establish a brand that can be sold across a wide range of outlets. “The internet is a good short-term solution but you have to look beyond the web if you’re going to sell in large quantities,” she says.

So the brand building goes on. Maxine has promoted her business through articles in the trade and national press while working hard to expand her list of stockists.

Kids should be kids
The idea behind clothing retailer Kids Should Be Kids was born out of founder Malene Hansen Stanley’s own search for good quality clothes for her children. “I was struggling to find clothes that I liked in England so I used to shop for them when I went to Denmark,” she recalls. When English friends began to ask where she bought clothes for her children, Malene identified a gap in the market. She contacted suppliers in Denmark, bought stock and set about building a website.

“The idea was that I could generate income working in the evenings,” she says.
Malene cheerfully admits that she had a lot to learn. In the early days, she overstocked on some items and had to sell at a discount to reduce her inventory. She also struggled with the seasonal cycle of the clothing industry. Stock up on winter or summer clothes too late in the cycle and you miss the boat in terms of sales as customers are looking ahead to the next season.

Over time, Malene arrived at a stocking formula that worked. She honed her range to focus mainly on stripy tops. This not only solved the seasonal issue (they can be worn in layers or on their own at all times of the year) but also differentiated her business from the high street players. “You can’t really compete with Next or M&S unless you have the resources to do so,” she says. “I think it’s much better to specialise – to find a niche.”

Malene works hard on marketing her niche clothing. She’s taken the time to understand how search engines work and laces her site with key words while also writing blogs and establishing a presence on sites where she can find her target audience, such as Mumsnet and Facebook. She updates the site and her blogs regularly attract hits while driving commerce. “Marketing is very time-consuming, but it’s also great fun,” she says.