Slappy Cakes - The Extended Version

Dear People,

I think I have already told you about this magical place: Slappy Cakes. It is in Portland. Now, your next question will automatically be, "Where in Portland? What neighborhood?" I cannot help you. You see, I was born without a sense of direction. I do not drive. I do not think about where I am in relation to the larger world. I do not know what the neighborhoods in Portland are called.

I do know this though: The Internet exists and by telling you the name of the restaurant: Slappy Cakes and the word Portland - you will be able to find everything you need.

Here is the most important thing: Slappy Cakes is a restaurant where your table is a griddle and you buy pancake batter by the squeeze-ey bottle and make your own effing pancakes at your table. 

SHUT UP!
I know.

I've been there twice. The first time I went, there was no one in the place but us. The next time I tried to go there, people were lined up outside waiting to get in. I should really stop telling people about this place but I just can't help myself.

These are my friends, Tim and Merritt. They were kind enough to drive me to Slappy Cakes at the crack of dawn. Look how excited Tim looks! p.s. Merritt has a baby inside of her.

This is my friend Marlo. She is also very excited!

This is the table that is also a griddle. Look at Merritt's belly!

We arrived with these other people - literally the moment they opened for the day.

My first pancake attempt. MONEY!

I go for the flip.

I bungle it.

I think this pancake was too complex for my first try.

PAC MAN!

BOOBS!

Unrelated, but these two Slappy Cakes customers cracked me up because they looked like an old married couple reading together at the table, but one of them is 5. Ha!

The end. (Tim wanted less kissed and more PANCAKES!!!)

Summit of Awesome Day 2 (or why am I afraid of Heidi Kenney?)

Day two of The Summit of Awesome. I never want to leave this place. Really. Except that my sweet husband is not here - is trip is perfect.

We got ton the summit in time to have "breakfast" which was basically your choice of plain pound cake, pound cake with nuts or an apple (my only complaint so far).

I was really looking forward to my first session which was with Heidi Kenney from My Paper Crane. She was really engaging and funny but also sort of shy at the same time. As though she can't quote figure out what all of the fuss is about. If you've seen her stuff you know what all the fuss is about.

She talked about how she manages it all. Her first experience writing a book and how she got started in thte craft world before there were really any resources for people. Anyone who started when she did just had to figure it out for themselves. Anyway, I was planning to ask if I could take her picture after her talk...but for some weird reason I just couldn't make myself do it. She's like craft show famous and stuff. So someone go tell Heidi that I need her picture to complete my Summit of Awesome blogging experience.

I also attended a session called "Monetizing Your Website and Online Advertising Basics" by Sara Dick and Christine Ernest from Hello Craft (the two cuties below).




Here's what I learned:

Step One: Develop and define your online audience.

Check out http://www.Compete.com. It's a website (obviously) where you can plug in your URL and someone elses URL and see how your traffic and demographics line up. It is really useful when determining what sites to advertise ON as well as useful information you can provide to potential advertising purchasers.

Other similar resources are http://www.Quantcast.com and http://www.Sitemeter.com

Which stats matter and what do they mean?

Unique visitors: individuals who visit your website. They may visit multiple times in a month, but they are only counted once.

Page views: the total number of pages that are visited on your website during a specific time. This helps determine how sticky your website is.

Step Two: Define your inventory and create ad packages There are basically two types of ads: image and text. Text ads are best used in email marketing campaigns. If you are selling ads in an email marketing campaign you should be able to tell people what your open rate is (the % of people who open your emails).

Step Three: Define Ad specs

Specify what file types you will accept. .jpg and .gif are the most common.

File size: you should specify around 50kb or less. Ad dimensions: what size ads will you accept? Many craft websites and blogs use square 125x125 or 150x150 Check out http://www.Iab.net for standard sizes and advertising specs.

Step Four: Implementation

Think about where you will put the ads and what that means to your advertisers. Ads that are above the fold (shown on the top of the screen so you don't need to scroll down to view them) are more valuable. Also, ads closer to your content are more valuable because people tend to ignore ads in groups. That said, you also have to consider what the experience is like for your users. It's a fine balancing act

Step Five: determine which model you will use.

The simplest is a static ad that stays in the same place for a set period of time.

You can also use Share of voice: # of impressions forecasted divided by # of impressions purchased= sov% you sell sov on a cpm basis - per 1000 (cost per 1000 impressions or number of times the ad will be shown on the site)

Cost per click (cpc) ads are shown on the website until they receive a specified number of clicks.

Step Six: Reporting standards

It is customary to send the customer a screenshot of their ad being displayed on the website once the ad begins running. Check out http://gyazo.com.

Clicks: let your customer know how many clicks their ad received during the time it was running.

Impressions: If available, let your customer know how many times their ad was shown on the website.

Click through rate = # of clicks divided by impressions.

That's the end of your lesson. More soon. In closing, enjoy these pictures from the party tonight at Land during the tour of the Buy Olympia warehouse.

The Wonderful-ness of Crafty Wonderland

On May 1st and 2nd Mr. Gale and I traveled to Portland, OR to sell Shower Art at Crafty Wonderland. This is the first year that they have done a Spring Show and to my knowledge - the first time they have done a two-day show.

The Pros: Lots of people came out to the show. It was obviously well advertised. There was a great variety of vendors -- and many of them. It was well organized and the communication with the organizers was clear and easy to understand. Lots of people took our cards and said things like, "Everyone I know is getting one of these for Christmas." Awesome!

The Cons: We didn't sell as much as we had anticipated. Lots of people were at the show, but they didn't seem to be spending lots of money. Comparing it to the holiday show is unfair though as there isn't a holiday of that magnitude that people are preparing for in May -- but it was still less than my devious, little mind allowed me to hope for.

In my opinion, the ideal situation for Crafty Wonderland would be to do a two-day show in December for the holidays and a one-day show in the spring.

Now, the fun part -- the awesome stuffs!:

Stuff Out of Things: 
I berated poor Brian about not being able to accept credit cards and he bent to my will and signed up for a service after the first day. Then, I bought these mugs. I love, love, love his stuff. I was tempted to buy a coffee mug that had the leg of an (by his estimation) 8 month old child attached. I would bring it to work and sip from it as though there was nothing strange at all about drinking coffee from a mug with a child's leg growing out of it. I would have too -- if the coffee at my work wasn't such swill. I can't bear to drink it out of anything. Check out Brian's Etsy Shop: ThingsOutOfStuff.

Bella Sisters: 
I didn't find a jacket that was perfect for me on this trip (which is really okay since I already have two) but Mr. Gale did. It has deer antlers on it. He's not here right now for me to take a picture...plus he hates it when I talk about him on the Internets. But seriously - these jackets are just about the best thing I've ever put on my body. You WILL agree.

Flying Bird Botanicals: 
Vanilla Rose flavored hot cacao mix? Really? How could I NOT buy that? Am I a zombie? No. No, I am not. It is delicious.

Whale Mountain: 
I saw these paintings/embroidery pieces last year during the holiday show and felt bad that I didn't get one then -- so I was thrilled that Whale Mountain was back for the spring. I am also glad I waited because now they have a series of pieces that are yoga themed and I've been re-committing to Bikram yoga over the past few months. It will be a great reminder what my priorities should be...once I make time to hang it up.

So, in short -- Crafty Wonderland totally worth the trip just for the craft show. BUT -- we got an extra added bonus because we got to stay with friends Merritt and Tim who took us to Slappy Cakes where they give you a squeeze bottle of pancake batter and let you go to town making pancakes at your table. Did I mention that the table is also a griddle? It's pretty much the best place I've ever been in my life.

Did you vend at Crafty Wonderland's Spring Show? Did you shop there? What awesome stuff did you buy?