Many artists and designers hate writing to shopkeepers about their work.
You open up a blank email, mind buzzing with all the things you want to get across, fingers poised above the keys like a concert pianist.
And then…nothing.
Your mind goes blank.
Nothing comes out.
Or if it does, it goes all small and boring and not what you wanted to say at all.
THOUGHTS THAT MAY CROSS YOUR MIND:
- What if I’m not doing this right and I put them off?
- What’s the point? They never write back to me.
- Aargh! Why can’t I do this? It’s just a simple email.
- I don’t want to seem pushy or presumptuous.
- I have to do this. I have to do this. I HAVE to do this.
- This stockist hasn’t ordered from me in ages. Did I do something wrong?
Yikes, right?
No wonder you’d rather clean the grouting with a toothbrush.
But what if you could skip all that stress and just write the email?
And what if it was actually FUN?
You get five, fill-in-the-blanks template emails, plus accompanying notes, designed to help you:
1. Pitch like a pro to a potential stockist
2. Nudge a retailer who hasn’t got back to you
3. Remind a stockist you exist and encourage them to re-order
4. Say thank you to a stockist whilst raking in praise and referrals
5. Build your bond with a stockist and get valuable feedback
“Having a guide like Retailer Catnip, written in plain language and so wittily and succinctly is really a god-send. It completely solves the problem of how to get started approaching shops, and takes the fear out of it.”
Claire Brown
Designer, cross-stitcher and owner of Miso Funky
“Retailer Catnip is great for helping to compose that daunting first email to a shopkeeper. I really wish it had been around when I first started. I would’ve made a lot fewer mistakes!”
Lee May Foster-Wilson
Artist and jewellery-maker, owner of Bonbi Forest
The material in Retailer Catnip is solid.
There’s nothing to stop you using it to send out a batch of high-quality submissions to retailers within 30 minutes of downloading it.
IT’S SERIOUSLY EASY TO USE
In the longer term, it’s also about helping you find your own voice and learn the skills to make writing to retailers the easiest thing in the world.
Retailer Catnip isn’t a magic bullet.
To be successful in wholesale, you need a quality product, strong branding and a pricing structure that enables you to actually make money.
A set of killer emails can’t conjure up a thriving business all on their own.
But if you’ve got the dedication, creative energy and the desire to succeed, Retailer Catnip will help you grow your business stockist by stockist.
Sound good?
“The emails and letters that I respond to best are from potential suppliers who sound like they’ve done a bit of research on the shop and the products I sell – something you cover rather well in these template emails.”
Arlene Baird
Retailer, Boo Vake
The email templates in Retailer Catnip are good stuff.
They work, especially when you give them your own twist.
But I don’t want you worrying about what to do if they don’t work for you.
So if it’s not your thing, ask for a refund and I’ll buy it back from you.
I want Retailer Catnip to be in the hands of people who LOVE it. If it’s not a good fit for you, that’s okay.
So how about you stop trying to write emails to shopkeepers, and actually send some.
Like, TODAY.
Retailer Catnip costs $40.
You in?
“It’s brilliant that Retailer Catnip is in layman’s terms, as it were. You’ve definitely taken the pressure off the whole situation. I think when sitting in front of a blank email the most daunting things are: what tone should I use? Where do I start? What should my subject header be? The templates are amazing for this, and the way you introduce them makes it easy to instantly feel like I can do this!“
Ruth Williams
Co-owner of I Am Acrylic
Retailer Catnip is a great idea and very helpful for both us and artists/makers. It will be really helpful in explaining how we like to find out about new products and receive work
Suzanne Shearer
North Rock Gallery
I’d recommend Retailer Catnip to people who’d like to expand their small business and have their products sold by many more retailers. I’d also recommend it to new graduates from Art/Design college, especially those at the beginning of their business
I was given no business guidance and it took me ages to figure out what retailers needed from me, so this would have been so helpful back then! Clare, you should do lectures in art colleges with this!
Emily Hogarth
Designer and illustrator
Retailer Catnip is a great starting point to avoid the dreaded “staring at a blank email window” syndrome. I think it also provides valuable reassurance that it’s okay to approach potential and current stockists in a personal fashion rather than feeling you need a very formal tone. And having a confident and definitive guide from the point of view of a shopkeeper is great.
Rachel Russell
HelloWilson
Retailer Catnip is an easy, no hassle, step-by-step guide to selling your work, approaching retailers and singing your own praises (without doing a hard sell.) I’d recommend it to new makers in the industry, graduates, start-ups, students and the old guard that are needing a wee kick up the bum (self included!)
Kirsty Thomas
Lovely Pigeon
