Marketing and Affiliates: Proud be on Swoozie’s Team

I promised in my post "Small Business Start Up To Do List" that I would periodically update you on the business end of Bash in a Box. We have exciting news. We have decided to become affiliates for some sites we think complement our party boxes and provide you with some great party resources. We are not going to go crazy with advertising banners or anything like that. We have decided to do a few product and site reviews and we will launch a resource page soon for items and companies that have party products we think you will like as well as useful info like measurement conversion.

Why, if we sell such great party boxes are we branching out? Well, there are several reasons.

First and foremost – we can’t do it all - we hope our recommendations will help build our site as the trusted starting place for your party planning. We’d like you to use this site to get party ideas and find the resources you need to throw a fabulous bash even if one of our party boxes don’t fit your needs today. We are confident that as our selection of boxes grow you’ll choose us for your party planning guide and supplies in the near future.

Second, economics - right now we need to generate income for the business and every time you choose to make a purchase from one of our affiliates we will get a tiny portion of that sale. Don’t worry we still recommend things for free and we will make it clear when and how we get paid.

Third, site traffic - as you know by now we are first time business owners and teaching ourselves along the way. While we have made great progress in boosting our SEO (search engine optimization) so that you can find us, we have not been as good at getting new visitors to our site. We are hoping that adding our new affiliates to the mix will help increase site traffic. I also put together my first marketing plan and have started more person to person networking to generate interest in Bash-in-a-Box. We have no advertising budget to speak of so we’ll be experimenting with multiple ways to increase interest in our site. To that end we set up shop on the following sites:

Follow our progress through tweets and see the interesting people and organization we love to follow.

Check out our Bash boards and see “Things We Love” and "Gift Ideas".

What is Swoozie's?:

Swoozie's is the leading contemporary gift and social paper retailer in the US, recently named one of the most innovative stores in the US by Kurt Salmon & Associates.

Why Swoozie’s?

Swoozie's is fun! I really like their colorful assortment of home décor, hostess gifts and party supplies. They don’t give you an end to end party solution – that’s our job – but they offer great individual options from classy to kitschy.

I was particularly impressed with their personalized napkins. They have many options to choose from and if you want to use your own image they can accommodate. Their chat support was supper quick and helpful too.

I also really appreciate Swoozie’s pricing for personalized invitations. At Bash in a Box we use electronic invitations, but when you want to go the extra mile and send out beautiful paper invitations Swoozie’s has a large selection. They understand that you don’t always have a guest list in multiples of 10, and Swoozie’s lets you purchase what you need and no matter the quantity. And if that wasn't enough you only pay $2.00 per printed invitation no minimums or maximums. ;)

So, you ask what have I bought from Swoozie's? I ordered personalized napkins with the Bash in a Box logo (that’s how I know about the personal art and chat support) and I ordered three table runners.

Personally I am a fan of table runners. I think they look great on my wood table and I like that you can still see the wood. They are also great to dress up a plain white or solid colored tablecloth. For large dinner parties we use our pool table just like the Beverly hillbillies. No actually we have a cover and use 2 very large table cloths. Table runners are my work around to save money and space on buying full size cloths year to year and season to season. I also have several side tables in my living room and table runners are the perfect size to add color or seasonal decor.

I choose these three table runners for some upcoming entertainment. I think the Floral Coloring Table Runner will fit in nicely for a Spring dinner party I am planning. I want to test the Chalk Board Table Runner for a Tapas Bash we are designing and the Blank Kraft table runner for a Luau Bash we have in the works. I’ll be sure to let you know if they make it through the Bash in a Box Test Party.

So if you need a personalized elements for your event, a hostess gift for an upcoming invitation, or are just in the mood for some fun décor click this link and check out Swoozie’s. This link will also provide you with the latest sale promotion from Swoozie’s and you’ll be supporting Bash in the Box at the same time.

Let me know what you think of the blog post and Swoozie’s. Write to me at kim@bash-in-a-box.com

Cheers!

As an affiliate of Swozies Bash-in-a-Box gets a small fee for any purchase made from one of the links on this page.