I wrote a version of this blog post back in the first few weeks of quarantine when my then boyfriend and I were living in Berkeley. We'd just moved from So Cal to the Bay Area about 6 months prior so he could get his MBA at Cal... and all of that shifted to online in our living room. I was running my stationery business out of our living room/the loft over our bedroom/the 'breakfast nook' in the kitchen (aka less than 600 square feet).
It was a wildly uncertain time, especially for small business owners, both off and online. I put together a blog post that shared multiple friends and ideas of how to support small businesses and brands through that rocky period. While quarantine has ended, the sentiment of many small businesses needing this current season to go well in order to survive has been getting louder and louder across social media from many small business friends and stores I follow and admire.
So here's an updated encore of how YOU can support your favorite small businesses during this Holiday season FOR FREE!
- Like, comment, save, and share this posts on social media! The algorithm is very skewed and dependent upon interactions. A quick heart and note how much you love it goes a long way. The more folks that do it, the more the algorithm will share our posts with our followers.
- Share their work off social media! Have a musician friend? Add your favorite songs of theirs to a playlist and share it with your friends. Hoard cards from your favorite stationery maker? Mail one to a friend who would love the artwork. Know a local shop that would be a good fit for a small business friend that wholesales? Tell the store owner and tag them on social media to introduce them! There are SO many ways to help your business friends and makers connect with potential future customers!
- Send them an email or DM! I've gotten emails from all over the world from people that have found my books and it means so much to me, especially when I'm having a crappy day.
- Sign up for their newsletters! Signing up for their newsletter is a great way to stay on top of future events of your favorites when you may be feeling more flush to shop. Plus, newsletters are really easy to forward along to your friends and family.
- Leave them a 5 star review! Check to see if they have a Yelp, Google or Facebook page for you to rate or review. Have you purchased from them in the past? Review their items to help encourage future shoppers to buy their goods! (FYI... when you make an account on the Sketchy Notions shop and leave reviews on purchased items, you get points towards future discounts!).
How else do you like supporting small businesses?
