Our Blog Title: Going out of business Date: May 07, 2008 After many weeks of deliberation we decided with a heavy heart to discontinue the business and focus our attention on other projects. Our heartfelt THANKS to our many loyal customers. We enjoyed working with you! We have learned so much about running a business and we are about to start a new venture that requires our full attention. We still have a large quantity of scents on hand and will continue to process orders and ship in a timely manner until we reduce our scents or sell them. If you are interested in purchasing scents from us, we offer them at 50% off supplier cost plus your shipping. Please contact us at sales@autumncandles.com. Thank you! Title: Advertising and links Date: Jan 4, 2008 The main avenues for advertising on the Internet is Google and Yahoo. There are some other players, but these are the big ones. Out of these two, Google is the leader. Google is what most people use to search the Internet. Advertising on Google is done a couple ways. You can get listed on the main page or you can get listed on the right side under "Sponsored Links". Nobody knows the exact algorithm Google uses to rank websites. There are some known facts, but the secret remains with Google or - so Google said - everybody would be on page 1. Key word density in your text (without starting to sound silly) seems to be important, the age of the webpage and the product you are searching for. Obviously there are other factors. One main factor is linking to other webpages and be linked back (reciprocal linking). Have you ever wondered why we have a links page and why Oh why would we show our competitors? Google makes us one big happy loving family. In order to improve your ranking you need to be linked. It helps to be linked in a relevant and high linked page. Moving up in ranks is very difficult unless you discover the secret. We are now finally somewhere on page 10 most of the time if you search for soy candles, but if you search for "soy candle sale" we are on page 1. If your company does not get ranked on the first or second page, chances are slim that customers keep on clicking away and find you eventually. Who will go to page 10??? Then your only option is to "pay per click". That brings you on the right side under "Sponsored Link". You can determine the price you want to pay per click and that determines if you are on page 1 or 2. The price varies by what your competitors are willing to pay. That means, during the busy season you would pay over $1 per click in order to be ranked on page 1. That quickly eats away your profits, especially if you have a lot of "clickers" and no "buyers". You can set a budget limit on your day. You can only pay $10 a day and then you will drop off once you meet your budget. It is a gamble to decide on your budget and advertising. Most people do not know clicking on "Sponsored Links" will cost companies money. I wish they knew! When I search for a product and I am interested in a company under "sponsored links", I go to the address line and type in the URL address and go to them directly. That way it does not cost them anything. I don't mean to take Google's profits away, but I know from experience how much it can cost in advertising and not get any orders in return. Title: New scents Date: Oct 13, 2007 I thought you might like to see the new scents that are lined up for testing, as time allows. Mediterranean Fig, Almond Biscotti, Apples N'Oak, Blackberry Gelato, Sage & Citrus, Mountain air, Butter Rum All Spice, Love Spell, Carrot Cake, Hazelnut Coffee, Hazelnut Espresso. We tested carrot cake before, but were not happy with the result. Obviously this is a different supplier. Also, we have a really nice Vanilla Macadamia Nut Coffee, but we are still in search for a better or additional coffee scent. Funny thing about Hazelnut. I love this scent, but I can't get it to burn right. After about my 10th try at Hazelnut my husband informed me it was time to move on, but I haven't given up on Hazelnut yet. Maybe Hazelnut coffee will be the way to go? Another scent that was already tested and will be added soon is Creamy Cinnamon Chai Tea. There are so many more to be tested, but the above we pulled as being the most promising. We will see... Title: Soy candles and scents Date: Sept 24, 2007 Most candle companies are trying to convey to their potential customers that they have a great product and wonderful scents. We try to do the same, of course. Sometimes you just have a few seconds to convince a potential customer that you have a great product. It always rubs me the wrong way when I see advertising that somebody has the best candle or the strongest scents or they are better than anybody else. We all try to sell the best candle possible. What sense would it make to produce a candle that does not meet your expectation? You won't make it in this business, I can promise you that. Companies use descriptions like triple scented, highly scented, maximum scented, scented throughout. Here is a little secret. The more scent you use, the higher you need to go in wick size. That is the reason larger soy candle containers are double wicked. If you use too much scent without the correct wick, the candle will not burn properly, it will "drown". The real secret to a great candle is to use as much scent as possible and match the amount of scent with a good burning wick. Every fragrance needs to be tested to make sure the scent works with a certain type of wick. The same fragrance scent does not equal the same fragrance scent from another company. That is the reason we test the same scent from different suppliers and then pick the best scent. Sometimes, however, we just come across a fabulous scent and we don't see a reason to test further. By the way, yes, we have the best and strongest scented candle of them all and you can smell our candle when you drive into town. Just kidding.... Title: Soy candles and freshness Date: Sept 18, 2007 Is there a difference between fresh candles and "old" candles? We do not think so. Candles have a lid and the scent is saturated throughout the wax. The scent has no place to go. Advertising for freshly poured candles regarding the scent is just an advertising gimmick. However, as soy candles "age", the coloring sometimes fades. That is particularly true when the colors are exposed to light either natural or store lighting. There is a small amount of UV protector that is usually added to keep the color looking fresh. We do not add a UV protector unless the candles sit in a store. Most of our candles are poured to order. We carry an inventory of 8 oz candles. With our special buy 4 get 1 free, we have to keep an assortment on hand. Also, since we offer a mystery scent for our return customers, we need to keep inventory on hand. We could not possibly pour every requested 8 oz candle to order. During the busy season from October - April, we keep a small inventory of our best sellers on hand for single wicked and double wicked, so we can ship quickly. This is a very fast revolving inventory and the candles do not sit very long. Again, we need to pre-pour to keep up with demand. That is the only way we can offer a 2 - 3 day turnaround on orders during the busy season. We had a couple local customers tell us that they opened a candle after a year, and the scent blew them away. We had an 8 oz Christmas Hearth for about 6 months and when I opened the lid, I thought the scent had actually strengthened. |