202. Baking it Down - Calling All Actions

Summary

Podcast Summary: Baking it Down with Sugar Cookie Marketing 🍪
Episode 202: "Calling All Actions"
Release Date: March 12, 2025

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Host Introductions and Personal Anecdotes

The episode begins with Heather and Corrie Miracle sharing personal stories, setting a relatable and personable tone for the discussion. Heather humorously mentions battling a cold while babysitting Corrie's playful kitten, Archer, highlighting the hosts' close-knit relationship and the lively dynamics of their daily lives.

"If my voice is already annoying, imagine it stuffy and listening to it."
[00:08]
– Heather

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Main Topic: The Power of Call to Actions (CTAs)

The core of the episode revolves around Call to Actions (CTAs), a fundamental component of effective marketing strategies. Heather and Corrie delve into the definition, significance, and practical applications of CTAs, emphasizing their pivotal role in guiding potential customers through the buying process.

Defining Call to Actions

A Call to Action is a prompt that encourages users to perform a specific action, such as signing up for a newsletter, downloading a resource, or making a purchase.

"A call to action is a prompt on a website that makes a user perform a specific action, like signing up for a newsletter, downloading a demo, or buying a product."
[04:50]
– Corrie

Importance of CTAs in Marketing

Heather underscores the inevitability and necessity of marketing in business survival and growth. She cites a personal account of her father regretting reduced marketing efforts during the 2008 economic downturn, which allowed competitors to surge ahead.

"Marketing makes the world turn. People say, well, in the economy tightening, still, marketing is of the most importance. Our father owns a company and he said, my biggest regret is in the economic downturn in 2008, I pulled back on marketing and the companies who didn’t are now the mega companies."
[02:24]
– Corrie

Components of Effective CTAs

Heather and Corrie outline the key elements that make CTAs effective:

1. Conciseness and Directness: CTAs should be short and to the point, often limited to two or three words.

   "Book now. Order now. Subscribe now."
   [09:24] – Corrie

2. Action-Oriented Verbs: Using verbs that prompt immediate action encourages engagement.

   "Use action-oriented verbs like 'Buy now', 'Subscribe', 'Click here'."
   [14:07] – Corrie

3. Highlighting Benefits: Surrounding CTAs with supportive text that emphasizes the benefits can increase effectiveness.

   "Join the free community. Stream the podcast here."
   [16:34] – Corrie

4. Visual Appeal: Utilizing bright colors and emojis can make CTAs stand out and draw attention.

   "Our buttons are bright pink, making them visually appealing."
   [40:30] – Corrie

Placement Strategies on Websites

The placement of CTAs significantly impacts user interaction. Heather and Corrie discuss optimal strategies for positioning CTAs on websites to maximize conversions.

• Above the Fold: Placing the primary CTA where users can see it without scrolling ensures immediate visibility.

  "Above the fold is anything that you can see without having to scroll. We want the first thing users see is the order button."
  [11:13] – Corrie

• Funnel Integration: Integrating multiple CTAs throughout the website caters to users at different stages of the buying journey.

  "As people scroll, they encounter different CTAs tailored to their current needs, guiding them deeper into the funnel."
  [21:18] – Heather

Using CTAs in Social Media and Newsletters

Beyond websites, CTAs are vital in social media posts and newsletters. The hosts emphasize the importance of embedding clear and direct prompts in these platforms to drive engagement and conversions.

• Social Media: Incorporating CTAs in captions and comments can direct followers to take specific actions, such as visiting a website or signing up for a newsletter.

  "In social media, a CTA like 'Join the community' or 'Subscribe now' can effectively guide your audience to the next step."
  [17:34] – Corrie

• Newsletters: Embedding CTAs within newsletters ensures that subscribers have clear directions on how to engage further, whether it's placing an order or accessing exclusive content.

  "Newsletters should have multiple CTAs directing readers to your website, order forms, or special offers."
  [20:25] – Corrie

Balancing Marketing with Authenticity

Heather and Corrie address the common apprehension among bakers and small business owners about being too aggressive in their marketing efforts. They advocate for confidence in using CTAs without compromising authenticity.

"If you feel like it's kind of weaker marketing pitches, that's not what I want to hear. It's not going to convince me that you absolutely got this."
[42:07] – Corrie

They encourage hosts to adopt a balance, ensuring that CTAs are assertive yet genuine, aligning with the brand's voice and values.

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Practical Tips and Examples

The duo shares actionable tips to implement effective CTAs:

1. Testing and Analytics: Utilize tools like Google Analytics to monitor which CTAs perform best and refine strategies based on data.

   "Use Google Analytics to see which buttons get more clicks and adjust accordingly."
   [19:39] – Corrie

2. Responsive Design: Ensure CTAs are easily clickable on all devices, especially mobile, to cater to users on the go.

   "Consider users with broken screens or limited functionality; CTAs should still be accessible and functional."
   [11:13] – Corrie

3. Simplicity: Avoid long-winded CTAs that can overwhelm or confuse users. Keep them straightforward and easy to understand.

   "Keep CTAs simple like 'Order now' instead of a lengthy explanation."
   [07:00] – Corrie

4. Using Emojis: In non-technical contexts like social media, emojis can serve as visual CTAs, guiding users effortlessly.

   "Emojis like arrows or finger points can act as silent CTAs, directing attention without additional words."
   [27:31] – Corrie

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Handling Listener Questions

The hosts address listener inquiries, providing tailored advice for specific challenges faced by bakers in their marketing efforts. One notable question revolves around politely declining theme requests from friends or family.

"How do you politely respond to an inquiry for a theme that you simply don't want to do...?"
[47:57] – Listener Question

Heather advises setting clear boundaries and offering alternatives without compromising personal or brand values.

"You can say, I don't do that theme because it’s out of my wheelhouse, but here are other options or other bakers who specialize in that."
[54:44] – Corrie

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Sponsors and Product Highlights

Towards the end of the episode, Heather and Corrie highlight their sponsors, emphasizing products that can enhance marketing efforts for bakers:

1. Backers Co.: An at-home photography setup designed to improve the visual appeal of baked goods in online content.

   "Backers Co. provides a white, flat backdrop that makes cookies the focal point, eliminating distractions from busy backgrounds."
   [68:07] – Heather

2. Bake Royal Batch: Offers versatile meringue powders perfect for achieving silky smooth textures and vibrant colors in decorations.

   "Bake Royal Batch's meringue powder is a favorite for its bright white hue and smooth consistency, ideal for decorating cookies."
   [69:27] – Heather

3. Eddie the Edible Food Printer: A tool that prints directly onto food, enabling personalized and intricate designs on various baked items.

   "Eddie can print logos or custom designs on cookies and other treats, adding a unique touch to your creations."
   [70:03] – Corrie

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Conclusion

Heather and Corrie wrap up the episode by reinforcing the importance of CTAs in driving sales and business growth. They encourage bakers to implement the discussed strategies confidently, highlighting that effective CTAs can significantly enhance marketing efforts.

"With a call to action, you're gonna make more sales than if you didn't have a call to action."
[46:48] – Heather

The episode concludes with light-hearted banter and a reminder to tune in for future insights, fostering a sense of community and ongoing support among listeners.

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Key Takeaways:

• CTAs are Essential: They guide users through the buying process and are crucial for converting interest into sales.
• Be Clear and Direct: Use concise language with strong, action-oriented verbs.
• Strategic Placement: Position CTAs where they are immediately visible and accessible across all platforms.
• Maintain Authenticity: Balance assertive marketing with genuine brand voice to build trust and credibility.
• Leverage Tools and Testing: Utilize analytics to refine and optimize CTA performance continually.
• Engage Across Channels: Implement CTAs not just on websites but also in social media and newsletters for holistic marketing efforts.

By integrating these principles, bakers and small business owners can enhance their marketing strategies, fostering growth and stronger customer engagement.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome. I have a cold today, so I am gonna sound stuffy. I'm gonna let Heather carry this one with her voice.

[B]

We did not talk about that.

[A]

If my voice is already annoying, imagine it stuffy and listening to it.

[B]

I can't. I don't have to imagine. It's just playing out.

[A]

I babysat Heather's cats this week. Her kitten and I feel like it's a kitten allergic reaction there that I'm getting.

[B]

He's a very little dude.

[A]

His little tufty tiny baby hairs were floating everywhere. Floating everywhere. And the cat kitten is everywhere himself.

[B]

Yes. But he was a joy.

[A]

A joy to watch. He definitely needs a ton of attention.

[B]

It's a kidman.

[A]

A ton of attention.

[B]

I said to Cory, you know, she was like, I'll drive him back on podcast day. I was like, great. I said, it's going to be hell on earth. Oh.

[A]

He meowed the entire time.

[B]

Meowed the entire time.

[A]

It was no break.

[B]

There's no even breath. And if you talk to him, he.

[A]

Uses that as a chance to talk back. But he was adorable. Yeah. Arch. My son loved him. I let him stay home from school to watch the cat, so it was even more of a love fest.

[B]

How to be Cory's child. Imagine getting anything and everything you've ever wanted.

[A]

My husband was like, are you letting him stay home from school? I said, just let me be a cool parent today.

[B]

Let her be a cool parent night. Just let her be a cool parent.

[A]

We're back to normal. Heather has her cat. Archer's at school. I got a cold.

[B]

Such is. So this is the Baking it down podcast, which is an excerpt.

[A]

Excerpt, yes.

[B]

Fancy. With my words today, everybody went down an excerpt from a Facebook group called the Sugar Cookie Marketing Group.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And we're able to kind of see issues or problems or child tribulations and bring them to the podcast and address one topic every week. We've now done 201 episodes, and me.

[A]

And Heather, we're talking.

[B]

You've heard some repeats, repeat topics and tips. If someone was like, start listening to this podcast. And I had 202 episodes to listen to, I'm not sure that I would start at the beginning or if I'd start latest.

[A]

This is how I do it. If someone recommends a podcast to me, I'm going to listen to the latest episode to see if I like it. You can't judge someone off of their first words.

[B]

So the repetition. I could get somebody who's like, oh, I don't know what called actions are. Even though We've talked about them. We have. Here's the thing about marketing. It'll never stop. Marketing makes a world turn.

[A]

It truly does. You could build the best restaurant, be the best chef, have the best burger, but if no one knows that it's.

[B]

There, it doesn't exist.

[A]

It does not exist.

[B]

So marketing, my opinion, marketing makes a world around. People say, well, in the. When the economy tightens, still, marketing is now of the most importance. Our father owns a company and he said, my biggest regret is in the economic downturn in 2008, I pulled back on marketing and the companies who didn't are now the mega companies.

[A]

A lot of people think I don't, I don't know how to market. I'm not a marketer. I want to tell you every single day you're marketing yourself in some form or fashion. But when I say to art, hey, you know, brushing your teeth makes your teeth not fall out of your face. I'm marketing to him the benefits of teeth brushing.

[B]

He has plenty of objections.

[A]

We're marketing all the time. Doing your hair, presenting yourself, you are marketing.

[B]

And then if you could, you know, I say like count how many pieces of advertisement you see throughout the day. It's a tremendous amount.

[A]

It's, it's so much more at this point than it used to be. With so many people chronically online on social media, you're, you're getting pummeled by advertisements 247 and you're like, well, I always scroll past the ads. Your favorite influencer pushing that product or using that, using the moisturizer while they're doing their face.

[B]

As much as I like, like to think I have ad blindness, I stop for ads, you know, if it's something that catches my eye. Even though I'm like, well, I can, you know, I can watch YouTube and just skip the ads and never care. But I'll tell you, a lot of the products I own are from ads, even subliminally, just a switching over that, you know, because. Right. We don't do advertisements for the sponsors as segments.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So you have to listen to them. If you're listening to the podcast, you could double tap about three times to get rid of us. But it's still. You now think, well, I wonder if I should try bakegity bake or maybe I do need the backers co backdrop or something like that. So really they do work. Marketing is ever pervasive. High times, low times. You need it because you got to still make the money. Yes. So today's topic a Repeat, maybe calling all actions. What is a call to action? Now this is a buzzword from the Internet because that's what we're call to actions actually exist. Call to. This is a definition by AI that's taken over the world. A call to action is a prompt on a website that makes a user ask a user to perform a specific action, like signing up for a newsletter, downloading a demo, or buying a product. So we already know from just that it's concise and it's typically digital. Although you can see call to actions be pulled into print.

[A]

Yeah, I see them in print on those little thing that come in the mail by now. Yes. You know, schedule your window replacement right now.

[B]

So here's the funny thing about call to actions. It is weird to tell you to buy something when clearly you're on the website to buy something. Yeah. But it works so well. It is the next step in the buying process. I say, you say, well, I think I want to buy. Let's say pretend I'm selling windows. You say, I want to buy some windows for my house. So you go to my website.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Now imagine my website is just every. All the information you need to decide to buy. But I never tell you to sign up. I never tell you to buy here. I never tell you. You click to schedule.

[A]

Right. You, I, you think like it's natural, you're on the website to buy. So buy. But at the end of the day, we need guidance as customers.

[B]

We, as human as sheeples, love to be told what to do.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

We love. The next thing you're gonna do is you're gonna click here.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

What you're gonna do is call now. And we love that concept of being told what to do. Yeah. Imagine a website with no call to actions. It would feel like it's directionless while it's telling you all the information you'd possibly need. Remember, you're not gonna have a call now.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You're just gonna have this in informational landing page.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So what moves us along the buying process is these call to actions. And if you go to a website that's, you know, well designed, you'll see like Amazon has so many call to actions.

[A]

Oh, buy now, Click subscribe, save 10%.

[B]

So it's constantly. But I see, you know, in some cookie websites there's no call to actions.

[A]

And I think it's the conundrum of where people are like, I'm not good at marketing and sales. And here's the thing, you, you can see what the big boys Are doing big boys like online retailers, Walmart, Amaz. And you can replicate that because what they're doing is what people are used to. Buy now. And like Etsy loves to say add to cart. Click 1, click Add to cart. Do you want to check out now?

[B]

Yeah, Constant. Ask for that sale.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

So we know Corey and I just referred to a bunch of marketplaces. Amazon's a marketplace, Target's not marketplace. But go to a website of a single service product. So I go to a landscapers website. There should be a multitude of call to actions like schedule here, easy scheduling, call now, online scheduling, things like that. Go to the hair salon that use. Hopefully they, unlike mine, use online schedule. So okay, we know what a call to action is. It is either. Typically you can see it really quickly as buttons on websites. Now buttons have to be pretty small because we've got to get them on a website. So you'll say click here. Call now. Yes, buy now.

[A]

Very, very short and to the point. It's not this long drawn out sentence. If you would like to schedule your lawn care service with blah, blah blah, please click here and fill out the form. It's always like fill out the form, call now.

[B]

You can have supporting text around that, but the button itself, the clear call to action. And you see call to actions on YouTube is subscribe.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Hit like comment, subscribe. Those are called actions. I'm telling you very succinctly what to do. And it's always going to be a.

[A]

Button and they're pretty highlighted. You'll see it looks like an actual button on a website sometimes because you.

[B]

Know a lot of people while there's text on a website. So we have, you know, H1s. That's the biggest text you'll see. You have H2s, which is a supporting text. And then you have mostly paragraph text. Now paragraph text, I don't read it, I skim it.

[A]

Skim.

[B]

Looking for emphasis on the skim. Not 2% milk, 1% milk. Yeah, I'm barely reading paragraph text. But my Natural inclination is H1, maybe an H2 skim a paragraph and then I'm looking for that first call to action. Because if I'm on the website, I'm halfway through convincing myself to buy something.

[A]

Absolutely. And you just need that little push.

[B]

I need you to tell me call now. And now they have. Okay, now we can do further. The call to action has morphed into a bigger thing like a popup, you know, and if you have an exit pop up, that means as the website predicts you're about to leave. It may say here's 10%. You can have pop ups on bottom of page scroll meaning I'm on a website, I've scrolled all the way. The fact that I'm at the bottom of the website means I haven't convinced myself to buy anything. So then you can have a pop up that has a call to action. Click here to save 10% limited offer, things like that.

[A]

Trying to really drive home the sale for that right before you click off. It's our hail Mary.

[B]

Here's the thing and Google rolled this out pop ups upon click right. So like when I clicked our website if a pop up shows up immediately, it's a little overwhelming to me. I don't like it. And Google said we're going to try to punish. We used to say that. I don't think it ever did. A ton of websites don't. Yeah. So I must be more effective to keep doing it than And I think Google's penalizing of SEO never really took effect. I think and I want to say.

[A]

Facebook actually promotes it. So if you click an ad from Facebook, go to their website, it's not opened in browser, you're still technically on Facebook. It will say would you like one? Do you. It'll say 10% off and it'll say do you want to auto populate your information?

[B]

That little 10 off thing when I click I'm like it got now when I went to an ad it said would you like to see other companies with very similar ads that are selling similar products Resting. Yeah. So anyways back to call to action. So the tips to effective call to actions are going to be kind of what I just said. One concise and direct.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Comment here. Like subscribe to our YouTube channel. Bye now.

[A]

Book now.

[B]

Inquiry now let's see what is your call to action?

[A]

I can't remember.

[B]

I would love.

[A]

I'm blaming you if it's not good because you are.

[B]

My website would be my call to action. Okay. Right now the first call to action I have is in the ribbon now booking for July. It is clickable. It should be. I need to fix that order here.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

That's your first button. Yeah. Then you have on your products you have learn more. You specifically asked for a learn more and not an add to cart because Corey wanted to increase her funnel. I wanted to go to the farm. We have a button here. It says more about me. That's the about page. Again not a call to action. The next one says start your order. Yeah. Okay. So it's a great one right here. Start your order. The next one says, oh, we added my ingredients because you wanted that to be front and center. And I took away one. Uh, and then we have an about me and a click to my portfolio and another call to action. Order here. And another one, come join my class. So we have a lot of call to actions. Probably not so aggressive. Not all of them are buy now. Right.

[A]

It could be more aggressive if we wanted to be.

[B]

I don't think you want an aggressive website. We can take one thing away from this podcast is that Corey does not want an aggressive website. But on her banner image, we have the first one is order here. The second button is order here. The third button is order here. Apparently I like order here. Yeah, we like an order. The reason why the buttons above the fold. So above the fold is anything that I can see without having to scroll. The reason why we like those. Those are the most important because that's what the user sees, the first thing they see when they click to a website. So some people are inclined to be like, well, let me do some convincing first. Not above the fold. There can be some convincing. We have a lot of images and we have baking in Woodbridge, Virginia. But we want to say, like, before, if you're here to buy, let me make sure I attend to you first. I don't even need to convince you. You're already here. You're looking for that first button. So that's why I like the. The above the fold buttons to be pretty aggressive. Yeah.

[A]

So you have to think what Heather's saying. Like, if someone clicked your website and their scroll part of their phone was broken, could they still click something and place an order? Um, so the people that are coming to your website who just want to see that you have a website, if they're ready to buy and the only thing holding them back is a click to order form. We want to get those people first and foremost. Instead of talking about, when I grew up in the hills of Tennessee, I enjoyed baking with my grandma.

[B]

You can have that, though, lower down. Again, maybe not necessarily in the hills of Tennessee, because we want to be always saying, how can I benefit you? Yeah, how. What about me makes your life easier? That's the content that we want to include. So I know a lot of times people are like, and then I was just a wee little girl and grandma said, that's great. I'm not going to read that. Yeah, I'm here to buy cookies. I only have so much time in my day I love that you and grandma got along back then. But how does Grandma. So you can say, my grandmother is a great baker and has passed me down a recipe that my clients absolutely.

[A]

Love that would make me want to buy.

[B]

I still got grandma there. But I'm talking about how Grandma benefits you. Yeah, right. Yeah. Okay. But then we would say, and you can buy grandma's recipe by clicking here order now. Instead of like that long. I see a lot of about pages that I'm like, wow, not a lot of this applies to me at all.

[A]

And I think that's maybe the biggest hurdle in the bakery world is you want to explain, like, how you got your start. And. And it's all about me at that point. Like, how did I get my start? You're like, of course it's going to be about you. It's how you got your start. What we want to do is always think, what's the least longest path to get someone to click the order now buy here button.

[B]

And you can see, right. Because that's that call to action button. Right now we have above the fold, the banner baking Woodbridge, your Northern Virginia sugar cookie cake, pop and sourdough. Dealer order here.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

That is your slide one.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

When I click order here, I can go directly to that. And so, you know, I. And then I have different versions and I haven't tested anything. I just threw this up on the website. You can say, start your order. You can order here, order now, book now. Yeah. It's funny because you think, like, if you think about it normally, telling somebody to book now, like the now is implied. That's why you're clicking there. But we're telling you, you need a book now.

[A]

Right?

[B]

Order now. Yeah. If you ever want to be inspired by marketing, watch an infomercial.

[A]

Oh.

[B]

It uses every single one of these tactics. And infomercials are weird, but they work so well. That Ruth Ann. Ruthanne, grandmother, she was eating a beet.

[A]

A beet chewy.

[B]

Yeah. And Corey's like, why in the world would you own that? And like, they advertise on the TV all the time.

[A]

That's the first thing she said. They advertise online.

[B]

The. The. I know what infomercial she's talking about. It's very convincing. I was like, maybe I need to add beats to my diet. Yeah.

[A]

I'm sure the whole time you're listening, they're like, but buy now. But wait, there's more. If you buy now, you get buy two, get one free. Yeah.

[B]

When you watch an infomercial you buy now and your whole life's problems are solved. Okay, so we have very concise and direct now. They need to use action oriented verbs. Book now. Right. So we're telling there's an action involved with this. Subscribe order now. Start here. You see that they all include a verb which is an action.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Instead of just like, what's crazy is.

[A]

It'S a natural in person. I would never look at Heather be like, order now. But it's so natural. And the world has evolved into seeing those and knowing that's the next step. But you can't be like, well, you know, they know what to do. You have to assume no one knows what's next.

[B]

We're preconditioned, we're preloaded to expect a website to tell us to order now. Right. And I think people can be like, well, I don't really like, I don't like that when I go to website. Listen, it's. If Amazon's doing it, we got to keep doing it. Amazon has much there. There was that Netflix documentary on over expenditures.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Anyways, they were like, Amazon has 29 versions of its website running at all times. Testing whether this button is producing more sales when it's green or when it's orange.

[A]

Yeah, that's crazy.

[B]

Right? And then, you know, ab testing is what it's called. And they said, yeah, we found out from 29 tests that the button when it looks like this and says this makes more sales. And that's what it is.

[A]

Yeah. You could learn a lot just from that. What's funny is I went to this hair spa, a head spa. They're, they were big on TikTok. I was like, oh, that looks so relaxing. Let me schedule one. So when I get to this head spa, I don't know what I'm doing. I've never been to it before. The lady was not explaining the next steps to me. So I'm standing there like in limbo. I know eventually we're going to get to room, my head's going to get washed. But I was so taken aback because she wasn't like, this is what's next. This is what next. As a consumer, you're like, well, you went to the head spa, your head's gonna get spa. But I needed to know and sit.

[B]

Here and see what was next year that might be. And then you're gonna, you're gonna extend it. You're like, hey, grab a C. But again, that's a call to action. Right. And they already had Corey's money. And she was still lost. But using action oriented verbs, especially in the land of truncation. So we referring to this because buttons on a website can't be paragraphs. They cannot have a clickable paragraph, a dry button. Me and Grandma, we're in the hills of Tennessee. Click here to learn more about Grandma. What we want to do is very concise, action oriented. So we're going to say book now or now again. They're very short, almost two words.

[A]

And you'll see the font that's on there. It's very easy to read.

[B]

Yeah. So I have. Let me pull up. I was working on the sugar cookie marketing website and I wanted to introduce some call to actions. So let me just open this, I have a bunch of these because I wanted to think in terms of the website as a funnel. Someone comes here, likely you don't know everything. You're trying to learn more. So my first call to action is join the community. That's I think, our biggest value proposition.

[A]

If you've never heard. If you're just getting into the bakery business and you're like, I don't know what to do. I'm not ready for someone to sell at me like a hardcore sale. Join the cookie college. Those words are weird.

[B]

Join the free Facebook community. Well, I can join a Facebook group.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

So I have my first call to action. It's above the fold. It's right there. Join the community. And then I jam packed some free resource call to actions. The marketing group, the baking group, the bread group, the newsletter, the podcast, the discount codes, state cottage groups, free Facebook lives, and the vending blending, which we don't talk about yet. Okay, scrolling down again, I have a second call to action. It's going to sound really familiar. It says join the free Facebook group. And now the button says click to join.

[A]

Nice.

[B]

You see that? The supporting text, that's not the button. Oh, do duly explain. So at the beginning I said, you don't know us. Join the community. Yeah, community. Scroll down because you weren't convinced by the beginning. So when you have a second call to action. Now it looks a little different. There's an emoji. The text is larger, but the button is click to join. I don't say listen. When you click and then answer the question, it just says click also.

[A]

What? I also like that you're using. If you are, a lot of us are on Facebook and Facebook will pummel you with do you want to join this group using the same verbiage that.

[B]

Yeah, kind of mirrors. Yes, I Know join. I know you join. You request to join. That's why people are like, follow me on Facebook, like my page. Because we're not going to be like support me on Facebook. Right?

[A]

That it's not matching the same verbiage when, when some, when the big guys are doing a lot of the marketing for us. It's not, you're not a copycat. What we're doing is just using the same language because it translates over there.

[B]

Yeah. Retweet. Like you can't say copy and paste. What I said on this account, it's retweet. It's a weird word or I don't know what they call it on X anymore.

[A]

You'll say share my page. It's hey, go to. And click Share my.

[B]

Share my page. If you. An alien landed and we were like, share my page. They're gonna be like, what? But we know on websites or on Facebook or tag my page. Yeah, tag me.

[A]

Tag me.

[B]

Tag.

[A]

Yeah. Someone who's never had the Internet run over. Tag her in. Yeah.

[B]

So I scroll down and now we're okay. If you didn't join the community or if you're already in the community, I'm gonna now move you to a different set of call to actions. And it's about the podcast because I think that's their second best value proposition.

[A]

Right?

[B]

Hopefully.

[A]

Wanna maybe if you're listening to this.

[B]

Maybe if you're not.

[A]

No.

[B]

So we have the Bacon down podcast. My supporting text says stream it right now for free. And then the text below that says every Tuesday, stream the baking down podcast featuring one topic that incorporates business and baking. Now I have my call to action buttons. Listen to the podcast. Watch podcast. Yeah, but you see, I'm not asking you to, I'm telling you to listen to it. Watch it.

[A]

Yeah, it's not like. Would you want to watch the podcast?

[B]

Do you think you'd like to see the podcast?

[A]

Do you have anything going on now? Would you like to listen to this.

[B]

While you're making command? Which is so odd because you don't speak like that. We said Call to actions are Internet based products if you guys want to command people. So then below that I have another one. Stream the podcast here. And now the button says stream. Now remember, they're all sending you to the same place. Listen to the podcast and stream now. But they're hitting you on two different commands.

[A]

And what Heather can do is test which button gets the more clicks.

[B]

How do you test that? Well, I have Google Analytics running on the website and it's going to tell me which buttons are getting clicked. And now my positioning. I have listened to the podcast centered and I have stream the podcast off to the right. So which one exactly?

[A]

Yeah, testing it out. Where are people's eyes sitting on the website. And if you're really in tune and you love your insights, you can create a very well run oiled machine that works for you.

[B]

Right. Because not all these call to actions are created the same. Below that, my third value proposition. The Wednesday, Wednesday newsletter. Right. I hope you guys are opening it. It sends out to 8, 000 people. That's a lot. Yeah, yeah. That's what. Don't ask me that. Click through. You guys want that? So it says again every Wednesday recap of the podcast plus a free transfer sheet and get a holiday countdown. Subscribe here. Read the blog.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

On each blog post that I have a preview of it says read this post again. We're just telling you here's what you're going to do. If you want the one single you're going to read this. If you want to get this, you're going to sign up below that a big call to action. Get the weekly newsletter here and the button is sign up.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So again it just a constant. Now you can say now that we're breaking this down, you're like that's all you're telling people to do. It take a lot of actions. That's what websites are for.

[A]

That's what the website. Plus you have to realize we have a lot of different offerings when it comes to what we offer. You have the cookie college, the podcast, the newsletter. When it comes to your bakery business, we're really wanting to promote them starting the order form because if they, if they fill out that order form and they see that your, your pricing is what it is, they know where you're located, they know what they're getting. The odds are that when they fill out the form you're going to be able to convert that form user into a sale rather high. If they're left on your website wondering what to do next like or if.

[B]

The, the command on what to do is at the bottom.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. You got to realize when people are shopping for a baker and they, they've never hired a baker before, there's nothing making them, there's no credibility that you've garnered.

[B]

But I want, I'm going to tell them about grandma in Tennessee Hills.

[A]

I know.

[B]

And they're like that blend though because that's too, too much me, not enough. Why you should Hire me.

[A]

You got to think your end user is used to using Amazon. The pricing for the object they're looking at is front and center because they know when you can see the pricing and you see what you're getting, the odds are that you're going to add to cart is a lot faster. Sometimes in marketing we see with our clients specifically, they want to build so much credibility that they're losing that call to action.

[B]

Right. Too much on credibility. We get no conversion. It's like, okay, you convinced me, but you've bored me. Because remember, nobody reads.

[A]

Nobody reads.

[B]

Nobody reads.

[A]

And while we love the love story you have with your bakery name and why you named it Three Archers and One Kitty Cat, I love that it's gotta support the end goal, which is to start and make the order so you can always edit your website. A lot of you are like, I'm not even at the website part. There's so many different places.

[B]

Make it a foundational component that you have these call to actions and we'll talk about where to put these call to actions. If you're not gonna put them on a website. Scrolling down here, grab a seat and a spatula. And then I have, then I tested the different call to action action buttons here. Instead of those ones that are so short. I said get social media.

[A]

And you know what, if you've scrolled down that far, yeah, you're looking for.

[B]

More, then we haven't given you four more.

[A]

And it's probably not going to be join the free community, get the newsletter. We are prompted to to sign up for newsletters 24 7. And a lot of them aren't.

[B]

I think some people are like, I don't want your newsletter yet. I'm not convinced yet that you are worth my inbox. So I have this one. Learn photography. Get baking tips and tricks. And all of those take you to Facebook groups.

[A]

And our end goal, our funnel. So you have to think the website's the top of the funnel. You don't know what you're looking for. Our goal is to get you to this bottom of the funnel where you pop out in the Facebook group where I can add value. And my end goal is to add so much value that you end up in the cookie college.

[B]

That's a debate Corey and I had, which obviously I'm now half almost three fourths of the way through this website. I've just gotten to the part where it mentions a cookie college and I talked to Corey about this. We have the sugarcookiemarketing.com then we have the cookie college website. The cookie College website is 100% a sales pitch from the top to the bottom. It's how to sign up for one of these memberships. So I said, Corey, on the sugar cookie marketing website, my goal is that the end user finds us, the cold end user finds us through a Google search. If I pitch them so early on the landing page on the homepage, I don't think that I've built the credibility enough that I would be convinced. So I said to her, let's test putting this cookie college thing so far down after all the free resources and then we'll run out. But what I'm saying is like, I want to get them into my funnel, of which Cory and I like a little bit of a longer funnel where the free value is leading. And then the pitch. Maybe we should switch that around. But three fourths of the way down, I have my first sign up. Yeah. Buy now. This is the only thing that has cost money.

[A]

Which one? And it sends you to the cookie college.

[B]

It'll send you. Yeah. Either the memberships.

[A]

What is important to. To note you're going to make a website and it's going to be v1 version 1 of the website. Never get married.

[B]

Never fall in love with.

[A]

Never fall in love.

[B]

Yeah. Relationships change. People change. Your website. Yes.

[A]

So as people come to your website, I actually had Heather help me do an autoresponder on my email. I'm coming to realize it's confusing people because they're responding to it with, I already filled out the form. Do I need to fill it out again? So what I need to do is unmarry myself from that and come back and be like, what is confusing now? Because people are filling out the form. Then an autoresponder's like, if you haven't filled out the form, fill out the form. But they're just seeing the words fill out the form and they're like, but my date's gone now. But the date was gone because you booked it before.

[B]

Okay, so why would you change? You'd probably adjust the autoresponder to say. And I, I, you know, I. Some message I got and was like, if you've already. Oh yeah, like my health insurance policy. It was like, hey, your health insurance policy is scheduled to renew or it needs to be paid if you already have it scheduled and it's set as recurring disregard.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

This whole message. So probably adding that.

[A]

Probably adding that and realizing people don't read. So they're seeing like, fill out the form. That's all they're seeing. But they've already filled it out. So I need to say, do I need to rework the wording? Do I need to edit the.

[B]

You know what, the true solution is an alias. And have it only go to people who fill out the form.

[A]

Yes, yes.

[B]

Which is complex, complicated. You can learn about it in the cookie college. I taught a class on it. So yeah, click to learn more. I do have that. So each of these memberships. Click to learn more. I'll take you to the corresponding landing page there. And again, I. Am I increasing the funnel? Should I have the buy now? I could. I don't know. I have to decide. I haven't gotten that far. And I have. Check out the course list. The course list, it's a button. And then I have become a podcast sponsor, but I feel like someone click on it. Okay. And then it has a sign up for our emails and the. The button is join. Right.

[A]

So you might be thinking, you know, I'm not ready for a website. Currently we've come up with a list of different places you can add your cta, AKA call to actions, that can help you right where you are at in your current position in your business. So maybe a website's on the horizon, but currently you're using a form. On your form there is a part at the top. You can have parts at the top where you can fill out and change book. Now book below, fill out the form.

[B]

How did you get them to get to the form? You said somewhere. Click here to book.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

Somewhere. Call to action. Got them there. Yeah.

[A]

So let's go over where they can add call to actions.

[B]

I really like this one you brought up. Facebook pages have buttons. They do. Remember what we said. A call to action is typically seen in button form. So Facebook page around the top, it says a button or your. And now clickable links in.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Now, the unfortunate thing about the bio is we can't do a fancy like click here. You can't do a hyperlink. It has to be the direct link. However, these are on ours. If you go to Sugar Cookie Marketing's Facebook page, it says click here to join the group. And then I have the whole hyperlink. And I think I have two emojis pointing at it. I'm sure you do. You love an emoji.

[A]

You do love an emoji.

[B]

You know why I. And I think I'm a little too heavy in the emoji world, but the reason why I like them is because I'm not reading a Lot of text.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

But an emoji is almost a graphic that makes me say okay. And I use a lot of the finger pointing or arrows because my. My direction on website is this. It's vertical.

[A]

Honestly, until arrow an emoji is a silent call to action. It's pointing you to the next thing to do.

[B]

That's why I'm promoji especially in our fun industry. We can't use this in all industries. You can't use this as a car sales.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

The.

[A]

The thing is when someone tags your business like someone recommends your business or you recommend your own business in a thread of someone looking for a baker, when they click your I'm going to do at mixing bowl cookie company, it makes it clickable. When someone clicks to that they are taken to the top of my Facebook page. They're not taken to my post, they're taken right to my Facebook page. And from that that's called above the fold content I had. If my scroller is bro, my thumb is pushing up. What can I see? And is that helping me to help you make the sale? So that button, you can change the verbiage on it. It used to be pretty rudimentary years ago.

[B]

I was actually looking.

[A]

There's a ton of options.

[B]

Yeah. You could. We could have it go directly to the Facebook group. I did send it to the website because I feel like on the website I can give you direct links to the freebie you can actually get.

[A]

And here's the thing. So Heather's testing it. If they sent you directly to Facebook group, it's a private Facebook group, which means you have to answer the questions before joining. There's no credibility. There's. We haven't built anything with you. So sending them to actually a website that says, hey, there's free resources, there's guides to help you with photography.

[B]

Yeah. All of it's clickable and none of it's asking for too much from you.

[A]

At the end of the day. We can always test it.

[B]

Let's.

[A]

If we say, hey, you know what? We're not getting a ton of new join requests. Let's change that button the CTA and have it directly joined to the group so it cuts the funnel down. We can totally join it and we can test it out.

[B]

Yeah. Uh, one that is obviously the major heavy hitter for call to actions is the website. Right. And I know Corey said some other options, but your website, if you do have one square wix or otherwise, should be absolutely littered with call to actions. And I specifically like when the call to action supports the text above it. So what you could do kind of with Corey's website book now order now. Right. Right above the fold. If you don't need any convincing, you're already here because you were convinced by something else. We gotcha. Yeah. Then I would like break it down to your offerings. You know, if you go below that you have Corey's four products or five products, whatever it is. We try to keep it below five. Yeah. And then takes you the order form. But below that I would talk about and I think we do where you break down specifically your biggest seller sugar cookies. Kind of that. And hey, click to order your sugar cookies. We probably sharpen that up a little bit.

[A]

And I'm willing.

[B]

She's not married to it. So but in the website. So above the fold we have booking now. Order, order, order. We have a lot of those call to actions. Below that we have order, order, order. And then we can start the convincing thing as people scroll on because they haven't really clicked order. So what do they need from us right now?

[A]

They need a little bit more love and care. Tlc.

[B]

It could be a lot of pictures. It could be. I have Corey's face there because I want to be like actually like to change your picture. Right now you're in a business jacket. I don't think that screams baker. I need like as a rolling pin, a little bright color orange apron would be really cute. Cute. Because I think we want to support that. Corey's not like, I'm selling mass cookies. Yeah.

[A]

This is for another podcast topic. You can be so credible that you feel like I don't think there's a person behind this.

[B]

We've always had that. We create these custom boxes. They're almost like too good. Yeah. And people are like, oh, I didn't realize this was like a franchise. Like, oh yes, it's dinner kitchen.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Some people are like, when can I stop in and see what you're selling? Right now.

[B]

Yeah. And you can see people, businesses, even major corporations will get that homey brown packaging because it makes them feel more farm to table. You know you see like farm to table.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Farmer Joe Dan over there.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And they try to make it seem smaller because it feels like you're buying locally. And then you know you're.

[A]

It's being shipped in from a manufacturer mass made.

[B]

So another one. Corey says your Google business profile has a lot of call to action buttons. But you can have the. Right now it has to have a website. They've started adding social media links you can't, you can't directly add those, but you can say like, click here, read reviews here, leave a review here. And then she says, when you make your post on your business Google business profile, you can add call to actions and anything they want you to.

[A]

It gives you dropdowns. And then you can link to your website, which is awesome. If you did not have the call to action, it does not prompt you to have a website there.

[B]

Right? Yeah.

[A]

So when you click it down, you could do order now, book now, buy now.

[B]

Imagine. Imagine you go to someone's Google business profile and you somehow figured out how to find those posts. Yeah. And there's no call to action. It would be a weird thing to read. It would get an image, it would get the paragraph text and then it would leave you with nowhere to go. That's what the lack of a call to action feels like on your website. Yeah, but you're like, but you know they're here. You know, but tell them, tell them where to go. We want to be told at the hair salon, scalp massage place to sit down and wait for this.

[A]

Yeah. I had invited Heather to my mom and son Disney trip for the fact that I needed Heather to tell me what to do in the airport.

[B]

You guys want to invite me to Disney and I'll tell you free ages.

[A]

So Heather was like, take your shoes off, take your laptop out, put your shoes back on. And you're like, but Corey, you're a grown woman. At the end of the day, we have so many decisions we make in a day that I eventually just want.

[B]

To be told what's next because there's so many thoughts. Yeah. They said that, you know, if you do any of those productivity, if you listen to those productivity people, they were like, hey, you have a decisionometer.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Right. And they said at the beginning of the day you are really good at making decisions. But towards the end of the day, and that's when you find a lot of people with their cheat meals. Myself include some Laffy. Taffy has been my drug of choice. They said towards the end of the day your decisionometer has run down and you're just not even capable of making wiser decisions. So they say things like, put your clothes out ahead of time at night so you don't have to use up your decisionometer.

[A]

Don't you know when you are your kids in the morning, ask for a bag of potato chips. You say no. When they've asked for the 50,000 time in the evening, whatever, just go get it. Just get out of my face. It's because you have extended your amount of decisions you can make that you want to just.

[B]

You're going for the be told what to do. So when your website should be doing that for your end user and saying, hey, call here, subscribe here, stream it now. And then my buttons reflect the action I want you to take. Right. And the most important action. I want you to join the Facebook community. Typically, on a website, we'd want the most important action, which you'll see on the cookie college website, is sign up.

[A]

Yeah. What a lot of bakers. Because you're so worried about being abrasive, which marketing is a little bit abrasive. They'll be like, let me know if you want it.

[B]

There's so much clutter that we have to cut through. We have to slice through the clutter and say, buy now.

[A]

Yeah. Um, I told Heather, some people write copy, which is like, captions in a way that is a love story every single time. And it's this once. One time, I was walking in the woods, and I tend to see more. Like, I don't have enough time to see what you're selling here to spend time reading this. Whereas me and Heather have been in marketing and sales so long, we're almost, like, too direct.

[B]

Yeah. I want to say that. Hey, here's the hook. Here's my. Here's. Click this button if you're ready. You're not ready to sell it. Here's five bullet points I think you need. Here's another way to sell. And then here's my last plea to get you to sign up. Yeah.

[A]

I think there's probably a little in between there where we could connect a little bit better and not be so markety.

[B]

I think, like, it's so funny. Cory and I get so in so many arguments about this. I clearly cannot bring my head out of my butt. But I do not add hashtags to post. I'm allergic to it. She will not. Sometimes I'm like, this meme's so funny. And then I come back and I'm like, there's a bunch of hashtags. Corey. So, Because Corey's like, what's the point of making a post if there's no in what it's in Instagram is these hashtags. Hashtags. If there's no searchability, we're not discoverable. Right. And. And that's the same thing. Like, there's no hyperlink. When Heather writes this post, it can go nowhere. I'm just hoping for a share you guys share. I'm like, oh, that's a good one. Next one we have kind of in your caption. Back to social media. Your posts can include a call to action. I think sometimes people get too wordy. I think some people come in too soft. Hey, these are cute cookies. I did. I'm gonna have some. For sales. Anyone. Would anyone be interested in me selling those? I'm like, wow, you're.

[A]

Your funnel went from this long to this long, where you're like, would anyone be interested?

[B]

And here's the issue that wouldn't work if we were guaranteed that they'd see the next post where you're selling. Yeah, we're not guaranteed that the people interested will see the post to sign.

[A]

Yeah. So what I see a ton of bakers do, and they come to the SEM group and they're like, guys, I asked my audience if they were going to be interested in graduation pre sales. They all said yes. I made the samples. I posted it. Crickets. It's because you use all your juice. Asking all your reach if they wanted it. They said they were interested, unfortunately, because you did a. You did good. You asked a question, they answered. You got more reach because of it. When you finally go to make the sale, they were all left over on that post.

[B]

So you can see the strategy and especially when it comes to ads using the Facebook Pixel or what conversion API thing you're calling now. You can say like, hey, guys, click here if you'd like to see this product when, okay, General websites and then you leave the website. But now the ad is following you around. Yeah, Right. Because they know I got you to click. Yeah, but I'm not guaranteed that you're going to follow my page or go to my website and click on updates. So I'm going to follow. I'm going to pay money. So that my ad, my call to action. Stalking you when you follow me, when you stalk me.

[A]

If I clicked your website once, I'm not a buyer.

[B]

I literally said to myself yesterday, I said, this ad, it has one more time to show it to me and I'll buy.

[A]

I know, I know. Because a lot of times we like to window shop, window shopping and just seeing what you add. My first click is just to discover what price range you're in.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then I want to think about it. Yeah.

[B]

I love it when an ads campaign has five different media types to try to convince me like, the product's following me. You got an influencer who you paid to take the video. Now I got a version of the ad that's convincing and that's a really great version of these call to actions because they're bringing you ever closer to.

[A]

That you're inching every time you see that product. Again, here's the thing. And while why ads work so well, a lot of people have a Facebook page. When you post something, it shows up in someone's feed organically. That means it's not paid, but there's no guarantee that it's going to show up in their feed again. That's why people are like, I asked them, they said they wanted it. Now I have no sales on my next post. There's no guarantee they're gonna see it again. Ads force it back into the feeds of those people. So you can actually run an ad on Facebook if someone's interacted with your page. The people who've interacted with your page in the last 30 days are the hottest person.

[B]

They're right there. They're somewhere along your funnel. We're not sure yet. So let's run some. Okay. A lot of people are like, well, I don't have the budget for ads. Okay, so what we're going to do instead of. Hey guys. Just thinking maybe you'd like to think about buying this maybe one day. Not right now. Don't worry about it. Right now. I don't actually have anything set up. We're going to include the call to action. Hey guys, I know a ton of you guys are hinting towards this and I am selling it now, but buy now, because I'm only gonna sell five of these. It's just a test run. Everything is already set up that the call to action is incorporated in that first post. But I can still gauge interest. Guys, I'm selling five of these. I wanna see if you're interested in it. Yeah, remember. Cause now I can say my call to action is right there in that post. That lazy. Maybe sometimes was wondering if you guys, what do you think about this color? There's a version of that as a strategy. Like, hey, I'm gonna ask questions. But if you're like, my sales are low and I'm only doing that stuff that's related.

[A]

Right? Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

You'll see the new strategy. I'll say like, hey, sign up for the cookie college. I'm gonna put the link in the comments. It does two things. One, if I have more than one link in a post and I don't have a preview image, it's not always clickable. Yeah, frustrating. The second is it looks like I have 2 comments us nosy nellies love.

[A]

To expand that comment section.

[B]

And the comment URL hyperlink is always clickable and creates its own preview. Not my favorite because it doesn't require the click to expand. Yeah but I've had it in a couple different places because call to actions matter. And guess what? You're always going to see that emoji.

[A]

You're always going to see that CTA's call to actions are important. Never assume just because someone likes you.

[B]

That they're going to hard T's in that important.

[A]

Important. That's how important.

[B]

Very important. Two T's and important. Yeah.

[A]

See a yeah.

[B]

Let's just recap what a good call to action consists of. Be concise and direct. Number one two Use action oriented verbs. Buy now subscribe now do this thing. Move your body. Click this button. Book this. Highlight the benefits. So that's what I do surrounding my button. Or I'll say stream it now. Join the free community. Things like that.

[A]

One thing Heather does very well is if there go on I know I'll take this back later today you can edit this out is instead of doing a big block of text and in that that text is the hyperlink. She'll actually do a block of text building credibility space emoji by here.

[B]

Because I think that's what we're so preconditioned like. I'll read that text. If I'm not convinced by the button I'll go back.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But I'm not gonna read the text and then click the button. Yeah.

[A]

She doesn't let that link that call to action be lost around a sea of words.

[B]

I have to post my lorem Ipsum on text because it's so funny because nobody reads it. They'll just read that. They'll just make them visually appealing. So ours are bright pink, the color of sugar cookie marketing. That day we close our eyes and picked a color. It was bright pink. I like the color. So I make all the buttons bright pink. You can do versions of buttons depending on your website host but make them visually appealing. And I like the emoji. I think that makes them.

[A]

I think when you can't dictate the color of the button like on social media, an emoji can do it. A green check mark next to it green.

[B]

An exclamation point sometimes might be a little fun. Yeah. We have loves a I love an arrow. I love a finger point. And then keep it simple. And that's the big one. Because if your buttons are long and they're Running off the page. It's point. No button is you. We all know that buttons are supposed to be two words. One word.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Three words. But. But keep them really simple because, like, at the end of the day, Cory at the massage scout place wanted someone to say, sit here. I'll be back in five minutes.

[A]

I wanted little words. Sit down, shut up.

[B]

Great is out of my head. So that is what call to actions are. They're important. Yeah. I think it gets slept on a little bit because. Seem so mean.

[A]

They're so pervasive and they're everywhere that we forget to use them.

[B]

I. Yeah. I'm not sure if it's like a timid behavior, but that I. I'm presumpt. I'm too presumptive that they're. I'm forcing them to do something against their will. Yeah, we're going to do.

[A]

I think if you come from. Like, I didn't. This business started me. I didn't start this business. You know, I kind of fell into it. It's hard to assume that kind of sale. Like, it's hard to be so direct because you're like, what if they don't want it? What if they don't like me? What if they don't like what I have to offer? That we are timid about it and shy about it.

[B]

There's this level of confidence we don't want over confidence. We don't want to say we can do something we can't. That's the first one. But there's a level of confidence that I want my service provider to have. I don't want to go to the doctor and be like, hey, this is really hurting. He's like, ooh, I'm not really good with shoulders. I think we could try some stuff. I'd be like, don't worry.

[A]

Do you want to start? Do you want to try?

[B]

Do I be like, hey, you know what? It's feeling a lot better. But when I go in the doctor's like, I've seen this a million times. I know exactly what to do. You know, there may be a slight deviation.

[A]

Here's what we're going to do next.

[B]

Yeah, you know, I've got like, the less questions he's asking me, like, you know, that confidence of like, you got this. So with cookies. Fortunately, we're not doctors. Nobody. Nobody dies. You can say, you know, Corey says, hey, listen, when she doesn't know what she's doing, she says, I don't know exactly how to do this. I'm getting very Close to it. I'll give you a discount if you're willing to. To put up with me.

[A]

That is how my lead up. Like, I still.

[B]

It's still a competent thing, but she's allocating a discount in exchange for them be guinea pigs. But otherwise it's like, absolutely, let's do this. Absolutely. I can bake this for you. You're going to love it.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And there's that confidence that I don't want to take my car to the oil change guy. And he's like, I did. I took that old Viper to get an oil change. And the kid was younger than the car.

[A]

And you were like this.

[B]

I was like, yeah, you were younger than me too, if you want to bring that up. And I was like, hey, do you know how to open the hood? Which it's more complicated. And he said, I don't. And I could. I was just panicked. I was just like watching my small child get, you know, and a doctor's like, I don't really know how to work on arms. Yeah. But if he had said, listen, Heather, absolutely. And if not, I'll let you know. But I'm going to make sure that this car. He did not sound like that. He did not. I didn't want to buy from. So back to the call to action order. If you feel like it's kind of weaker marketing pitches. That's not what I want to hear. It's not going to convince me that you absolutely got this. Yeah.

[A]

I want to say, and I told Heather this, I can be 100 confident in my cookies. When I compare myself to myself, I can say, Heather, I'm 100 going to give you 100 of my efforts, my time, my energy, my know how of these cookies and be fine. But if I'm sitting here comparing myself to the Miller's wife, of course I'm going to be shy. I'll be like, I don't know, do you want them?

[B]

They're too better, but I can do okay.

[A]

Right, right. In that. I think we let that trickle into ourselves.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And it's common. It's common. But if you can step back and be like, I'm comparing myself to myself, I can give my client 100% of what I know. I can get confidence from that.

[B]

People say to us, like, a lot of the things you guys talk about, you can find on YouTube. Yeah, absolutely. But you're not going to hear from two twins who like baking. So come to us if you want it very. And that's that confidence of, yeah, you can find this anywhere. But are you going to want to hear from them or you're going to want to hear from us? Right.

[A]

And it's hard to get that confidence in business when you feel like, am I. Am I doing it right?

[B]

Like, it's.

[A]

Everyone's guessing. I'm going to tell you, everyone has the same thoughts that you're experiencing.

[B]

No. Baker set out to learn QuickBooks and you're like, wow, all I wanted to do is this one thing, and now I have to be 17 hats and pulled in all these directions, and I'm not confident about it. But there's a method in marketing where that confidence is a seller. Look at any infomercial. They'll make the gray person dropping all their pans. And then the pan organizers bright colors. And how have you ever lived without this? Buy this. And you're. We all know that the product on the infomercial is likely not the best. Yes. So instead of making the best product, they rely really heavy on best marketing. Yes.

[A]

The best marketing for the product.

[B]

You actually got a solid product and you have the best marketing. You're forced to be reckoned with.

[A]

Yeah. And I think what a lot of times what I see bakers end up doing is they feel they have imposter syndrome. So they spend the time talking so much to the client, like, well, let me know if you'd like to book these.

[B]

Real passive. Passive.

[A]

Because we don't have that confidence. But you have to realize no one's coming to you for a new best friend. They're coming to you because someone tagged you in a post that you could make the cookies for them, and they want you to make the cookies. So having a little confidence that someone else tagged you or you tagged yourself.

[B]

Maybe think of your confidence in terms of call to actions. Short, concise, commanding. Yeah. Do this.

[A]

It's practice. It takes practice.

[B]

It's.

[A]

I wish it was just a button in my. But it takes practice. And getting comfortable with that call to action in your post takes a little practice. Um, I want to tell you, if me and Heather judged ourselves when our first cta, our first call to action, no one clicked it.

[B]

Imagine if we were like, yeah, nobody clicked on that. Let's not do it anymore. Must mean they don't like it. I know. Yeah.

[A]

You gotta give it time.

[B]

You gotta be more know.

[A]

But I promise you, with a call to action, you're gonna make more sales than if you didn't have a call to action.

[B]

Absolutely. And that should be the big takeaway. Yeah. Call to Actions will sell more than no call to actions. Yeah, moving on. Stupid card. J code sugar, 15% off. I just checked it the other day. It works good. Stackable or text into the podcast. Possibly win a free stupid car trade with your stupid question. Which is 5, 7, 1, 5, 5, 6, 5, 6, 4, 4. You can enter in every week. It would be great. We have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Oh, this is also. The podcast is a day late. You guys didn't notice?

[A]

Yeah, sorry.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

I'm sure they noticed by now. I can't remember, was I doing high or low?

[B]

I don't know.

[A]

I'm gonna choose.

[B]

I'm gonna.

[A]

If it's seven, I'm gonna choose four. So that was pretty high.

[B]

1, 2, 3, 4. This is a texting question. So area code 5, 4, 0. Why does that feel local?

[A]

Why does that feel local?

[B]

5, 4, 0. Where do you think it's Fredericksburg.

[A]

Oh, it is local.

[B]

Oh, yeah, it's just south of us. Oh, nice. That's very. They have their own. They have their own area.

[A]

I remember 5, 4, 0.

[B]

We're 571. We were originally 733. There's too many people. Hi, Corey and Heather. I recently moved and now I get to have my own cookie room. Yay. But I found that the ceiling lighting is super harsh and cast major shadows when I'm trying to film dirt grading videos. Do you all have any tips for DIY lighting, diffusing, or recommend a lower cost option for diffusing the light to eliminate shadows?

[A]

Can I say I just was influenced to buy a desk light that she.

[B]

Said low cost, $69. Not the cheapest, but it's going to be hell fighting this battle without some kind of diffuser. So when she's. What she's saying we've got. We've got natural light, which is the sun. So you're seeing. This is natural light. Then we have right here. These are. If you see my face, there's some light here. This is artificial light. You're also seeing the cast from my computer. This artificial light I got on Amazon, these little light sticks are diffused. Diffused meaning the bulb. I cannot directly see the bulb. It is between me and a white covering. Yes, the white covering diffuses the light. It acts like a cloud.

[A]

It makes it less harsh. So instead of Heather, if you're looking at her right now, she doesn't have a harsh nose shadow on the side of her face. That's because the light's diffused.

[B]

Considering when you go out in the sun and it's a bright day and there's no clouds. You have a lot of harsh shadows. Now there's a cloud moves in, you're still in, it's still daylight. But we don't have any of those harsh shadows. So diffused light makes those videos a lot easier to watch because there's not a ton of shadows dancing around. Now every light source creates a shadow. The more diffused a light source, the fewer the shadows. If she's in a room, let's pretend it's nighttime. So we're relying solely on artificial light, which is bulbs. She has no diffusion. You're going to see a four point shadow. Almost.

[A]

Yeah. And it's almost. It is distracting because the four point shadow is constantly moving her eyes.

[B]

Yeah. So she's saying, well, I want to use artificial light because I have this cookie room, but it's too harsh. Now there's a couple of things you could do. The temperature of your light bulbs. Yeah, this I have a light bulb right here is an. It is a smart bulb. I got it on Amazon. Casa K A S A. But I can change the temperature of that bulb as I need it. I can actually change it to any color on the rainbow, but I can also change its temperature spectrum within that. So I can do. Do bright white, which is harsh. And I can do my yellows, which is where we kind of live. So for filming, I think you want bright white.

[A]

You do a diffuse bright white light.

[B]

So if you're saying, girl, my what? My videos look dingy. That's typically as you have an orange light, which is. Orange lights are great for living. Yeah.

[A]

But if you walk into like a jewelry store, you'll see everything under bright white light because it makes it sparkle, makes it shine, makes the colors true to color.

[B]

Go to a hospital, everything's bright white because it makes it look. Look clean.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But if we go to a restaurant on a date night, it's going to be really soft oranges because that looks sexy. Yeah. Not so much in videos though, especially around cookies and food. If we want a sultry thing, if we were a Starbucks, we may go for those more warms because coffee feels warm. But if we want these clean cookies, we're going to go for a white light. Now she has some options. She's saying right now I'm relying solely on overhead lighting. That's hard. So she wants to bring in some artificial lighting and that's going to require a diffuser because now we're bringing the lights right very close to the Subject. Yeah. So imagine that I had a light bulb here and it's right next to my face. This is going to be extremely blown out. Yes. So the diffuser is going to do that kind of half of the work.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But now. Okay, are you going to tell her? Are you going to post in the group about your.

[A]

Yeah, I was going to do it.

[B]

You're going to do it and test it. Oh, great.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Well then, Becca, stay tuned. You also win a stupid car chase. So email me, Heather sugarcookie Marketing, the rest of your phone number and I'll send you that link to fill out the.

[A]

I'm pretty excited. I was.

[B]

What's the motivation? I thought you liked your setup.

[A]

Here's the thing. I wanted to be able to tell people in the cookie college we're making a course on reels. A lot of people are working during the day. We just had time change here. Daylight savings happen. So we have more time in the evenings that we didn't have before. But sometimes you don't have that prime middle of the day indirect sunlight. So I said, let me test out something. Something's better than nothing at the end of the day content.

[B]

Maybe light bulb is better than the light bulb.

[A]

Right. So I said, you know what? This is a built in diffuser. On it you can change the color temperature. And what it was doing to people that were in the video was very attractive. Obviously no one was doing it on cookies.

[B]

This Power cube. Lume cube.

[A]

I have to check. I have to look. Lume cube.

[B]

So anyways, I like that. Don't let look. These YouTube videos are not well done. Yeah. But when I said something is better than nothing. Yes. So you just kind of got to get out the gate and you'll be able to perfect it as you go along. $69 is not nothing.

[A]

It's not.

[B]

But it's better than a light box. I find those are very hard to use. They are.

[A]

And it's hard to do a cookie decorating video on a light box.

[B]

You know, I know you. Your makeshift one. IKEA sells this white table. I gave it to you. It has no edges. Yeah, it's just a white table. It's really low and I would. It would be hard to work from. But you could, you know, build it up or buy one. I think you have their desks as well. I do have a desk.

[A]

That's what I use as my backdrop.

[B]

Very cheap tables. But it's white. It is. Has no corners.

[A]

It's matte. So it's not reflecting light Back in.

[B]

So there's some things that you can do to kind of work around. I'll be curious that moving on. These are not winners. The winners in my heart love that these people used the button and the text in thing. So. Because if you go to Spotify, it says you can just text it and that also enters you to win. Hello from Oregon. Ready for my stupid question? Hopefully you said yes, because I'm going to tell you anyways. Here it is. How do you politely respond to an inquiry for a theme that you simply don't want to do, specifically when that inquiry comes from a close ish friend or family, second cousin. The types you really only see for holidays and funerals. Sincerely, the notorious people pleaser Baker, who is working very hard on saying no this year. Thank you so much for making a welcoming space. Heart emoji. Yeah, heart emoji after my own heart emoji.

[A]

The only thing you could do would be booked for that time telling people, I don't like your theme.

[B]

It's harsh to say that, you know, I see this question pop mostly around Halloween. We have the people who are like, I love Halloween. I love all the dark and macabre.

[A]

I think so.

[B]

And then you have people like, I don't like Halloween at all. I don't like the scary things. I don't want to spend my money on buying those cutters. How do I decline this? So like Corey said, it's the. I'm booked. I'm curious. Whatever the theme is, it would affect my answer for this.

[A]

Here's the thing. I don't do inappropriate cookies. I don't even have the cutter. So when someone requests those, I'm like, listen, my mom follows my page. And if she saw that, I couldn't possibly. Here's other bakers, the local who've done it before.

[B]

That's a good one. I see you did kind of a hybrid one, which you typically don't do curse words, but this one you did. And before I said to my mom, I did do this one because I thought it was enough of a compromise that the client got what she wanted and it wasn't jeopardizing my morality. So you. I think you gave her some options. Now here's something you can do if you, you know, because they are related to you, you can say, that's out of your wheelhouse.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Nobody can tell you how good you are at something. So it's a great out.

[A]

When someone wants a very complicated I. I don't find joy in Disney characters because if you do one wonky eye. They. They know what the eyes are supposed to look like. So you can't mess up on there. So I don't find joy in it because I feel like there's so much pressure on that. So I would say, you know, it's just something I don't think I'm. My design capability is ready.

[B]

Tori's also not doing character cookies. So she's able to say, I had an ex boyfriend who would, when I said no, would try to find my workaround. And it was genius because it's. He's finding my objections and he's overcoming them. It'd probably be great at car sales, sleazy car sales. But what Corey's saying, like, you can't. I don't like to do character cookies. I don't. I. I find it's copyright. Somebody's gonna be like, well, just do it. I won't tell anybody. Yeah. But when Corey's like, I'm incapable.

[A]

It's beyond my design capabilities now.

[B]

They can't say, well, just get better. Yeah, like that's not gonna work. So you can have these, these fall guys. These no's be something that's impenetrable.

[A]

Since your question is a little bit ambiguous, it's hard to like pinpoint an exact answer. If someone was like, I want character cookies, you're like, hey, I actually am not good with the eyes. They're elusive to me. If you like cross eyed, that's what I can do. Or we can do an inspired by set. So we can take things from the video. Like if it's Moana, we can do a lot of those colors and that kind of feel versus making the character cookies. You can always try to overcome the objection if you needed to.

[B]

The asterisk that she adds here, that it is a relative.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Makes it a little different. It's easier to tell if I'm willing to walk away from the sale because let's say you want to do After Dark cookies, which are the more sexually based cookies. You'd say, hey, I'm not a baker who offers this. Here's three other bakeries. But when it's somebody you know, I still wouldn't be opposed to being like, hey, I'm booked for this. But this baker right here, me and her best budge. Great quality. I almost think she'd be free to take this. So reach out to her. Here's a. You know, the issue is, what if they never ordered from you? That's the risk you take. Right. And they're already not your ideal client because of the content they're asking for, whether that be out of your wheelhouse or out of the copyright law and legality or if it's something inappropriate that they think is appropriate, which is just this thing. Like, because it's hard to say, I feel my morals are higher than yours.

[A]

I know.

[B]

So you don't want to ever say like, it's not something I do good for thee, not for me. That's kind of that mentality. So hey, I don't do that. But here's you can do that. You can do that through these other impenetrable notes. Last one I will read hey twins, I was re listening to your older podcast and a few you mentioned how you and your family, forced by Heather, choose a word of the year. You do force them. Well, while it's already March, I decided I like Heather's approach and I want my word of the year to be consistency. That being said, I have a newsletter that has, dare I say it, been abandoned. I'd like to get back to it, but how would you reintroduce it to people so that they're not like, who in the world is this Click unsubscribe button. It's been several months. That license to print money season really had me being lazy and some of the important parts of my marketing. But no more. Thanks again for everything you do, especially the cookie college. Without it, I'd be nowhere near where I am today. I will hopefully be a roomy for life. P.S. corey, you're being hypnotized to choose my numbers so I can win the stupid carj. PSS I wish you could get emojis because this would have been so much funnier if you could. Okay, bye. Because she did that hilarious text and one text in again next week.

[A]

That's a great question. What what we don't want to do is always have to do the reintroduction post.

[B]

Cor Just talking about like bakers be like, I quit. I'm back. I quit. It's like that TikTok thing. You know, I'm dead, I'm alive. So we said it's kind of like that.

[A]

You know, it's that when you have a bingo card and you have that free space, it's a wasted space. So we definitely don't want to be like, okay guys, I am reinvigorating my newsletter because you're going to have to stay tuned for more newsletters. If you have their attention in that first one and they've opened it, odds are we want to keep that attention with something valuable.

[B]

Because she's going to say, here's what I would do. I wouldn't mention the break.

[A]

I would not.

[B]

Here. She's going to get people that unsubscribe. That's a natural repercussion of big breaks.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Don't think it means you're bad. No, it just is a natural cycle of this. They weren't going to buy from you anyways. I would pick off.

[A]

I would pick up, like, as if I never stopped.

[B]

I'll be like, hey, guys, Easter's coming. In our industry, only hearing from the baker around a holiday is not foreign. It's not bad. Yeah.

[A]

And I mean, a baker sending out a newsletter every day.

[B]

Foreign, weird. What would be Twitch. Yeah. Right. So I think almost act. Just assume you're a quarterly newsletter sender. Yeah. And this is the quarter. You're ready to send it out on Unsubscribes. A natural, natural process. I'd rather have you getting unsubscribes and not sending a newsletter at all. And then just act like. Because remember, above the fold, you're likely to feel to write that apology for the break we just talked about. That's the most important above the fold content in your newsletter should be about your next holiday, Easter.

[A]

We were talking about setting expectations. So instead of apologizing, sorry, guys, I got busy. I got a little burnout. Took off in January, but I'm back. We want to be like, and here's the Easter pre sales that go live on this day. You can place your order here. At the end, you can be like, expect to see another email from me during graduation season. You can never place those orders.

[B]

That's a nice way of glazing over the big break.

[A]

Right.

[B]

I think a lot of people don't think about bakers in January. I think we came off Christmas. We gave all our gifts. We have no money.

[A]

When your Amex bill and your Visa bills are coming in, the last thing I'm doing is opening, like a cheerful, happy email from a baker.

[B]

Maybe Valentine's Day. I would expect something, okay, we skipped it. That's fine. Not the end of the world. And now we're heading into Easter. You're not that far back. And she might be saying, well, I didn't send anything out at Christmas time. We were already in their minds at Christmas time because they seek out bigger. I think it's fine. I say, consider that you're going to send four newsletters this year.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Make that promise. If you Send more. Let's say you send two and a quarter. That's still nothing in regards to how many emails I'm getting.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. I would say just pretend like there was no and just jump back in.

[B]

And make that first one click to order. Yeah. Again, we didn't talk about it, but newsletters should have a lot of call to action. They should just like your website and they should be sending the website. Sending to the order form. I think if your newsletter said I'm now open for Easter orders, but hurry because this deal hops away. Something like that, people are gonna be like, oh shoot, yeah, we got Easter coming up.

[A]

What we don't want is an email that says, sorry guys, but I'm back. Stay tuned for upcoming Easter. Right, right.

[B]

It's back to that whole like, hey guys, I'm thinking about selling this. Are you interested?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Right. This one is the one. Will probably be your most open and most unsubscribed from which some. It'll also produce probably more sales.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Because of that absence. Yeah. If you had asked me, you hadn't sent an email for years. I would just pretend you're starting. I wouldn't even be opposed to starting a list over right from. Because remember, what you can do is everyone who ordered from you from Christmas time, you can add them.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

Which is.

[A]

And Heather sometimes used to like take unsubscribes a little personally. It's a little rude.

[B]

Spam. Spam reports.

[A]

Yeah, spam reports.

[B]

Neat.

[A]

Neat.

[B]

You signed up. I did not force you to sign up.

[A]

Here's the thing. Some people have moved from your area. Some people aren't going to order cookies for the next seven months. So unsubscribes are natural. And what you need to look at it is in a positive way. Like they have helped me narrow down my audience by telling me they're not one of them.

[B]

Yes. And that's. That's wonderful. Cause they're actually saving you money.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And bandwidth. I sometimes I like, I'm like, I want this product. Not right now. I definitely don't want your emails every year. I don't want to lose you, but I have to tie. But I'll try to remember your name and we'll find each other. And I think that's great. Why the Facebook has the follow but don't show me anything.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Like I want to know. We're still connected, but I want to know.

[A]

No, I want you to be the.

[B]

X I look up, but I don't want you to talk to Me every day. I wouldn't be necessarily opposed to that at all. Yeah. Code Sugar, stupidcartrade.com or stupidtech.com takes you the same place. Code Sugar gets 15% off everything they sell. And it's stackable, so if they're running any sales, that will be on top of that sale.

[A]

Nice.

[B]

Said Phil from Stupid Cartridge.

[A]

Thank you, Phil. Thank. Thank you, Phil. Moving on, the cookie college.

[B]

You dropped a new class.

[A]

You did too.

[B]

I did help you with that. But the class is a Mother's Day theme, so everyone says, how do you guys pick the themes for the cookie class kids membership, which is also included in the cookie college. The way we do it, the way I watch Corey do it, is we first year, we started this in 2023. We did all of 2023 with the major hitting holidays. Yeah. Meaning we're doing Christmas, we're doing Easter, we're doing. I don't remember what they were, but we were the second year we did the second holidays if it shared that. So instead of.

[A]

Instead of Valentine's Day, we did football.

[B]

Oh, yeah, we did. Valentine's Day was the first year.

[A]

We.

[B]

The second February, we did the Super Bowl.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

In the middle of the summer, instead of fireworks or whatever, we did graduation or something like that. Yeah.

[A]

And this year will be fireworks.

[B]

This year will be. So this year we're doing like the tertiary options. Right. And Mother's Day is a big one. Ish. But Easter is bigger than Mother's Day. It is terms of cookie sales.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So we want. We have an easter class in 2023. You can get that when you sign up for the cookie college. It's not involved in the class kids. But this year in the class kids, Corey said, I want to do a Mother's Day and a Father's Day.

[A]

Right. Just to give you some options.

[B]

That means so you have some elbow room. Maybe you want to do Mother's Day class. Maybe you want to do a Mommy and Me class halfway through the summer.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You can do this Mom's Day class class. And it's a floral based one. It was kind of neat. Her Cory and sweet pink Olive worked together on creating flowers that outline the word mom and then the O. And mom is a flower, which is great because people in the other hemisphere, you say mum. So this is.

[A]

Can work for both because it's a M flower.

[B]

M. Right. So it's a very cute set. Again, six cookies, four icing colors. And this time you incorporated sprinkles, which I saw you gave us a Lot of options.

[A]

I wanted everyone to be able to find them cake.

[B]

Corey is a Michael's option, an Amazon mine mixing option. And I think it was like, okay, let's let them make them sprinkle. Yeah. So if you want to sign up to. And this is actually a great class to not even have to teach directly. Someone had asked, they're like, how I don't want to teach a class. Like, is this an option for me? Yeah. Make it a DIY kit. Yeah. Make it a Mother's Day DIY kit.

[A]

Or make it a platter kind of set and you can sell it just ready to roll in a box.

[B]

So we try to make the class kits be pretty versatile in terms of I don't want to teach a class, but I want to have an extra income source.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Than just customs. So Cory and I are huge fans of DIY kits.

[A]

Love them.

[B]

I think you're selling Easter 2023 class kit is a DIY kit.

[A]

If I got your email right, and.

[B]

Corey's actually giving the PowerPoint from the 2023 class kits to the people who ordered these DIY kits. Corey will not be teaching them. Although we are teaching that class. We are. We are.

[A]

I had to find the cutters anyway, so I said, let me sell those.

[B]

Yeah. So we're teaching that class. Somebody had a great question about the class kits over the weekend. They said, I am from a country where shipping is astronomical. I almost think they were from the other hemisphere. Yeah. And they were like, I would like this. But I, I the cost of the cutters. No sweeping off. We had asked her, when we partner with her, could you sell the STL files so that people from other countries or people here can print them themselves?

[A]

Yeah. So if you were like, why don't have a 3D printer? Etsy. If you have someone in your hemisphere that has an Etsy shop make to order, you could buy the STL files and have them print it.

[B]

Save that money on it. Now, I had another question somebody asked. Oh, yeah. Somebody said, are the cutters included with kits? They're not that sweet pink olive. She designs those cutters in conjunction with Corey. She sells them now. She has some discounted options. If you're like, I really like these and I want to do more. She has a subscription option and then she has a buy the whole set and then. And she has the 2023 collection.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I think it might be at a cheaper price than if you bought them individually. So she definitely works with people on that. But that is how you can Check that out. So we have the cookie College gets the 2023, 2024 and the already for 2025 class kits. Which brings the cost per class kit to $2. Just over $2. Unfortunately for me, that's $76. Right. So you sign up, you get all the class kits. But you can also get every digital download. You get every baker's business basics. You get all the transfers, you get all this other content and the cookie college content. The cookie class kids is just the class kits for this year. It's $63 a month. You could sign up now and get four classes. Right now. You can hit. You can. You could pay 63, download them and cancel.

[A]

Nice.

[B]

If you stuck around. If you. If you. Because you cancel in 30 days you'll get the next class kit, which is what it is.

[A]

Cinco de Mayo.

[B]

What a fun one.

[A]

A lot, a lot of salsa.

[B]

I love chips. I like it.

[A]

No, I feel like eating a chip and a sauce. Should we maybe Uncle Julio's?

[B]

Oh, little chip and sauce. I love a chip and sauce. I was just thinking about Chili's the other day.

[A]

Yeah, I know someone actually someone I was listening to a podcast referred to Chi cheese.

[B]

I love a Cheech love. They said Cheech was coming back.

[A]

I heard, I heard. I'll believe it when I see it.

[B]

Same. We used to live at Chichi's. My mom loved it when we loved it. That is the cookie college. You can learn more about those call to actions at the cookie College. Buy now the cookie college.com sign up. Don't miss out. Get it Class kids. Teach them. Make money. If you guys want to learn more about that, if you have any questions, you can keep the questions coming. I know Corey's posting a lot of content about it.

[A]

A lot of content.

[B]

You'll be seeing some ads here soon. Okay.

[A]

Next up is our sponsors. If it weren't for them, you wouldn't be listening to this. So buy from them. The first is the backers co. It is a at home photography setup that you can do.

[B]

Becca who asked about the hu lighting could benefit from a backdrop. Assuming she's not buying the Ikea table we just talked about. This is a much more affordable option. And she can use the flat one matte finish, white Matte finish. Yeah, finish. It is actually the same color as the table.

[A]

It is.

[B]

And then she can use this diffuse lighting and really allow her to control a lot of the wild cards and creating content. Yeah.

[A]

What I realized and actually used to have a pink mat that was on My baking table that I would decorate on. I said that's my cookies are getting lost in the sauce. It's hard to focus on it. By removing that and just using a white backdrop it makes your focus go to what the content.

[B]

There's such a thing as too busy. Easy. It is.

[A]

And that. You know. And I like that you could film content on the backers. Co. I like to do a little. If you see the decorating videos in the class kits, I start off with the cookies on the backdrop and then I am decorating it. You can save 20 now.

[B]

I.

[A]

We are in discussions with something that could be very cool. We're talking about it right now. 20 off. By using the code sugar cookie at checkout.

[B]

Sugar cookie. Not.

[A]

Not plural.

[B]

Love them. Bake ity Bake Royal batch. Speaking of being influenced. This might be the one you want to be influenced. But if don't go all in. Get these little tiny packets. Use code Twins at checkout for 10 off. Bake it. A Bake Royal batch is a meringue powder that has it all. If it could file your taxes. It would. It would. But it has food coloring. White.

[A]

White food coloring.

[B]

It has corn syrup. Corn syrup.

[A]

Softball.

[B]

It has vanilla extract.

[A]

Yeah. Taste. Yes.

[B]

Very nice. Love it.

[A]

It is my go to. It whips up bright white. I don't know. I. I've been experimenting with some meringue powders just for the fact that if you were doing dye free things you can't have food coloring.

[B]

So you're deep in meringue.

[A]

Knee deep in meringue. Testing them out. And it's been years since I've tested these out. Whatever is in meringue. But it's silky smooth.

[B]

And that's.

[A]

It's a weird word to describe but everyone describes it as silky smooth.

[B]

I. I think it's almost one of those things. You don't know it until you try. Yeah. To kind of get the verbiage like. Because you know. I like.

[A]

I love it. I love it.

[B]

You didn't buy it in five pound one pound. But now these taste tester bags.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Right. I wonder if she'll. I know she sponsored cookie con in the past and gives out packets there. I know.

[A]

I can't remember if she's a fine.

[B]

Idea for her to do that.

[A]

Nice. Nice.

[B]

Moving on.

[A]

Last but not least, Eddie the edible food printer. He prints directly on food.

[B]

I forgot to send your invoice to Nami.

[A]

I know. I had a very last minute order.

[B]

Not that they'll pay ahead of time. No.

[A]

He Never pays on time or ahead of time. I had a very last minute order for Neiman Marcus I was considering not taking. My husband said, if you don't take this order, I will turn Eddie on and take it myself.

[B]

Have you known eight? That was a lot. Yeah.

[A]

Eddie's a direct to food printer. He has been amazing for my corporate orders because he can print a logo right onto the top of the cookie. If you're like, I haven't gotten to my corporate girly era, you can use them as a replacement for airbrushes. What's so cool is now a lot of the cutter shops are actually providing Eddie PNGs that you can use and print directly using the cutter. So if you're doing DIY kits, you can print that outline on the naked cookie. Really add value to your audience. So it's been great. Eddie does not have a discount code because he knows his worth.

[B]

Listen, girl, listen.

[A]

But you can go check out Eddie on Instagram. You can check him out on TikTok. And he has a private Facebook group. Yeah. Where you can check him out and see what people are doing with him. I say he prints on cookies. He prints on so much more than cookies. It could be buttercream, people are printing on M&M's, macaron shells, things like that. He is versatile.

[B]

Here's a funny thing. Like, people are like, well, I joined the Facebook group. It seems like there's a lot of problems with it. Yeah. There's subreddits I like to read for marriage issues. And everyone's like, why is everyone's marriage falling apart? And they're like, because people who are unhappy are the ones who, who complain about things.

[A]

You're in how's my marriage?

[B]

So in the Facebook group is Fix my Eddie. So you get a lot of people saying, here's these issues. But Corey, have you ever had an issue with him?

[A]

The only. The other day, I hadn't used him in a hot minute. I turned him, turned him on and he was just printing red. But then the troubleshooting was like, you need to clean your. Clean the print head.

[B]

So I did follow the instructions. You'll be cleaning them along. You should.

[A]

I leave them. I do everything you're not supposed to do. I leave them unplugged.

[B]

I don't update. I turn on as little as queries. Caring.

[A]

I know, I know. The man's a trooper. He's gonna work.

[B]

He's going to work. So you can check out those podcast sponsors. Thank you so much to our podcast sponsors for Keeping this going. Do you have a twin?

[A]

I actually got to hang out with some local cookiers on Sunday.

[B]

Oh, you did? Sorry I missed that.

[A]

I know you were out of town. I was cat sitting for Heather, but I went out with Gigi from Teensy Cookie Co. She's actually moving from Woodbridge. She used to be my person that I loved.

[B]

My.

[A]

I don't want to take those orders. You take them. But she's moving, so I hate her for it. But she's moving to San Antonio, so if you're there.

[B]

Another Texas cook.

[A]

Yes. So I said, there's so many cookiers.

[B]

In Texas that could be in the Facebook group. I've been going through the states and countries and just doing a roll. I love it because it's kind of connecting people because you're like, oh, my friend, and you can kind of find your little tribe. And then you went with Bougie Baker.

[A]

Yeah, Bougie Baker Boutique. She actually has a supply shop. Her name is Christina. I did not call her Bougie. Bougie Baker, even though I do come here. But she is another local cook here, about an hour away from us.

[B]

She's also been a vendee. Blendy.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And so I was able to get some scoop. Can't tell it. She said, I was sworn to secrecy.

[B]

Yeah. It was so much fun to see.

[A]

These people that I see online all the time, actually in person, eating across from me.

[B]

Yeah, it was.

[A]

We actually got there and the time flew by. It was two and a half hours, and it was like, okay, we got to go to bed. Christina has an hour journey back.

[B]

She did. Yeah. But she said, I don't care.

[A]

She made me feel very good about that distance. She had to drive, but it was.

[B]

A lot of fun.

[A]

So I want to suggest if you have local bakers, it was nice to take the apron off to sit and just eat.

[B]

Kind of talk shop, but also talk. It's funny because I. Christina's also in the cookie college and has been for years. Like, it's funny. You feel like you know these people, and then you sit down, you're like. Like, I only know you in a business capacity. So I'm like, how'd you meet your husband?

[A]

How'd you meet your husband? What do you do for fun?

[B]

It was a lot of fun.

[A]

I really enjoyed him. There were two great girls. So, Texas, you're getting a good one.

[B]

Goodbye, Gigi. Gone but not forgotten. Gone but now there's something weird.

[A]

We said, she's always welcome back.

[B]

You are always welcome back. The traffic awaits your presence.

[A]

Do you have a twin trist?

[B]

I have a twin tryst. I went snowboarding. You did? Still got it had been a couple years. That's the only way you're gonna get better is if you fall. Oh, you did fall. Yeah. When you go down here's the unfortunate thing this. The mountains. We're east coast, so they call it the ice coast because there's not a lot of snow here.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

That mountain is a slush bucket.

[A]

It's a cold when you fall.

[B]

Oh yeah. You're getting snow in your. It's very wet. And then there's. The point of snowboarding is you keep your edge in the snow, but when there's no snow, it's ice. So you're just. It's just a free fall. And then if you go on the. The steeper runs.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Oh, you're like lordy.

[A]

Flying.

[B]

You're either flying or you. They call it the falling leaf because you're so scared. I did a little. I did some falling leaf. I said this is a little above my pay grade. To get it out of your system for the year. I said I took a picture.

[A]

Done.

[B]

It's out of my system. My system. Then I have it in.

[A]

I did get a babysit. Heather's cat.

[B]

Kitten at My nephew is 15. And you think 15 year olds don't like pets? No, no. This kid's life's mission. His cats.

[A]

Cats.

[B]

He. So I had. I'd say hey aren't. I'll be in the snowboard mountain. There's no signal, but send me some pictures. I've gotten 50 photos. He took that job seriously. And he was like every hour I was getting an update.

[A]

He loved watching Munch.

[B]

He said munch's forehead's so big, but there's no way. There's a lot of brain.

[A]

I think his forehead's big, but his head is very flat.

[B]

So I thought that was great. I thought I actually really enjoyed it.

[A]

He really, really, really did. And I cool mom let him miss school so he could bathe.

[B]

Very cool and fun mom. Very cool and fun. Although I did get some pictures of Archer saying that much was eating his pencil as he was doing his homework. It was impossible to do math.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

Arch.

[A]

Last night was like I have so much homework to do. I said, our deal was you did it during the day.

[B]

He was. He was Munch babies.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But that was fun to have a kitten again in the house. He was crisp play. Yeah, I did said, come on.

[A]

It's time to go hit the road.

[B]

But they said they'd watch me. We. Yeah.

[A]

Arch was like, do you think we'll get the opportunity to watch him again? I said, I think an head loves to travel, so we're probably gonna watch.

[B]

I'm a pro. Dayjo. Give me a couple days. I'm not a week. I'm not a weaker.

[A]

You're a weekender.

[B]

I'm a weekender. I'm a four. Four days is solid.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Five days. Okay. Anything? Nine days. I'm just, like, horrible. Horrified.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

The thought of doing something for nine days and then coming back to nine days of things not done. I know.

[A]

It's too much. It's a lot. It's a lot. I am in.

[B]

Christina, do you talk to.

[A]

I am a good stare at.

[B]

Homer is your cat babysitter extraordinary? Yeah. This neighbor thinks that I'm Cory, and she texts Cory to watch her cats. And Cory, I was like, you have never said. No, of course I'm the one watching the cats. But Cory's always here. Yeah, I know. Reliable cat sitter you'll ever meet.

[A]

Yeah. Thank you guys for tuning in. Tune in next week.

[B]

Stream the podcast, text into the stupid cartridge, Buy from the sponsors and sign up for the cookie coffee.

[A]

There you go. See you guys.