Tips for Faking a Sexy Summer Glow

We all love the look of sexy bronzed skin.  But, let's face it, nobody likes the look of sun damage.  Luckily, with today's sunless tanners, you can help your clients fake it!:)

Today's sunless tanners have traveled a very long way. The days of orange, zebra-like streaks are gone, if you know how to correctly apply the tanner and most importantly, prep your client's skin.  Here are some tips:

• Ask the client to not shave their legs within 2 hours of applying the tanner, especially if they have sensitive skin. If the tanner causes a skin reaction you will be left with little dark red bumps from razor burn.  If they are prone to razor burn and need to shave the day before, recommend Scandle's Eco Shave and Shower Foam.

• EXFOLIATE. It is the most important part of preparing skin for a tanner. Try Scandle's Dead Sea Salt Scrub or Scandle's Turbinato Sugar Scrub for sensitive skin.

• A couple of minutes after you have applied the tanner, be sure to rub areas such as elbows and knees with a little Scandle Lotion Candle to lighten the effect.

• Always use tanners that are specific to that body part.  Sunless tanners for face are just for that...the FACE!   If you use a body tanner on the face, it could result in a look that your customer may not be too happy with.

What are some of your tips for applying sunless tanner? Share them here!

A Treat for the Feet Using Scandle's Coconut Kiss Lotion Candle

Island Oasis Pedicure Service Featuring Scandle Body Candle

(Nails Magazine - June 2013)

Escape to the tropics with this treat for the feet at Luxure Nail and Beauty Bar

Steps:

1. Give the client a complimentary Island Breeze Mimosa, and let her borrow an iPad Mini to browse.  Spray her feet with Qtica Smart Spa Cool Anti-Bacterial Spray.

2. Soak the client’s feet in warm water and Haken Coconut Papaya Wash (or try Scandle's Dead Sea Salt Soak & Scrub) for about 10 minutes.

3. Prep the client’s nails.








4. Exfoliate the client’s feet and lower legs with Cake Beauty Desserted Island Smoothing Brown Sugar Body Scrub (or try Scandle's Hawaiian Raw Turbinato Sugar Scrub)

5. Massage the client’s feet and lower legs with Scandle Coconut Kiss Body Lotion and Body Massage Candle.

6. Apply base coat, two coats of polish, and top coat.

Price: $45

Attract More Customers with Pinterest

If you're using Pinterest to promote your spa, massage or holistic health practice one surefire way to optimize your pins for search and attract more traffic is by giving each one a targeted description that includes your relevant keywords in 500 characters or less. Here are some tips to writing Pinterest captions that will attract customers:

• Provide a Description - Clear, concise, and specific description of a pin can help pique a user's interest.  Don't leave it to their imagination as to why you pinned the image.

• Spell Out the Specifics - Simply saying, " These are really great product picks," say something more specific like, "These are are our top product picks for keeping your skin looking fabulous this summer!"

• Link to Your Website - You can add live links to the captions below your pins simply by adding a URL to a pin's description and clicking the red "Save Pin" button. This will add traffic to your website or blog.

• Include A Call to Action - Descriptions that contain a call to action (i.e. read more, book a free consultation, sign up online, etc.) see an 80 percent increase in engagement.

• Add Testimonials - Include a testimonial from a happy customer.

• Use Keywords - Inclusion of keywords and phrases your target audience is searching for.  This will also increase your Google search engine rankings.

What tips do you have for better pinning?  Share them here  and be sure to follow us on Pinterest at http://www.pinterest.com/scandle!

Source:  "How Your Pinterest Descriptions Can Attract Customers," by Karen Leland, Entrepreneur Magazine

June News - Summer Spa Sales Tips & News from Scandle

Check out the latest news from Scandle Body Candle in Our June Newsletter!  

Stop Selling and Start Helping!

According to Jay Baer, a social media strategist, author, speaker and President of Convince and Convert, "Sell something and you make a customer today. Help someone and you create a customer for life.”

Baer explains a concept called “Youtility” where you provide valuable content for your readers and customers, to the point where your company becomes valued, trusted, and synonymous with being useful. So when the time comes to get that massage or lose those excess pounds, your company is the obvious choice!

So as you sit there stumped on what to blog about or share on your social media pages with your clients, here are 5 things to think about:

• What are your customer's needs?  If you specialize in nutrition, for example, share information on the latest foods that fight inflamation.  If you have a number of customers that are atheletes, share information on how to increase performance through supplementation.

• Feed Your Customer's Needs - When you determine what your customer's needs are create a variety of content that answers those questions. Write a series of blog posts, create a video on YouTube, make an info-graphic, or create an educational event at your spa or clinic. By creating a variety of content, you’re being useful, but also giving readers various ways to interact with and learn.

• Make "Youtility" a Process Not a Project - Helping your clients with useful content isn’t something you can put on your to-do list, and check off permanently. Why? Because our customers’ needs change.  Today they could be concerned about acne and cellulite and in another month...concerned about wrinkles how to get that summer tan!

So start helping your spa, massage, or wellness clients instead of trying to sell to them.  After all...the difference between helping and selling is just 2 letters!;)

Source:  "Start Helping and Stop Selling"  - Kim Stiglitz, Vertical Response

Marketing to Mothers to Be

Looking for a way to grow your spa business?  Targeting your products and services to expectant mothers can open up a world of opportunity! According to Stacy Denney, founder/CEO of Belly Friendly, a prenatal training program for spas based in Corte Madera, California, “There are 16,000 pregnant moms entering the market every day in the United States. Couple that with the forward momentum of the national wellness movement, and the time is ripe to cultivate the pregnancy market." Here are some key ways to market to expectant mothers to create fertile results!

• Make your spa a mother safe environment - Require therapist to get prenatal certification & continuing education.  To foster a pregnancy-friendly environment, every staff member should understand each trimester’s common aches and pains, as well as pregnancy myths, and emotional states.

• Watch your lingo - Marketing to mothers to be requires speaking their language.  Your marketing language should emphasize ways in which your specialized services and products can ease and enhance the overall pregnancy experience.

• Offer education and empathy - This can be done by offering a discount to first-time guests, a percentage off of a second service, and discounts around Mother’s Day and Pregnancy Awareness Month (May).  Consider designating a special “pregnancy section” in the retail area, featuring chemical-free products that are designed to make pregnancy easier such as Scandle Aromatherapy Lotion Candles to aid with stretch marks and relaxation.

• Host special programs and events - This can be done during the pregnancy and then events that focus on family after the pregnancy.

• Cross-promote with other businesses -Including local OB-GYNs, prenatal fitness, pregnancy retail outlets, or anywhere expectant mother's will be hanging out or shopping.

• Cater Your Presence to Moms Online - Use the web to get the word out about your pregnancy services.  Make sure your online channels reflect the appropriate professional, educational and nurturing environment, and make your site as informative about pregnancy and prenatal wellness as possible.

• Keep her on the appointment books - After your client gives birth, you want her to continue to come back your spa, so offer postpartum services for all her post-pregnancy needs.

Source:  "SPA MARKETING: The Pregnancy Market" by Tracy Morin - Day Spa Magazine

7 Quick Fixes For Your Email Blasts

If you send out regular email campaigns to your existing and future clients there are bound to be errors in the campaign from time to time. After all...you're only human, right?;) But errors in campaigns can cause you to lose valuable subscribers.

The best way to catch mistakes in your email marketing messages is by sending out test emails to a few people who can check for formatting, grammatical, and spelling mistakes. Also, look for these simple (yet common) email errors:

1.) Setting Up Personalization Correctly - How many times have you seen an email saying "Hello [First Name]"?

2.) Sending Emails to the Right People - Make sure you have your lists segmented correctly (i.e. current customers, potential customers, etc.) and select the right ones to send to.

3.)  Have a Unsubscribe Option - Forgetting to add this is big mistake!

4.)  Offer Text Versions of Your Email - Many mobile devices can't handle HTML so be sure to offer them the option to read it in text only.

5.)  Be Sure to Include Links - Link back to products, services, and down loadable content on your website.  Also make it easy for people to email you back with questions.

6.)  Include Social Share Buttons - Forgetting to add social share buttons to any of your marketing communications is like forgetting to add your company name or signature...nuff said!

7.)  Hiding or Not Including Contact Information - Make it super easy for people to contact you – via phone, email, mail, fax, carrier pigeon, etc.  Put this information front and center!

What other common email errors have you seen in campaigns you receive from others?  Share them here.

Source:  "7 Quick Fixes for Common Email Marketing Mistakes,"  Monica Jansen