In most industries getting your shop up and running online is super easy. Thanks to tools like squarespace, wix & worpdress (not to mention all the third party shopping carts out there) you can be ready to take orders in just a few minutes.
When it comes to selling wine online there are some really stringent shipping laws that have to be taken into account. There are states where you just can’t ship wine, and if you do, you instantly become a felon. (goodbye dreams of someday becoming president.)
So you might say that staying in compliance with these laws is a pretty big deal.
The bad news is…
There aren’t many e-commerce tools that keep you in compliance with the shipping laws.
So in a world where putting up a website and selling directly to customers should be the easiest thing we do. We find ourselves with only a few overly complex, outdated & expensive options to choose from.
Which, of course, means you end up spending a bunch of money on web developers to do what the rest of the world is doing with just a few clicks of their mouse.
The good news is…
We’ve developed our own little solution for getting wine shops up and running fast.
It’s not perfect, yet (It still requires a developer)… but it’s a simple, cost effective & compliant way to sell your wine online.
You can even use it to sell in your tasting room or manage your wine club. Which is cool and all, but…
There’s a bigger problem that needs to be addressed…
It’s NOT as simple as throwing up a website & waiting for orders to roll in.
The truth is… getting your website up and running is only like 10% of the work. It’s the equivalent of loading your backpack before the long hard climb up a mountain.
You still have to get out there, let people know you exist, give them a good enough reason to come visit and then talk them into spending their hard earned money on some wine that they’ve probably never tasted.
Digital marketing is a lot of work
These are just a few of the ways you can promote your wine online, and that’s kind of the problem… Making all of this happen isn’t easy! It’s expensive, time consuming and requires a lot of specialised knowledge and skill.
That’s where the Winery Guild comes in…
We make it easy by doing everything for you
1. The Wine Map
Get in front of customers when they’re searching for wineries in your area.
2. Featured Wineries
Share your story with everyone we know, and a bunch that we don’t.
3. Special Offers
Make a lot of sales all at once by choosing a single bottle and promoting it to our followers.
4. The Wine Marketplace
Get a consistent flow of new orders, by selling your wine in our wine marketplace.
Here’s what it’s like to be part of The Guild
- We start off with a quick phone interview, to learn your story & gather some basic information.
- Next we create your winery profile and add you to our state & local directories. (so people searching for wineries in your area will be able to find you).
- Then we visit your winery in person, video the whole experience with a focus on telling your story and showing what makes you stand out from other wineries.
- After sampling your wines we’ll choose a single bottle and run a promotion (with quantity based discounts?) to incentivise purchasing multiple bottles.
- Finally, we’ll take high quality photos for each of your wines and post them for sale on our wine marketplace to generate a consistent stream of new orders for you.
Here’s How To Join
It’s free to join, all you need to do is schedule your first interview. (The whole thing only takes about 15 minutes) We’ll answer any questions you have and ask a few of our own to get the information we need to set up your profile.
Click the button below to schedule your interview.
We look forward to hearing from you. =)