Blogging lessons learned from a lemonade stand.

A brother and sister team have a lemonade stand on my street this summer. They come out on Saturdays and on particularly warm afternoons. I remember selling lemonade or Kool-aid during the summer. I was so excited when adults would drive by and buy a drink from me. Did you have a lemonade stand as a kid?

I decided that if I have the time (and the kid isn’t overcharging), I will always buy lemonade from a lemonade stand. We need to encourage these young entrepreneurs!

It has been fun for me to watch this lemonade business progress. One day, I asked Mario if business was good he replied, “Good, really good.” 🙂 I have been very impressed with their customer service and thought that we could all learn some lessons from their little lemonade stand. On to the blogging lessons from a lemonade stand:

Personalize your niche

I think most of you probably raised your had when I asked if you had a lemonade stand when you were little. There are a lot of lemonade stands out there, just like there are a lot of blogs. Mario and Marion made their lemonade stand unique by adding their personal touch to it. They don’t just sell lemonade, they sell a Mexican drink as well.

Add your own personality to your blog. There will be other fashion bloggers or craft bloggers, but there is only one you. Make it yours.

Offer something extra

This lemonade stand offers more than just lemonade. They sell candy, popcorn, and other snacks. I like blogs with niche’s, but I also think it is good to have a variety of topics to offer your readers. A blog only about striped pencil skirts might get a little boring. Write about other things that will interest your audience.

Pick a good location

Mario and Marion have a great place for their lemonade stand. It is on a busy street, across from a park. They stay out of the heat of the sun by setting up their table under the shade of the trees. Your blog needs a good site too! Just Host or Blue Host are great places for your blog! We are also really big fans of WordPress. It’s like sitting in the shade selling lemonade, instead of sweating it out in the sun.

Don’t wait for your readers to come to you, go to them.

The first time I purchased from this lemonade stand, I was driving home. I pulled up close by and before I got out of my car to walk over to them, Mario came to me to see if I wanted to buy anything. I never got out of my car. He went and got my lemonade and brought it back to me.

You can reach out to your readers too! I use Google Analytics to find readers that found me from Pinterest. Here’s how:

How to connect with readers that are visiting your blog

Log in to your Google Analytics and go to Acquisition – All Referrals – pinterest.com. Select a date range. I usually just choose that day, or that week. I want to reach out to someone who visited my blog recently.

Next, sort your results by Avg. Session Duration. Click on a few of the links of visitors that were on your site for a while.

This method will not tell you exactly who it was that visited your site. We don’t know if it was the person that pinned your image or someone who merely saw the pin. I am assuming that it is the person that pinned your post.

There are several ways you can connect with this person.

1. Leave a comment on this pin.
2. See if they have a blog and go leave a comment on their blog.
3. See if they have any social media accounts linked to their Pinterest page and then connect with them via Twitter or Facebook.

You will get better over time

You’re probably not going to be the very best once you get started, but you will improve with time! It is okay to test out different looks and marketing techniques. This picture shows the first time I saw the lemonade stand, and the lemonade stand 2 weeks later.

Always be polite

The last lesson I learned from the lemonade stand is to always be polite. I am always greeted with a polite, happy smile. When he brought me my lemonade, Mario also made sure to see if I wanted a napkin with it. They both always said thank you.

Treat your readers nicely and they are sure to come back. Just like Doran and I head back the lemonade stand on the corner.

I’d love to hear from you! How do you personalize your blog? How do you reach out to your readers?

Like the handwriting font I used in today’s images? A blogger made it! Head over to Jessica’s blog and check out the Wallflower font.