I recycle gifts - quality gifts that I think a relative, friend or child's teacher would appreciate - something I would have bought for them myself if someone hadn't given it to me first. Honest!
I also recycle boxes - interesting boxes. Mrs. Field's cookies come in an array of colorful boxes. Note card boxes are pretty enough to be jewelry boxes and my jeweler's boxes already look gift wrapped. I may be putting my foot in my mouth, but shoe boxes can be great gift boxes too if you cover the forever-stuck-on, size sticker with wide ribbon.
Because I'm gift wrapping challenged, a pretty piece of real ribbon around a unique box works for me. Besides...it's the thought that counts; and I am thinking outside the box.
In my family I was the middle girl and wore my share of recycled clothes. By the third grade I was embarrassed because I was taller than all the boys in my class, but the glass was still half full. I was too tall to wear my older sister's clothes anymore.
Thrift stores are Meccas for recycled clothes and provide opportunities to turn clothes you no longer wear into money for a worthy cause. Before my girlfriend has a chance to donate her clothes, her daughters recycle them into their closets - but worthiness, like charity, begins at home.
Being a parent makes you a human recycler and you hope your genes are put to even better use by your children - especially as you think of them as designer genes.
If your genetic offspring didn't think much of the Salisbury steak you served last night, add milk, bread and eggs and recycle it as meatballs.
Then there's your mother-in-law, who doesn't think much of your housekeeping. Tell her you're collecting the dust kitties to make hair for her grandchild's Halloween mask. A use and an excuse - it doesn't get much better than that.
Reruns are recycled TV and syndicated programs are recycled radio. Unfortunately, recycling can be negative. Gossip is recycled rumors and divorce recycles spouses.
Words spoken without thinking can't be recycled. Words spoken with thought turn into newspaper editorials, which are recycled opinions. There have been several occasions I've wanted to buy a bird. Then I could recycle some opinions about recycled politicians on the bottom of the bird's cage.
Do you want to give a new lease of life to one of your digital or small-ticket products?
At home, I've earned the title of 'Queen of the left-overs'. Did you know that left-over spaghetti sauce can be recycled? Add a bit of cumin and chilli, it becomes taco sauce; mixed with a bit of white sauce, you have a lasagna sauce; add a few vegies, wrap the lot in puff pastry and you get a pastie, etc.
Using the same principles, you can recycle a product and market it using a different mix: change your promotion, sell it elsewhere, use it to barter, bundle it with another product, etc.
Start recycling a product using one of the following strategies:
1 - Auction your product on eBay or another auction site. How much are customers prepared to pay for your product? Use this strategy to research your market and to experiment with a new selling outlet. Who knows, people in their bidding frenzy may pay more than you ever imagined!
2 - Reposition your product. Review your promotional and pricing strategies and give your product a new image. Change your sales letter (including words and graphics), add testimonials, increase or lower the price, etc. Now sell your 'new' product.
3 - Offer your product as a bonus with the purchase of another product. Sell the bundle as 'this month's special', 'buy one get one free' or 'value pack'. The bonus should boost your sales especially if you point out the dollar value of the bonus e.g. 'valued at...' and add a sense of urgency 'limited time offer till (date)'.
4 - Give to get. Ask visitors on your website to complete a survey and reward their effort with a gift, your product. Provided your product is relevant to the type of information you are seeking, this should yield a list of qualified leads and supply you with new ideas to create products and boost your business.
5 - Sell your product as a promotional item. This is a strategy I have used very successfully. I've bundled signed copies of my book from my first printing batch into packs of ten. Businesses bought them at volume discount price and gave them as gifts to their loyal customers.
6 - Increase your database by giving away your product for free as an incentive to join your mailing list. Your offer can be advertised for free on the online free stuff sites. When visitors are picking up their freebies, capture their email addresses and you will gain a valuable mailing list. (Note: this database building strategy will only work with digital products or else you will be out of pocket if you have to pay shipping costs.)
7 - Swap your product for things you need for your own business e.g. exchange your ebook for a software or another ebook. Your savings will make up for your profit loss. At a conference, I swapped my book for books from my colleagues.
8 - Organise an online contest and offer your product as the winning prize. This a cheap price to pay for free advertising for your product through online contest directories.
9 - Donate your product for an attendance or raffle prize at non-profit associations' events. In return, the organisation usually promotes your business by giving you an advertising space on their website or promotional flyers.
10 - Approach businesses with complementary products and find out if they would be interested in bundling their product with yours. Build on each other's equity and share promotional costs and profits.
Left-overs are delicious. Recycle your product for a new lease of life.
Both Knight Pierce Hirst & Henriette Martel are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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