Natalie Mounter is a stay-at-home mom and entrepreneur. Her company, Totally Dazzled, sells craft supplies for weddings and creative projects. She attributes the success of her business to other stay-at-home moms: her employees and associates.
She told me, “Being a stay-at-home mom and employing other stay-at-home moms was the key to our success.”
We recently spoke with Mounter, and she talked about the origins of Totally Dazzled, her success with affiliate marketing, and the value of being a smart, hard-working mom.
The full audio of the conversation is embedded below. The transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Eric Bandholz: Please briefly tell us about your job.
Natalie Mounter: I’m the owner of Totally Dazzled. We sell primarily glittery craft supplies for weddings and creative projects. We started as an Etsy store in 2012. We’re now 100% Shopify. For me, it’s a lifestyle business. I started while I was pregnant. With my first child.
During the pandemic, we experienced huge growth as everyone started shopping online and looking for things to do at home. The craft market boomed.
We ordered way too much inventory and ended up with too much stock. We had to offer big discounts this year to get our inventory back to a healthy state. Things are looking up now.
I started this business because I was looking for a job I could do from home and work the hours that worked for me, and when I read The 4-Hour Work Week, I thought it would be a perfect fit for motherhood.
As the business grew, I was lucky to find key people who were independent and hardworking. I could delegate tasks to them and minimize my own work hours. Being a stay-at-home mom and hiring other stay-at-home moms was the key to our success. I can hire quality employees at an affordable price. Moms are smart, hardworking, and extremely capable, making them the best team members.
Bandholz: How do you find a stay-at-home mom?
Mounter: HireMyMom.com is a great resource for getting help in the U.S. I also use my local network.
My cousin was my first team member. That was 10 years ago. She had recently had a baby and was looking for a work from home job. I was shipping all my products from Canada, but most of my customers were in the US. My cousin lives in California. So I sent all my inventory to her to fulfill for me.
She also handles customer service and social media interactions. Another key member of my team is a stay-at-home mom and we’re like a one-person marketing agency. She handles all of our Facebook Ads, Email Marketingand SMS. I’m in charge of the planning and vision. We meet monthly. It’s totally hands-off for me. They both do a great job.
There are some time-sensitive tasks, such as your affiliate brand ambassadors sending texts to your SMS list. Live Streaming On Facebook. I rely on my assistant in the Philippines to do that.
Bandholz: Is affiliate marketing your primary marketing strategy?
Mounter: Affiliates are our biggest traffic source, we love working with them because it’s less stress and risky Better than Facebook adsIt’s a place where you spend money and hope and pray that your advertising works.
We recruit our affiliates by sending them free products and then incentivize them with commissions. We don’t lose any cash until they make a sale. I’d rather pay female content creators than Mark Zuckerberg!
When I started looking for affiliates, I typed “DIY brooch bouquet” into Google and contacted creators who made those types of videos. You can find contact information on their YouTube channels. I emailed them and asked if they would be willing to promote us and earn a commission on sales. We’ve had great success with this strategy.
Initial outreach I feel dizzyIt took a while, but once we had our affiliate network, word started spreading within the community. Other creators saw the promotional videos for Totally Dazzled and wanted to do the same. We still do outreach, but not as much as we used to.
We use affiliate management software to track performance. We can see how much traffic each affiliate is driving and if they are making sales. If they are doing well, we send them lots of free stuff. We monitor our affiliates and spoil the ones that are doing well, while keeping the others engaged so they continue to talk about us. These extra touchpoints are what ultimately drive sales.
We offer a 20% commission and a 30-day cookie window, both of which are pretty generous. We think generosity is important because sometimes affiliates don’t get paid for their referrals. Someone may see your content and go directly to our website.
success Affiliate Marketing It’s not about metrics, it’s about building long-term partnerships, and that’s why so many sellers fail with affiliate marketing.
Additionally, audience size isn’t the only predictor of sales. One of our top performing affiliates made $30,000 in one day. This affiliate has 1.7 million Facebook followers. Another top performing affiliate has about 200,000 Facebook followers, but this affiliate’s audience is a great fit with our products.
Bandholz: How do you stay in the business after 12 years?
Mounter: What helps me stay motivated is remembering my why and focusing on what I’m grateful for. I was able to raise my kids, not miss their events, and avoid stress when they were sick. I take time off when I need to.
Bandholz: Where can our listeners support you or buy your products?
Mounter: This site is Total Dazzled.we Facebook, Youtubeand Instagram.
