It’s a glowing success story we’d all like to sink our teeth into. Our friends in the UK are having the time of their lives as newfound hobby pastry chefs discover they can turn their half baked dreams of culinary creativity into full blown, tasty creations.
Cake Decorating magazine has some delicious lessons to share with any business owner looking to create that winning recipe for customer engagement and nifty success. The magazine is unique in that it only talks about Cake Decorating. Targeted to beginners and middling skill enthusiasts, the subscription walks you through a series of 90 lessons in cake, cookie, cupcake and party favor decorations AND they also ship you the tools of the trade. It’s a package thought out for the convenience of the subscriber. With most homeowners in the UK having existing ovens in their kitchen, the low entry price of tools + magazine would be a winning combination in itself.
The magazine aims to give readers an affordable new hobby, with each issue supplemented by the free tools needed to follow the tutorials in the magazine. The series will teach readers how to make iced cookies, cool cupcakes, and occasion cakes at home amongst much more.
Since cake decoration lends itself very well to visual display, it was natural for the company to create a facebook page where subscribers of the magazine can share pictures and comment on the photos of others online before their snack sized masterpieces are eaten up by enthusiastic people around them. It’s a winning streak so far— nearly 50,000 likes and 40-100 photos uploaded every day. These are numbers to drool after!
Readers have been keen to show off their new cake decorating skills and the community has continued to thrive on shared tips and feedback. The photo album provides a hub of inspiration for the community and is a chance to compare the different outcomes of the recipes and techniques taught in the magazine each week. Polls are posted two-to-three times a week in order to give readers a chance to discuss their preferences on various light-hearted subjects from cupcake flavours to piping techniques. Typically around 1,000 readers respond to each poll.
The regular Friday and Monday ‘catch up’ posts are also fast becoming a tradition. On Friday, readers post their plans for the weekend and on Monday report back with photos and discussion of their decorating adventures. The posts aim to build on the established content of the magazine, giving the readers a chance to coach each other through the new techniques and discuss how to use the free decorating tools.
The site’s twitter followers also boast impressive numbers. The community currently has 3,300 followers and is expected to grow as more issues of the magazine are released.
For a magazine that’s barely in its fourth issue this is a publisher’s dream come true. It shows that a beautifully done website, consistent use of social media platforms and a sense of what people long for all combine to create a satisfying experience for the customer. I took a look at the website and found myself wanting to have sweets right after writing this. It’s a user-friendly site in easy to read font and one can’t help but leave a comment after seeing yet another fabulous cake that seems too good to eat. I hope they duplicate their success here *hint, hint* because there’s at least one sweet-toothed writer who’s gonna be among the first subscribers using her sugar craft gun for issue one.
Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/05/23/prweb9441073.DTL
May 23, 2012
Create A Social Buzz