I've followed Thompson Ferrier (no relation) for years. They're a candle making company in New York, but they don't just make candles. They buy ornaments which can hold their candle wax, turning them into functional pieces of art. Their packaging has always been superb, from a simple sticker on the outside of the shipping box that says get your camera ready for unboxing, to their embossing, ribbons and wax seals. These are a couple of customer photos from Reddit and the YouTube link explains their thinking around packaging in 2023. Remember, if you're starting out - you're not trying to achieve all of this at once, add one element to elevate your packing. Add another element later on and adjust it to appeal to your target audience.

What are your go-to sources of marketing wisdom? My first ecom business thrived on Marketing Sherpa, but during my bakery e-commerce years I used Nudge Podcast for tons of tips to (successfully) boost sales.

Note, there's a new Sales & Marketing category, for discussing getting more sales and improving promotions/campaigns (not for self-promotion).

The Pinterest Q4 seasonal marketing guide is now available: https://business.pinterest.com/en-gb/holiday-marketing-guide-2025

I've updated my checklist for 2025 and will continue to keep it updated as the social channels release their Christmas to-do lists. This is the list I use to make sure my website product listings are ready for the November sales, Christmas and gifting, but you need to start NOW to be ready for when your orders pick up and the customer enquiries start hogging your inbox. https://www.skool.com/bake-bag-3531/classroom/2621716c