How this fashion brand drove $200k during Afterpay Day
The founder of All Things Golden shares her tips to make the most of Afterpay Day.
When Olivia Coleman launched her fashion label All Things Golden (A.T.G) in 2016, she was determined to build a brand that would be the antithesis of fast fashion. That meant long-lasting, everyday essentials that customers could wear and love for years.
In keeping with this ethos, Coleman is scrupulous about the promotions that A.T.G participates in. “We are very selective when it comes to discounting and sales.”
However, there is one event the brand has taken part in every year for the past three years – Afterpay Day, which last year drove $200,000 in revenue.
Here are A.T.G’s tips for success with Afterpay Day:
Plan early
Coleman’s hard-working team of 10 starts planning their Afterpay Day strategy two months in advance.
“We tend to go pretty hard and make sure we’re across everything," Coleman says. "We start with creating a really strong visual campaign that flows across from our site and then through all of our marketing channels. Specifically, we do a lot with both paid and organic platforms on both Meta and Instagram."
Try SMS and emails to reach loyal customers
Although Afterpay Day attracts new customers, it’s the brand’s existing customers who are most likely to purchase during the event. To reach its loyal customer base, A.T.G sends text messages and email, and carefully considers the timing.
“We don't typically like to do any lead-up campaigns for sales as I know some other brands do,” Coleman says. “We like to keep our sales limited and exclusive, so we really only let our database know the night before and explain they have exclusive early access.”
“We generally use Afterpay Day as an opportunity to provide extra value to our existing customer base."
Sending emails and text messages allows these customers to shop before everybody else, "and as we produce in limited quantities this means there's less chance they'll miss out on the things they love.”
Make your offer obvious
As for the execution of the email creative, Coleman keeps the messaging simple and straight to the point.
While she says she tries not to overthink the creative assets too much, she does have one golden rule regarding the actual placement of the discount: the email subject line and preview should hint or tease the discount but the actual offer should be revealed when subscribers open the email.
“Some businesses put their offers and discount codes in their subjects which we don't do because you want people to open the email and to click the assets within it."
Try new channels
For A.T.G's most recent Afterpay Day in August 2022, Coleman experimented with promoting the offer on TikTok – and says she is still fine-tuning her approach.
“We started by using the same kind of content that we would generally use for video reels and advertising on Instagram. We did that as a starting point and we did see success once we built hot and warm audiences. But when it comes to converting cold audiences through TikTok ads, it's a lot harder."
A golden result
The team’s hard work and months of planning paid off in a major way. All Things Golden’s participation in Afterpay Day last August saw an increase of $55,000 in sales. Across the four days of the sale, the brand saw an overall revenue of over $200,000.
And while the sales alone are a major achievement, Coleman says it’s the team camaraderie that really stands out as a personal highlight from the event.
“It creates a collaborative buzz around our office and warehouse. Working in the lead up to an event like Afterpay Day, it’s just a really fun time of year for us and customers as well! For them to be able to purchase things they've been holding out for… it’s really special."
In 2023, the brand has some exciting plans on the horizon, including an upcoming denim collection and expanding both local and international markets.
“Over the past two years, we’ve been selling into the US and it’s now over 50 per cent of our revenue. We have lots of amazing opportunities at our fingertips. I want to continue to grow sustainably while maintaining the values of our business.”
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