🍩Why I only wear Helly Hansen

Because people notice high-quality swag

Author

Ryan Sneddon
March 14, 2024

What up players? Hope you’re havin’ a kick ass Thursday. I am. Let’s dive right in.

Stellar Swag Marketing

What do you think of this jacket on me?

Bold color, eh? It happens to be almost exactly the same as Naptown Scoop’s primary color. Side note: I chose blue because it’s trustworthy. Check your phone. 80% of your insurance and banking apps are blue.

  • Fun fact: I bought every remaining jacket in the country when I heard they were discontinuing the color. I have 4 backups.

If it’s below 65ÂșF, I’m wearing that jacket whenever I’m in town. Or my navy blue one. Or maybe the quilted one. Or perhaps my vest.

If it’s hot, I’m wearing one this tee.

Chris is a sweaty dude

For formal events, I wear my custom blazer or this lapel pin.

Oyster?

No matter where I go, no matter the weather, no matter the occasion, I always wear something that says Naptown Scoop. I have hats and quarter zips too.

Why am I such a nut about this?

Because people notice high-quality swag.

90% of my swag is Helly Hansen. It’s a major status symbol in Annapolis.

Now, I didn’t give a rip about HH before the Scoop. Had never worn it in my life. But I knew it was the local thing in Annapolis. And I wanted Scoop to be hip and local. So I bought a jacket and embroidered it.

People loved it from day 1. Eventually I bought a second one in a new color. Then a vest. And then HH came calling.

They asked if I had a corporate rep or if I was just buying it myself. I told them I was just buying it. “Stop doing that,” they said. “Come into the store next week and we’ll get you kitted out.”

I left the store with three new jackets for me and three for the team. The team loved them. Who wouldn’t? These are $175 jackets (that I got for free). They’re waterproof, warm, and well-built.

So here’s your homework.

  1. Pick THE status symbol brand in your town. In Maine? LL Bean. In Jackson, WY? Stio. You get it. Pick something people know, love, and covet.

  2. Buy something. Something useful that you’ll enjoy wearing.

  3. Embroider it. Find a hobbyist from Instagram or worst case scenario go to the mall and find a kiosk. Shouldn’t cost any more than $20.

  4. Do not ever take it off. If you’re serious about a local newsletter, wear that thing whenever you’re on the town. As you grow, buy more stuff so you have something for all occasions.

People underestimate how well this works. If your newsletter’s small and unknown, it’s a conversation starter that gets you new subscribers. If you’re getting big, it’s your calling card. Someone in Ireland recognized me in a crowd of thousands after the Navy football game because of that damn jacket.

Always be promoting. Even when your mouth is shut.

Oh, and if you don’t have a newsletter yet, check out the 5-Day Starter Kit. It’ll save you weeks of launch headaches.

Naptown Scoop February advertising report

  • Newsletter advertising: $15,362 (25% increase vs. January)

  • Social media advertising: $0

Big increase because we gave away lots of free ads in January. Social media number will be much higher for March 😎 

What’s cookin’ at Naptown Scoop?

I hired two sales reps. I was only going to pick one but I had 2 perfect candidates apply. One will handle standard ad sales. I’m working closely with the other on special projects I can’t talk about yet.

Life of Scoop’s referral program

If you share Life of Scoop, I’ll reward you.

  • Get 2 folks to join and I’ll send you a PDF of all the tools I use to run my local newsletter.

  • Get 15 and I’ll evaluate a writing sample and tell you how to improve.

  • Get 100 and I’ll give you a free hour of local newsletter consulting ($350 value).

  • And if you somehow get 1,000 I will fly you out to my newsletter’s annual party, put you up in a hotel, and make you the guest of honor.

Life of Scoop stuff